The next few minutes feel like a dream. I'm vaguely aware of me screaming, of the tightness in my lungs, of the soldiers arriving, and then one of them leans over me, stroking my face as he pulls out a syringe.

"We heard you screaming," he says softly. "It's all right, sweet, we'll take care of you," and he pushes the needle in my neck.

A strange warmth starts to spread through my body. I fight against it, trying to focus on his face, instead: he has a kind face, with eyes so blue it is like looking through water and seeing all the way to the bottom. They are the last thing I remember before everything goes black.

When I wake up, it is in a small, stark room with plain white walls. I try to focus on my breathing: inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. I think it will calm me, this rhythm, but then my breathing comes faster, and faster, until all I can hear is the sound of my own lungs, expanding and contracting.

It's not long before the keepers arrive: Jackson and Rob. I've long since learned that when I see these two men, something is wrong. They show up when we hurt ourselves, or when things don't go to plan. They come when the facade falls down, and they try to put it back up.

Jackson stuffs his hands in his pockets and turns to face me. I used to think he had a friendly face: young, with a rounded jaw and hazel eyes hidden behind blocky glasses. Muriel would tell me not to be fooled, that a person's looks have no bearing on their soul; it took me too long to see she was right.

"Hey, Aura," he says. "How are you feeling?"

I force a smile and say what I'm supposed to. "Mertastic."

Two other men I don't recognize step inside. They look similar in appearance, sharing the same blue eyes and square, angular jaws, though the older one is several inches shorter, his dark curly hair lightly sprinkled with gray.

Rob takes in their crisp black uniforms. "They weren't joking about putting them under twenty-four-hour surveillance. You really think this is necessary?"

"Somebody was just killed," the older one says. "So, yeah, I do. My name is Adrian." He nods at the tall, broad-shouldered man next to him. "This is Reece. McKinley sent us to sort out this goddamn mess. Get her out of that thing."

Jackson and Rob scramble into action. Rob runs his hand along the hem of my tail, and I automatically flinch.

"Does it hurt to get it off?" Reece asks. His voice is deep and yet strangely warm–an unsettling contrast to the hardness of his eyes.

"It doesn't hurt," Jackson says. "She's probably just confused."

Rob tucks a hand underneath me, skimming his fingers at my hips. "There," he says, clicking the fasten out of place.

"Wait," Reece demands. "Is she–what's under the tail?"

Rob looks confused before a slow, snide smile tugs at his lips. "She's wearing a swimsuit underneath. Look, stop worrying so much, will you? She may look human, but she's botched inside. More animal DNA than human and the brains to match."

He pulls down my tail and it slides off with ease, revealing a pair of long, brown legs. I peer at them anxiously, wiggling my toes. Still working–for now.

"Can you stand?" Adrian asks.

I get to my feet before stumbling back. Reece moves behind me, catching me in his arms before looking down with concern.

"Are you all right?" he asks. He's not looking at me how the others look at me, like I can't understand anything. He's looking at me in a way no one's looked at me before–like I'm human.

"She's used to using her tail most of the time," Jackson says, picking up my foot before prodding it with a finger. "She'll be fine."

Without a word, Reece scoops me into his arms and bundles me to his chest. My body tenses, shrivels and folds the way a flower might when its petals get wet. I am used to being prodded and pulled, but this embrace feels different. Intimate.

Rob rests his key to the door before leading us through it. At the end of the hallway is a small, plain room with a table and four chairs. This is the kind of simplicity Marine World likes: stripped back, bare–but only behind the scenes.

Reece lowers me onto a chair before taking a seat next to Adrian. "What's going to happen to Crystal?" I ask. "When can I see her?" I am testing the waters, not that they know it. I need to know what they plan to do next, how much trouble Crystal is in and what it means for the rest of us.

Jackson frowns and adjusts his glasses, the way he is prone to do whenever he feels nervous. "I'm not sure," he says. "That all depends on what you tell us next."

So, Crystal's fate is now in my hands. If I were Muriel, I'd know exactly what to say to get us out of this mess, but instead, I am silent.

"Did you see what happened, Aura?" Rob asks. His voice is harder than Jackson's, more impatient. He has never been one to hide his true nature. For that, I respect him.

"Tell us what happened," Jackson presses. "Tell us how Alison died."

I take a slight breath. It's about all I can do right now. Lie to him, Aura, I imagine Muriel saying. Protect Crystal. So I do. "Alison wouldn't let go of Crystal. She held her down."

I have learned to read the lines on a face. The slight twitch of an eye or the tilt of a lip, the quiet tells of disapproval or shock. It is how I know I've surprised them–how I know there is still a chance to save us.

"Why would she would do that?" Rob asks.

"I don't know." My heart thumps faster. "Maybe she wanted to stay under the water longer."

Jackson turns to Rob, his eyebrows all the way up. "You think she was trying to commit suicide, or something?"

Suspicion tugs at Rob's features. "Are you sure that's what you saw, Aura? Are you sure you didn't see Crystal forcing Alison down?"

I frown a little, the vision of innocence. "No, Crystal would never hurt anyone. She tried to pull away, but Alison wouldn't let her go."

There is a moment of silence. Adrian turns to look at Reece. "What do you think?"

Slowly, Reece tears his eyes from Adrian to train them on me. I think I see confliction lining his face, but when I blink, it is gone. "She's lying."

Adrian smiles. It is the kind of smile I used to long for: the smile of approval.

"She wouldn't lie," Jackson says, "and I don't believe they purposely hurt Alison, either. I've known these girls for years–long before they were used in any of the shows. They may be clueless, but they're not dangerous."

Reece looks at Jackson, his pale eyes like ice. "These girls have been in captivity for–"

"Controlled environment," Jackson corrects.

Reece stops and turns. "What?"

Nervously, Jackson scratches the back of his head. It is clear Reece intimidates him as much as he does me. "We're not supposed to use certain buzzwords around them," Jackson says. "Tank, captivity, customer–they give off a negative impression. We're supposed to use enclosure, guest, or aquarium."

Reece glances at Adrian, who simply shrugs in response. "Her DNA might be altered," Reece continues, "but if she was raised like a human, she can lie like one."

Adrian smirks and leans forward in his seat. "I want to show you something," he tells me, pulling out a familiar device before laying it on the table. He touches the screen, sliding his fingers across the width of its glass before an image pops up. "This is footage of the aquarium."