The ocean stretched endlessly before you, dark and restless under the moonlight. Sitting on the cool sand, you tossed a small rock into the waves, watching as it vanished beneath the surface. Probably not the smartest idea, but you needed a moment to clear your head.

A ripple in the water. Then another. Something moved beneath the waves, something large, and before you could react, a figure emerged from the dark waters.

Emerald-green eyes gleamed in the dim light, sharp and piercing. Water glistened on his skin, trailing down over the iridescent scales that adorned his shoulders and ribs, catching the moonlight like shards of glass. And then there was his tail—sleek, powerful, shifting between shades of dark green and muted black, with subtle gold flecks. It'd be easy to call him beautiful.

If it were anyone else, they'd be running for their lives.

But you were used to him.

The first time you met, he tried to drown you. Literally. And for weeks after that, he kept trying.

Moving here had seemed like a dream at first—the perfect coastal house, a great price, a quiet town. But you hadn't questioned the uneasy way the seller avoided your gaze, or the hushed warnings from locals about things in the water. Missing people. Strange sightings. Like some protagonist in a horror movie, ignored them all.

And now? You were stuck.

You had tried avoiding the shore, but that hadn't helped—you'd catch glimpses of his reflection in puddles, hear the echo of a voice that wasn't yours in the silence of your home. He was drawn to you, a shadow trailing just out of reach.

And moving out wasn't an option, not with the paperwork keeping you tied to this place.

"You must be either brave or stupid to keep coming here," Damian—or so he called himself—remarked.

You didn't acknowledge him.

He clicked his tongue in annoyance, running a hand through his damp, tousled hair. "Or perhaps deaf." He added coolly. "Should I enunciate?"

You shouldn't be admiring him. Not when he had literally tried to drag you under. But here you were.