BLINKING, I FELT SOMETHING cold beneath me. I didn’t remember falling, but somehow, I was lying face down on a rock. Had I passed out? Pushing myself up to a seated position, I briefly scanned my body. Nothing hurt or felt injured, but when I tried to open my eyes, cold water splashed against my face. I inhaled the spray, as shocked as if someone had just slapped me.
I opened my eyes again, more cautiously this time, to find I was sitting on a rock in the middle of the ocean, with water lapping against my feet. No, that wasn’t entirely correct. I looked down, and discovered that not only was my clothing gone, but there was an iridescent, greenish-blue tail draped over the side of the rock where my feet should have been.
My eyes widened. The shimmering tail came all the way up my torso in
