Her skin. She spoke about it like it truly was an extension of her soul.
Crazy.
“The baby will be fine,” I told him. “I have to go. I have to be the one to get Cass.”
Brock took one last lingering look at my belly and finally nodded, not bothering to hide his reluctance.
The selkie leader smiled. “It’s all set, then. We’ll lend you these two skins, and the moment you return from the underworld, you’ll have them sent back here.”
Brock nodded. “You have my word.”
The girl nearest me grabbed the edges of the skin and shook it out, like a cloak. “Ready?”
My eyes widened. “Oh. Now?”
The girl nodded. “My skin must know that you do this with my permission. Otherwise it will kill you.”
Brock made a strangled noise in his throat. “You said it wouldn’t hurt them.”
She snapped her head in his direction. “It won’t as long as we do it my way.”
“It’s fine,” I told them both, and bowed my head.
One second I was standing there, dry, and the next she tossed this heavy, wet skin over my shoulders and I felt like I was floating in seawater. Like fully submerged.
“Good girl.” The woman pet the skin, her fingers trailing along my back as if she were petting me. It’s like the skin and I were one and we were floating in the ocean. There was also something dark there, lurking at the edges, probably whatever made it demon in nature, but I chose not to focus on that. Cass was a demon and there wasn’t a dark bone in his body, so this could be okay too.
“Be good. I will see you soon,” the selkie cooed in my ear, and I tried not to shiver. The seal’s head was draped over my skull like a hood. I had no doubt it was terrifying to look at.
Glancing over, I saw that Brock was also wearing his selkie suit, a naked female stroking his back while she whispered in his ear.
Could this day get any stranger? We looked like we were about to start filming some weird porno.
“Now go, and don’t forget to bring the skins back,” the leader warned. “If you don’t show, we’ll pay a little visit to your pack.”
Brock nodded. “We’ll show. Thank you.”
One of the females pointed to the skins. “You can take them off and on now at will. They will behave. But leave them on the entire time you’re in the underworld unless you want to burn alive.”
Oh God. I had to fight three sirens with this thing on?
Great.
With that, Brock and I turned and started to walk to the helicopter.
“Are we seriously doing this? Going to the underworld looking like selkies?” Brock asked as the skins floated around us.
I stopped and faced him. “Look, I know you didn’t sign up for this level of crazy. I totally understand if you—” He cut me off with a kiss to the lips.
“It was a rhetorical question, my love. Where you go, I go.”
I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face as we headed home to walk through the gate to the underworld and save my best friend from psychotic sirens.
16Die, demon scum!
The second thehelicopter touched down in Eugene, Brock reached out through the pack link to bring Ray up to speed, and I whipped out my cell phone to call Tianna. By the time I disconnected the call, Brock was already directing an expectant look my way while he threw his waiting truck into drive. With the selkie seal skins in the back seat, he tore off the tarmac as if we had a date with the devil himself—which wasn’t all that far from the truth.
“They haven’t made much progress with Johnny’s spell,” I groaned, flinging my head against the seat-back in frustration. “There’s no way Tianna will be able to help us out. She’s freaking out about being stuck at Cottage Grove when Cass needs her.” I closed my eyes to process all the feels. If Brock were in trouble and I couldn’t get to him, I’d be losing my damn mind too.
