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“Rainn!” I shouted, and luckily, Rainn saw the anger on my face—somehow, he knew to duck to the side, allowing a clear path between me and the selkie guard.
The tide that had pulled away from the rocks returned with a vengeance, forming a tunnel of water that shot out and swept the selkie off his feet. His head hit the rocks with a sickening crunch that made me thankful he wore a helmet.
Rainn pulled the face guard up to reveal the selkie’s identity, but it was no one we knew. And he was out cold.
“We should keep moving,” Rainn said, searching the treeline for a sign of any more guards.
Tor nodded his agreement and grabbed the packs.
When I stepped over the unconscious form of my would-be assailant, I wondered how much of my welcome at the Skala beach had been real. Perhaps the selkie queen was happy for our mating, but it didn’t seem like anyone else was.
I knew what King Irvine had done to the selkies all those years ago. I just hadn’t expected his actions to reflect on me.
We walked enough for my feet to ache and for the ease of swimming in the water to appeal with every painful step.
We’d long since left the shore behind and gone further into the forest. Rainn and Tor grew stiffer with every step as if they expected another attack.
Finally, we reached a doorway formed from branches and woven into an arch between two trees. I would have walked under the arch, on the well-worn path, but Rainn held out his hand to stop me.
“This is a gairid path,” Rainn warned. “Both from Selkie magic and the expectation that a path will take us where we need to go. We must all hold hands.” His eyes flicked to Tor. “And we must all think of where we wish to go.”
“The nymph village?” I frowned.
Rainn shook his head. “There is an inn halfway between the Skala beach and the village. It lies in the night court proper. Selkies often bed down there, but it is frequented by land fae.”
Fear grabbed my stomach and wouldn’t let go. “Land fae?” I didn’t know much about the Sidhe living outside the lake. “My uncle has… had… allies everywhere. What if they recognize me?”
“We’ll be close enough to the lake to drown them if necessary.” Tor shifted the pack on his shoulder, though I doubted the weight bothered him.
“I thought you didn’t drag people to the deep anymore.” I squinted.
“Not me.” He slanted a grin my way. “You seem adept at using the water to your advantage. I’ve never seen a whirlpool jump on land like a pet. It was ready to do your bidding.”
I shuddered. “I don’t know what happened,” I said truthfully. “I don’t know if I can do it again.”
“Can you transform into a seal again?” Rainn rubbed his chin. “I didn’t think to ask.”
I reached up, brushing my fingers against the lapel of his coat—fastened around my shoulders like a cape. “Maybe?” I hedged. Though I could feel the magic on the coat, it tasted like Rainn—like sun-dappled water and the bond between us.
I knew I could change form if needed, which scared me.
Undine did not change form. That was a privilege born only to the wild fae.
I thought back to every mention of my father. Through my mother's loving lens and then my uncle's scornful hate, but no information came to the surface. I only knew that he had met my mother on the frosted sands all those years ago, and I had been born shortly after.
“Let’s get to the inn and rest for the night,” Tor suggested, frowning at the shadows in the distance. “It seems there is dissent amongst the Selkies and that someone has put a price on Maeve’s head.”
Chapter Six
Knowledge that I was once again a target of somebody’s ire did not faze me. I had spent many years in Cruinn, with the pressure of other people's assumptions like a weight on my back.
Though I had felt comfortable in the castle on the Scala beach, I hadn’t been home. I didn’t know if I would ever feel comfortable calling a place such. Still, my heart ached to know that Rainn’s home was not my own—and if we were to find a place to live, it wouldn’t be on the Scala beach, behind the protection of the sentient rocks that guarded the selkies.
The gairid paths were hard to find, though once Rainn pointed them out, I began to look for signs. Naturally occurring archways and each gap between the trees. Each gairid path had a strange ritual attached, such as taking a precise amount of steps or peculiar hand gestures. The gairid paths didn’t feel like magic, but we had jumped great distances every time I looked out at the lake.
The undine used enchantments to create reed steeds and bubble mares, each equine built for a different purpose. Whether it be for speed or to rise to the surface quickly. I was sure that kelpies had a way to jump vast distances as well, though with the four-legged form, maybe they didn’t need one.
I hoped the inn on the shore would be safe.
