Once we were beyond the Undersea, but before the shallows, Dominique spoke to me. "I know you probably think I hate you, but I really don't."

"You don't?" I turned to her—she was staring straight ahead. Something about talking that way must make it easier to share secrets. 

"No." Her voice turned contemplative. "At first, I didn't trust you, because something's off—but I'm certain now it's that you don't belong here."

She looked back to me, and her expression softened. "No offense or anything—but something's wrong with your magic. I'm nowhere near as trained as even Madam Rhine, but even I can tell that."

"What do you mean, wrong?"

"I don't know," she admitted softly. "But I could feel it. Instinct is critical to a witch's development, you know."

I didn't, but I got the picture. 

"If you were smart, you wouldn't come back," Dominique continued. "Whatever is going on with you, it's just the latest in the strange things happening. They're all bad omens, the Fathoms returning and what's happening in the Alabaster Palace."

I couldn't help but perk up my ears. "What do you mean, what's happening in the Alabaster Palace?"

"Nothing you should care about." She looked ahead again, her voice took on that harsh, closed-off tone again. "You should just worry about your short human life in the sun and leave us to the deep."

"That's not a very heroic thing to do."

She looked back to me and raised an eyebrow, as if I had broccoli in my teeth or something. "You're not the hero, Mika Audrey. You're just a glitch, an error in magic who isn't supposed to be here."

She stopped. "You can find your way back from here."

"I can." I knew that my legs had shifted back into existence. Already the transformation was becoming quicker, subtler, and less startling to me. As easy as raising my hand or the blink of an eye, almost instinctual. 

"If you were smart, you'd heed my words."

With that, Dominique returned into the deep with a somersault underwater that would have made competitive swimmers jealous. Which just let me treading open water there for a moment. And then, as she suggested, at least for the short-term, I returned to the land.

At the house, Lena was waiting for me in ambush. She sat at the kitchen counter next to her best friend, Tess, both of them holding boba to-go cups with the big colorful plastic straws. 

"Oh, hey Tess, hey Lena." I nodded at both of them as I headed for the fridge to find leftovers or maybe sandwich ingredients. I was exhausted after the swim and wanted something warm, something to relieve the feeling of something sunken within my bones. 

"Hey, Mika." Tess grinned as she tugged on the edges of her tie-dyed bucket hat. 

Where Lena was glamorous, Tess was more relaxed. She wore pastel tourist shirts she picked up off the stores scattered along the shoreline, complimentary short-shorts that Mom referred to as "Daisy Dukes" and a pair of flip-flops, her auburn hair tied into loose braids that framed her narrow tanned face. 

Their personalities were just as different too. Where Lena was daring and bold and high-strung, Tess was more laid-back and easygoing. Both of them got along where it mattered, and for them that was flirting with boys and finding fun things to do in downtown Wilmington. 

"Stopping by here before heading back out?" I continued as I found the sandwich bread and pulled it out of the fridge.

At this, Tess and Lena exchanged a look and giggled. 

"Of sorts," Lena answered ominously. 

I decided to put the sandwich bread back. "What do you mean?"

"We're going to get ready for a beach bonfire at sunset," Tess said. 

"And you're coming with us!" Lena added, her dark eyes glimmering. 

"Oh, no, I'm okay, really—"

"Come on, Mika, you told me how much you wanted a summer romance and to do that you have to do things, you have to go places." Her eyes went wide, her bottom lip threatened to pout. "I really am sorry about the yacht party, but this won't be like that, I promise."

I hesitated. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely, they're just some of our friends here along Wrighstivlle." Tess leaned back in her chair. "Others in our class who just graduated and want to have some fun before orientations and other boring college stuff pulls us all away."

I considered this. "Fine."

Lena clapped her hands together. "You won't regret this, promise!"

By the time the first hint of sunset rolled around, the three of us left the house looking significantly more dolled-up. Even Tess was wearing makeup and borrowing one of Lena's dresses for the occasion. This time, I went for a shimmery turquoise blue dress with spaghetti straps, a halter neck, and flared at the hips in layers of mesh with glittery blue platform sandals and cream-colored flower clips among my loose curls. Maybe a little fancy for the venue—but Lena assured me that there was no such thing, with all her golden jewelry and dramatic purple dress with the low neckline that highlighted her tan she'd been working on.

We arrived at the access point to see the embers of a bonfire beginning at the center of the beach and some of the former seniors from our high school gathered around it. There were even some faces I recognized among them, one of which I admit surprised me.

"I didn't know Max was coming!" I noticed him at the edge of the group as he had his journal out. He was scribbling down something furiously, so deep in concentration that he seemed to be unaware of the party happening around him.

"Mom told me about your little rendezvous." Lena wiggled her shoulders and Tess laughed, covering her mouth with her hand. 

I felt my face heat up, as if I were standing right by the heart of the fire. "It wasn't like that! He's a friend, that's all."

"Oh, Mika," Tess sighed, although she couldn't wipe the grin off of her face. "No wonder you haven't ever had a boyfriend yet."

I didn't trust myself to speak. It was cruel, to drag Max into this just because they had ideas of what we should be. 

"I'm going to go get a soda," I managed to say in a cool tone before I stormed away. 

I found the drinks cooler and avoided Max, not that it was hard with how hyper-focused he was on something or another to do with his journal. The last thing he needed was for me to rub it in his face that he'd been invited under false pretenses. After all, knowing my sister, if it didn't amuse her she wouldn't have done it at all. She'd never liked Max, and the dislike had intensified to disgust when he became obsessed with mermaids. 

