“So what is the blood of a mortal?” Gemma asked. “Is that like tears?”

“No, that’s blood.” Penn looked at her like she was a moron. “It was Aglaope’s blood and human blood.”

“I drank blood?” Gemma’s stomach clenched, and she put her hand on her belly. “You tricked me into drinking blood? What kind of freaky monster are you?”

“It’s called a siren, remember?” Penn rolled her eyes. “You are so much dumber than I thought. Maybe I made a mistake with you. Maybe you’re right, and I should let you just go ahead and die.”

“Who’s blood?” Gemma asked, doing her best not to gag.

“Aglaope’s. I already told you that.”

“No, the human blood.”

“Oh, does it even matter?” Penn shrugged. “It was some human.”

“How did you get it?” Gemma asked.

“This is so tedious.” Penn stared up at the sky and shook her head. “I hate turning new sirens. Especially thankless ones like you. This is a waste of my time.”

“If you hate it so much, then why did you do it?” Gemma asked.

“I didn’t have a choice. We have to have four.”

Gemma couldn’t take it anymore, and she bent over and started to dry-heave. The thought of drinking blood, together with everything else Penn had been telling her, was too much to handle, not to mention the migraine she was getting from resisting the watersong.

“Oh, my God.” Penn sighed, watching Gemma cough and gag. “You already digested the blood, hence the whole siren thing. What do you think you’re throwing up?”

“I’m not trying to throw up anything. Just the thought of being like you is making me sick.” Gemma stood up straight and wiped her mouth.

Penn narrowed her eyes at her. “You are such a mistake.”

“Then tell me how to get out of this! Tell me what to do to change back!”

“I already told you!” Penn growled. “You have to die! That’s it! And if you don’t stop being such an ungrateful bitch, I’ll be happy to put you out of your misery!”

With frustrated tears in her eyes, Gemma shook her head. She pushed her hair back from her forehead and stared out at the ocean. Thea and Lexi’s heads occasionally bobbed out of the water as they swam around.

“So then tell me how to live with this.” Gemma took a deep breath and looked back at Penn. “You need a fourth, and I don’t want to die. So tell me what I need to do.”

“First, drop the attitude. Then you leave here and come with us. We’ll show you what you need to do.”

“Why do I have to leave?” Gemma asked.

“It’s better if we don’t stay in one place for too long. Things tend to get messy.”

“What about my family? And Alex?”

“We’re your family now,” Penn told her, and her voice bordered on something that resembled kindness. “And Alex doesn’t love you, and he never will.”

“But…” A tear spilled down Gemma’s cheek, and she wiped it away.

“It’s not his fault, and it’s not your fault. He can’t, Gemma. It’s not possible for a mortal to love a siren. I’m sorry.” Penn let out a long breath. “But the thing is, when you live long enough, and you see enough things, you realize that it’s impossible for mortal men to really love anyone. Knowing this will save you heartbreak.”

“How can I believe you?” Gemma asked. “You tricked me and forced me into this. How do I know anything you say is true?”

“You don’t,” Penn admitted with a shrug of her shoulders. “But who else are you going to believe? Who else knows anything about being a siren?”

Gemma realized bitterly that Penn was right. For better or worse, she’d been put in a situation where she didn’t have a lot of options. This hadn’t been her choice. This wasn’t what she wanted. But she had to make the best of it. She could still do the right thing, even if Penn had backed her into a corner.

A commotion in the nearby cypress trees distracted both of them. Urgent voices echoed through the bay, along with the static sound of a radio. It was far enough away that Gemma couldn’t see a lot, but she could see movement and blue uniforms, like those of the police.

“What’s going on?” Thea called, drawn closer to the shore by the noise in the woods.

“Are those the police?” Lexi asked, floating next to Thea.

“We should go,” Penn snapped and walked toward the ocean. “You should come with us, Gemma.”

“Um…” Gemma pulled her eyes away from what was happening in the woods and looked back to where Penn had stopped at the edge of the water. “No. At least, not yet.”

Penn pursed her lips. “Suit yourself. But we’ll only be here a few more days. Then we’re gone.”

“Come on, Penn,” Thea called to her, swimming away from the shore. “We need to get out of here.”

“’Bye, Gemma!” Lexi waved to her.

“’Bye.” Gemma waved back, but Lexi had already ducked under the water.

Gemma watched as Penn waded out into the water. She stopped when it was just about to her waist, and Gemma could see her tan skin changing to iridescent scales glittering up over her hips.

“For what it’s worth, I was telling the truth,” Penn said, then she dove in the water and swam off.