Somewhere at the edge of my consciousness, the band is playing loud music. It sounds like waves crashing over rocks and mammoth glaciers crashing into the ocean. And then it dawns on me that those sounds are really coming from inside my own body. The kiss lasts an eternity and ends in an instant.

"Waverly," Pierce says, our lips close. We are still tangled in each other's arms.

I pull back and look into his eyes. "Pierce, that was, uh ..."

He presses little kisses from my temple to the corner of my mouth; my bare toes curl against the wet deck of the boat. "I know."

"Are you reading my mind again?"

"Crashing waves and mammoth glaciers, huh?" He grins, dimples on full display.

"I can't wait until you're out of my head."

"Only if I have no more of your blood."

"Not happening, vampire. No way."

He licks my shoulder, where I scraped it swimming into the cave. Gross!

"Mmmmm," he says.

His irises look a little dilated—double gross. Maybe mermaid blood is like a vampire drug.

"Why in Poseidon's name did you do that? Are you going to read my mind for another week? Does it start the mind-reading clock all over again? Because if it does, I'm hiding in the water for the next seven days."

"No, Waverly. You're safe. It has to be fresh blood."

"Urgh!" Why did I have to ask?

"Let's stop worrying about me reading your confused brainwaves and get you warmed up. There's a stateroom on the bottom level with a bathroom, and we can get there through this door, so we shouldn't run into anyone."

"I'm surprised no one has come back here this whole time."

He smiles and shrugs his shoulders. "It's a vampire thing."

"Wait a minute. How exactly do you know there's a stateroom?" Yeah, I'm thinking about my vision of Shelly and Pierce and the zebra-skin rug.

"You're funny, Waverly! I found it when I was looking for a towel."

"Oh, okay."

He holds my hand and leads me to a wood-framed glass door. My heart is positively beating through my chest as I contemplate going to the stateroom alone with Pierce, which I know is probably a very stupid thing to do.

Instead of worrying, I focus on the extraordinary feeling of his cool hand in mine. We close the door, and the noise of the party subsides. There is a narrow spiral staircase lit from above by a chandelier. The dappled crystal light illuminates intricate carvings on the bannister depicting every species of shark.

"This room has a bathroom," Pierce says. He opens the door and I gasp. Not only is the room enormous, it is outfitted with a zebra-skin rug, a scarlet bedspread, and a Jacuzzi (empty though). There is a fish tank recessed into the walls that wraps around the room, and it is filled with sharks. There's an enormous desk on the left side of the room that looks like it's made out of some kind of endangered wood. A sleek computer rests in the middle surrounded by a host of gold-framed photographs—some are on land, others under the ocean. The shots are of Brack Sharkweather, Shelly, and a beautiful mermaid I have never seen but that looks like Shelly.

In all the years I've known her, it's only been Shelly and her dad. I have never once thought about her even having a mother. I don't like the way this makes me the tiniest bit sorry for her. My mother may be supremely annoying, but I know she loves me. Yeah, I'm admitting it. Even if she sent me to a vampire school, I know she'd lay down her life for me.

"Bathroom's through there." He points to a door.

I shower and feel like a new mermaid. (In case you're wondering, mermaids have to be submerged to grow tails, so showers are fine.) The cuts are almost healed. As I said, merfolk are fast healers. Now, there is still the problem of clothes. I don't want to confront Shelly wearing a towel. It doesn't give the right message of vengeful authority that I'm going for.

I come out of the steamy bathroom wrapped in a fresh towel. Pierce is lying across the bed in a white shirt and jeans. He looks so hot in that shirt. I plan to sneak into the boys' bedroom back at the cabin and burn those awful plaid shirts in a big bonfire along with the F.G. Training Manual. He's reading a magazine called The Robb Report - Exotic Pleasures. Pierce sits up abruptly, and the magazine drops to the floor, scattering some papers that were inside.

I carefully hold on to the towel, lean over, pick up the magazine and set it on the bed while Pierce watches. "You could help with the papers," I say.

"I could," he agrees.

"Well?"

"I was rather enjoying the show, but if you insist." He grins.

"Don't you shine those dimples at me, Pierce Knightguard! I am immune."

Now he's laughing, but he gathers the papers into a stack.

"Let me see those," I say, holding out my hand. I read the title on page one. 'Employment Agreement Between Brack Sharkweather (employee) and Deep Oceans Technology Inc., a Subsidiary of Megacorp, Inc. (employer).' Huh? "Mr. Sharkweather works for Megacorp?" I know nothing about human money, but the salary is the number one followed by a lot of zeros.

"So?"

"Nothing, it's just kind of weird."

"Why, Waverly?"

"Merfolk rarely work for human corporations. It's probably nothing," I say. But it really bothers me for some reason. I stuff the papers back inside the magazine. "Where did you find this?"