Already, I was beginning to regret coming. 

I searched the faces in the crowd—most of them were familiar, even if I couldn't put a name to the face. Already Tess and Lena were in the thick of it, twirling their hair and making sparkly eyes at the boys they were talking to. But there were a few faces that were new to me. 

One drew my eye almost immediately. He had dark hair and a pale face, with wide-set, ethereal features that were more feminine than you usually saw on a guy, but with a sharp jawline and a stronger nose that counter-balanced the whole thing. The way he moved was like a dancer, or like he was perpetually underwater.

There was something familiar about him, too, I decided the longer I watched him. But I couldn't recall where I'd seen him before. 

Then his eyes locked onto mine—the prettiest eyes I'd ever seen. They almost glowed aquamarine, the same color as the ocean in the height of the day. They left me breathless—so much so that I didn't realize at first that he'd started walking, that he was getting closer.

Other partygoers unconsciously parted for him, the sheer aura rolling off of him was enough for them to move. 

I'd been staring too long, I'd been rude. I turned away, to make my escape, maybe go home early, when I heard him speak.

"Wait, don't go—"

I whirled around to find myself face-to-face with him. He was staring back at me with those aquamarine eyes, leaning forward slightly. There was an earnestness to him, the kind that left me transfixed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." He had a soft, gentle voice that flowed like a brook over stone, with clipped consonants and refined vowels. He sounded almost like a prince when he spoke out of a fairytale movie. "I couldn't help but notice you."

I laughed, more of a nervous titter than anything else. "That's okay—I was being rude, I was staring—"

I stopped myself before I could ramble and straightened my posture, then tilted my head. "Have we met before?"

"I don't think so." He glanced away and shoved his hands into the pockets of his dark blue swim trunks. "I don't live around here. But I noticed there was a party and I couldn't resist."

"You like parties, then?" I crossed one arm over my chest. 

He shrugged—a small blush showed easily on his pale face. "I like watching the people at them. Humans are fascinating."

"That we are," I couldn't help but agree as we both looked over the party-goers. Lena somehow now had a sea of boys surrounding her, watching her with adoring eyes as she chattered with all of them. I couldn't help but feel a small pang of envy. I didn't know how to command a crowd like that, to have so many watching her.

I glanced back at the boy, only to be startled at realizing he was watching me with those beautiful aquamarine eyes.

"You said you don't live around here." I rummaged around my brain for what sufficed for good conversation. "Where are you from?"

"Not too far." Mischief gleamed in his eyes. "Here and there."

"A man of mystery, I see." I looked him up and down. "You must be a high school senior, or close to it?"

He blinked and tilted his head, quiet for a moment before he formed the words. "Are you trying to ask about my age?"

"More or less." I looked to my shoes, hoping it would hide my face turning red.

He visibly relaxed. "I'm seventeen, you?"

He was pretty much my age! "Sixteen." 

I had a new question now though. I looked back up. "Are you home-schooled, then?"

"More or less," he echoed, that mischievous gleam returned. 

I laughed. "Fine then, I won't ask you about that."

I glanced around for more ideas, when I caught the water. "Do you swim?"

"All the time," he answered solemnly. "One could say I've been swimming for my entire life."

"My mom says the same thing about me." I took a sip of my Pepsi. "Says she didn't even really have to teach me, just threw me in the water and that was that."

"I think my mother would describe it the same way." The way his lips turned up as he said it, there seemed to be a withheld punchline, and yet I laughed all the same.

"Do you surf?" I asked. "I've been learning lately, but I'm terrible at it—I wipe out all the time."

He frowned, more out of confusion than upset from what I could tell. His features were startlingly expressive, so open and earnest. There was something innately charming about it, maybe because he didn't seem to have a single mean bone in his body in the way he reacted to things. 

"Surf?" He tested the word carefully. 

"You haven't been surfing?" I grinned. "Dude, I'll have to teach you sometime, I totally should've brought my board out!"

"I'll have to come back then." He tilted his head, visibly pondering it. "What's your name, by the way, I didn't catch it."

"I didn't catch yours either, mystery man." I stuck my tongue out. "My name is Mika, by the way."

"I'm—"

"Getting going, I'm sure."

I whirled around to see that Max had gotten up behind me without me knowing. "Where did you come from?"
"I hadn't realized you were here." He wasn't looking at me—in fact, he was glaring straight at the boy he was talking to. "Who's this guy?"

"My new friend, his name is—" I faltered. "Sorry, I didn't catch it again, that's my bad."

"It's okay." He raised his hands in surrender as he stepped back. "Your friend is right, I should be leaving."
He paused. "I hope to see you again."

"Me too, I'll keep an eye out for you!" I waved as he walked down the beach, until Max placed a hand on my shoulder.

"What is up with you?" I wrenched myself free. "You were being a jerk!"

"Am I?" He crossed his arms over his chest. "I only came to this stupid party because your sister—"

He stopped, turning red in the face. "I'm so stupid."

"Look, I'm sorry about whatever Lena told you, she and my mom are being so weird nowadays." I really didn't want him to feel bad. "But we can hang out now, if you want to."

"No, it's okay," he said in the kind of tone of voice that said he really wasn't. "I've got a shift tomorrow anyway. You should meet me when I'm on my break, we can talk then."

With that, he stormed away, leaving me standing alone on the beach and wondering what had just happened. As the sun sank lower into the sky, it seemed a pity that the night felt already ruined by the strangeness of two boys.