Stumbling over her feet, Y/N backs away until she feels the corridor wall firmly behind her. Her knuckles ache from gripping the candlestick shard, but she doesn't dare let go. Forcing herself to take deep breaths, she braces herself.

Blood swirls through the water, emanating from behind the staircase. Y/N hesitates, then steels herself to take a step forward.

"Hello, Y/N."

The male voice is silky smooth, almost liquid in its lullaby. Yet, it holds a dangerous sharpness—a dagger slicing through her, causing her birthmark to flare.

Fear courses through her body. Y/N fervently glances around, trying to identify the source of the voice.

At first, she finds nothing. But then, from the other side of the hall, water undulates gently as a pair of pitch-black eyes emerge from the depths. Eyes darker than the night, void of any white. Glinting, almost glowing, it is as if they have absorbed the little light remaining in the room.

The creature slowly rises from the water, revealing a face. A face of beauty, of danger and destruction. Long black hair, delicately pointed ears and pale, angular features she has seen before—seen in the book in the study. The familiarity terrifies Y/N.

Then, he smiles, and her blood runs cold. Sharp, glinting teeth. Too sharp to mean anything but menace and death. White stark against red. Blood.

Y/N presses herself further into the wall, every survival instinct inside of her screaming for her to escape. But her body doesn't dare move, not with the predator's inky black stare fixed upon her.

"You bear my mark, Y/N," he says, smile widening, "And now, I have come for you."

With that, Y/N dives under the water, just as the creature lunges forward.

Y/N barely escapes his clutches as she takes a sharp left, pointed claws scraping against her calf. She knows she can't out-swim a sea monster. She has to think fast.

Spotting the staircase ahead, she is about to head for it when strong arms wrap around her waist, pulling her backwards. With a scream of desperation, Y/N pivots, but her efforts are no match for his powerful grip.

Then, she slams the broken candleholder into the creature holding her. She feels it pierce flesh. With a roar of rage, he sinks underwater. His hold on her loosens as he wrenches the sharp metal from his arm.

She squirms out of his grasp, adrenaline pumping through her body as she swims for the staircase. Reaching the first step out of the water, she pulls herself up. Her body is heavy with pain and exhaustion, but her terror propels her forwards. She drags herself upwards, reaching the midway landing between the two floors. There, Y/N collapses to the ground, shaking uncontrollably.

You're out of the water. You're safe.

She tells herself, holding her arms tightly to her chest. She looks down, only to see the creature's eyes emerge silently from the water once more.

Y/N meets his gaze as he raises his head above the surface. Long, black locks float in the water around him, creating a halo of swirling darkness.

"You've made a mistake, Y/N," he says, each silken word tinged with venom.

A pause. He seems to be waiting for her to react.

"I may be marked," she musters up the courage to reply, trying to keep her voice from trembling, "but I am not yours."

He chuckles darkly, and for the first time she glimpses his powerful fins flicking lazily under the water.

"Oh, my darling," he purrs, his fury unveiling itself tauntingly.

Y/N's breath catches in her throat as the monster before her approaches. But, instead of going to her, he reaches an arm behind the staircase.

A horrible gurgling sound rings out as he raises a limp form into the air. Her mother, blood running down her chin as she weakly attempts to spit it out. The creature has her by the throat, holding her out of the water to expose the deep, ragged gashes covering her body.

"This," he bares his razor teeth, "is what happens to those who try to get between me and my mate."