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00:02I taught a merman how to flirt, but he grounded me because he thought I was proposing.
00:07My professor did warn me, but by then, I'd already done something very stupid.
00:11How could I watch the strongest, most beautiful male on Emerald Atoll fail to find a mate?
00:16He could take down prey that weighed hundreds of pounds, but he'd never once shown up to
00:21a courtship dance.
00:22Poor thing grew up alone.
00:23No one ever taught him, so I played him courtship songs on a speaker, put on a prosthetic tail
00:28and showed him the dance myself.
00:30He learned fast and performed it right back to me.
00:34Thrilled, I shot the whole thing and sent it to my professor to brag.
00:37He called me back screaming.
00:39You idiot, didn't you notice the razor sharp teeth?
00:42The long claws?
00:43The powerful tail?
00:45That's not a murder.
00:46It's more like a siren out of mythology.
00:48It could slice you open and rip your heart out without breaking a sweat.
00:52The only way a creature like that courts a mate is by hunting them down, dragging them somewhere
00:57no one will find them and keeping them there until they're pregnant.
01:00Get out of there!
01:01Get out!
01:02Get out!
01:04Get out!
01:20Get out!
01:23Get out!
01:23Get out!
01:24Get out!
01:43Get out!
01:46Get out!
02:03Get out!
02:05Get out!
02:23Get out!
02:26Get out!
02:32Isla!
02:33Isla!
02:34Isla!
03:00Isla!
03:25Get out!
03:26Get out!
03:26Get out!
03:28Get out!
03:29Get out!
03:59Gonna get out!
04:00Get out!
04:00Get out!
04:00Get out!
04:00Get out!
04:00long, young males from the colony would slink over and drag away the leftovers to present to the
04:05females they were courting. He'd inadvertently helped several pairs get together. Merfolk were
04:09drawn to strength. A male who could bring down enormous prey easily won female attention. But
04:14this idiot fish had never once attended the underwater courtship dances. I consulted my
04:19professor, who said merfolk were social animals. Males typically left in groups of two or three
04:24brothers. A solitary mer had likely been separated by accident, or abandoned, forced to grow up a
04:30worm. That would explain why this one was such an exceptional hunter. Without a family's protection,
04:36he'd had to become powerful to survive the ocean's dangers.
04:42It also meant he probably didn't know the courtship song or dance. Without performing the courtship
04:47ritual, none of the young females would even know he was available. Of course he didn't have a mate.
04:53Once mating season ended, Opal would leave Emerald Atoll with nothing to show for it.
04:57I could feel my thesis slipping away. I had to do something. It was just a song and a dance.
05:03I'd teach him myself. I pulled up recordings of merfolk courtship songs and waited at the dock.
05:09Opal arrived, dragging another massive tuna. The warm light softened his cold features.
05:14I knew he was dangerous, but merfolk had no recorded history of harming humans.
05:18I approached him slowly. Opal. Opal, that's the name I gave you. Merfolk could only produce simple
05:27tones. They had a basic language, but communicated through ultrasound. Their vocal anatomy didn't
05:33support complex human speech. Neither did their intelligence, for that matter. He opened his mouth.
05:39Opal. Clear, precise, perfectly pronounced. He could speak. Research on deep sea mer was scarce.
05:46Perhaps some subspecies had this ability. My thesis was going to shake the entire field.
05:51Opal. I pointed at him, then pointed at myself. Isla. He immediately understood that Opal referred
05:58to him. Opal. And Isla, to me. Isla. Remarkably intelligent. I turned on the speaker I'd prepared.
06:05I'm going to teach you the courtship song. Once you learn it, you sing it for whichever mate you choose.
06:10He seemed confused, but I knew he wouldn't hurt me. Soon the lilting melody of a merfolk courtship
06:15song floated from the speaker. I had to admit, merfolk singing was beautiful. The next instant,
06:21Opal's expression changed. He drove his claws through the speaker in one violent strike,
06:26shredding it until the song went silent.
06:30I jumped back in terror and ran. Those claws would crack my skull just as easily. He saw me fleeing
06:36and lunged. I glanced back mid-sprint and saw he'd hauled himself onto the shore, floundering forward,
06:42trying to chase me. But on land he was slow, nowhere near fast enough. Isla, Isla. His voice was
06:48plaintive, almost begging. Isla. No wonder Nick said merfolk lured humans to their death. That's exactly what
06:54he sounded like now. Luring me back so he could eat me. The next day, I found a grouper on
06:59the dock,
07:00alongside a speaker that had been painstakingly pieced back together. Opal hovered a hundred meters
07:06out, neither approaching nor leaving, just watching me. I might have overreacted yesterday.
07:12Research consistently showed merfolk were among the friendliest species known. He'd probably just
07:17been startled that the speaker could produce mer song. I waved him over. He drifted ten meters closer,
07:22waited, and when I didn't run, cautiously closed another ten meters. Several minutes passed before
07:28he was just a few meters away. You don't like the speaker? What if I teach you myself?
07:36Could he actually understand from the speech? I'd been listening to the colony's courtship songs
07:41through underwater equipment for weeks. I knew them by heart. I sang the first line, ready to sprint,
07:46the instant his claws came from my head the way they'd come for the speaker. When Opal heard me sing,
07:51his eyes lit up. He repeated the line back. I sang the full courtship song, and he echoed it perfectly.
07:56I'd expected to need a dozen repetitions, but he reproduced the entire song flawlessly on the
08:00first try. His eyes never left me. He didn't even blink. It made me uneasy. Opal, you're incredibly
08:05smart. When you meet a merm you fancy someday, you may sing this tune for her. Consider it tuition.
