After a quick check of her surroundings, Adelaide dashed out after Seymour. He was already out of sight when she reached the fence. With a bit more timidity than she liked, she pushed against a section of the barbwire barrier. A thin slit in the metal revealed itself, invisible when she pulled her hand away.

Heat skipping a beat, Adelaide shoved harder, the wire biting into her flesh as she widened the gap. Her hair caught as she ducked through, and with a stifled yelp she jerked her head free and ran the direction Seymour had gone.

She'd lived all her life in darkness, and now she was free. Her eyes scanned the beach, searching for the water. She could hear it slapping against the sand, tears filling her eyes as the song sang ever clearer in her heart.

Come to the water, let your heart be free.

Forcing herself forward, Adelaide struggled through the uneven sand, her legs unused to the constantly changing landscape. She sensed more than saw the deep drop up ahead, her focus fixated on not tumbling down over it. The sound of the ocean roared louder, and Adelaide fumbled a step, knocking her feet out from under her. She fell face first into the sandy bank, hitting the ground hard. The force punched the air from her lungs with an echoing "oof."

"What was that?" a voice hissed. Adelaide fought to suck in air as she belly crawled closer to the edge of the slope. Below her, she saw Seymour speaking with a man, the water licking at the stranger's heels.

Thankful that she didn't have enough air to squeal, Adelaide squashed herself lower to the earth, eyes wide as she watched the ocean ebb and flow, inviting her to join it.

"Nothing. No one comes beyond this point." Seymour folded his arms, his shoulders tense. "They saw her. You said you would fix this."

"And maybe I will." The stranger inspected his hands, nonplussed by Seymour's dominant stature and the blade at his side.

At first, Adelaide had thought him an UnKept, his clothes merely tattered rags like theirs. But the longer she studied him, the more her hair stood up on end. His hair, blacker than the darkest night, fell about his shoulders in wet curls, almost hiding his pointed chin and sharp nose.

A rat. He looks like a wet rat. Adelaide inched closer, trying to see his face. Eyes so icy they were almost clear scanned the area, searching for a threat even as he relaxed his mouth in disinterest. His high cheekbones only added to his strangeness, yet she couldn't take her eyes off him.

Where Seymour's skin helped him disappear during night raids, the stranger stood out like a beacon, almost glowing. Still, despite his strange, otherworldly appearance, Adelaide wanted to be near him, to know him, to hear him speak and learn his secrets.

"I did what you asked," Seymour said. "She's safe. But there's something wrong. Now that they've seen –"

"It's not for you to decide what's best for her. Do what I've asked or suffer the consequences." There was an echo to the stranger's voice, as though it came from somewhere far off, yet present all at once.

"Pheron, I'm not playing these games. I'm not doing more – I've done enough. If you don't hold up your end of the bargain, I'm not going to hold up mine. I'll tell her everything."

Pheron's raven brows arched as he straightened his shoulders. "Are you threatening me? You know how that will end."

"Her life is worth more to me than my own." Seymour squared off as well, and though bigger than Pheron, fear filled Adelaide's belly.

"Wait!" She scrambled down the sloping sand dune, falling twice as she scampered to stand in front of Seymour, her arms out to block him from Pheron. "Don't hurt him. Whatever you want him to do, we'll do it. I'll do it."

"Adelaide!" Seymour hissed, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her back to his side.

Meeting Pheron's gaze sent mingled excitement and dread through her, and she fought the shaking of her limbs as he considered her.

"You've grown," he said, sizing her up. "Quite lovely. How delightful."

An icy chill snaked down her spine at his change of tone. She felt exposed, naked before him. "Who are you? What do you want?"

"I am Pheron SeaKeep –"

"Not your name," Adelaide spat. "I know that already."

Pheron arched a brow yet again, his gaze flickering to Seymour. "She's been touched by the sun."

"It couldn't be helped."

"I asked you a question." Adelaide squared her shoulders the way both men had, glaring up at Pheron even as her knees shook.

