Teen Ink

Summary: Young Mermadea refuses to listen to the superstitious whispers of her fellow villagers. They gossip of something paranormal and powerful foretold to be slowly approaching their beloved island of Andros. She desires nothing more than to live a normal life and stay within the warm nostalgia of childhood memories. But being normal seems nearly impossible when she is plagued with strange dreams filled with merpeople and voices.
Unfortunately, the waking world does not seem any better.

For as long as she can remember, villagers have been disappearing, periodically their bodies recovered, but not whole. The corpses are covered in strange bite marks that are unlike anything the villagers have ever seen. Rumors spread of monsters and supernatural creatures, but Mermadea tries to remain a realist among the chaos.

Eventually her grasp on reality begins to fade after a series of strange events forces Mermadea to come to terms with the gossip. While trying to understand the deaths and disappearances, she discovers an ancient group called the Gifted Ones. But instead of finding solace and comfort in the Gifted Ones, Mermadea is plunged headfirst into a world inhabited by strange golden-eyed women, beautiful but feral merpeople, and otherworldly creatures she thought only existed in myths and stories; a universe she had fought so hard to keep herself free from. Yet what do all of these odd beings have to do with her? Why is she being dragged into their world?