“The selkie would go out every evening and sit on the rocks in the sea, crying and missing her home.” She created the scene with water, the selkie’s hair blowing in the breeze, little flicks of spray hitting us. The children’s eyes widened further. One little boy’s lip trembled. The storyteller continued, “But one day a human child had compassion for the selkie. He asked her why she cried each evening. And when she told him,” she leaned in towards the children, “he found the key and restored her selkie cloak to her.”
The children sighed. The storyteller smiled, raising her hand, and the water selkie jumped off her rock, diving and turning into a seal. “And so the selkie returned to the Ether. Selkies no longer go to the human world, but they have learned from that time. Selkies never leave their cloaks laying about. And selkies are always cautious when they leave home.”
The selkie story still milled through my mind the next morning. The cloak discarded, the girl trapped in a world she didn’t belong in. I ambled through the library that still sat in the blues of early morning, the windows framing silhouettes of trees trembling in the ocean breeze, stars still sparkling in the sky. I longed to tuck into one of the shadows in the room and disappear. I trailed my fingers over the books, bump, bump, bump, the smooth leather of their spines gliding against my skin.
“Looking for something?”
I jumped. Prometheus stood in the doorway, his long gray hair glowing bluish in the dim light, the dark robe he wore whispering over the floor.
“Sorry. I couldn’t sleep.”
He smiled and stepped into the room. “You don’t need to apologize. If there’s a specific book you’re looking for, I could help you find it.”
“I can’t read any of the languages here, anyway. I just find it comforting. The smell of books makes me think of my mom.” My mom and a simpler time, when I would spend my afternoons curled up on the couch, flipping through pages of homework, while my mom dropped a stack of books for her work onto the coffee table, ruffling the papers in my lap.
Prometheus nodded, his eyes skimming over me. “Are you doing all right, Faye?”
I swallowed. “It’s been… a lot... But I’m… I’m fine.”
He studied me for another moment. “You know if you need anything, I’m here for you.”
“Right.” I lifted my eyes to meet his gaze. “Yes, I do. Thank you.”
He furrowed his brow but nodded. “Will you be joining us for lunch today?”
“I’m going to the selkie village again.” I twisted my fingers together. “You should have some time just as a family, anyway.”
Prometheus’ gray eyes tightened. “I don’t want to be presumptuous, but I hope you can feel our home is your home as well.”
“Thank you,” I said. “I appreciate that.” A touch of pink kissed the horizon outside the window. “I think I’m going to go watch the sunrise on the beach.”
“Please let me know if there’s anything you need.”
I nodded and slipped out of the room.
3
Daron
Sunshine streamed in through the windows, casting the room in the golds of late morning. I took a breath and stretched. How long had it been since I had slept in so late? I knew the room. It was my own. A room I hadn’t slept in for many years. Blue wallpaper ran around the walls, accents of gray and warm wood contrasted against the indigos. An open window, next to the balcony, allowed the hush of crashing waves to permeate the space.
Alec slept beside me. I smiled. His dark curls were mussed, his lashes long against his cheeks, the sharp edge of a collarbone under his broad, tan shoulder just visible above the blanket.
He was safe. I could breathe again.
Had it only been a few weeks before that I had been dying in a hospital tent? That our enemies had taken Alec? That he had bled and suffered as he had? I would not fail him again. I would keep him safe.
“Well, that’s not the expression you hope to see on your mate’s face when you find him looking at you in the morning,” Alec said, his voice tinged with a laugh even over the rumble of morning grogginess.
I chuckled and kissed the top of his head. “I’m sorry. My mind was on something else.”
He leaned up on one elbow, the pewter bedspread shifting with his movement like smoke curling around us. He swiped his curls away from his face. “Let me guess, you were remembering human world food?”
I laughed again. Human world food didn’t compare to Ether food. It wasn’t a fair comparison. Everything in the Ether was brighter, more intense, more flavorful.
My voice took on a serious edge, though. “I was thinking I never want you to be in harm’s way again, especially for my sake.”
Alec’s expression softened. He feathered a finger down my arm, and my heart picked up. “Being in harm’s way is an unfortunate side effect of our careers.”
I frowned. Yes, it was. Being a protector was dangerous. Being an elite protector on the cusp of war even more so.
“I have faith we’ll make it through this. Perhaps you should try that as well.”
I sighed. “I’d rather have a plan than faith.”
Alec leaned against my chest and chuckled, his breath tickling over my skin. “I think you need both.”
I groaned and then ran my hand over his bare back. Gods, if it didn’t send a flood of gratitude every time I touched the smooth, undamaged skin. The golden morning light flooded into the room, books on the shelves along the wall glowing in it.
“You know,” Alec said. “I’m impressed we’ve taken nearly two full weeks off. I still can’t believe the council allowed it.”
“Yes, well, I made the argument that in all fairness all three of us should be dead right now, so two weeks off instead of forever seemed reasonable.”
“Very logical,” Alec said.
“I still can’t believe Faye’s plan was to let the vow kill her.” Alec opened his mouth to speak, but I cut him off. “And don’t even say again that it all worked out.”
“Well, it did,” he said, his eyes twinkling.
I cleared my throat. “Back on the note of human world food, how would you like to try some?”
“Offering me some food you hate so much? What a romantic gesture.”
I huffed a laugh. But my smile faded quickly. “No. It’s Faye.” I rolled back onto the bed, resting my hands on my chest. “I don’t need to say she’s not doing well here. I want to ask her if she will go to the human world and see if that will help. And I want you to join us.”
“Will the council allow it?”
“I won’t allow them to say no.”
Alec’s hand glided down the banister of the staircase. Several portraits in gold-gilded frames hung on the walls, intricate wood paneling with miniature carvings of flowers and woodland scenes lined the stairs, and at the bottom, a concert piano acted as a table for a bouquet of fresh flowers whose fragrance permeated the air.
Alec wore a brown jacket over a crisp white shirt, open at the collar, a pair of fitted navy pants, and dark leather moccasins polished to a gleam. I ran my eyes over him, not for the first time that morning. Seeing him in clothes other than his uniform happened rarely enough that I soaked it in. He had impeccable taste and gods if he didn’t know it.