Hazel’s POV
Martha dropped to her knees beside the tub so fast the water sloshed over the edge and soaked the hem of her skirt. Her hand shot out toward my arm—hesitant, trembling—like she wanted to touch the scales but was afraid they would burn her.
“My queen—”
The words died in her throat.
The shimmering stopped.
One second my skin was alive with iridescent light—greens and blues and silvers dancing like moonlight on water—the next it was just… skin. Normal. Pale. Human. The scales vanished as if they had never been there. The soft glow in the bathwater blinked out too, leaving only ordinary steam curling up from the freezing surface.
I stared at my forearm, turning it left and right like I expected the scales to reappear if I looked hard enough.
“What…what was that?” My voice ca
