Henri was relieved when the fighting was finally over. Before their peace with the sirens might've been shaky, but now it was non existent. They had crossed a line, gone way past it, and he felt justified (if not just a little bit guilty) about the few sirens who had died. A couple of his men had too, but unfortunately that was the cost. Many had been wounded on both sides, as if their fight had been an actual war and not an ambush. He was glad the girl's distraction had worked though, he hadn't been sure.

Karis, he realized.

He scanned the area for her, his stomach tying up in knots. No, no, no, he thought, getting anxious. Finally he spotted her, and he let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. There was someone behind her however, and that's when he noticed the knife pressed against her throat, her blue eyes filled with terror as she stared into his. He took a few slow steps forward, his hands cautiously raised in the air. He was within feet of them now, and he recognized the face behind her. Maurice?! He knew someone had betrayed him, but that was one person he knew, no, thought he could trust. He smiled and Henri saw the fangs and knew his men wouldn't be able to help him without the girl getting hurt.
"What do you want?" Henri asked him, hands still cautiously raised.
"I want you to let us all go, or I'll kill the girl. Don't come any closer boy," he warned, glaring at him.
"Actually, it's Captain to you," he said, taking another step. "And I'm afraid I can't let that happen."
Henri lunged, pulling out a knife from his sleeve in one smooth movement, putting it in the Maurice's arm and he screamed, letting go of the girl.
"You'll pay!" He snarled at Henri, then smiled through clenched teeth. Henri prepared for him to lunge at him, but was surprised when he threw himself the opposite way.

Right toward Karis.

...

Pain ran through every inch of her body, like hot acid or boiling water in her veins. Karis vaguely noticed someone screaming, and she wasn't sure if it was herself or Henri. Or both. She fell to the ground and saw cold black eyes staring at her, and decided she was dead. She was finally dead.
But Karis couldn't have been because death wasn't supposed to hurt like that. She felt as if she was floating on air and every sound was drowned out by her screams, those black eyes across from her consuming everything until all she saw was a black hole. And so much pain. It seemed to be stemming from her neck, and spreading toward the rest of her body.
If she wasn't dead already, Karis wanted to be.

But finally, after decades of waiting, the pain subsided. Her eyes opened and she felt different somehow. Wet. And cold. Something was scratching against her skin as she moved wearily, struggling to open her eyes. When she did the first thing she saw was a little crab staring up at her.
Karis screamed.
She rubbed her eyes and saw that she was on a beach, the same beach as before. Before? She couldn't remember when before was. Or what it was. Why am I here? She thought, trying to sit up but every muscle in her body was sore. She stared at a seagull flying past grey cliffs towards a lighter grey sky and tried to collect some facts.
My name is Karis. I'm seventeen years old. No siblings, but my mom–she choked out a sob–is dead. My father left us when I was eight. He wasn't at mom's funeral. After mom's funeral I jumped off a cliff into the ocean...to kill myself. She stood up after some struggle and looked toward the ocean.

And someone saved my life.

For some strange reason, Karis couldn't remember what happened after she jumped. Or how she ended up on the beach. There was a boy, she knew, and he saved her life. But that was it. Everything else was a blank slate, as if part of her memory had been removed and she was trying to figure out what it had been based on such simple traces of its absence.

As she watched the blue/grey ocean waves crash against the shore and then pull back into the sea, she knew where her answers would be found. She knew it was ludicrous, and she was probably going insane, but there was a part of her that was drawn to those waves. She knew no matter how far she was from the ocean it's song would be playing as echoes in her head forever.

It was hard for her poor legs to walk all the way around the beach, up the trail, and back to the cliff she had jumped from, but she knew it was her only choice.

So, she stood at the edge of the water, took a deep breath, and jumped into the freezing ocean.

She was going to get answers, no matter what it took.

...

For Henri, letting that girl go was one of the hardest things he had ever done. But he had heard her, "I wish I could take it all back, that I never jumped. That I could start over, be someone new. But I can't." He had found a way that she could. His mother had been able to reverse the siren's bite, to erase her memories, to turn her human again. And he left her on the beach like he should've from the very beginning. He had forgotten that she was simply human, oh so fragile. He had been painfully reminded of that as he watched her scream in agony just hours before.

But she's okay now, he reminded himself. Maurice was dead and she was gone. He was back as Captain, and all was as it should be.

So why was he waiting for her to come back? He knew she wouldn't have a clue about what happened. She would go back to her life, back to Micah.

And yet, he listened to the waves, waiting for someone to enter the ocean. Waiting for her like the fool he was. It had been an hour since he left her on the beach and he assumed she was conscious by then. But nothing happened, so he gave up.

...

She knew it was dangerous, she knew it was stupid, but as Karis fell she didn't regret a thing. She braced for impact as the water SMACKED against her legs. Maybe she should start taking diving classes...
As soon as she hit the water little by little memories started coming back to her. The boy who had saved her life would come, a voice in her head told her. He always had before.

But Karis didn't know how to swim, and as the surface began to seem farther and farther away, the water getting darker, getting colder, her hope was replaced with fear. She started kicking her legs and waving her arms around frantically, trying to stop sinking so quickly. She wondered if she would die there, if she really was crazy.

And then she saw a hand reaching for her.

...

Henri was, honestly, shocked. He hadn't expected her to jump right back off the same cliff into the ocean. He waited. Waited for her to swim out, and then he remembered she couldn't swim. Crap crap crap! He thought. This would ruin everything. Start the whole thing all over again, although, he had to admit, a part of him was happy.
He swam as fast as he could, urging the current to pull him toward her as fast as possible, not bothering to put a pocket of air around himself so he wouldn't be wet. And there she was, pale skin looking light blue in the water, her dark hair blocking her face as she sank, letting out her last breath. He grabbed her hand, wrapped the two of them in air, and pulled Karis toward the shore.
Please tell me I'm not too late, he prayed in his head.

Just not this time.

...

Karis awoke, as before, with a stranger's lips pressed against her own. It took her a moment to realize it was Henri doing mouth to mouth again. Henri? Again? Everything came back to her and she realized all that had happened. She sat straight up and he jumped back, gasping. A large grin spread across his face.
"Henri?" Karis asked, looking into his sea green/blue/grey eyes, and realizing she could drown in them.
"I thought you wouldn't come back," he said, sitting just inches away from her, grinning. She smiled, amused at his reaction, as if he wanted her to come back.
"But I did."
"You did," he said, urging her on, his wet, messy dark hair plastered against his forehead. "But why?"
Karis paused, not breaking eye contact, ignoring the cold wind blowing against her wet clothes and skin. "Because I wanted answers."
He seemed a bit disappointed, but he nodded.
"And, because I think that maybe, just maybe, I really like you."
"But..." his smile faded. "What about Micah? What about wanting to start over again? I gave you the chance to go back," he began, "and you stayed. Why?"
She wondered how he remembered back to all that. "Micah was my best friend, but he passed away last year." Her voice was solemn as she spoke. "When I said I wanted to start over, I... I didn't know what starting over meant. I hate my life Henri, I hate my father. I hate every part about myself and my existence and I always have."
This seemed to sadden him.
"But," she looked at him and smiled. "I want to come with you. I already miss your city and the people there. And I know nobody will miss me back at home. Please, please take me with you Henri," Karis begged him.
And then he smiled, offering his hand to pull her up. "Of course I will."
And then he kissed her.

Of Book One...