In the Shadow of the Selkie

by M. A. duBarry

  Being staked in the heart wasn’t exactly what he’d call fun. “I wish I could make you understand that everything I do is in your best interests.”

  The sound of a door opening in the adjacent room interrupted him. Connor Fitzpatrick, royal envoy to the house of Cu Mara, entered the chamber and dipped his head in a slight bow. “Your Majesty, Your Highness.” As the man straightened, he glanced across the room at Miles, then looked back at Roane but said nothing more.

  “Leave us, brother,” Roane said.

  The young prince huffed and rolled his eyes. “I’m not a child, Roane. Maybe it would benefit me to hear what Connor has to say.”

  “The matter does not concern you. We’ll finish our discussion later.”

  “And what if later never comes?”

  He shot Miles an angry glare. A look he hoped was strong enough to knock some sense into the lad and keep him from being so persistent.

  “Fine,” Miles snapped as he headed toward the door. “But let it be on your conscience that should you die, your kingdom will be left with an unfit king.” He crossed the threshold and slammed the door behind him. A loud thud echoed through the air.

  Roane hated having to leave matters unsettled with his brother, but with the safety of the entire selkie kingdom at stake, he had little choice. He needed to ready his troops and head for the mainland. Turning his focus to the royal envoy, he glanced across the room. “If you’re here to tell me I’m a foolish man, then save your breath, Connor. Regardless of what you think, I’m lifting the fog layer so the isle can be seen in the mortal realm.”

  “I’d never stop you, Your Majesty.”

  He didn’t like his friend’s sudden complacency. It simply wasn’t the man’s style.

  Connor rested his sword against the wall and sauntered across the room to the window seat. He propped his boot-covered feet upon the stone wall and leaned back. “But as your closest friend and ally, I will share my personal feelings on the matter.”

  “And what, pray tell, may those be?”

  “You’re playing with fire, Roane. I’m not so sure this woman is worth your soul.”

  Maybe Connor was right, but Roane had to find out for himself. He leaned against the hearth, placing the bottom of his boot heel against the gray stone frame. “If I don’t take Theodosia Barrett’s life-force, I die. I can’t fully recover from the staking without absorbing the woman’s energies. Besides, Lord Barrett has reason to believe his daughter is in danger. By me giving her the Cu Mara name in marriage, I should be able to keep her safe from Dubheasa’s grasp. As part mortal, Lady Theodosia can survive while still sharing her essence with my soul. She’d be limited to living solely in the selkie realm, but she’d remain alive. If you have a better suggestion, now would be the perfect time to tell me.”

  “You could remain within the kingdom and keep the island cloaked. Here you can survive for all eternity, wounded or not.”

  He laughed at the outrageous notion. “If only it were that easy.” His world consisted of two realms, that of the selkie and that of man. Sealing off Cu Mara to the outside world wasn’t an option. “The seals living in the sea off our coast depend on our aid. I won’t deny them that. If Cu Mara is forever hidden, those seals will remain targets of the Fin-Folk as will the Barretts and others who hail from similar bloodlines.”

  Connor rose from the window seat. “This woman staked you. What if she attempts to kill you again before you take her life-force? How do you know you can trust her?”

  He didn’t, but he also saw no other choice in the matter. “Lord Barrett has been a longstanding protector of the selkie. A price has been placed upon his daughter’s head and out of loyalty to a man who has given us more than his fair share, I must protect his only heir.”

  “But she staked you. What does his lordship have to say about that?”

  “The man doesn’t know I’m vampire, therefore he doesn’t know I’m the soul his daughter hunted under Dubheasa’s orders. In truth, I don’t believe he knows anything of that night other than the fact the dark queen wants his daughter dead. And that he can rationalize strictly as a consequence of the war between the selkie and the Dark Fin-Folk.” He hesitated. As his closest friend, Conor deserved to know the truth. “Besides, I owe the woman. I agreed to grant her request regardless of what she asked of me. She paid my price and then asked for my pelt and I didn’t give it to her. I’m bound to her, no matter the consequence.”

  Connor shot him a surprised look. “In the name of the gods, Roane. Are you mad?”

