Page 68 of The Last Kelpie

I pushed up and glared down at him. “I'm going to ride you, kelpie. And you're going to let me.”

“Aren't you afraid that I might not let you go?”

The teasing drained out of me. “I'm hoping you don't.”

As his expression turned into awe, I rode him. Gently at first, then faster. I bounced up and down on my knees until my thighs burned, and then leaned forward, set my hands on the bed, and slammed down on him harder. Something wild came over me. With my kelpie beneath me, I felt as if I were magical too. I rode him so hard that the bed creaked and my cock bounced on his belly.

“Ethan!” Áedán jerked beneath me, his muscles tight as he came.

Cool liquid surged into my channel and triggered my release. I pushed up and came hard, hitting his nipples and making him shudder even more. There was so much pleasure passing through me that my ears went hollow for a few seconds. Then I fell onto the bed beside Áedán, his spent shaft slipping free of me with a delicious slither.

“Holy water.” Áedán panted. “What was that?”

I curled up beside him. “That was me taking what I wanted.”

He chuckled. “Was it now? Then I have one request.”

“What?”

“Never stop.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Áedán drove us back to the Velasca Estate the next morning. The storm had passed, leaving the landscape scrubbed clean. I watched the mountains recede in the side mirror, thinking about the Forgotten that whispered Áedán before disappearing into the water. But then we were out of Luss, and the change in scenery drove away those thoughts.

The drive to the estate was becoming familiar. Still, the hours in the car made my body ache, and I was relieved when we stopped for lunch. It was just a quick sandwich and a bubbly drink, but it revived me enough to endure the rest of the journey. We stayed away from topics involving Áedán fading, focusing on inconsequential things that nonetheless made us smile.

At last, we made it to Castle Combe. The estate appeared when we passed through the gate, as it always did, suddenly there. Áedán parked in the lot near the main hall, and Zephyr assaulted me as soon as I got out. He squawked angrily at me as we headed for the front door.

“I wasn't gone that long.” I tried to pet him, and he snapped his beak at me. “Hey! I've just had a long trip. You could be more welcoming.

“He missed you.” Julian stood on the front steps, hands in his pockets, looking as if he'd been expecting us at precisely that moment.

“Julian.” Áedán nodded to him as we approached.

“Áedán. Ethan.” Julian's gaze moved between us, assessing. “I take it the trip was productive?”

“We found the first record of the, 'The truth yields to the tale most often told.' It was on the first full alteration of the kelpie myth.” I pulled a folder out of my bag. Inside were the photographs I'd taken of Edmund Ashford's printer's proof, my paper on the altered stories to be published online, and my report for the Velasca.

“What do you mean, the first full alteration?”

“I mean it was the first book where the lies became uniform and the alterations ended. It was in a book that is often used for reference. And the man who wrote the book swears it was changed after he sent it to his publisher. He even had a printer's proof that someone had written over in red ink, replacing the truth he wrote with lies. I took pictures of it all, including a spiral symbol drawn in a margin. Someone systematically rewrote kelpie mythology, Julian.”

Zephyr went silent, sitting beside me and watching us.

Julian took the folder and flipped through it. His expression didn't change, but something shifted in his eyes. “This is excellent work. I'll give it to the Outreach Team immediately. They'll begin releasing the original accounts, adding some stories you remember, Áedán. We can't undo the damage overnight, but we can start reminding people what the real stories were and then build upon that.”

“Will it be enough?” Áedán held Julian's gaze.

“I don't know. Your situation is unusual.” Julian shut the folder and lifted his chin. “But it's more than we had yesterday.” He looked at me. “There's something else you should investigate. The Forgotten that attacked Áedán—the fact that it spoke is unprecedented. I'd like you to search the older Velasca records. See if there are any documented cases of Forgotten communicating before.”

“You think it's happened before?”

“I think if it has, the evidence would be in the Archive. Agnes will help you.”

Áedán and I exchanged glances. I could see the tension in his shoulders, the way he held himself carefully. The Forgotten had frightened him more than he wanted to admit.

“We'll start now,” I said.