AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Air!
She sent out a cry for help, hoping that her seventh Warden would hear it. All she needed was some air to breathe so she could concentrate and think. Then she'd figure out a way to get out of this place. And to defeat Self-Doubt.
Was this what drowning felt like? If so, she felt particularly sorry for all the sailors in tales of old who died at sea.
And no wonder people hated kelpies, if this is what they were rumoured to do to people.
The black spots intensified, and she clutched at her throat, clawing it with her nails.
Shift.
She needed to shift.
The thought fled the moment she had it, and she struggled to pull it back.
How had she forgotten how to shift? That shouldn't be possible, should it?
Why hadn't her body taken over the moment she hit the water?
Where was her natural instinct?
The panic grew worse with each unanswered question, and her vision swam all the more.
Another moment passed, and she did the only thing she could think of. She opened her mouth and gulped down the water which was suddenly surrounding her.
Selkie
16
Water spurted from Macey's mouth as coughs wracked her entire body.
Wait...coughs? That meant...
She opened her eyes and blinked furiously. The sting of the salt water making them ache and urging her to rub them. She just about refrained, knowing it would only make them worse, and not better.
"You're lucky to be alive, kelpie," a haunting male voice said.
She flipped over onto her back, trying to ignore the fact she was naked and there was a man in front of her.
While her vision was still swimming, she could just about make out the silhouette of a short, lithe man with what could probably only be described as a swimmer's body, standing over her.
He was naked too.
Macey blinked again, trying to make sense of what she was seeing. What were the chances of the person who saved her being naked too?
"Who are you?" Macey croaked, her voice a mere echo of its normal strength. She wouldn't even have recognised it as her own. Well, other than the fact she was the one speaking.
She briefly wondered if Self-Doubt was still with her, but from the lack of persistent taunting in her head, she guessed that the answer was no. Hopefully it would stay away, though she knew she'd probably have to face it again.
At least they knew what it was that was destroying the Staran now. That piece of knowledge was going to be invaluable going forward.
"I'm Rónán," he replied.
Macey sat up suddenly. "You're a selkie."
"Last I checked. Unfortunately, my mother was rather inventive in naming me, so I got stuck with a name that screams what I am to the world." He chuckled slightly.
"Why did you help me?" she asked, her head swimming slightly from the effects of a lack of air.
