Breena huffed but then settled onto a creaky wooden step. She propped her elbows up on the step above her and dropped her head back so the summer sun hit her face. She waited, just like that, until the last of the men exited the vessel. When the sound of nothing but sea birds and water lapping against the side of the boat hung in the air, her eyes flew open.
Breena flipped onto her belly and scrambled up the stairs. I followed after her, my eyes alert in case there was a straggler that had stayed behind. Breena darted to the storage room, making it to the door quicker than me, despite the length of my legs.
She swung open the door, and I followed behind, dragging my feet as she entered the room. We’d both heard the scraping of the trunks against the floor, and I couldn’t imagine what she sought still remained. I stayed behind, holding my breath, hoping I was wrong.
A howl erupted through the air only a moment after she entered the room, sending a series of shivers up my spine and down my arms. I dropped my head with closed eyes and swiped my hand through the air, as if I was grabbing an imaginary fly. The mournful sound ended just as soon as it started.
When I pushed open the door, Breena was on all fours, her eyes wide and panicked. Tears poured out of her, but not a single sound left her mouth. As I walked into the room, her head swung toward me. She righted herself and grabbed her throat as she shot daggers at me with her fierce gaze.
“I’m sorry. I can’t let you draw attention to us,” I said, holding my hand out, my palm flat and facing the ceiling. Abovethe skin of my palm, an inky blue spark hovered above my hand. I’d covered her mouth earlier so the sounds of her resistant shouts didn’t cause suspicion, but now, I selfishly couldn’t bear hearing the haunting sound of her grief as it hit her that her pelt was in the hands of a man. Even a water barrier wouldn’t be enough to shield the pain in her voice, so I took her voice all together.
Breena gripped at her throat, her red eyes swelling with tears. My stomach was raw, as if her pain had slithered its way into my pores and began rotting me from the inside out.
“Damn it,” I groaned, reaching down and yanking her off her knees. I didn’t hesitate as I pulled her into me. She pounded on my chest with the sides of her fists, resisting the embrace. The first hit knocked the air out of my lungs, but all I did was squeeze her harder.
Breena’s silent sobs rocked me as she gave in, her arms falling limply to her side. Her face was hot as she buried it into the nape of my neck, making even her warm tears feel chilled as they rolled down my bare skin. The salt of them felt tingly on my neck, like a distant yearning to be fully encased in their salinity.
As she fell still, I placed my hand on her throat. One final sob escaped her as she pulled back from me, her face a swollen mess of snot and tears.
“This is your fault,” she choked out. “I should have never listened to you.”
The bite of her words was sharper than I expected, and I was used to disappointment. Each time I came back from a hunt with nothing, my pod all but killed me with their glares. Words of disapproval filled my head and overwhelmed my senses as they swam away from me, but here Breena stood before me, her eyes locked right on mine as she called me a failure. This time, I had no Kilkov to swim off to escape my shame. I had to stand here and take it.
“We will find your skin, I promise you,” The words shocked even me as they left my lips.
“We?” Breena echoed.
“Yes.” My confirmation caught us both off guard. I still had a family to feed, yet here I was, making promises to someone I barely knew, someone I owed no loyalty to.
What is wrong with me?
“We will find it together, you have my word,” I found myself saying, as if my mouth and mind had two very different priorities.
“I don’t know how much that means.” Breena pushed herself off me.
I bobbed my head, understanding her distrust in me more than she could fathom. “That’s fair. But let me prove you wrong.”
“I suppose I have no other choice.”
“You always have a choice.” I bit my tongue as the stupid sentiment flew from my mouth. My words were the ultimate slap in her face, now more than ever.
“Not anymore.” Breena turned from me and headed to the door with steps as heavy as stone. She tucked her hair back into her cap and disappeared under the light of the day. I tilted my face up to the ceiling and took in three centering breaths before I followed her.
I offered a hand to Breena to help her off the ship. She took it, squeezing a little too hard as she hopped over the large gap between the boat and the dock. She glanced down at the sea, tension held in her jaw. Without her pelt, she wouldn’t be able to touch the water without being subjected to an immense amountof pain. She glanced down at the soft waves, eyes glazed over, frozen in place.
I lightly tugged on her hand to guide her down the dock, but she didn’t budge. Her chest heaved, and the tear lines of her large eyes began to fill once more. Panic was written all over her face as she seemingly tried to process her new reality.
I stepped in closer, leaning down to her ear before saying, “I am as stubborn as the sea itself. If I tell you I will stop at nothing to find your pelt, then my words are as true as the air we breathe.”
Breena took a step back from the edge of the dock, my words being the key to her imprisoned muscles. She bumped into my chest, but I took her in and guided her, one step at a time, away from the boat. She kept her eyes glued to her feet as we passed by the occasional fisherman. I avoided their eyes but kept my head up, focusing on the long dock that led to the human village.
My dry throat clenched as we grew closer, at the realization that our plan ended at getting off the boat. We needed food, water, and a change of clothes, I knew, but how to go about acquiring these items was a whole other challenge.
One step at a time. What’s my next step?
My eyes fixed on the end of the dock, my heart pounding in my ears as we grew closer. When the wooden planks ended, the path carried out onto a winding pebbled path that bled into larger rocks that eventually turned into a mossy cliffside. There was no sand up here, merely stone I could picture seals sunbathing upon. I almost wanted to shield Breena’s eyes so she couldn’t be reminded of her home and her people, knowing she now had no way to get back to them.
The arm I had draped around the selkie found my side once more, but I still held her hand as I helped her transition her numbed body from the wooden planks to the path made of loose stone. The pebbles crunched under our weight as we followed awoman who bobbed down the winding path. In her hands, she carried a canvas bag full of shells clattering against each other as she walked. I wondered where she would take them, and if that place would offer us a solution to our predicament.
