“We’re too far from the wall. There’s no magic out here.”
The kelpie rumbles with hissing laughter. “No wall can separate magic from the sea. It is everywhere.”
I shake my head. “I can’t feel it. No matter what I try, I don’t feel connected to the elements here.”
“That’s because you are not of the sea.”
“Perhaps,” I say, “but fae are never seen this far from Faerwyvae, not even sea fae.”
“Melusine forbade us,” he says. “Although I prefer to think I have no master, no king or queen, I obeyed this order. It was for our protection. Sea fae do not like it on the human side of the sea. We can hardly stand to swim through the polluted waters, and when we do, the iron nets and barbed hooks are enough to keep us from coming back.”
“Then why are you here now? I am not lost. I am in no need of your services.”
“No, I suppose you are not.” His tone holds a hint of regret. “Although, I hoped you would find yourself lost today, for you owe me a life. Yet every time I spied you running past my rivers and streams, you were a fox. And the fox knew the way.”
A chill runs down my spine. The kelpie has been watching me? For how long? I saw no sign of him during my travels here. Then again, my focus wasn’t on seeking out other creatures; it was on finding the port.
When I say nothing in reply, the kelpie releases an equine snort and begins to rise from the waves.
I take one step back, then another, keeping my blade between us as the kelpie pulls himself onto the dock with a sinuous agility a normal horse would never possess.
Righting himself on four enormous, ebony hooves, he pins me with his ruby stare, paying no heed to the threat I hold in my hand. “I saw what you and your mate did to the vile ship.”
I furrow my brow; it takes me several moments to comprehend what he’s referring to. “You were at Varney Cove?”
“The seelie rat who called himself king summoned my kind to his aid. Very few obeyed. The rest of us came only to watch.”
“I’m sure it was great entertainment for you,” I say, a bitter edge to my voice. Aspen and I could have used some assistance on the beach that day. If the sea fae weren’t going to help Cobalt, they could have helped us instead. Especially considering Cobalt’s death makes Aspen Regent of the Sea Court until another sea fae can gain the blessing of the All of All.
“We approve of your actions against the ship.”
I put my free hand on my hip and toss him a sardonic glare. “Thanks for your approval.”
A stretch of silence falls as the kelpie continues to watch me with his unsettling gaze. I’m considering the best way to extricate myself from the conversation when the kelpie speaks again. “You call yourself unseelie.”
“I do.”
“And yet you do not hate all humans.”
“I do not.”
The kelpie’s eyes burn a shade brighter. “And yet you hate the one on the ship.”
I shudder. “Yes.”
“Would you like to speak with him? I could bring him to you.”
The hair rises on the back of my neck. As much as I want to say yes, I can feel the threat of a bargain hanging in the air. I squeeze my dagger tighter. “What will it cost me?”
The kelpie’s long, serpentine neck curves to the side, allowing him a glance behind him at the ship. When he returns to face me, his serrated teeth are bared. Whether the expression is supposed to be a threat or a smile, I know not. “A life.”
I shake my head. “I will not give you my life.”
“You need not,” he says. “The life of the one you hate will do.”
My pulse pounds rapidly, my eyes flashing to the ship. It’s so far out now, it’s nothing more than a dark shape amidst the equally dark night.
“Do we have a bargain?”
