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I stared back at Angelica in disbelief. “But we can’t even die. What difference would it make if Phorcys and Ceto started a war with us?”
“You’re correct in thinking that we can’t technically die,” Angelica agreed. “But Phorcys and Ceto are planning to do something far worse to us than kill us. When he came to visit us, he showed us what these monsters they’re creating are capable of doing.”
When she didn’t say anything further, I asked, “What was it?”
Angelica bit her lip. She looked like she was struggling to find the right words to say. Before she could answer me at all, Scarlett explained, “One of his monster children turned me into stone. After a few moments, he turned me back.”
“They’re very powerful,” Gabby added. “They can turn us into stone and back to human—well, siren—form, whenever they feel like it. It was so scary to watch when they did it to Scarlett.”
“And painful. For months after it happened, my entire body felt like what I’d imagine a bad Botox reaction to feel like.” Scarlett shuddered at the memory.
“So, they’re planning on turning us all into stone if we don’t agree to what they want?” I asked. My head was beginning to hurt with all of the new information that I had learned tonight.
“Yes. What they will do after that, we don’t know. They could be planning to shatter us all to pieces,” Angelica replied. “I’ve never heard of such a thing happening before, but my best guess is that it would cause our deaths. But that would be the more merciful than leaving us as stone creatures—it seems more their style to leave us rooted in the ground, unable to move or speak, for the rest of eternity.”
Just thinking about the possibility that I could be stone forever made me feel sick to my stomach. “So, that’s why Jasmine doesn’t like me? Because we might get turned to stone since I was changed?”
“It could be the end for us—and for the rest of the sirens in the world. And, ultimately, it’s Jasmine’s fault. She is the one who changed you. The truth is, she should probably be mad at Scarlett if she’s going to be mad at anyone. If it weren’t for Scar, Jasmine probably wouldn’t have turned you at all. She would have just allowed you to drown,” Angelica explained.
“She just feels guilty,” Gabby explained. “She’ll get over it and get used to you in time. She has to. You’re our sister now. We’re all in this together—war or no war.”
“No, that’s where you’re wrong,” a voice from behind us said. I turned around to find Jasmine standing in front of the French doors that led to the patio. She came closer to us, her flip flops squeaking against the wet pavement. “I’m not gonna just let this go. I don’t like that ungrateful bitch, and I probably never will. Not for the next decade, at least.” Without saying another word, Jasmine turned on her heel and stormed into the house.
“She’s lying,” Scarlett said quietly. “She doesn’t like you right now, but she’ll get used to you. She has to, really. You’re going to be living here soon.”
“Umm, about that . . . I don’t think I’m ready to live here,” I admitted.
“Why ever not?” Angelica asked politely, but I could see that her eyes had glazed over with what looked like sadness.
“I’m just not ready for my life to change that drastically. I’m a sophomore in high school. I was planning to go off to college in a few more years. I guess now I’ll have to find a school that’s closer to the beach, but I still want to get an education. I want to keep my life as normal as I can.”
“I see,” Angelica said, turning over to float on her back, her blonde hair sprawling out in the water around her. “I do agree that it’s important for you to get an education. Otherwise, you’ll be lost in this world. It’s important for you to find your place. Jasmine went to college, you know. She studied art.” From the tone in her voice, I could tell that she didn’t approve of the major that Jasmine had chosen.
“So, it’s okay for me to go to school, then?” I asked, ignoring the reference to Jasmine. As much as I didn’t hate what I’d become (yet), I really didn’t want to miss out on the college experience.
“As long as you promise not to be a party girl,” Angelica replied. “At least, not until we see how you respond to alcohol.”
“What does alcohol have to do with anything?”
“Alcohol has a huge effect on our moods—an even greater effect than it has on humans. If it makes you feel depressed or angry, it might trigger you to lure someone. It’s best to just stay away from it whenever you can.” Angelica smiled. “I’m sure you’ll have no problem with this, though. If anything, it will just help you to be more successful with your studies. After college, we hope that you will come to live with us.”
I let out a loud sigh. “I don’t even know how Gram will handle it.” I paused and glanced over at Scarlett, who didn’t make eye contact with me. “I’m the only family she has. It would mean that I’d be leaving her all by herself.”
“But weren’t you planning to do that anyway?” Angelica questioned. “Once you were finished with college, you weren’t going to go back home and live with her, were you?”
I shrugged. “It’s hard to tell what the future will bring. It would have been nice to have my own place, but who knows if I would have found a job right after college.”