08:12That night, deep in sleep, I was jolted awake by a familiar melody. Furious, I flew open the window
08:17and locked eyes with Opal. Shut up! I snapped at him. The singing stopped. I finally got a good
08:23night's sleep. But days later, Opal still hadn't found a mate despite knowing the courtship song.
08:29Was I really going to have to teach him the dance team?
08:33I was a strong swimmer and certified diver. When I was a child, trips to Falassa were all the rage.
08:39My parents brought me here on vacation. After visiting the shallow water merfolk, the next day
08:44we boarded a cruise ship to search for deep sea merm. But the waves were particularly rough that
08:49day, and I fell overboard. Over 10 days later, my parents found me unconscious on the shore,
08:55burning with fever. The fever wiped my memory of that entire period. The assumption was that a
08:59shallow water merfolk pod had rescued me. After that ordeal, once we returned to our home world,
09:04my parents enrolled me in swimming and diving lessons. I never imagined that years later I'd
09:08end up back on Falassa, and that those skills would actually prove useful. When you see a female you
09:12like, have you tried singing the courtship song for her? He nodded. I was furious. He'd already sung the
09:17courtship song and still got rejected. These females had no taste. Opal was the most stunning
09:22mer on Emerald Atoll. Do you know the courtship dance? He shook his head. Fine, for the sake of my
09:29thesis, I'd go all in. I turned, walked into the room, slipped on the silver imitation fishtail,
09:34and then dove into the sea. I mimicked the courtship dance movements, twirling through the sea.
09:39Opal's eyes grew brighter and brighter, unblinking, fixed on every movement. Light. That was the first
09:44word he'd said to me besides my name. Idiot. If he liked it, then he'd better learn it. I was
09:48counting
09:49on those merpups next year. When the dance ended, he retracted his claws. Opal pulled me into a full
09:54embrace, carefully circling my waist, resting his head on my shoulder, his tail pressing close
09:59against mine. Compared to my clumsy, slightly ridiculous imitation of a merdance, Opal's was
10:06effortless and powerful, devastatingly beautiful. He sang something similar to the merfolk courtship
10:11song, but more ethereal, more haunting. Those impossible eyes held nothing but my reflection
10:16the entire time. Like a sailor bewitched by a siren, I found myself swimming toward him,
10:20wanting to dance with him. The moment my hand touched his, I snapped out of it. Dancing
10:24with a fish, I'd lost my mind. I turned and swam hard for shore. Behind me, Opal slowly lowered
10:29his hand, watching me leave in silence.
10:37I'd barely peeled off the wet tail when my professor called, and his furious voice erupted
10:42from my comm device. You idiot. You told me you found a deep sea merp. Didn't you notice
10:46the razor sharp teeth? The long claws? The powerful tail? That's not a merp. It's more
10:52like a siren out of mythology. It could slice you open and rip your heart out without breaking
10:57a sweat. The only way a creature like that courts a mate is by hunting them down, dragging
11:02them somewhere no one will find them, and keeping them there until they're pregnant. Get out of
11:06there. Get out! Get out! So my gut had been right all along. I'd always known Opal looked
11:12different from the merfolk. He wasn't a deep sea mer at all. He was a new species. An extremely
11:17dangerous new species, which meant the Emerald Atoll research station, with zero physical barriers,
11:23was a death trap. Until my professor secured funding and the station was reinforced, I had to
11:28leave immediately. I grabbed the essentials and launched my yacht. As the island shrank behind me,
11:33I let myself breathe. I hadn't said goodbye. That thought sat heavy in my chest. Whatever
11:39he was, he'd never actually hurt me. My professor called to make sure I'd gotten out. I'm well
11:45clear of the atroy. Thank God. I thought the worst you'd cost me was my academic reputation.
11:51I didn't expect I'd nearly have to attend your funeral. But I had no appetite for his jokes.
11:55My voice was shaking. It's here.
12:00Opal's black hair billows in the wind, his sleek tail cutting through the water like an arrow. He
12:05caught up in seconds. His expression was colder than anything I'd ever seen. I told myself it was
12:10fine. The hull was metal. I was safe. Then five pointed claws punched through the cabin wall. The
12:16metal tore apart like paper. I fell backward. The clumsiness on the dock had been an act.
12:22The moment he boarded, his tail split slowly into two human legs. He walked toward me step by step,
12:27like something out of a nightmare. Don't run.
12:29All that friendliness had been an act. From the day he appeared, he could have slaughtered me and
12:34the entire colony any time he wanted. But he hadn't. Had it all been a game to him? The moment
12:40his
12:40prey tried to run, the mask came off. Don't leave. My Isla.
12:45And then his lips pressed against mine. He was kissing me. Why? He pushed a smooth, hard pearl
12:51from his mouth into mine, his tongue forcing it to the back of my throat until I swallowed.
12:56Only then did he pull back, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.
13:00You can't escape now, my mate.
13:05The instant I swallowed the pearl, everything went black. Opal took me like prey. His tail reformed,
13:11and he held me against his chest as he shot through the ocean, heading somewhere unknown.
13:16My comm device lay abandoned on the deck, my professor's voice still coming through.
13:19Isla. What do you mean it's here? Isla, talk to me.
13:22A long silence. One sigh, and the sound of another call going out.
13:26Hello, is this planetary security?
13:28I woke up in iron shackles. I was inside a cave on some island. The only exit was submerged.
13:34Even if I could somehow dive through it, I'd face nothing but open ocean on the other side.
13:38A few meters away, he was slicing a massive fish into fillets with a poker face. Blood ran into the
13:44water. The metallic smell was everywhere. It looked like a scene from a slasher film. Was I next?
