A sensuous and strange horror novella full of creeping dread and delicious gore, twisting mermaid myths into something sharp, dangerous, and hungry, for fans of Christina Henry, Carmen Maria Machado and Eric LaRocca. Myths are full of lies. This is not one of them. Fleeing the downfall of an empire, a mermaid and her plague doctor companion escape into the eerie shadows of a wintery forest. Amongst the bark and snow they are drawn into ancient games for ageless children – a murderous hunt of blood and sacrifice – deep in the woods, where three who call themselves ‘saints’ rule over them all like gods. Trapped in a feverish nightmare of masked monsters, stitches and surgeons, and needle teeth, the mermaid must embrace all of her cruelty and hungers to free the children.