“There’s only so long you can hide this from your grandmother, Felicia,” Angelica said, her voice taking on its soothing tone, which calmed my nerves a little. “You’re an immortal now. You will never age past eighteen. Eventually, your grandmother will have realized that. It will be easier to just cut ties with her now before you’re any more attached than you already are.” With that, she kicked off the steps and climbed out of the pool. She didn’t leave a trail of water behind.
*
After we all got out of the pool, Scarlett walked me home. It was a long walk and, even though there was still plenty of catching up to do, we were quiet most of the way.
When we reached the boardwalk, I turned to her and asked, “What am I supposed to tell Gram? When I start visiting you guys at the house more often, she’s going to begin to suspect something.”
“Just lie,” Scarlett replied. “Tell her that you’re hanging out with your new friend, Gabrielle. In fact, we could even arrange to have Gabby meet her. Gram won’t even question it because Gabby is so nice.”
“That’s a good idea,” I replied. “We’ll go with that. But . . .” I trailed off, knowing that what I was about to say would open a can of worms. “Don’t you ever wonder about Gram? And Mom? Don’t you want to see them and let them know that you’re still alive?”
Scarlett glanced down at the ground and kicked up sand with her flip flop. “Of course I want to.” She turned to me, a look of hurt flashing through her tear-flooded green eyes. “I think about it every day, Felly! I want so badly to tell them that I’m fine and alive and that they don’t have to worry, but how can I? How can I say that what you see right now is what you’ll see forever? Because I’m always going to look like this. I’m never going to grow older, and it’s not easy for humans to understand that. It’s not always easy for me to understand that. You’d think that being able to live forever would be such a wonderful thing, but quite frankly, it sucks.”
“That part does suck,” I agreed. “There’s a difference between you and me, though. You could live without seeing Mom or Gram again. But I can’t do that. At least, not without seeing Gram. She’s done so much for me since you left. I can’t just lie to her and never speak to her again.”
Scarlett didn’t say anything. Instead, she pointed her chin over her shoulder. “I miss the smell of those nuts,” she said, and I realized she was talking about the boardwalk shop that sold sugar-coated pecans. For the first time since I’d found out I was a siren, I realized I didn’t notice their scent, either.
“I miss the smell of the beach and the flavor of orange Gatorade. I miss so many things about being human,” Scarlett continued. “But the thing is, I only miss them when I really think about them. But I do miss Mom . . . and Gram. And I missed you, too. All the time.” She turned to me. “I understand why you don’t want to hurt Gram, Felly. This has to be hard for you, and unlike me, you actually have a choice. You don’t have to cut her out of your life.”
“What do you mean?” I asked. “Angelica didn’t let you make the decision on your own?”
Scarlett shook her head. “No, she told me I couldn’t see my family. I mean, I had the body of a teenager overnight. I agree now that it would have freaked everyone out. You guys might not have even believed me. But even more recently, she still didn’t want me to go back home.” She paused, as though she were considering it. “I think she was afraid that I would choose my blood family over my siren family.”
Just hearing my sister admit this to me made me resent Angelica. If it hadn’t been for her, I wouldn’t have blamed myself for Scarlett’s death all these years. We would have been reunited long before now, since she had wanted to come back to us, too.
“Why haven’t I seen you around?” I asked. “I mean, not until recently. Shouldn’t I have seen you before now?”
Scarlett glanced at the ground. “You passed by me once. It only happened once. I was on the boardwalk, and you were with Gram getting a cotton candy. You didn’t see me, but you were only eleven at the time. Even if you had seen me, you probably wouldn’t have put two and two together because of how much older I looked. ” She paused. “After the day we saw you on the boardwalk, Angelica moved us to Seaport for a while, but we recently moved back to her house in Ocean Grove. I was sort of surprised when you did recognize me that night on the boardwalk. I think we all assumed you would have forgotten about me by now or that you’d still never recognize me even if you did see me.” Seaport was a beach town about two hours away from Ocean Grove.
“I wish I could tell Gram you were still alive,” I admitted. “I hate keeping this secret from her.”
“Well, you can’t,” Scarlett said, her light green eyes flitting over at me. “Promise me that you won’t say anything, Felly.”
“I don’t like it, but I promise.” I sighed. As we approached the street that led to Gram’s, I said, “I guess I should go home now, then. I’ll see you soon, I guess.”
Scarlett nodded. “I’ll call you tomorrow,” she said, before turning and walking away, leaving me alone on the dimly lit street.
As I began walking up the driveway that led to Gram’s house, a figure stepped out of the shadows. “I’ve been waiting for you,” a male’s voice said.