13:50He looked up. That cold expression was even more terrifying than before.
13:55Liar! You can't escape.
13:57Before, he'd only ever said a word or two at a time. Now he was speaking in full sentences.
14:02Fluent, precise, like he'd know how to talk all along and had simply chosen not to.
14:07An animal would just kill you. But something intelligent enough to take hostages was something
14:11you could reason with. What exactly did I lie about? His expression grew angrier.
14:16You courted me first.
14:18Me?
14:19I accepted. And you ran. You always lied to me.
14:24I'd sung the courtship song to him. Danced the courtship dance. From his perspective,
14:29I'd been proposing. And he had accepted.
14:32I softened my voice.
14:35This was all a misunderstanding. I'm a merfish researcher. I thought you were a male mer who'd
14:41come to join the Emerald Ator colony but didn't know how to court. I was teaching you.
14:45His fist slammed into the cave wall, punching out a chunk of solid rock. I didn't want to
14:50imagine what would happen if that had been my skull. I should never have accepted that
14:54reassignment.
14:55Shut up.
14:58You wanted me to court those stupid, weak merfish. It took a long time for the rage to subside
15:03before he spoke again. His voice was calm, but with something unhinged underneath.
15:06It doesn't matter. Only stupid merfish court that way. My inherited instinct tells me this
15:12is how we do it. We take our mate and hide them away.
15:17Everything my professor said had been true. Why couldn't he have told me sooner? He pushed
15:22the raw fillets toward me. I was about to refuse when hunger slammed into me like a wall. I wanted
15:29that fish more than I'd ever wanted anything in my life. I devoured every last piece. He watched
15:34with a look of satisfaction, entirely unsurprised, as if he had known this would happen. After eating,
15:40an overwhelming drowsiness hit. I slept again. When I woke, he was slicing fish. I ate again.
15:48Days passed before the hunger and exhaustion finally faded. I demanded answers. What did
15:53you do to me? He took my hand and guided my fingers behind my ears. On each side, I felt
15:58openings, developing gills. My skin had changed too, smoother and slicker, like it was no longer
16:04meant for land. I could probably stay underwater for hours now. The pearl. Am I going to turn into
16:10a creature like you? Yes. You'll become a siren like me. You'll never go back to the human
16:19world. I was going to turn into one of them. Never see my family again. Trapped with this
16:24monster for the rest of my life. Monster, even if I'm not human anymore, I'll never be with
16:29you. I hate you. I'd rather spend my life with a pot of murphin. His jaw clenched, eyes went bright
16:36with fury. But underneath it, just for a second, I saw something break. Then I'll keep you chained
16:41here forever. You won't see another human. You won't even see a murph. From that day on,
16:47my body kept changing, more and more like a fish. The openings behind my ears grew from
16:52two to six within two weeks. I didn't say a single word to him. The chains were long enough
16:57that I could reach the cave entrance. I'd tried submerging my head, and I could last hours
17:02now before I heard him coming back. If I could just get the shackles off, I could escape.
17:06Today he returned dragging only a small grouper, but his black gold tail bore a long gash. Iridescent
17:11scales fell away with every movement. He was injured. He didn't even have the strength to
17:15shift into legs. He just lay down and closed his eyes. I walked over and checked his breathing.
17:26too bad I didn't die. You must be so disappointed. Obviously. I wish you'd drop dead. What happened
17:34to you? A pot of orcas. About 30 of them. Tried to take my territory. I won, of course. Just
17:43a scratch.
17:47Orcas. Orcas. The ocean's roaming friends. 30 of them. And he won. I died a little inside. I truly
17:53provoked something terrifying. I kicked the grouper he brought into the water. I don't want grouper.
17:59I want salmon. Tomorrow? I want it today, you useless fish who can't even land a mate. Either let me
18:07go
18:07or go catch some right now. Tomorrow? I want it today, you useless fish who can't even land a mate.
18:15Either let me go or go catch some right now. He hauled himself up and swam back out through the
18:20entrance. After a long while, he returned with several salmon. The wound on his tail had turned
18:25white and waterlogged from the salt. Actually, I don't want salmon anymore. Too rich. I want something
18:31lighter. Sea bream. He dragged himself back out to catch sea bream. He brought the bream back. Before I
18:37could say another word, he collapsed. With his eyes closed, he looked completely harmless. The wound
18:43had gone raw from the seawater. I cleaned it. I sat beside him and closed my own eyes. I should
18:49hate
18:50him. I was floating in the ocean, but I knew I was dreaming. I turned back into a child. I
18:57saw another
18:57child about my age. Was I dreaming? I reached out to him. Please, help me. He swam toward me, and
19:04I saw
19:04that his lower half was a slender tail. A mare. He rescued me, set me on a reef, and caught
19:09food for
19:10me. A good myrrh. I wanted him to take me somewhere with people. I want to go home. My parents
19:14would be
19:14worried. But he couldn't understand me, so I taught him to speak, word by word. He was smart. In just
19:21over
19:2110 days, we could communicate. I learned he wasn't a myrrh. He was a siren. Sirens were solitary. The
19:27unchallenged apex predators of the deep. Sirens never raised their young. From the moment a hatchling
19:31broke free of its egg, it faced the dangerous ocean alone. Only those who survived earned
19:36the name siren. I was very innocent as a child. Innocent in that way only children can be.
