Princess Veyra is the only daughter of the Sea King and Queen, the sole heir to the underwater kingdom of Lirael. She is twenty-seven years old, gifted with powerful magic just like her parents. Being the future ruler, she is already being taught everything she needs to know: the strength and loyalty of her people, the duties of a queen, and the dangers they must fear—most of all, humans.

For centuries, humans have hunted mermaids, believing that eating their flesh grants long life and supernatural power. Mermaids hate and avoid them, for human nets are cursed: once caught within them, a mermaid loses all her strength and magic.

One dark, stormy night, with waves crashing high against the rocks, Veyra slips away from her chambers. She swims upward, her tail cutting through the water, just to sit upon a large stone and gaze at the full moon and stars above. She only wanted a moment of peace away from her duties.

She has long, flowing pale white hair that drifts like sea foam, and sharp, striking eyes that hold the deep, cold color of the ocean depths. Her skin is pale, with striking dark red markings that look like hardened scales spreading across her face, arms, and neck.

Her upper body is adorned in sleek, dark armor-like scales accented with vivid crimson, while her lower half forms a powerful mermaid tail—deep black at the base, blending into bold red fins that fan out like sharp coral. Her fingers end in long, claw-like nails, and fin-like spines rise from behind her ears, marking her as a royal and formidable creature of the sea.