  He probably was, but now didn’t seem so good a time to admit the fact.

  “What will you say when Lord Barrett finds out he’s sent his daughter to a vampire? And what if this woman has no allegiance to our kin?”

  “A Barrett must always protect the selkie and vice versa,” he said. “It’s in their blood and ours, and the centuries old pact has never been violated.”

  “If this woman is bound to protect our kind, then why did she stake you?”

  “The agreement with the Barretts does not extend to vampires, even those who are part selkie. I’m certain I frightened her in my vampiric form, nothing more.” He left out the part about Theodosia not offering a reason behind her request. And in order to find the truth, he had to raise the Isle of Cu Mara back to its place above sea level, lift the fog, enter man’s world and win the woman’s trust. Only then could he safely take her life-force and restore his own. If he failed, they’d both perish by Queen Dubheasa’s hand.

  A second twinge of pain burned through his chest. He took a deep breath and tried desperately to will away the agony assaulting his wounded heart and flesh. But this time, the pain grew stronger. He had to face the fact that time was running out. He could not keep the island cloaked, so if he didn’t take the life-force from the soul who had staked him, he’d never fully recover. Then the Dark Fin-Folk would pummel the selkie kingdom like never before. His people needed a strong king, not a wounded one.

  “Ready my men,” he ordered. “We raise the isle at dusk.”

  Chapter Two

  Barrett Hall, Donegal Coast, Ireland

  “I refuse to marry a man who will take me away from the only world I know,” Theo said, her mind reeling in panic. She’d yet to secure her family’s safety from Dubheasa. She couldn’t leave her parents.

  Her father gave her a grave stare. “You will marry whomever it is I so choose.”

  Apparently, he wasn’t going to budge on the matter. “You can’t be serious, Papa.” She turned away from her father and eyed her mother sitting on the sofa across the room. The woman was far too quiet considering her usual chatty temperament. “Mother, certainly you do not agree with this. Marriage is out of the question.”

  Lady Barrett didn’t answer. Theo hated when other people took her life into their hands. She might be a woman who often ended up in suds due to her somewhat off-kilter views on propriety, but she didn’t deserve to be shackled to a king from some outpost nation.

  She turned her attention back to her father. “I can’t marry this man. I’m far too involved in the Barrett way of life to simply go off to some remote island kingdom and play queen. What will happen to the seals living off Barrett Coast? And to my role in the society?”

  Lord Barrett rose from his chair and headed for the small table sitting in the far corner of the room. “You needn’t worry yourself about the society anymore, Theodosia. Your marriage to King Roane will void your oath.” He reached for a glass and poured himself a drink from one of the crystal decanters perched on the table.

  If only her father knew the truth, the man wouldn’t be so eager to pawn her off to an unsuspecting groom, especially one with a crown, Theo thought. She wondered if the selkie vampire she’d staked on the Isle of Cu Mara survived. She simply couldn’t live there. “I can’t marry this man, Papa. And I won’t.”

  Lord Barrett returned to his seat, the glass in his hand full to the brim with brandy. “I have never seen you so adamant abo
ut a subject as you are now, Theodosia. Mayhap had you put this much energy into the matter beforehand, you could have won the favor of a man you fancied.”

  Her father hadn’t a clue about the efforts she made to win over the opposite sex. But being a vampire hunter whose own bloodline was intertwined with local mythology didn’t sit well with any prospective husband she’d ever met. Apparently a wife who spent more time in crypts than in drawing rooms wasn’t at the top of the list for most men.

  Theo swore a silent oath under her breath. Thoughts of Queen Dubheasa’s blackmail scheme came flooding back to her. If her father had known the truth of the matter, he’d forget this marriage nonsense, but telling the truth wasn’t an option at the moment. She had to make sure Dubheasa and the vampire she’d staked wouldn’t come looking for her. Putting her parents in danger was the last thing she wanted to do.

  A thud echoed from the hall outside the library.

