I woke on a bed softer than clouds, beneath blankets that smelled like rain. Sunlight poured through windows that showed a landscape too beautiful to be real: waterfalls that flowed upwards, trees with silver leaves, creatures that looked like deer but walked on water.
"You fainted," a voice said. Aaliyah sat in a chair beside the bed, braiding her hair. "Perfectly normal reaction to discovering you're not human."
"I'm human," I insisted, sitting up. My head throbbed. "I have to be."
"You're half human," she corrected. "Your father was human. Your mother was Ondine, Princess of the Western Nymph Court. One of the most powerful water wielders in generations. She disappeared nineteen years ago. Now we know why."
I pressed my palms against my eyes. "This is madness."
"It's truth. Uncomfo
