Shadow at the Water's edge.

Hopeless.

Alex groaned and struggled to move his weighted limbs. His head was pounding, and a large portion of his body ached and stung, covered in small cuts and bruises. He was lying on something soft, the ground moving ever so slightly beneath him.

Where was he? What had happened? He remembered coming to the ship...Squints! Was he still alive? What had happened to the vial Vivian had given him? Vivian...where was she? Had the men who took her killed her?

His nerves all went on high alert as he felt something brush against his face.

"Don't try to move just yet, you're still feeling the effects of my blood in your system. Nasty effect on humans I'm afraid, you'll have quite the headache."

Nerissa. She was sitting next to him. He could now feel her presence beside him. She was still brushing her fingers through his hair and across his face slowly.

With an enormous amount of will, he opened his eyes.

"You're stronger than I gave you credit for, normally you'd still be unconscious."

"I guess I'm just too stubborn for that." His voice was weak, and already his eyelids were protesting, pushing to close once again.

"Thank you by the way, for leading Douglas' men straight to Vivian."

At that, Alex managed to push himself onto one elbow, gaining a surprised look from Nerissa. "Where is she?"

"Alive, for now. Oh and you needn't worry about your lanky friend either, with that lovely potion my little sister cooked up, he's right as rain, just resting now."

Alex felt just the slightest bit relieved. "Where are they? You said you would let them go once you got Vivian."

Nerissa smiled. "No, I said I would let them go once you delivered Vivian to me, since you did not, I don't have to keep my promise."

Alex's arm was beginning to tremble from the effort of holding himself up, but he refused to show weakness to Nerissa, pushing himself into a sitting position and leaning his back against the wall. For the first time, he took a good look around.

He was in a cabin on the ship, it was fairly extravagant, the captain's cabin perhaps?

His attention was pulled back to Nerissa as she slid closer to him, trailing one long finger across his face and down his neck.

"What is it about you?" She murmured, more to herself than to him. "Why did Vivian go to you? Why is every instinct in my body screaming for me to run away?" She shifted so that she was sitting across his legs, and slid her hands down his chest. "And why do I desperately want you?"

Alex was too weak to push her off, but he could still talk. "What is it about you that makes me want to run away screaming? Oh, that's right, you're a demon fish."

Her eyes slowly glowed red, and her already pale skin turned ashen. "You had no qualms about being with my sister. Tell me, what does she have, that I do not?"

"Morals. Plus I'm not that in to narcissistic, tyrannical, violent fish bitches."

She snarled and grabbed a handful of his thick hair, raising her free hand, she elongated her claws and held them at his throat threateningly. "I should rip your throat out now and be done with it."

Alex met her gaze evenly. "Go for it, I'm not sure why you haven't killed me yet anyway."

Her claws slowly retracted and returned to their normal color, her eyes fading back to silver. "What spell has she placed on you?"

"She hasn't."

"Don't lie to me, no one can resist our powers unless they're already under the influence of another Nymph."