Gemma leaned against the fridge and bit into the apple, ignoring its unpleasant taste, because she didn’t know how else to respond. That was obviously some kind of compliment, but Gemma really didn’t want to take it that way. She still didn’t want to be a siren.

The house was suddenly filled with the sounds of music as Lexi turned on a stereo in another room. Adele came wafting out, and Lexi joined in, somehow managing to sound even lovelier than Adele when she sang.

Sawyer had still been staring down in shame, but as soon as Lexi started singing, he turned toward her. He even started walking toward her, moving slowly, like he was drawn to her song.

“Shut the hell up, Lexi!” Penn shouted, with an unsettling undercurrent to her normally sweet voice. When she was angry, she had a monstrous tone that she couldn’t seem to control, sounding like some awful creature from a horror movie. “Nobody wants to hear you squawking!”

“Ugh!” Lexi groaned loudly, and the music fell silent. Not just Lexi, but the stereo that played along with it. “I’m going out for a swim since you’re being a killjoy!”

“Can I go swim, too?” Sawyer asked, looking over at Penn.

“Did you get all the blood out of the convertible last night?” Penn asked, still staring down at the glossy pages in front of her.

“Um, no?” He furrowed his brow as he thought now. “No. You told me not to worry about it and just to come to bed with you.”

“Well, you’re up now.” She smiled thinly at him, not even attempting to hide her contempt. “Go clean out the car.”

“Sure, yeah, of course.” He nodded quickly, then left the kitchen to do her bidding.

“So how did it feel?” Penn asked, resting her hand on her chin as she flipped a page.

Gemma swallowed the bite of apple in her mouth before answering her. “What?”

“Taking a human life.” Penn kept her head tilted down, as if she were still examining the beach bodies, but she lifted her eyes to meet Gemma’s. Penn’s were black as usual, but they were dancing at the thought of murder.

Gemma forced herself to take another bite, even though she felt nauseated at the talk of murder, and she refused to answer Penn’s question.

“You really are one of us now,” Penn went on, smiling as she spoke. “You’re a monster now. Just like me and Lexi and Thea. You’ve had a taste of the human heart, and you won’t be able to stop yourself.”

“I’ll never be like you.” Gemma shook her head and stared down at the apple in her hands. “I made a mistake last night, but I’ll never let myself be out of control like that again. I’ll never be a monster.”