To Kill a Kingdom

A siren princess goes with her cousin Khalia to hunt for the heart of a human, which every siren must gather on her birthday. Sirens collect hearts for the power it gives them, whereas mermaids collect hearts because they believe eating them will turn them human. The siren princess is a descendant of Keto, the sea goddess who gave her life to protect the sirens from the humans. The two sirens spot a royal ship from Adékaros, one of the poorer human kingdoms. There, they find a prince with a pretty, innocent face, and his mother, the queen. Khalia asks who the princess will take, and she chooses the prince.

Khalia and the princess begin their songs. Their voices lure the prince and his mother into the water, giving both royals an overwhelming feeling of love and desire for the two sirens. The princess holds the prince in her arms as he calmly drowns: “Something about his purity reminds me of my very first kill. The young boy who helped my mother turn me into the beast I am now” (10). She lets out a shriek and plunges her fist into his chest, pulling out his heart.