There’s a flash of green on the opposite end of the deck, and Kisa sees that Seokga has shifted into a giant panther. The cat’s emerald eyes flash as he launches toward Jang, and Kisa can’t hold back five quick sneezes. Cats.

“KISA, I’M SORRY!” Hajun wails, jumping from his mountain. “I CAN’T DO THIS!”

“TAKE THE BABY!” Kisa screams, shaking a strong hand off her ankles. It’s like a game of American football as Somi races by, grabs Hwanin, and presses the child into Hajun’s arms as he sprints for the door. “HAJUN! LOOK FOR JANG’S HEART!”

“AND THROW IT INTO THE RIVER!” howls Somi, stooping down to punch a bloodthirsty ineo in the face. The mermaid howls in surprised agony.

“Go with him!” Kisa cries as she narrowly dodges another mermaid.

“I’m not leaving you!”

The ship bounces as the currents become more treacherous. Kisa nearly falls on her face but quickly saves herself. “Two pairs of eyes are better than one!” she manages to gasp out as Somi hurries to her, and the two women press their backs together. The ship tilts again, Seokga’s abandoned sword sliding toward them. Kisa snatches it up, the heavy hilt somehow feeling as if it belongs in her palm. In any other circumstance, she’d pause to admire the exact sheen of the moon-harvested silver and perhaps take a few mental notes on its weight and density, but there’s quite positively no time for that.

“Where would her heart even be?” Somi shouts as red water sloshes over the sides of the boat—reaching even its highest point. Bound God’s Pass stands tall and menacing in the eddy of red, washing tides. Kisa sucks in a panicked breath as, down the deck, Seokga struggles beneath Jang’s claws—the tiger atop the panther. A flash of green, and now the panther is a small mouse, escaping from beneath the terrifying creature before shifting into a snarling, massive grizzly bear whose weight causes the deck to groan.

“Kisa? Where would her heart be?”

“I-I don’t know!” Kisa yells as she swipes Seokga’s sword through the air. The mermaids hiss as the sword cuts flesh. It seems as though they haven’t yet mastered the art of realizing they don’t need to feel pain. The deck is slippery with river water, and as it tilts precariously, Kisa and Somi hold tight to each other. Seokga and Jang tumble toward them, a rolling mass of claws and fur.