I took Lysi’s hand, deciding that as long as we had each other, we would be all right.

Honey, if spending your life with Lysi is what makes you happy, then I’m happy.

My people had never been willing to believe mermaids had minds like ours. But they did. Mermaids fought like humans, laughed like humans, and loved like humans.

I was raised to massacre—to act on hatred. But what had gotten us safely home from the Massacre? My feelings for Lysi had been the driving force, not my need for revenge

Being in love was something you “just knew”, because your heart felt swollen and you never stopped thinking about him and you wondered how you were ever happy before.

But my heart felt swollen, and I finally just knew. It was as obvious as if I’d known it my whole life. I was in love with a mermaid.

Now I understand that sometimes you cannot protect your loved ones, no matter how hard you try. Life and death happen, and it is out of our control.