“On one condition,” Greer adds.

“What’s that?” Grace asks.

“This monster fighting gig cannot,” she says, “interfere with my social schedule.”

She hasn’t moved, hasn’t altered her expression. She’s lying there in bare feet and what are probably designer clothes. She’s just sent some hideous unknown monster back into the abyss. And she’s worried about her social schedule?

I’m on the verge of telling her to stuff it when she cracks a smile.

Grace and I burst out laughing.

Thank goodness.

“I’m joking.” Greer sits up. “Mostly. But I’m also kind of serious. I have a lot of responsibilities that don’t involve”—she makes a vague gesture that kind of encompasses the whole room—“any of this. I can’t cast them aside.”

My laughter dies.

She’s right. This world might have been my whole existence for the last four years, but Greer and Grace have been living real lives. They have people who care about them and others who depend on them. They’re not alone, like me. It’s not fair to ask them to give up all that for something they didn’t choose.

“Fine,” I say reasonably. “We’ll work around all the other stuff whenever we can.”

“Excellent.” Greer pushes to her feet. “Now, do you have any mouthwash around here? That monster tasted nasty.”

I point her to the bathroom, and she disappears to wipe out the taste of beastie. I don’t blame her—monsters taste like rotten garbage, and the sweet taste of our venom is never quite enough to counteract it. You learn to deal, but you never get used to it. Not really. Monster is not an acquirable taste.

“Were you really going to call us tomorrow?” Grace asks quietly.

“I was.”

She’s silent for a few seconds before asking, “Why?”

I’m ready to shrug off the question, as if it’s nothing major. But when I look in her eyes, I can tell it’s a very big deal.

“Because we belong together,” I answer honestly. “What-ever kept us apart all these years, I think we belong together in the end. Things are changing, and although that scares me a little, it’s obviously part of something bigger than all of us. We have a destiny to fulfill, and I don’t want to fulfill it alone. I don’t think I can.”

Oh, she mouths.

Then, before I can react, she lurches forward and throws her arms around my neck in a tight hug.

“Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!” I scream.

“What?” she gasps.

“My shoulder,” I explain, my eyes clenched against the sharp pain. “It popped out of the socket when I skewered the beastie’s tail.”

“Oh, what can I do?”

I give her a quick lesson and then, before I can take a fortifying breath, she shoves everything back into place. I gasp at the shock, but can tell that she did a fine job.

“Okay?” she asks.

I nod.

“Can I hug you now?” When I nod again, she wraps her arms gingerly around my shoulders. “I’m so glad you realized we belong together.”

“I can tell.”

I shrug it off with sarcasm, but inside I feel a strange sensation of warmth. Compelled by some unknown reason, I lift my own arms and hug her back.

“I’m glad we got here in time,” Grace says, squeezing tight. “If we hadn’t . . .”

She lets her words trail off. She doesn’t need to finish the sentence. I was there, I’d accepted my fate. And then they’d— “Hey,” I say, pulling back as I remember the moment. “How did you guys get inside anyway? The loft’s security is military grade.”

“Oh.” She beams. “I guess my autoporting kicks in when I really need it.”

That solves the mystery of how the girls got inside, but not how the manticore snuck past the system. I’ll have to do a full inspection. There must be a hole somewhere, and I need to keep other monsters from showing up unexpectedly.

“Am I missing a group hug?” Greer asks.

“Come on.” Grace removes one arm and waves her close. “Gentle with Gretchen’s shoulder though.”

Greer kneels down next to us, and Grace and I each wrap an arm around her back while she does the same. I’ll worry about securing the perimeter later. Right now, I’m enjoying the moment. For once.

“Triplets,” Greer says, shaking her head.

“Who’d have thought?” I ask.

“Reunited,” Grace adds. “I can’t imagine a more perfect ending.

Strangely enough, neither can I.

Chapter 26

Gretchen

After I let the girls wash off their sweat and slime first, there is barely enough hot water left for me to grab a quick shower. But it’s enough. And with clean clothes on, I feel completely refreshed and revived. Even my shoulder feels practically normal.

