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Izban winced again, this time from embarrassment. “It was,” he muttered. “Is it okay now to ask why they’re here?”
“I need your help,” Rónán said before Macey could prolong the awkward conversation any further. “I’ve been told you can find things with your magic. Something of mine was stolen and I need it back.”
“Can’t you just go to the selkie police or whatever you people have?”
“We don’t have a police,” Rónán explained patiently. “We have a Council of Elders who would judge and punish the culprits, but I don’t know who actually stole it, so they’re not much use to me.”
“I’m sure Izban is going to…” Amber began, but her boyfriend cut her off.
“Tracking spells are difficult and time-consuming. You’ll need to find yourself another mage.”
That’s what Macey had feared, but luckily, she had a secret weapon. One she’d hoped she wouldn’t have to use. She leaned over to Izban and whispered, “In the visions I was shown by the kludde, I saw you betray us. Maybe it’s a future that’ll never happen, maybe you’ll stay loyal, but if you don’t help Rónán, I will tell Amber.”
She retreated, feeling increasingly guilty at how she was blackmailing the mage. He stared at her, his eyes full of emotion that she couldn’t interpret. Was he angry at her? Would he snap?
She still hadn’t figured Izban out. He was so nice and gentle with Amber, but to the rest of them, he was cold and rude. He was an enigma that she really wanted to solve… some day. Right now, there wasn’t time, so had to resort to cruder methods, like blackmail.
The mage met her eyes and she held his gaze. He was probably trying to see if she was bluffing. Well, she wasn’t. This was about one of her men’s happiness, and maybe even health, so she’d do whatever it took to set things right.
After what seemed like an eternity, he turned, breaking eye contact.
“Alright. Tell me what’s missing.”
Macey let Rónán do the explaining. Amber gasped when the selkie told them how he hadn’t been able to shift in almost a year. As a shifter herself, she had to find that as terrible to imagine as Macey did.
“You need to help him,” the beithir said as soon as Rónán had finished. “He’s done so much for us, now it’s our turn.”
Izban stared into space for a moment, before turning to the selkie. “I need some of your hair.”
Without hesitation, Rónán ripped out a few hairs and handed them to the mage. “Anything else? If I need to give you some of my fingernails for you to find my skin, I’ll do that too.”
Izban cringed. “No thanks, I don’t need any other body parts. The hair will suffice.”
Selkie Woman
Sixteen
“Are you sure this is going to work?” Rónán whispered to Macey as they watched Izban.
The mage had been in what appeared to be a trance like state and ignoring the rest of them.
“I don’t really know. I haven’t known him anywhere near long enough to be able to tell when things are going well or not.” She shrugged, hoping to drive the point home. She could ask Amber, but the beithir was sat staring dreamily at her mage as if he could do no wrong.
Macey knew differently. His betrayal was coming and she had to make sure it had as little impact as possible. There was a chance it wasn’t even going to come to pass. If what the kludde had said about the different paths was true. Even the one that had come true hadn’t exactly passed like the vision suggested it would.
“Are you okay?” Rónán asked.
“Yes,” she answered a little too quickly.
He raised an eyebrow. “You can talk to me, anytime you want. I know you haven’t known me as long as the others, but...”
“But nothing,” she protested. “You’re as important to me as they are, even if I’ve known you for less time.” She believed every word too. Before coming to land, she’d hardly believed in love, never mind true love. And even when she had spent some time on land, she’d still thought it was some odd notion humans had taken to in their stories and fables. But she wasn’t so sure anymore. She knew how her men made her feel. And how much she wanted to be around them. None of them were more important than the others. It just didn’t work like that.
“Then talk to me,” he prompted.
Macey glanced at Izban, making sure he was still in his trance. “In Belgium, Jared and I met a kludde.” She looked at him impatiently until he nodded to let her know he knew what that was. “One of the visions I had was of Izban betraying us.”
“Ah, I see.”