Pheron let out a soft chuckle, reaching out a hand and caressing her cheek. Seymour slapped his hand away, shifting Adelaide behind him.

"Down, boy," Pheron whispered to Seymour, laughter brightening his eyes. "I wouldn't hurt her." He shifted his attention to Adelaide. "It's not who I am. It's what I am. That's what you really want to know, isn't it? What you are?"

Adelaide didn't say anything, thrown off balance by his insinuation. Pheron noticed her discomfort, tilted his head back, and laughed anew – brash, but without humor.

"Surely you've wondered – wondered why you hear the song. Do you hear it now?" Pheron tilted his head, humming the notes to match those pounding in Adelaide's own heart. "It calls to you. It calls us all. Some of us are just better at ignoring it."

"What are you talking about?" Adelaide asked, tugging away from Seymour and stepping out from behind him. "What's the song mean?"

"Why tell you when I can show you?" Pheron took a step back, the water rising up to his calves.

Adelaide watched in awe as the ocean climbed up Pheron's legs, wrapping around him, enveloping him in a soggy hug. His body changed, the rags attaching to his skin, transforming into scales as they wrapped around him. A long, finned tail grew over his legs, the scales – a shimmering black – stretching around his waist, thinning as they climbed his torso. His translucent skin glowed brighter in the moonlight as though fueled by the water's embrace.

Throwing out his arm, Pheron spread the water wide, and it followed his every command.

"Do you see, Adelaide?" Pheron asked, his eyes now almost white in his true form. "Do you see what we are? The power we have?"

Only one word mattered.

"We?"

"You haven't guessed?" Pheron asked, and the water surged forward, drawing him nearer. Adelaide and Seymour instinctively stepped back, which only pleased Pheron more. "Have a taste."

With a jerk of his hand, a ball of water broke away from the rest, hitting Adelaide in the face, dribbling down her chest. She spluttered wiping the water away from her mouth. When she pulled her hand away, the faintest iridescent scales glimmered in the moonlight.

Gasping, Adelaide glanced down, pulling her tunic up to show similar scales visible on her abdomen. Pheron laughed anew.

"Do you see? Do you see what you are? What you've always been?"

Adelaide rounded on Seymour. "Did you know about this? Did you know and not tell me?"

"Ads, please." Seymour reached out to her, but she pulled away, turning to face Pheron, whose mouth twisted in a gloating smirk.

"Why? Why am I here? What does this mean?"

Pheron cocked his head. "There's a war going on beneath the waters, one which made it imperative to have you on land to save your own life. But now, your life is in danger again. The – what is it you call them? – the UnKept."

Beside her, Seymour tensed, but Adelaide kept her eyes on Pheron.

"What do those cannibals have to do with you?"

"Cannibals?" Pheron's eyes widened in genuine surprise. "They eat their own kind?" His mouth twisted in disgust. "I should have known. Now they want to come after you. But there's a way to stop them, and that's why I'm here."

"Pheron –" Seymour began, but the merman cut him off.

"In exchange for keeping you safe, I have given Seymour sanctuary against my kind. But that cannot last now that they draw so near. There's a way to stop them – and by stopping them, you would also be helping me stop my own war. There's a connection. One I wish to break."

"How?"

Pheron's eyes glittered with delight. "If you bring me the second in command – the son of the leader, a young man named Ro – I can make it all stop. I need to speak with him, to bridge gap. In doing so, I can make them go away. The humans will be safe."

"What?" Seymour snapped, glaring up at Pheron. "That's not—"

"It's what I'm here for," Pheron said, cutting Seymour off.

"You just...want to talk to him?" Adelaide asked, squinting up at Pheron. "Nothing else?"

Pheron shook his head. "A few words, an understanding. With Ro's help I can change the course of your world and mine."

"What about me?" Adelaide asked, her whole body shaking. "What happens to me when they're gone?"

"You may return to the water, or stay on land. Either way, if you do this, I will tell you everything you want to know about who and what you are."

"I'll do it." Adelaide said, eyes blazing as she stared up at Pheron. "Just tell me when and where."

(word count 1583)