Chapter 1

A siren's tears turn to gemstones.

Mine were funding my boyfriend's entire career—but ordinary stones weren't enough anymore.

Deep-sea sapphires. That's what he was after.

So he brought a whip.

"Almost there, babe. Cry for me and it's over."

"Once I'm in, I'll marry you."

My vision blurred with tears—then something else flooded in.

Bright, scrolling, impossible words:

[LOL, by the time he gets his Council seat, he'll have wrung her dry and married the Arcane Princess instead.]

[Sandra, check out the vampire prince next door—he heard you screaming and thinks you two are having sex. He's crying under his blankets right now.]

[When you're literally dying in the finale, the prince is the one who carries you to the Eastern Sea. That's the only reason you survive.]

[Oh, and the prince is a purebred incubus hybrid. Eight-pack abs. Naturally compatible with desire-driven sirens. Stop suffering for this loser and go live your best life!]

My eyes lit up. I kicked the man in front of me straight into the wall.

Hopped next door, pushed open the door: "Kaelen, I hear you've got a nice body—prove it?"

......

I'm a siren—water reveals my true form, and only my family and my boyfriend Dorian knew.

He'd lure me into the apartment's enchanted water array, coax out my shift, then make me cry.

Siren tears harden into gemstones the instant they fall. Every one of mine ended up on the black market, bankrolling his spell gear, his connections, his whole lifestyle.

I loved him, so none of it mattered.

Recently he'd learned that tears shed in extreme pain crystallize into deep-sea sapphires—and unlike ordinary tear-stones worth a few gold coins, a single sapphire could buy a seat at the High Council of Magic.

Every apprentice at Nightfall University would kill for that.

He said tonight was the last time. After I cried, he'd take me to the academy ball and introduce me to everyone. Our relationship would finally be public.

Same as always, I figured. Shed a couple tears and we're done.

Then he walked into the bathroom holding an enchanted metal lash.

"Sandra, just cry. Cry and it'll be over."

The lash was threaded with pale gold spell-lines. It struck my skin and detonated into a burst of steam, followed instantly by a searing burn.

"Dorian... stop. Please. It really hurts."

He didn't stop.

There was no tenderness in his eyes. Only calculation and greed. He kept swinging and talking at the same time.

"Deep-sea sapphires are worth a fortune. With one, I'll have my Council ticket."

"Once I'm on the Council, I'll marry you. You'll never have to worry about your low-born status again."

I clenched my teeth and tried to force the tears out.

The faster I cried, the faster it would end.

The moment the sting surged to the rim of my eyes, just about to spill over—

A glowing screen detonated inside my skull.

Lines of text scrolled across it:

[LMAO nobody gaslights harder than Dorian. By the time he gets his Council seat, Sandra's tears are bone-dry and he marries the Arcane Princess.]

[He and the princess have been hooking up behind the scenes this whole time. Sandra's the only one who doesn't know she's just an ATM.]

[Ugh, scumbag! A girl this gorgeous and he grinds her down to a corpse. All so he can bankroll his glorious career.]

I stared at the words. My brain went blank.

What?

I was just Dorian's tool? He never actually loved me?

But we grew up together. He was the closest person I had on land.

He said we'd be together after graduation. That he'd marry me once he made the Council.

How could—

The screen kept scrolling:

[Sandra, look at the vampire prince in the room next door—he heard your screams and thinks you two are having sex. He's under his covers sobbing right now.]

[Girl, when you're on death's door in the finale, Dorian doesn't lift a finger. It's the prince who carries you all the way to the Eastern Sea a thousand miles away. That's the only reason you survive.]

[After the prince finds out what Dorian's been doing, he locks him in a water dungeon and pays back every ounce of your pain a hundredfold. Tortures him to death.]

[Oh, and the prince is a purebred incubus hybrid. Eight-pack abs. Naturally compatible with desire-driven sirens. Stop taking this crap from the trash man and set yourself free!]

Eight-pack abs?

Purebred incubus?

My eyes lit up.

I looked at Dorian—arm raised, lash cocked back, ready to swing again—and thought about the ending the screen had shown me.

The rage hit the ceiling of my skull in one clean spike.

Being kind by nature doesn't mean you get to keep hurting me.

Deep-sea hydraulic magic flooded the bathroom in an instant.

The water array was his to begin with. Now every drop answered to me.

Dorian's eyes went wide. His lips moved but nothing came out.

I swept my leg through him and he flew out of the bathroom like a rag doll, spine cracking against the hallway door frame. Out cold.

The enchanted lash clattered to the floor.

I looked down at Dorian crumpled on the ground. I felt surprisingly calm.

I never had to force myself to cry again.

The screen flickered with new text:

[Navigation: room next door. Safety rating—HIGH. Danger rating—ALSO HIGH. Proceed?]

Next door was Kaelen Austin.

The most feared student at Nightfall University. Purebred vampire prince.

He and Dorian were cousins. Family arrangement had them sharing the same apartment. I'd seen Kaelen a few times around campus—apex-predator aura, cold, dangerous. Everyone gave him a wide berth.

Dorian had warned me too. Stay away from him. The guy's vicious to the core.

So I kept my distance.

But every time I passed him in the hallway, my knees went weak for no reason, like an invisible tide had grabbed hold of me.

The screen was still flashing:

[Go go go go! Confirm whether I'm telling the truth! And check out the abs while you're at it!]

I shook out my still-dripping hair. The lash welts burned hot across my arms, not yet faded.

Screw it.

I bounced to the door next over and knocked.

It wasn't locked. One push and it swung open.

"Kaelen—I hear you've got a nice body."

I tilted my head. "Prove it?"

The room was dim. The vampire prince that legends called brutal and cold-blooded was curled up under his blankets, shoulders trembling.

He was crying.

I froze in the doorway.