19:41The kind that cuts. So you don't have family or friends? You've always been alone? Not
19:46even a fish friend? Don't you get lonely? What's lonely? Lonely is when there's no one to play
19:55with you. No one to talk to. No one who misses you. I didn't know what lonely was before. So
20:02I
20:02wasn't lonely. Now I will be. I'm sorry. After I go home- I'll come back every summer to play
20:10with
20:11you. I'll talk to you. And I'll miss you. Let's make a pinky promise. I swear. He copied my gesture
20:17solemnly, extending his little finger, careful not to nick me with his sharp oz, and hooked it around
20:22mine. Cross your heart. We're best friends. I'll never forget you. Best friends. I'd planned to
20:28stay a few more days before having him take me home. But the sea wind and the monotonous diet
20:33made me sick. A fever set in. Everything blurred. His face went white. It's my fault. You don't belong
20:39in the sea. I'll take you somewhere with humans. They'll help you. He carried me on his thin back,
20:44racing through the ocean, trying to keep the waves from soaking my hair.
20:49When I'm better, I'll come back for you. Isla. I'll wait. He slipped back into the water,
20:57and only after people found me and carried me away did that small shape in the distance
21:01finally disappear. But I never kept my promise. I forgot all of it. If I hadn't been reassigned
21:09to my professor years later, I might never have returned to Thalassa in my life. And Opal
21:14had come to Emerald Atoll not for the merfolk. For me. And what had I done? I'd made him
21:20think I was courting him. He accepted. I ran. He thought I'd betrayed him twice. In his fury,
21:27he took me. Liar.
21:31I hated you. You are a monster. I'd never be with you.
21:36Sirens heal with terrifying speed. Within hours, the vicious wound had closed. Opal opened
21:40his eyes and saw me still obediently shackled. Only then did he relax. Opal, you're awake.
21:46Does anything still hurt? Even if you've changed tactics and you're trying to soft me up, I won't
21:50let you go. Opal, you're awake. Does anything still hurt? Even if you've changed tactics and
21:57you're trying to soft me up, I won't let you go. I'd forgotten our promise. Everything on Emerald
22:02Thalassa had been a misunderstanding. Liar. Don't think saying that will make me release
22:07you. My goal now wasn't escape. It was to comfort this poor fish who'd been let down
22:11for over a decade. I don't want to leave anymore. I'll stay here with you.
22:16Then you'll be my mate. Soon, here, we'll be growing an egg. Didn't you want to study my
22:23offspring? Isla, why not carry them yourself?
22:26I'm a human, you know? You swallowed my pearl. Your body has already been altered to carry
22:32Siren Young. Honestly, I wasn't entirely opposed to him. Interspecies marriage laws between beast
22:39folk and humans had already passed. Plenty of humans were into it. But carrying an egg was
22:43beyond anything I'd mentally prepared for. Can we just date first? A purely platonic relationship?
22:50I explained what platonic meant. He got angrier. You're lying again. I'll never
22:56believe you. But when I asked him to unlock the chains so I could swim, he agreed. Just
23:01as I thought. All bark, no bite. But impossible to convince. While Opal was out hunting, I dove
23:07into the water at the cave entrance and discovered small bioluminescent fish. I caught a few and
23:12snacked on them. When I surfaced, my body was burning. Especially there. I tried to deal with
23:18it for a long time, but the relief wouldn't come. Opal returned and saw the remaining bioluminescent
23:23fish. Merfish eat those during mating. You ate them? How was there something like that
23:29just swimming around? Humans really had studied this planet nowhere near enough. It kept getting
23:33worse. My face was burning. And not just from the effect. I couldn't believe I was about
23:38to say this. I reached out to Opal. Can you help me, Opal, please? He just stood there, looking
23:46like a kicked puppy despite being a creature that could kill 30 orcas. You always do this.
23:50You asked me first, then you took it back. Every single time. I pulled him closer by
23:55the wrist. I like you. I want you. Now, you really have to help me. I need you. He didn't
24:01move. His eyes were fixed on me, wounded and wary. You're begging me now, but tomorrow you'll
24:08hate me again. I don't believe you. Those green eyes looked so lost, like he was already bracing
24:12for me to disappear. So I kissed him first. He froze. Then his sermon how to flirt. But he
24:17grounded me because he thought I was proposing. My professor did warn me. But by then, I'd
24:22already done something very stupid. How could I watch the strongest, most beautiful male
24:27on Emerald Atoll fail to find a mate? He could take down prey that weighed hundreds of pounds,
24:32but he'd never once shown up to a courtship dance. Poor thing grew up alone. No one ever
24:37taught him. So I played him courtship songs on a speaker, put on a prosthetic tail and showed
24:41him the dance myself. He learned fast and performed it right back to me. Thrilled, I shot the whole
24:48thing and sent it to my professor to brag. He called me back screaming. You idiot! Didn't
24:53you notice the razor sharp teeth? The long claws? The powerful tail? That's not a merge. It's
24:59more like a siren out of mythology. It could slice you open and rip your heart out without breaking
25:04a sweat. The only way a creature like that courts a mate is by hunting them down, dragging them
25:09somewhere no one will find them, and keeping them there until they're pregnant. Get out
25:14of there! Get out! Get out! But it was already too late. He was already swimming toward me.
25:25Two months earlier, a new male had arrived at Emerald Atoll, settling alone on the far side
25:30of the island. Merfolk live in family groups, but young males often leave the pod they grew
25:34up in to seek mates and join new colonies. It promotes genetic diversity. A smart, evolutionist
25:39missionary strategy. The merfolk were soft-featured, almost doll-like. This one was all edges, looked
25:45like a fallen angel. His teeth were pointed, his claws significantly longer than any shallow
25:50water mer's. Black hair, green eyes, a black gold tail roughly 8 feet long. This was clearly
25:56a powerful deep-sea mer who had left his pod and come to Emerald Atoll seeking a mate.
