Life had shifted in an instant the second I had run into that selkie, and more and more, it was hitting me that I was thankful for her trying to steal my fish. Because if she’d never been there, annoying me to my very core, I would be back in the Ever Wanderer, sitting in my guilt for having nothing to contribute to my pod.
The book slipped out of my hand, and I realized I had been caught back up in my mind once again. I scooped the dusty old thing off the floor and cracked it open to the page I’d been reading. Paper and water didn’t go together well, so I hadn’t read a book like this since I was a child. I’d missed the feeling of the paper in my hands, the way I got to go at my own pace instead of having to listen to our elders tell stories, as fascinating as they all were.
I refocused on the story of the princess, Elma, who searched for the last dragon in her kingdom. Running my fingers down the aged, burgundy spine, I allowed myself to get lost in someone else’s world.
When my eyes grew heavy with sleep and mead, I rolled off the settee, placed the book on the side table, and left the blanket folded on the padded armrest.
The door to the bedchamber creaked as I pushed it open. Breena stirred and propped herself up under the thin summer blanket. The moonlight shining through the thin curtains cast a blue glow over her brown curls, illuminating her familiar figure.
“You’re still awake?” I asked, concern finding its way into my tone. She’d come in here hours ago, and I thought for sure she would’ve been deep in a dreamland by now.
“I can’t sleep.” Her voice wobbled when she gripped the top of the sheets. Her face was swollen, and her cheeks shimmered in the dim light of the room.
“What’s going on?” I noticed the way she rubbed the bottom of her nose with the back of her hand. Snot glistened on her skin, and I hardly doubted it was due to an illness.
“It’s nothing,” she said with a little sniffle. Reaching for the small table next to the bed, she grabbed an already-used handkerchief.
“Tell. Me. Now.” I made my way to the side of the bed and nudged her over to make room for me. She scooted over, sniffling some more as she shimmied under the sheet across the bed. I climbed in after her and slid my arm under her cool pillow. The spot I rested my head on was warmed from her body, and her scent filled me with comfort despite her unease. Being here on land with Breena, I couldn’t imagine never basking in this aroma again once I returned to the sea.
“It’s stupid. I shouldn’t be crying about it. It’s just…” Breena trailed off and took a deep breath. “It’s hard for me to sleep knowing my pelt is out there somewhere. And I hate that I have no idea what will become of it—or me. Here, I’ve been trying to get you to let go and not take things so seriously, and I’m a full-blown mess inside.”
She released a tormented chuckle, a residual tear rolling down her cheek. I willed the thing away, unwilling to see thephysical reminder of her pain. It evaporated into thin air, leaving a sparkle of salt behind that only I could see.
“It’s not stupid. I would be more worried if you didn’t care,” I said. Zellia was the only person I’d ever had to comfort, and even then, she knew if she wanted more than an awkward pat on her scaled back and some mildly comforting words, she had to go elsewhere. My mother was far better with the feelings of others. I may have felt them as if they were my own, tortured by them, but that didn’t mean I knew how to fix them or make them go away. Breena was no exception.
“I need this man, this captain, to be the one who has my pelt. At least we know where we can find him. I could survive a few more days if there was a guarantee my pelt was in his home and we could retrieve it soon enough. What I can’t survive is the thought that?—”
“Stop. While I can’t guarantee he has it, Icanguarantee that whoever does will not live long enough to attempt to claim you as their wife,” I growled out, my eyes boring into the side of her face. She rolled over, giving me a better look at her red-rimmed eyes.
“You said that earlier. I don’t believe you would go as far as to kill someone. Humans aren’t fish, Sid. You can’t hunt them.”
“I can and I will if it means you can return to the sea to see your brother.” Could she not see how much I’d given up staying here with her? What a waste it would all be if I left before she had exactly what she was after?
“Do you mean that?” she asked with a loud sniffle. It wasn’t as cute as the last had been, but I wouldn't let her know otherwise.
“You know I mean it. Now, whether that’s comforting to you is a different story entirely, but I mean it all the same.”
“You don’t even know his name, yet you’d be willing to risk it all so I could return to him,” She didn’t meet my eye. All shecould do was run the back of her knuckles over the sand-colored sheets, as if the movement soothed her somehow.
“Because it’s not about him—it’s about you. If you said you needed to get home because you desperately missed the rock you sat upon, I would risk it all just the same.”
She let out a snotty snort, and I took that as a victory. The tightness in my chest released me from its hold long enough for me to take a lung-filling breath, a cleansing one.
“I do also miss my rock,” she said, sinking into me and the mattress further. “My brother’s name is Niven. You may not care about him, but for some reason, I want you to.”
“Then I will.” I peered into her tired eyes. She perked up when my promise left my lips, and a lump in my throat formed, as if I had swallowed a rock. How was I able to give this woman hope? Relief? How did my words hold enough weight to possibly change the way her body poured into mine?
“Also, I meant it when I said I don’t want you going around killing anyone, but I appreciate the sentiment.” She spoke with a small chuckle in her voice, releasing some of the tension she’d been holding in her face.
“If I do recall, you were the one who called me a killer, who told me to drown all of the sailors while we were on the Indigo Tide.” I thought back to her giggles as the fishermen struggled to stand against the waves powered by my magic.
“Well, that was different.” A hint of a smirk danced at the corner of her mouth. That smile,depths,I didn’t think I’d see it for the rest of the night.
“How so?” I asked, my head cocked on the pillow beneath me. Using the side of my arm, I fluffed the pillow up so I could get a better look at the woman next to me despite the dim lighting. Sirens could see in the dark, of course, shapes and figures that allowed us to maneuver through the night with ease. Tonight, though, I wanted to see more than just the shape of her.I wanted to see each twitch at the corner of her mouth, each time her eyes twinkled through her tears.
“I don’t know. These humans, this place, it’s kind of growing on me.” Breena adjusted her hands so they were under the side of her face and the pressure of them on her skin pushed up her right cheek.
“It is, isn’t it?” I asked, more to myself than her. Breena yawned and settled a little deeper into my side. Her grief-filled eyes grew sluggish in their blinks until she no longer tried to fight the fatigue.