  A surge of butterflies fluttered in Theo’s stomach. The thought of meeting the man her father had chosen as her future husband, a man she’d never laid eyes upon before tonight, made her nervous. How could a union between two people survive if they didn’t even know each other beforehand? The stirring sensation in the center of her gut disturbed her. For all the times she’d come close to death in her “unusual” profession, meeting a mere man should be the dullest of acts she’d taken part in for a long time. Why it bothered her so, she had no idea.

  Lord Barrett put down his drink and rose from his chair. “Now don’t embarrass me, Theodosia.”

  She rolled her eyes, but knew better than to continue with any argumentative comments. At least she wouldn’t go and greet the man with open arms. No, she’d make him come to her. With her feet planted firmly in place upon the intricately decorated Persian rug, Theo watched in silence as her parents headed from the library and into the main corridor.

  The sound of buzzing voices traveled back to where she stood. Despite not wanting to marry, Theo knew her father had final say in the matter. She couldn’t believe she’d no longer be a Barrett come this time tomorrow. How her parents had arranged all this without her knowledge annoyed her, to say the least. True, she was adamant about her work. Especially the vampire hunting and her unfruitful quest for the missing selkie tomes, but her research was necessary for the sake of her family’s reputation. A husband was the last thing she needed right now. Least of all a royal, a man whom she was certain would not fancy a crypt dweller as his queen.

  Approaching footsteps came her way.

  Theo swore a mild oath under her breath and turned her back toward the doorway. She refused to give herself away so easily. Let the man beg.

  “Your Majesty, allow me to present to you my daughter, Lady Theodosia.”

  Her father’s quivering voice added to her uneasiness of the situation, but still she remained glued in place.

  Lord Barrett’s firm hand came down upon her shoulder.

  She whisked around, her slipper-covered feet sliding in the haste of her action. Keeping her eyes lowered to the floor, Theo gave a slight curtsy. A pair of shiny, black leather boots met her gaze.

  Her father coughed.

  She refused to budge.

  An elbow jabbed her ribs.

  Slowly, Theo raised her gaze from the king’s boot-covered feet up to his tight black breeches. At the apex of his thighs bulged a well-endowed package she imagined contained the largest cock she’d ever seen. Save for on the vampire in the Cu Maran crypt. That beast filled her nice and snug. She cursed her memory of that horrid night, wondering if it would ever cease haunting her. Oddly, she didn’t want to forget everything that transpired between her and the selkie vampire, only what had happened at the end.

  King Roane reached for her hand.

  Devil be damned. Now she’d have to meet him eye to eye.

  Theo continued her slow, visual assessment of her soon-to-be husband. As her eyes traveled farther north, she noticed the elaborate crest sewn into the pockets of his tight-fitting overcoat. The odd design bore a seal sitting under a bat with its wings stretched out wide. Mayhap the king knew about his island being plagued by vampires. Perhaps the man even accepted the cursed creature. She prayed to the gods he didn’t know she was a hunter who fancied the Cu Maran crypts.

  She finally raised her eyes to his chest and above. The man had broad, muscled shoulders and a face that appeared to have been chiseled by the ancient gods themselves. With dark yet vibrant eyes, jet-black hair and lips that seemed made for more than mere gentle kisses, Theo decided then and there life with King Roane offered at least a few good aspects. Although she doubted her present thoughts were any that her father had contemplated when making this bloody arrangement.

  King Roane raised her hand to his lips and offered a kiss.

  A shiver of desire raced through her body. Her knees grew weak.

  His eyes met hers as he lifted his lips from her flesh.

  A sense of loss jolted her soul.

  Theo didn’t know what came over her. She’d never experienced such feelings in all her five-and-twenty years. What gave King Roane the right to disrupt her emotions like he did? The man certainly had nerve.

  Roane stepped back, Theodosia’s beauty tossing his good sense amuck. In the darkened chamber of the crypts, he hadn’t the chance to see her exquisite features. He never expected a female vampire hunter to be so dainty, let alone a stunning beauty. The woman stood a good foot shorter than his six-foot-two frame, but what she lacked in height, the gods had made up for in curves. He easily imagined taking her again in his arms and caressing her well-rounded bottom and her more than ample bosom. The sight of her standing in the moonlight by the window when he entered the room nearly took his breath away. The sheer fabric of Theodosia’s gown left little to the imagination and Roane welcomed the delectable sight. Unfortunately, so did his hardening cock. Finding the truth about Theodosia Barrett and why she’d staked him, he surmised, was going to be a very painful task.