26:00I usually observed the merfolk through underwater cameras stationed around the island. But once,
26:06while boating near the Atoll, I spotted him. I sent my drone after him, slicing the fish
26:11open with his claws. Past my boat, I couldn't help staring. You're amazing!
26:16I discovered this planet. There had been a brief surge of interest in merfolk research,
26:20but the excitement died down fast. Merfish intelligence was only slightly above orcas.
26:28They were omnivores, living mostly on kelp and seaweed, occasionally supplemented with crabs,
26:34oysters, and small fish. And there was zero chance of crossbreeding with humans.
26:39Most researchers moved on to studying beast folk. As for me, I'd originally studied beast folk too.
26:46Isla. Isla. Isla! Isla! I have to attend a university conference,
26:51and we'll probably be away for a week. Again? Yep. You're running out of time,
26:56Isla. Your graduate thesis deadline is fast approaching. But- You better have your topic
27:00settled by the time I get back. I believe you can do it. I'd been alone on Emerald Atoll for
27:05three months.
27:07If not for my cleaning drone and internet access, I'd have dropped out long ago. But after hearing me
27:13speak, the mer stopped. Those cold, piercing eyes locked onto me. A chill crawled up my spine,
27:19even though I was perfectly safe on the boat. He sliced off the choiceless cut from the marlin's
27:23back with one precise sweep of his claws and tossed it onto my deck. I'd just been fed by a
27:28mer. He was
27:29different from the others. He's smart and powerful. I could see my thesis writing itself. I might graduate
27:34early. If this mer could find a mate during mating season, he'd stay with the Emerald Atoll colony.
27:40By next spring, there could be two or three intelligent, powerful mer pups born, and I could
27:45study hybridization traits between different mer subspecies. I named the deep sea mer Opal. His
27:52black gold tail shimmered like a black opal under moonlight, flashing with iridescent fire. Mating
27:57season lasted three months. But two months in, Opal still hadn't found a mate. He hunted massive prey
28:04every day, often tossing the best cuts onto the dock, giving me a meal of fresh sashimi or pan-seared
28:09fish. He only ate the belly meat himself, discarding the rest. Before long, young males from the colony
28:15would slink over and drag away the leftovers to present to the females they were courting. He'd
28:19inadvertently helped several pairs get together. Merfolk were drawn to strength. A male who could
28:24bring down enormous prey easily won female attention. But this idiot fish had never once attended the
28:29underwater courtship dances. I consulted my professor, who said merfolk were social animals.
28:35Males typically left in groups of two or three brothers. A solitary mer had likely been separated
28:40by accident, or abandoned, forced to grow up alone. That would explain why this one was such an exceptional
28:46hunter. Without a family's protection, he'd had to become powerful to survive the ocean's dangers.
28:55It also meant he probably didn't know the courtship song or dance. Without performing the courtship ritual,
29:01none of the young females would even know he was available. Of course he didn't have a mate. Once
29:06mating season ended, Opal would leave Emerald Atoll with nothing to show for it. I could feel my thesis
29:11slipping away. I had to do something. It was just a song and a dance. I'd teach him myself. I
29:18pulled up
29:19recordings of merfolk courtship songs and waited at the dock. Opal arrived, dragging another massive
29:24tuna. The warm light softened his cold features. I knew he was dangerous, but merfolk had no recorded
29:30history of harming humans. I approached him slowly. Opal. Opal, that's the name I gave you.
29:39Merfolk could only produce simple tones. They had a basic language, but communicated through ultrasound.
29:44Their vocal anatomy didn't support complex human speech. Neither did their intelligence, for that matter.
29:51He opened his mouth. Opal. Clear, precise, perfectly pronounced. He could speak. Research on deep sea mer was
29:58scarce. Perhaps some subspecies had this ability. My thesis was going to shake the entire field.
30:04Opal. I pointed at him, then pointed at myself. Isla. He immediately understood that Opal referred to him.
30:11Opal. And Isla, to me, remarkably intelligent. I turned on the speaker I'd prepared.
30:18I'm going to teach you the courtship song. Once you learn it, you sing it for whichever mate you choose.
30:23He seemed confused, but I knew he wouldn't hurt me. Soon the lilting melody of a merfolk courtship
30:28song floated from the speaker. I had to admit, merfolk singing was beautiful. The next instant,
30:34Opal's expression changed. He drove his claws through the speaker in one violent strike,
30:39shredding it until the song went silent.
30:43I jumped back in terror and ran. Those claws would crack my skull just as easily. He saw me fleeing
30:49and lunged.
30:50I glanced back mid-sprint and saw he'd hauled himself onto the shore, floundering forward,
30:54trying to chase me. But on land, he was slow, nowhere near fast enough. His voice was plaintive,
31:02almost begging. No wonder Nick said merfolk lured humans to their death. That's exactly what he
31:07sounded like now, luring me back so he could eat me. The next day, I found a grouper on the
31:12dock,
31:13alongside a speaker that had been painstakingly pieced back together.
31:18Opal hovered 100 meters out, neither approaching nor leaving, just watching me. I might have
31:23overreacted yesterday. Research consistently showed merfolk were among the friendliest species known.
31:29He'd probably just been startled that the speaker could produce mersong. I waved him over. He drifted
31:3410 meters closer, waited, and when I didn't run, cautiously closed another 10 meters. Several minutes
31:41passed before he was just a few meters away. You don't like the speaker? What if I teach you myself?
31:49Could he actually understand human speech? I'd been listening to the colony's courtship songs
31:54through underwater equipment for weeks. I knew them by heart. I sang the first line, ready to sprint,
31:59the instant his claws came from my head the way they'd come for the speaker. When Opal heard me sing,
32:04his eyes lit up, he repeated the line back. I sang the full courtship song, and he echoed it perfectly.