Pierce takes the magazine from me and puts it on the side table. Then he hands me a pile of clothes. "I found these in the other bedroom. They must be Shelly's."

They consist of a white ruffled crop top, what looks like a pink bandeau (but I suspect is Shelly's idea of a skirt), and some fluffy gray shark-shaped bedroom slippers.

I give him my most serious glare, and he laughs. "Beggars can't be choosers," he says.

"This is it? You checked everywhere?"

"Yes, Waverly."

"Fine."

"You're welcome, Waverly."

"I'm sorry, Pierce. I don't mean to be ungrateful."

"Are you kidding? If I had to wear that, I'd jump overboard. Come on. Get dressed, and let's go on a shark hunt."

"I can't face the entire student body like this," I say as I come out of the bathroom once again. "I wish I had something intimidating to wear."

My hair is loose and damp, but my makeup has made it through my adventure because it was a fairy glamour. Still, I know I look like an idiot.

Pierce doesn't speak. He just stares at me with this hooded look.

"Why aren't you laughing?" I say, tugging the bottom of the fabric scrap posing as a skirt.

"You are Amphitrite, the queen of the sea."

"Uh, thanks?"

He stands, pulls me into his arms, and lowers his face to mine. Oh, wow! I get another one of those mind-bending kisses? Yes! This time it's even more intense and a little dangerous. It's like he is fighting to control something, but close to losing the battle. I know I should be scared, but I'm not. There is no way I can stop, so I surrender instead. My hair is sparking; my body is tingling. Electricity whirls around our bodies, wrapping us in a cocoon of pure energy.

I'm getting dizzy, and at the edge of my awareness, I realize I haven't taken a breath in a long time. Breathing can be so overrated. But before I suffocate, Pierce ends the kiss. Mindreader!

"I'd like to keep you around a little longer," he says, laughing.

I gently slug his shoulder in mock annoyance.

"Ouch! You mermaids pack quite a punch."

"Only a little longer?"

He hugs me and plants a tiny kiss behind my ear that nearly undoes me. "A lot longer, Waverly."

Pierce looks toward the door. "What is it?" I say.

"Someone's coming."

Vampire hearing. Right.

"You can come in, Pickles," Pierce says.

The door opens, and Pickles comes in looking pretty guilty. "How long were you standing there?" I say. She closes the door behind her.

"Since you made your wish." Pickles looks so beautiful and happy in her pink gown and gleaming tiara that I don't want to let on how disappointed I am that she interrupted, well, whatever was happening with Pierce.

"Wait, what? Since I made which wish?" Why don't I like the sound of this?

"I can see why you made that wish. Wow! Where did you dig up those clothes? But I do kinda like the slippers."

"They're Shelly's."

"Figures," says Pickles, pulling her wand out of thin air. "So, what would you like this time? We can go with the classic mermaid style like you had on earlier, or something more Cinderella? We have to practice making dresses out of rags and golden coaches out of pumpkins for days in F.G. Level Ten training. So I'm pretty good at it, but it's a little cliché. So much chiffon and the pumpkins begin to smell after midnight. Glass slippers. Ugh! They are so medievally uncomfortable."

"Pickles, you're rambling."

"Sorry. So, what'll it be?"

"Pickles, is there something you want to tell me?" I say.

"No, not really." She won't look me in the eye. I stare her down. "Well, I was going to tell you later."

"Tell me what?"

"I've been assigned."

"Assigned?" Poseidon's beard, it's like pulling out a swordfish's bill.

"Yeah! Great news! I just found out I'm your fairy godmother," she says.

"What?" I'm trying to keep the shock off of my face. I do my best to smile.

"Isn't it great?" she chirps.

This is not what I want for Pickles, but now is not the time to let her know. She is just so thrilled. Instead, I hug her, careful not to break her delicate fairy frame. "I'm happy, too," I lie.

Pierce wisely says nothing.

Two minutes later, I'm climbing the spiral staircase in the most amazing dress you can imagine. When you first see it, it looks like a simple, short, off-the-shoulder cocktail dress. But if you look closely, you can see the fabric is woven from fragments of the ocean—mother-of-pearl, shells, coral, ribbons of delicate seaweed—all set in a blue fabric that undulates as I move, as if it is made from ripples across the ocean. My hair is dry and loose around my shoulders. Pierce is in front of me, holding my hand as we climb.

I look over my shoulder at Pickles. "Thank you again for this dress, Pickles. You are an artist."

She's beaming at me. "Thanks, Wave," she says. "I'm glad you're pleased. Do you have any other wishes right now?"

"Only that you enjoy the party."

"As you wish," she says.

Urgh!

We open the door, and the first thing I hear is Shelly's voice. "Pierce? Pierce? I'm coming to find you. I love to play hide-and-seek!"