  “It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Theodosia.”

  “You are too kind, Your Majesty.”

  She didn’t say the introduction was a pleasure for her too. The lack of interest on her part was a blow. Maybe she really did intend to kill him that night.

  “Well,” Lord Barrett interrupted, “now that formalities are out of the way, Lady Barrett and I shall retire to the drawing room. If you have need of anything, Your Majesty, please do not hesitate to ask my man Jeeves here. He’ll remain at the door until you are ready to take your leave.”

  Roane eyed the valet standing at the entrance, then turned back to stare at his future bride. “A moment alone with Lady Theodosia is all I’ll need.”

  The Barretts scurried from the room.

  Roane drew the conclusion his hosts were more than a bit pleased with this pending marriage. He wondered what other faults the woman bore besides her penchant for staking vampires in cold blood.

  “My father tends to rush matters without thinking them through, Your Majesty. If he’s forced his belief on you that this marriage will work, I am fully prepared to accept your refusal.”

  The woman had a wicked tongue. And much to his surprise, he liked the fact. In truth, he couldn’t remember the last time a person, save for Connor, spoke in so frank a manner in his presence. “I can assure you, Lady Theodosia—”

  She cut him off. “The name is Theo.”

  The woman obviously had no fear. And that meant only one thing—he was about to take a wife he’d have to worry about. This bloody marriage arrangement was going to cost him more than he cared to spare. Mayhap death hadn’t been the worst of options. If only it weren’t a Barrett he had to rescue.

  With a deep breath, Roane kept his rising annoyance in check. “As I was saying, Theo, I have no intention of voiding the pact I made with your father. I am fully prepared to go ahead with our wedding on the morrow. After which, we will immediately leave for my residence on Cu Mara.”

  A veil of terror crossed Theo
dosia’s face. “Do you not have a home here, on the mainland?”

  “Yes, but I wouldn’t dream of spending my wedding night anywhere but at Castle Cu Mara.” He toyed with her, and from the look upon her face he’d obviously found the one game at which he could best her. He wondered what she’d say if he told her he knew the truth about her. That he was the selkie vampire who had fucked her, the same creature she then staked. Visions of complete chaos unfolded in his mind. He offered her a sly grin instead. “I assure you, your first night at Cu Mara will be memorable.” He reached for Theo’s hand once more.

  This time she kept her eyes even with his. “I can’t leave my parents, Your Majesty. They…are frail.” He searched her thoughts, but found the woman’s mind difficult to breach. He concentrated, instead, on reading her facial expressions. True fear marred her beautiful features. He wondered if her sense of concern stemmed from the night in the crypt. “For having given me my queen, I will make certain your parents are well cared for. I will supply them with more staff, including a team of guards. Will that satisfy your concerns, Theo?”

  She nodded but remained silent.

  Bringing her hand to his mouth, Roane relished brushing his lips over her pale, silky skin, and drawing in her unique scent. The mere feel of her flesh against his own, coupled with the intoxicating aroma of roses mixed with Theo’s own unique fragrance, sent a wicked bolt of heat coursing through his veins. He wanted her again, to take her just as he did that night in the crypt. Only now, since he’d already branded her as his, the need to have her was greater.

  And from the flushed look settling on Theo’s cheeks, Roane knew his future bride felt the same.

  He gave her a once-over glance before releasing her hand. As he lowered his eyes to her swan-like neck, the sudden urge to drink from Theo’s sweet flesh overpowered him. He forced his eyes lower but found no relief. The taut tips of her breasts protruded from behind the thin fabric of her ivory gown, revealing rosy nipples. If Lord Barrett’s valet weren’t watching him, he’d take Theo this instant, claiming both her flesh and her blood simultaneously. But alas, such visions remained only as dreams. Roane forced himself to recall the night Theo stalked his tomb. The pain of being staked eased his urges.