Page 6 of Saved By the Selkie

It takes a minute for his words to filter through my ears. “Really?!” I cry, then glance down at my feet.

The selkie looks distinctly annoyed. “I already told you that,” he says flatly.

I feel a wild smile bloom across my face.

I’ve been right this whole time.

four

Lir

I

amreallynot sure I shouldn’t have eaten this human thing when I had the chance. He’s so … weird. I don’t think he’s shut up since he woke up.

I mean, he’s delighted to be on Mythos. Apparently, he was looking for it or something? Humans don’t think Mythos is real. Or that selkies are real.

Which, to be fair, I wouldn’t have believed anyone if they told me about these land-dwelling, non-shapeshifting selkie-like creatures who live far south of Mythos. It sounds fake.

But the proof of it is standing right in front of me, rambling about how amazing it is that he’s discovered Mythos and kicking sand around.Annoying.

I roll over so my back is to him. I’ll decide what to do about him soon enough. I’m not sure I should take him back to the South Beach haul-out with me. Although maybe a human will distract Vati enough that he’ll forget he was mad at me.

Probably not. I’m likely going to be in more trouble.

I huff and close my eyes. Yup, definitely should have killed the human creature when I had a chance. Although I still don’t think he’d taste very good—he’s really skinny, at least by selkie standards. I don’t think he has any blubber on him at all.

I sigh again as my stomach rumbles, reminding me of my long swim out to sea and the long swim back, hauling this human with me. I’m starving.

Well, there’s probably a quick solution to that. I glance over my shoulder at the human, sizing him up again. Then I frown. “What are you doing?”

“Hm?” He pauses, then looks over at me. “Oh. Trying to crack this coconut. The trees are full of them.”

“Coco-what?”

He hefts the brown … rock-thing in his hand. “A coconut! It’s a fruit.” He jabs a thumb toward the trees. “They grow on the trees.”

“Huh.” I watch him tap at the thing with a stone. “What do you do with it?”

“Eat it,” he replies. There’s a splitting sound. “Ah-ha!”

I stare as white liquid runs out of the brown stone. The human lifts it to his lips and drinks from the hole he just put in it. He pauses and looks at me. “You want some?”

“Uh. Sure?” I wriggle to my feet and pad over to him, my toes sinking in the sand. “I’ve never had … coco-nut before.”

He’s tapping at it again, and this time, it cracks all the way open, like a crab’s shell finally splitting and revealing the succulent meat inside. He picks up a piece and offers it to me. “Here ya go.”

“Thanks.” I stare at it for a second, then bite into the white flesh clinging to the underside of the shell.

It’s sweet. I scrape my teeth over the shell, freeing the last of the meat, then smack my lips together. I glance at the human, then at the tree line. “And it … grows on the trees?”

“Yup,” he agrees. “When they’re ripe, they just kinda fall off the tree and you can pick them up.”

“Huh.” I have no idea why no one in the colony has ever mentioned this to me.

“Want to help me get some more?” The human points inland, toward the trees.

“I’ve got a better idea,” I say. Then I turn back to the ocean and enter the surf. I pause to finish dragging on my pelt, and then, returned to my seal form, I take to the water.