I floated in front of her, treading the current to keep our eyes connected. “General, I’ll give you one opportunity to call off your guards and retreat to your island. Surrender your clan to a different, peaceful regime. Let’s end the War of the Sea once and for all, without unnecessary death.” I spoke from my mind to avoid sucking down water, a trick my sister taught me when I was young.

The general flapped her shimmering pink fin to stay facing me. Her head bobbed as her brows puckered. “You are gravely mistaken. There is only one regime, Queen Lorelei’s. The humans are nothing to us. They are undeserving bottom feeders, fit only for servitude, reproduction, and sustenance.” Her fangs protruded farther past her lips in a snarl that released white, foaming poison. “We will kill your pets as you watch, then take you back to your home, where you will become one of us again or choose your own death, by declaration of Queen Lorelei.”

With that, she swam away, instructing her legion to work faster at dismantling the ship.

Now there was no other choice. They’d had their chance to live. I’d given them more than they deserved—an opportunity I might not be afforded. Steeling myself, I crushed the amulet between the heels of my palms, focusing on the vulnerable sea glass front. The crack started slow, then continued like a spiderweb toward the perimeter. Like a ray of sunlight, a white light burst from the amulet, shooting in every direction. A shrill so sharp it stabbed my ears like the tip of a blade vibrated the waters, fierce enough to crack the boat’s rudder. Then the glass exploded, and the rippling shock wave sent my body hurtling backward. I flipped over and righted myself… or so I thought. Directional sense became impossible in the all-consuming white light. Magic surrounded me, encased me, flowed through me.

My vision adapted to the brightness, and the sirens stared back at me, uncertain what they were seeing. Then they looked around frantically at each other, mouths open in screams I couldn’t hear over my mother’s song. Blood trailed from the siren’s ears into the waters. More gushed from their crying mouths. The waters darkened to crimson. It thickened the ocean into a sticky syrup that covered my arms and chest.

The sound intensified. My mother’s voice built from a boisterous song to a shrilling scream. Magic thrummed louder and louder, churning the sea into violent waves that tossed me around like driftwood. My own ears started to burn. I dropped the amulet to clutch my head, putting pressure on the agony at my temple.