32:09I'd expected to need a dozen repetitions, but he reproduced the entire song flawlessly on the first
32:14try. His eyes never left me. He didn't even blink. It made me uneasy. Opal, you're incredibly smart.
32:19When you meet a merm you fancy someday, you may sing this tune for her. Consider it tuition.
32:25That night, deep in sleep, I was jolted awake by a familiar melody. Furious, I threw open the window
32:30and locked eyes with Opal. Shut up! I snapped at him. The singing stopped. I finally got a good night's
32:37sleep. But days later, Opal still hadn't found a mate despite knowing the courtship song. Was I
32:43really going to have to teach him the dance too? I was a strong swimmer and certified diver. When I
32:50was a child, trips to Thalassa were all the rage. My parents brought me here on vacation. After visiting
32:55the shallow water merfolk, the next day we boarded a cruise ship to search for deep sea mer. But the
33:00waves
33:00were particularly rough that day, and I fell overboard. Over 10 days later, my parents found
33:06me unconscious on the shore, burning with fever. The fever wiped my memory of that entire period.
33:11The assumption was that a shallow water merfolk pod had rescued me. After that ordeal, once we
33:16returned to our home world, my parents enrolled me in swimming and diving lessons. I never imagined
33:20that years later I'd end up back on Thalassa, and that those skills would actually prove useful.
33:24When you see a female you like, have you tried singing the courtship song for her?
33:28He nodded. I was furious. He'd already sung the courtship song and still got rejected.
33:32These females had no taste. Opal was the most stunning mer on Emerald Atoll.
33:36Do you know the courtship dance?
33:40He shook his head. Fine, for the sake of my thesis, I'd go all in. I turned,
33:44walked into the room, slipped on the silver imitation fishtail, and then dove into the sea.
33:49I mimicked the courtship dance movements, twirling through the sea.
33:52Opal's eyes grew brighter and brighter, unblinking, fixed on every movement.
33:56Like. That was the first word he'd said to me besides my name. Idiot. If he liked it,
34:00then he'd better learn it. I was counting on those merpups next year. When the dance ended,
34:04he retracted his claws. Opal pulled me into a full embrace, carefully circling my waist,
34:09resting his head on my shoulder, his tail pressing close against mine.
34:14Like Isla. Compared to my clumsy,
34:16slightly ridiculous imitation of a merdance, Opal's was effortless and powerful, devastatingly beautiful.
34:22He sang something similar to the merfolk courtship song, but more ethereal, more haunting.
34:26Those impossible eyes held nothing but my reflection the entire time,
34:30like a sailor bewitched by a siren. I found myself swimming toward him, wanting to dance
34:34with him. The moment my hand touched his, I snapped out of it. Dancing with a fish,
34:38I'd lost my mind. I turned and swam hard for shore. Behind me, Opal slowly lowered his hand,
34:43watching me leave in silence. I'd barely peeled off the wet tail when my professor called, and his
34:54furious voice erupted from my comm device. You idiot. You told me you found a deep sea merd.
34:59Didn't you notice the razor sharp teeth? The long claws? The powerful tail? That's not a merd.
35:05It's more like a siren out of mythology. It could slice you open and rip your heart out without breaking
35:10a sweat. The only way a creature like that courts a mate is by hunting them down, dragging them
35:15somewhere no one will find them, and keeping them there until they're pregnant. Get out of there!
35:20Get out! Get out! So my gut had been right all along. I'd always known Opal looked different from
35:26the merfolk. He wasn't a deep sea merd at all. He was a new species, an extremely dangerous new species,
35:32which meant the Emerald Atoll Research Station, with zero physical barriers, was a death trap. Until my
35:38professor secured funding and the station was reinforced, I had to leave immediately. I grabbed
35:43the essentials and launched my yacht. As the island shrank behind me, I let myself breathe. I hadn't
35:49said goodbye. That thought sat heavy in my chest. Whatever he was, he'd never actually hurt me.
35:55My professor called to make sure I'd gotten out. I'm well clear of the atroy!
35:59Thank God. I thought the worst you'd cost me was my academic reputation. I didn't expect I'd nearly have
36:05to attend your funeral. But I had no appetite for his jokes. My voice was shaking. It's here.
36:13Opal's black hair billows in the wind, his sleek tail cutting through the water like an arrow. He
36:18caught up in seconds. His expression was colder than anything I'd ever seen. I told myself it was fine.
36:24The hall was metal. I was safe. Then five pointed claws hunched through the cabin wall. The metal tore
36:29apart like paper. I fell backward. The clumsiness on the dock had been an act. The moment he boarded,
36:36his tail split slowly into two human legs. He walked toward me step by step, like something out of a
36:41nightmare. Don't run. All that friendliness had been an act. From the day he appeared,
36:45he could have slaughtered me and the entire colony any time he wanted. But he hadn't. Had it all been
36:51a
36:52game to him? The moment his prey tried to run, the mass came off. Don't leave. My Isla. And then
36:59his lips
36:59pressed against mine. He was kissing me. Why? He pushed a smooth, hard pearl from his mouth into mine,
37:05his tongue forcing it to the back of my throat until I swallowed. Only then did he pull back,
37:10a satisfied smile spreading across his face. You can't escape now, my mate.
37:18The instant I swallowed the pearl, everything went black. Opal took me like prey. His tail reformed,
37:25and he held me against his chest as he shot through the ocean, heading somewhere unknown.
37:29My comm device lay abandoned on the deck, my professor's voice still coming through.
