Rose bloom heart pressed her pink tail against the cold water and counted the sharks. Six of them circled the cove, teeth flashing, fins carving the waves. She had come to Mermaid Cove for one reason: to find the merfolk whose heartbeat matched the pink heart on her tail. But no merfolk would swim close while the predators guarded the water. Her search was stuck before it even began. Beside her, her golden merdog whined and hid behind a rock. His plush tail trembled. Rose stroked his ears. "I know," she whispered. "They scare me too." From the deeper water, she heard voices. Two mermaids watched from a safe distance. One wore a pink dress dotted with yellow flowers. The other wore a strand of pale pearls. They would not come closer. They just shook their heads and pointed at the sharks. Rose looked at the land sharks again. They circled, but they did not attack. She noticed something. One shark swam near the shore, sniffing at the pastel sand. It nosed a heart-shaped cottage, then backed away, hungry and unsure. These predators were not cruel. They were starving. No one had ever offered them anything but fear. Rose had a choice. She could keep hiding and lose her chance. Or she could try something no merfolk had dared. She swam to the pink shoreline, where soft waves met the glowing sand. Her merdog followed, shaking. "Stay behind me," she told him. The largest shark turned. It swam straight at her. Rose's heart pounded, but she did not flee. She reached into her satchel and pulled out a strand of fish she had gathered that morning. She held it out over the water. The shark stopped. Its dark eyes fixed on the food. Rose kept her hand steady. Slowly, the shark took the fish from her fingers. It did not bite her. It ate, then nudged her palm for more. One by one, the other sharks came. Rose fed each of them. Her merdog crept forward and sniffed the smallest shark's fin. The shark rolled over, playful now. The merdog barked and splashed. Soon he was chasing the young shark through the shallows. The two watching mermaids stared. The one in the flowered dress swam a little closer, mouth open. "You tamed them," she called. "They were only hungry," Rose said. The sharks settled along the shoreline, full and calm. The cove was safe now. But the mermaid in the pearls frowned and stayed back. "If the sharks trust you," she said, "then they follow you. Wherever you go, they go. And they eat a great deal." Rose looked at the six huge sharks resting around her. She had cleared the water for her search. But now she had six enormous, hungry pets to feed. And the merfolk still watched her from a distance, unsure whether to trust a girl the predators loved.