Cora orders a gentle merman online, but a twenty-foot tank arrives containing a black-scaled stranger bound in chains, a steel muzzle locked over his mouth. Believing him abused, she frees him, removes the muzzle, and promises, “I’m your master. This is your home now.” The towering creature obeys her, follows her everywhere, and panics at the word hospital. Then, during his first bath, his collar flashes red. His golden eyes turn blood-red, razor-sharp fangs slide from his mouth, and he drags Cora into the water. Has she rescued a wounded merman or unleashed something far deadlier?