37:33What do you mean it's here? Isla, talk to me. A long silence. Then a sigh, and the sound of
37:38another
37:38call going out. Hello, is this planetary security? I woke up in iron shackles. I was inside a cave on
37:45some island. The only exit was submerged. Even if I could somehow dive through it, I'd face nothing
37:49but open ocean on the other side. A few meters away, he was slicing a massive fish into fillets
37:55with a poker face. Blood ran into the water. The metallic smell was everywhere. It looked like a
38:00scene from a slasher film. Was I next? He looked up. That cold expression was even more terrifying than
38:07before. Liar! You can't escape. Before, he'd only ever said a word or two at a time. Now he was
38:14speaking in
38:14full sentences. Fluent, precise. Like he'd know how to talk all along and had simply chosen not to.
38:20An animal would just kill you. But something intelligent enough to take hostages was something
38:24you could reason with. What exactly did I lie about? His expression grew angrier.
38:29You courted me first.
38:31Me?
38:32I accepted, and you ran! You always lie to me!
38:37I'd sung the courtship song to him. Danced the courtship dance. From his perspective,
38:42I'd been proposing, and he had accepted.
38:45I softened my voice.
38:48This was all a misunderstanding. I'm a merfish researcher. I thought you were a male mer who'd
38:54come to join the Emerald Ator colony but didn't know how to court. I was teaching you. His fist
38:59slammed into the cave wall, punching out a chunk of solid rock. I didn't want to imagine what would
39:04happen if that had been my skull. I should never have accepted that reassignment.
39:08Shut up. You wanted me to court those stupid, weak merfish.
39:14It took a long time for the rage to subside before he spoke again. His voice was calm,
39:18but with something unhinged underneath. It doesn't matter. Only stupid merfish court that way.
39:23My inherited instinct tells me this is how we do it. We take our mate and hide them away.
39:30Everything my professor said had been true. Why couldn't he have told me sooner? He pushed the
39:36raw fillets toward me. I was about to refuse, when hunger slammed into me like a wall. I wanted
39:42that fish more than I'd ever wanted anything in my life. I devoured every last piece. He watched with
39:47a look of satisfaction, entirely unsurprised. As if he had known this would happen. After eating,
39:53an overwhelming drowsiness hit. I slept again. When I woke, he was slicing fish. I ate again.
40:01Days passed before the hunger and exhaustion finally faded. I demanded answers. What did you
40:06do to me? He took my hand and guided my fingers behind my ears. On each side I felt openings,
40:12developing gills. My skin had changed too, smoother and slicker, like it was no longer meant for land.
40:17I could probably stay underwater for hours now. The pearl. Am I gonna turn into a creature like you?
40:27Yes. You'll become a siren like me. You'll never go back to the human world.
40:33I was going to turn into one of them. Never see my family again. Trapped with this monster for the
40:38rest of my life. Monster, even if I'm not human anymore, I'll never be with you. I hate you.
40:44I'd rather spend my life with a pot of murphine. His jaw clenched, eyes went bright with fury. But
40:50underneath it, just for a second, I saw something great. Then I'll keep you chained here forever.
40:56You won't see another human. You won't even see a mur. From that day on my body kept changing,
41:01more and more like a fish. The openings behind my ears grew from two to six within two weeks.
41:07I didn't say a single word to him. The chains were long enough that I could reach the cave entrance.
41:12I'd tried submerging my head, and I could last hours now before I heard him coming back.
41:16If I could just get the shackles off, I could escape. Today he returned dragging only a small
41:21grouper. But his black gold tail bore a long gash. Iridescent scales fell away with every movement.
41:26He was injured. He didn't even have the strength to shift into legs.
41:32He just lay down and closed his eyes. I walked over and checked his breathing.
41:39Too bad I didn't die. You must be so disappointed.
41:43Obviously. I wish you'd drop dead. What happened to you?
41:48A pot of orcas. About 30 of them. Tried to take my territory. I won, of course. Just a scratch.
42:00Orcas. The ocean's roaming heads. 30 of them. And he won. I died a little inside. I truly provoked
42:07something terrifying. I kicked the grouper he brought into the water. I don't want grouper. I want salmon.
42:15Tomorrow? I want it today, you useless fish who can't even land a mate. Either let me go or go
42:21catch some right now. Tomorrow? I want it today, you useless fish who can't even land a mate.
42:28Either let me go or go catch some right now. He hauled himself up and swam back out through
42:33the entrance. After a long while, he returned with several salmon. The wound on his tail had turned
42:38white and waterlogged from the salt. Actually, I don't want salmon anymore. Too rich. I want something
42:44lighter. Sea bream. He dragged himself back out to catch sea bream. He brought the bream back.
42:50Before I could say another word, he collapsed. With his eyes closed, he looked completely harmless.
42:55The wound had gone raw from the seawater. I cleaned it. I sat beside him and closed my own eyes.
43:02I should
43:02hate him. I was floating in the ocean, but I knew I was dreaming. I turned back into a child.
43:10I saw another child about my age. Was I dreaming? I reached out to him. Please, help me. He swam
43:16toward
43:17me and I saw that his lower half was a slender tail, a mare. He rescued me, set me on
43:21a reef,
43:22and caught food for me. A good myrrh. I wanted him to take me somewhere with people. I want to
43:26go home.
43:27My parents would be worried. But he couldn't understand me, so I taught him to speak,
43:31word by word. He was smart. In just over 10 days, we could communicate.
