“You’ve nearly missed the whole thing, come on!”

Good ol’ Sy. Adeline’s whole body relaxed at his presence. But he looked past her at the redhead and her silver haired boyfriend, his eyes narrowing. Her brother grabbed her by her shaking elbow and heaved her past the rose garden, across the look out, into a gigantic auditorium, and up a flight of stairs.

“Sirens, huh?” Simon muttered under his breath as he took the stairs two at a time. He had always been better than her at identifying them. An innate ability to spot them in a crowd. Adeline felt guilt at her own inability. How could she have talked to that redhead Siren in such a familiar, friendly way?

“Sy, wait.” Adeline pulled her elbow out of his reach and grabbed the handle of the staircase. Her breathing was hard and fast and not only because of Simon’s breakneck pace. “Wait!”

“Wait?” Sy span around a few steps above her. “For what? Wait for them follow us? Or ought I wait longer? Wait for them to wipe us all out? Come on, Del! We can’t escape them anywhere, can we?”

There had been a few at the Glacier Isle College, not that Adeline sought them out. There was just that glint in their eyes. The friction in their touch. But to meet two on her first day at the University of Atlantia North sent ripples of fear down her spine.

They weren’t from the Isle, she knew that much. The Gulfs had taught their children the names and jobs of every Siren on the entire island. After all, they were dangerous no matter the truce. Not that Adeline had to be warned of their threat. Sirens had taken her parents from her. And while she was glad for the family she had, she would always wonder about the family she had lost.

“No,” she managed to gasp. “Wait for me to catch my breath!”

“Sorry,” Simon snapped and he ran his shaky hands through his black hair. “Alright?”

Adeline gave him a pointed look. “You certainly don’t sound sorry.”

“I am sorry.” This time his voice was softer. Brotherly again. “They just rattle me. You know that.”

“I know. Listen, I’ve already missed enough of the Opening Ceremony. Could we please go see whatever is left? At a normal, human pace?”

The Opening Ceremony took place in one of the campus’ theater buildings. A podium was in the middle of the stage but the heavy curtains were drawn. They shuffled into the curved rows and found Gabrielle and William sitting and waiting during an intermission.

“Hey, girl!” Gabrielle said with a relieved smile. She scooted back on the bench to let Adeline pass. “Normally only freshers and transfers come to these things but when the boys said they hadn’t heard from you…”

“I’m alright,” Adeline said with a smile, answering Gabrielle’s unasked question. “Everything’s fine. Thank you for joining us.”

“No,” Simon said in an angry stage-whisper. “She’s not fine. She was held up.”

“Held up?” William leaned forward over his older sister. “Held up how?”

Will was one of the reasons Adeline had transferred here with Simon. That and the generous scholarship to study art. He’d attended since his first year studying oceanology, of all things. Three years ago he would have been right here in the theater for his own Opening Ceremony. He was only here for her and she hadn’t even made it on time. Adeline squeezed past Gabrielle and collapsed gratefully next to Will.

“Hi, you,” she said dropping her head on his shoulder.

He was always so grounded. So strong. He snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her closer. She drew from his strength and felt her shoulders relax. Virtues had to stick together. It was survival. But it was also just pleasant. Something about Will was so different from Viktor. Will smelled warm, like a crackling fire and marshmallows. She breathed in deep and pressed her cool hands against her hot cheeks.

“So?” Gabrielle asked looking between Adeline and Simon, who was still shifting in next to her. “What happened?”

“A redhead and a blond guy. She was sporty. Wearing yoga pants. The guy almost looked like he had white hair. Tall.” Simon’s words were clipped, his voice tight.

The Sound siblings didn’t have to hear the word Siren to know what Simon meant.

“I know them,” Gabrielle said with a sigh. “Viktor and Eleanor.”

“Yes!” Adeline said, sitting up from William’s comforting embrace. “That was them.”

“Del—” Gabrielle gnawed on her bottom lip. “I know you don’t need me to tell you this but you need to stay away from them. They’re the worst of the worst. Eleanor is mostly harmless. Coast. But Viktor… He’s a Trench.”

The worst of the worst, indeed. The Trenches dominated the deepest parts of the oceans. The trenches were the dark, miserable, and frightening channels running like gaping wounds on the ocean floor. Why the Trenches would send one of their own to Glacier Isle was beyond Adeline. Unlike the other clans, they didn’t like to come above the water. They thrived in the places unseen.

Sounds, Gulfs, and Deltas were territories close to land. It reasoned some would settle on islands or coastlines and set up shop with the humans. But, Trenches? Adeline had never even met one before.

“He was vile,” Adeline said with a new understanding. So the silver haired man was a Trench, and his girlfriend was a Coast. Both Ocean types.

“Ale had a run in with him last week, believe it or not.” Gabrielle pulled out clear, fruity lip gloss and began to apply it. She always smelled light and sweet, unlike her younger brother. “Caught Viktor at Beans and Bindery. Viktor’s a transfer, although who knows if he actually attended a college before or not. I saw Eleanor last year at the gym. She’s in her second year and she’s on the football team, I think.”

Ailmer was the youngest Sound, still in secondary school and the most likely to pick a fight with a Siren. It figured he had already met the newcomer. He loitered at Beans and Bindery after school, the Gulf’s coffee shop meets bookstore next to the Sound’s art gallery turned tea tasting shop. Ailmer was hardly interested in the family business. Everyone knew he loitered near the shops only because he had a raging crush on the barista, Claire. But, in a desperate attempt to protect his pride and a fruitless attempt to conceal his feelings, he had recently positioned himself as some kind of intellectual. Having known him since he was ten, Adeline had to laugh every time Ailmer pulled out a thick book and pointedly read looking over his glasses. Ailmer was more likely to use a book as a weapon than to actually absorb its contents.

“And Ale’s alright?” Simon asked with a frown.

Good Ol’ Sy, Adeline thought again. She looked over at her brother and smiled. No matter what had brought her to this Island, no matter who had taken her parents, she wouldn’t trade her brothers for the world.

“Oh, you know Ale. Gives as good as he gets. Said the Trench wasn’t too interested in an all out brawl. Strange that. I’d always heard that Sirens from the Trenches are the most brutal.” Gabrielle shivered.

“Say,” Adeline began, “have any of you ever actually met a Siren from the Trenches before?”

Simon shot her a look and Gabrielle paused to think. Will pulled Adeline back against his chest.

“No— look,” Will said. “The ceremony is resuming now. Let’s watch. Forget those freaks, yeah?”

But even as the Chancellor of the school came out to give a speech, Adeline’s thoughts remained on the two Sirens. Her first time meeting a Trench. It was significant. The thought almost thrilled her. If only he had been a Virtue, instead. Maybe they could’ve been friends, she thought, as his steely eyes floated in her mind.