Rubbing my hair dry with the towel, I head out into the loft to find them. They’re sitting at the dining table, hunched over one of the monster binders and giggling. With the balcony doors open wide, a fresh breeze blows in off the Bay. It feels like everything is fresh and new.

“Look at his feet,” Grace exclaims, pointing to an anatomical drawing of a nulus.

Greer makes a face. “Gross.”

“You should see the panotii,” Grace says. “They have ears the size of their bodies.”

“Have you memorized all the binders?” Greer asks.

“No.” Grace blushes. “I’ve digitized most of them, though, and the funnier images stand out.”

I’m impressed. That’s a lot of work she got done in not a lot of time. I bet she has the entire library scanned and catalogued in less than a month.

I keep back, not wanting to disturb their moment. It feels weird to have people, other than Ursula, making themselves at home in the loft. Before I brought Grace back here, no one else had ever been in the loft.

Still, as weird as it feels, it also feels completely right. Meant to be. Like the pieces of a puzzle I didn’t even know I had to solve have finally fallen into place.

Now, if only Ursula were safely back home—

Greer stands, knocking her chair back behind her.

I step into the room.

“What’s wrong?” Grace asks, a note of panic in her voice.

“I—” Greer holds her hands out as if to steady herself. “I don’t know. It’s just, all of a sudden, I got this really awful feeling.”

Grace looks at me, her face creased with concern.

“What kind of feeling?” I ask.

Greer turns to face me, drained of color. “Like something bad is about to happen.”

As if on command, my phone rings.

I dash into the kitchen, snatching my phone off the charger. I can’t help the tiny spark of hope that it’s my mentor on the other end of the line.

“Hello,” I gasp into the receiver. “Ursula, is that—?”

“Get out!” a male voice shouts.

“What?”

“Get out of the loft,” he screams. “Get out now!”

Something about the absolute terror in his voice stabs me right in the chest. Without stopping to think, I move, grabbing each of my sisters by the arm, and shout, “Run!”

Dragging them behind me, I race for the open door. At a dead run, we fly out onto the balcony. I launch my sisters over the railing and then follow them down into the Bay below.

Before we hit the water, the air above us explodes in a burst of heat and light, slamming us hard against the ice-cold waves. I lose track of my sisters as I’m propelled into the inky depths, short of breath and trying to orient myself to find my way back to the surface. Following my air bubbles, I break through into the night, gasping and choking.

I scan the area, relieved to see Grace and Greer treading water nearby. They seem whole and unhurt. They both have their eyes glued to the spot above me, to the loft. I can see flickering yellow-and-orange flames reflected in their glassy eyes. I think Grace might be crying.

Afraid of what I’ll see, I force myself to turn and look up.

I suck in a gasp.

The entire upper level is blown out, and the building is engulfed in flames. Smoke billows out of my home, glowing in the light of the fire inside. My face burns with the heat of the raging inferno. My mind is reeling, and the only coherent thought I can grasp is how very close we came to getting blown up with the loft.

“This is bad,” Greer says.

“Somebody tried to kill us,” Grace says, unnecessarily.

I look at her. “You think?”

She ignores my sarcasm, shaking her head. “All those books,” she says. “Thank goodness I got most of the binders done, but all those resources . . .”

I can’t think about that right now. I can’t think about the library or the weapons collection or the handful of mementos I’ve gathered in my lifetime. None of that matters more than the safety of Grace and Greer. We are lucky to be alive tonight.

That was two close calls in a row. First the synchronized monster attack, and then this. If it hadn’t been for that perfectly timed phone call, then I wouldn’t be here having these thoughts. And neither would my sisters.

Somebody clearly wants us dead.

And somebody else clearly wants us to live.

If I have to hunt them to the ends of the earth and beyond, I’m going to find out who.

About the Author

TERA LYNN CHILDS is the award-winning author of several books for teens, including the mermaid romances FORGIVE MY FINS and FINS ARE FOREVER, as well as another mythology-inspired series including OH. MY. GODS. and GODDESS BOOT CAMP. Despite Tera’s distaste for all things snaky, nothing that slithers was harmed in the writing of this book. Find extras—such as excerpts and cool contests—for all of Tera’s books at www.teralynnchilds.com.

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