43:36I learned he wasn't a myrrh. He was a siren. Sirens were solitary. The unchallenged apex predators of
43:41the deep. Sirens never raised their young. From the moment a hatchling broke free of its egg,
43:46it faced the dangerous ocean alone. Only those who survived earned the name siren. I was very
43:50innocent as a child. Innocent in that way only children can be. The kind that cuts.
43:55So you don't have family or friends? You've always been alone? Not even a fish friend?
44:01Don't you get lonely? What's lonely?
44:07Lonely is when there's no one to play with you. No one to talk to. No one who misses you.
44:12I didn't know what lonely was before. So I wasn't lonely. Now I will be.
44:20I'm sorry. After I go home- I'll come back every summer to play with you. I'll talk to you.
44:26And I'll miss you. Let's make a pinky promise. I swear. He copied my gesture solemnly,
44:31extending his little finger, careful not to nick me with his sharp eyes and hooked it around mine.
44:35Cross your heart. We're best friends. I'll never forget you.
44:40Best friends.
44:40I'd planned to stay a few more days before having him take me home. But the sea wind and the
44:45monotonous
44:45diet made me sick. A fever set in. Everything blurred. His face went white.
44:50It's my fault. You don't belong in the sea. I'll take you somewhere with humans. They'll help you.
44:55He carried me on his thin back, racing through the ocean, trying to keep the waves from soaking my hair.
45:02When I'm better, I'll come back for you.
45:06Isla. I'll wait.
45:09He slipped back into the water, and only after people found me and carried me away did that small shape
45:14in the distance finally disappear.
45:16But I never kept my promise. I forgot all of it.
45:21If I hadn't been reassigned to my professor years later, I might never have returned to Thalassa in my life.
45:27And Opal had come to Emerald Atoll not for the merfolk. For me.
45:31And what had I done? I'd made him think I was courting him. He accepted. I ran.
45:37He thought I'd betrayed him twice. In his fury, he took me.
45:43Liar.
45:44I hated you. You are a monster. I'd never be with you.
45:49Sirens heal with terrifying speed. Within hours, the vicious wound had closed.
45:53Opal opened his eyes and saw me still obediently shackled. Only then did he relax.
45:57Opal, you're awake. Does anything still hurt?
46:01Even if you've changed tactics and you're trying to soft me up, I won't let you go.
46:05Opal, you're awake. Does anything still hurt?
46:08Even if you've changed tactics and you're trying to soft me up, I won't let you go.
46:12I'd forgotten our promise. Everything on Emerald Atoll had been a misunderstanding.
46:18Liar. Don't think saying that will make me release you.
46:21My goal now wasn't escape. It was to comfort this poor fish who'd been let down for over a decade.
46:25I don't want to leave anymore. I'll stay here with you.
46:30Then you'll be my mate. Soon, here, we'll be growing an egg.
46:34Didn't you want to study my offspring? Isla, why not carry them yourself?
46:39I'm a human, you know.
46:41You swallowed my pearl. Your body has already been altered to carry Siren Young.
46:48Honestly, I wasn't entirely opposed to him.
46:50Interspecies marriage laws between beast folk and humans had already passed.
46:54Plenty of humans were into it, but carrying an egg was beyond anything I'd mentally prepared for.
46:58Can we just date first? A purely platonic relationship?
47:03I explained what platonic meant. He got angrier.
47:07You're lying again. I'll never believe you.
47:09But when I asked him to unlock the chains so I could swim, he agreed.
47:13Just as I thought. All bark, no bite. But impossible to convince.
47:18While Opal was out hunting, I dove into the water at the cave entrance and discovered small bioluminescent fish.
47:25I caught a few and snacked on them. When I surfaced, my body was burning. Especially there.
47:30I tried to deal with it for a long time, but the relief wouldn't come.
47:33Opal returned and saw the remaining bioluminescent fish.
47:39Merfish eat those during mating. You ate them?
47:41How was there something like that just swimming around?
47:43Humans really had studied this planet nowhere near enough. It kept getting worse.
47:47My face was burning. And not just from the effect. I couldn't believe I was about to say this.
47:51I reached out to Opal. Can you help me, Opal, please?
47:57He just stood there, looking like a kicked puppy despite being a creature that could kill 30 orcas.
48:02You always do this. You asked me first, then you took it back.
48:06Every single time.
48:07I pulled him closer by the wrist. I like you. I want you. Now, you really have to help me.
48:13I need you. He didn't move. His eyes were fixed on me, wounded and wary.
48:18You're begging me now, but tomorrow you'll hate me again. I don't believe you.
48:23Those green eyes looked so lost, like he was already bracing for me to disappear.
48:26So I kissed him first. He froze. Then his arms came around me so tight I thought my ribs would
48:31crack.
48:32He was gentle at first. Trembling even. Like he was afraid I'd break. Then not.
48:38By the end I was breathless. Clinging to him. Telling him that was enough. I couldn't take any more.
48:43He didn't stop until my body gave out completely.
48:48Next morning, clear-headed, I processed the fact that I'd slept with a fish. It had actually felt pretty good.
48:53I might genuinely be in love with Opal. When Opal saw me awake, he handed me a knife made from
48:58shell.
48:58You hate me even more now, don't you? I forced you last night.
49:02I'd been on the bottom, but I knew full well who'd been forcing whom.
49:05You must despise me. I've unlocked your chains. You can use this knife to fierce my heart.
49:10Then leave this place forever. Go back to the human world.
49:13And then what? He'd dissolve into sea foam? He was pure-hearted and soft underneath it all.
49:17Playing at being a captor when he didn't have the constitution for it.
49:20I really like you. If you don't believe me, let's do it again.
49:25So we did. Many, many times. In the cave at the bottom of the sea. But he still didn't believe
49:30me.
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