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"I ... wait. Scylla? As in Scylla, the sea monster? Six mouths? Liked to eat sailors? I thought that was a myth."

"No," said Rusalka, shaking her head so that her long hair danced. "Not a myth. But our Scylla is perfectly lovely." Her white, translucent face quirked in a smile. "Our Scylla possesses one mouth only, and does not dine on sailors. It is her ancestor who was turned into a monster. And to be fair, that Scylla was a great beauty, before her unfortunate transformation."

"Never mind all that ancient history," said Lorelei. "As I was saying, for a time we believed Nix might want to mate with Scylla. He invited her to the Gifting of the Cloaks last spring, and he sometimes dined with her family. But Scylla says—" She lowered her voice. "His eyes were never alight with love in her presence. She could see no future in them."

Lena caught her breath. I see love and light in Nix's eyes, she thought. And the more I look, the more I see the future.

"But everyone notices how he seeks you out, and looks at you with intense desire. Do you think it is the legs?"

Lena glared. "It's not my legs!"

Lorelei looked surprised. "No? They're very clever." She reached down and touched Lena's kneecaps. "Especially these hard, bony parts. So unexpected."

"Why do you not remove your cloak?" asked Halia. "You have been here ages, and yet you still wear it."

"I want to remove it," said Lena. "But I need it to survive down here."

"Oh," said Lorelei, looking sympathetic. "Did Auntie Lu not explain? When your heart tells you true, it will be safe to take off the cloak. Then you will breathe like the rest of us."

"She told me," said Lena. "But how will I know for sure?"

"I just told you. Your heart will tell you true."

Lena rolled her eyes. What did that mean?

Wata touched her arm. "You must not feel uncertainty. Do not remove the cloak if you do." Her expression was worried.

"I won't," said Lena. She shifted under its weight. "Although I want to take it off! It feels so heavy now."

"Ah." Lorelei looked relieved. "That is the beginning."

The other mermaids nodded.

"The beginning of what?" asked Lena.

All four mermaids chorused together:

"When the weight of fathoms presses down on you,

The moment for doffing the cloak is due."

Lena laughed. "Does everything have a song?"

"Of course," said Rusalka. "How else does one remember things?"

Lena noticed that Halia was staring at her legs. "Um, did you want to touch them?"

The mermaid startled, then tried to pretend indifference. "I do not envy you your clumsy legs." But her avid gaze said otherwise.

Lena shrugged. "They're only clumsy down here."

"Well, since you offer," said Halia, and she stretched out a hand quickly, feeling the muscles and sinews of Lena's leg. Then she grasped Lena's foot, examining it with the scrutiny of a scientist. After a long moment, she said to Lorelei, "They are clever, aren't they? So much stronger than they look. And so very many bones! It would be a shame to give them up."

"Give them up?" said Lena. "What are you talking about?"

"Won't you ask for a tail?" said Halia.

Lena just stared.

"Halia," said Lorelei. "I do not think—"

"Surely you intend to transform," persisted the mermaid.

"Halia! You speak nonsense." This time it was Wata who chided Halia. She said to Lena, "It is a myth. We do not know of any humans getting tails."

"But—" said Lena. "Up until a few weeks ago, I would have said that mermaids were a myth."

The mermaids shifted uneasily.

"I spoke hastily," said Halia. "Pay no mind." But her amber eyes held a sly light.

"How does someone ask for a tail?" said Lena. " Who does one ask?"

But the mermaids were drifting away from her.

"I believe I hear my mother calling," said Rusalka.

The others nodded, as if a chorus of mothers had begun clamoring for them. And they fled.

***

Brian woke up on the beach.

He jerked upright, scanning the waves with eyes that peered out of a sunburned face. What if she'd come back while he was sleeping? But the surface of the sea remained empty. For the first time