We waited for half an hour. My eyes burned, and Kyla glanced at me, opened her mouth, and then snapped it closed.
Another half hour passed.
I’d failed.
I buried my head in my knees. I couldn’t bring myself to get up and leave. I ran through every scenario in my brain, attempting to figure out how to get to the merfolk without Mella’s help, but I was coming up empty.
“We’ll figure something out,” Kyla reached out and gave my hand a squeeze. “This isn’t the end, Danica. I swear, we’ll—holy shit.”
I lifted my head and gaped. Seals were beaching themselves, moving toward me. The lead seal seemed to waver, and then I was staring at what had to be the leader of this group of selkies.
She was beautiful. I’d only seen the nightmare that was Mella as she burned down her prison, but this selkie had long, pale blue hair, and eyes the color of topaz.
“You have called to us, Danica Amana, and we have come. My name is Acacia. It appears we owe you a debt for saving our sister.”
A tiny spark of hope burned in my chest. “May I ask you a question before I call in that debt?”
She inclined her head regally. “You may.”
“Are the legends true about your pelts—may someone who can’t breathe beneath the water use it to temporarily grant them this power?”
The selkie stared at me silently for a long moment. “Yes,” she said finally. “This is true.”
“I would like to know if this would be an acceptable use of my blood debt.”
“You wish to borrow one of our pelts?”
“Yes.”
Curiosity lit her eyes at that. “I will need to speak to my queen. This has never been asked before. To allow a human that level of trust…”
“I promise I’ll return it.”
The selkie laughed. “Mortals have promised the same since the dawn of time.”
Fair enough.
“I’ll do it,” a voice said. We all turned. Mella leaned against a rock, her gaze on my face. I smiled at her.
“You look better than the last time I saw you.”
Sharp teeth gleamed as she grinned back at me. “It would be impossible to look any worse.”
“Albert is still alive.”
The grin fell from her face. “I know. But he won’t be forever. The word is spreading amongst our people, along with others who owe us favors. That bastard goes near any shoreline in the country, and he’s dead.” Curiosity shone in her eyes. “Why do you need a pelt?”
I glanced around, checking there was no one listening. Kyla nodded at me. She wasn’t picking up any new scents.
“What I tell you needs to stay between us,” I said, and both selkies nodded.
Once I’d filled them in, they glanced at each other. “This will be highly dangerous.”
“Yeah. Story of my life. But will it work?”
“Yes,” the selkie said. “But your blood debt only extends so far. You may borrow one pelt only.”
Kyla looked displeased, but I nodded. We’d expected that.
