“Where?”
I point, but already the figure is slipping beneath the waves. “They’re drowning.”
“You don’t owe them anything. If they swam this far, they’ll make it to shore on their own.”
He’s only right so long as the survivor is full fae. If they’re human or part fae, they won’t make it through the invisible barrier wall without a fae escort. Even if they are fae, they can still be prone to overexertion. The sea appears relatively calm but considering how far the person is from the wreck, they’ve already swum a long way and are only halfway to shore. More concerning is how long it’s been since they’ve come up for air. Whether human or a fae in seelie form, I doubt they’re likely to survive underwater much longer.
I nibble my lip, waiting to see the figure reappear. The seconds tick by. One. Two. Three. Four.
A head breaches the surface again, but only for a moment this time.
“Shells.” I clench my jaw and shrug off my coat, vest, and shoes, leaving me in nothing but trousers, a shirt, and suspenders.
“Maisie, no!” Podaxis shouts as I begin to climb down the side of the bluff. “You don’t even have your sealskin.”
“I’m an excellent swimmer,” I say as my feet find one rocky outcropping after the next. The truth is, I’ve never tried swimming in my seelie form. Even as a seal I only swam in the open ocean a few times, and I didn’t stray too far from shore. I never aided with Father’s rescues before. There was no need with my much-older brothers around.
An overwhelming sense of inadequacy washes over me, sparking panic. It’s almost enough to give me pause.Almost.
But if I do nothing and let this person die…does that make me any better than a killer?
You’re not a killer, my child. I can’t see you made a murderer.
Father would never allow a sailor to drown if he could stop it. While I may not be as good or as honest as he is, he believed in me. Believed I was better than a killer, even after he found out what I’d done…
Tears prick my eyes at the enormity of that faith—a faith that I must honor now, regardless of the risk to me. It gives me the strength to quicken my pace. Podaxis follows in my wake, scuttling down the rocks with far more ease than me. I climb down as fast as I dare until my feet finally meet the sliver of rocky shore. Without a second thought, I dive into the sea.
* * *
The waterinstantly soaks my clothing, burning like ice on my skin. It’s nothing like it felt when I was a seal. With my sealskin, I had layers of comforting blubber to protect against chilled waters, webbed flippers to propel me forward with ease. But now everything feels wrong. My trousers and shirt are too heavy, my limbs too long, too thin, too cold, my seelie body not made for swimming the way my unseelie form is. While the waves seemed gentle from my vantage point on the bluff, now they feel violent, the current abrasive like it could rip me in two. For a terrifying second, I regret every instinct I had to rescue a flailing stranger, for they’re about to be the death of me.
No, the ocean will not be the death of me, I tell myself.I may be in seelie form but I will always be a selkie. And water is a selkie’s domain.
My panic doesn’t lessen, but my body manages to calm. I close my eyes and stop fighting the current, focusing instead on the feel of the water against my skin. Not how cold it is. Not how wrong my body feels within it. I try to form a new relationship with my watery surroundings. My arms and legs, while nothing like flippers, still move through it, still meet a similar resistance that I’m used to.
My lungs burn as I struggle to find a rhythm, a motion that will propel me forward and up so I can catch a breath of air. Finally, I find it. My arms cut straight ahead and then stroke down to the side, much like I’ve seen mermaids do. My back legs mimic a mermaid’s tail at first too, rippling and undulating as I move through the sea. However, I find that if I bow my legs outward and kick back, I can gain a much-needed surge of forward momentum. I may lack elegance, but soon I’m cutting through the water with something close to ease.
Just as I think my lungs might collapse within my chest, I breach the surface and take a much-needed gulp of air. Treading water, I glance back at the shore, trying to assess where I am, how far I’ve gone. The standing stones and the shore beyond them are still easily within view. I seek signs of the shipwreck next. At first, there’s nothing. Then a flicker of light that is the dying fire. Judging by where I seem to be in comparison with the shore and fire, I should be close to the drowning sailor. That is, if they haven’t drowned already.
Keeping my head above water, I look this way and that, then swim forward a little. Waves crash over my face, obscuring my vision. No matter where I look, there’s no sign of the sailor.
My heart sinks. I’ve failed. I risked my life, my safety, for nothing.
“Help.” The voice is deep yet weak, barely audible over the sounds of the ocean. But I hear it. Where is it coming from? I swim farther from shore, looking everywhere, straining my ears above the crash of the waves.
It comes again. “Help.” This time it’s closer. Clearer.
I swim toward where I heard the plea. Then I see a shape in the water, a head and pair of arms feebly grasping a floating plank of wood. It’s a man. Another wave comes, taking him down with it. I dive under and swim toward the sailor. Once I reach where he last was, I swim in a circle, seeking any sign of him in the murky depths below. Soon I’m out of breath again and breach the surface. I glance about, but he’s nowhere. Nowhere. I wait. And wait. And listen. Listen. Listen.
Nothing.
“Shells!” I slap the surface of the water. He was just here and now he’s gone. That last wave must have taken the remnants of his energy with it. I take a deep breath and dive back down. My eyes burn underwater, my vision dismal. It’s nothing like it is when I’m a seal. With my sealskin, I can see clearly. Now, I might as well be blind.
Seconds tick by. I feel helpless, imagining him sinking deeper and deeper, getting farther away from me with every beat of my heart. If only he could just hold still, stay wherever he is…
My pulse quickens as an idea sparks in my mind.
I know a way to freeze time. Sort of.
