“Diana, quit pacing and sit down.” Rafe’s voice is quiet, but there’s an undercurrent of authority that’s unmistakable.
Diana stops moving and faces him, hands on her hips. She shoots him a defiant look, which he calmly meets.
“You can’t kill him,” Rafe says, keeping his tone neutral.
“Of course I can,” she snaps. “Your people are weak.”
“Yes, I know you could kill him quite easily and effortlessly,” he replies, his voice firm. “But you shouldn’t.”
“Why?” she demands, raising her chin.
“Okay, Diana,” Rafe says. “Let’s say you go out and kill him. Then what?”
“Then I bring his head to the Selkie woman so that she can see that she is now safe.”
“All right, then what?”
She huffs at him impatiently. “Then I toss it back into the woods for the scavengers to eat.”
“And what happens when the University investigates and finds out what happened? They will notice that their groundskeeper is missing.”
“They can hire someone new.”
Rafe sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose. “They’ll arrest you, is what they’ll do.”
Diana snorts. “I’d like to see them try!”
“They’ll fine Elloren for theft and they’ll throw you in prison for murder. And they’ll send the Selkie back to the dealer he bought her from and sell her to someone else, potentially someone worse.”
“You are being absurd. Once we explain what happened, how he was treating her, they will understand. The proof is all over her body!”
Rafe shakes his head in disagreement. “You’re wrong, Diana. According to them, this man did nothing unlawful. Repugnant, maybe, but not unlawful. You two, on the other hand, have already broken multiple laws. Do you really want to throw murder on top of that?”
“So we keep her hidden,” Diana says stubbornly. “No one has to know who killed him.”
Rafe screws up his face in disbelief. “Diana, your kind are seen by my people as uncivilized, violent savages. You and your brother would be immediately suspect. And, if, by some miracle, they didn’t figure out that you were the culprits, they would assume the Selkie found her skin and killed him. There’s talk of shooting all of the Selkies in captivity. Were you aware of that? The Council is pretty evenly divided on this. The murder of the University’s groundskeeper would easily tip the balance in favor of a mass execution. Do you really want to be responsible for that?”
Diana leans toward Rafe, undaunted. “Then I’ll kill him and take her with me. To my pack. They’ll know what to do. They’ll save all the Selkies.”
“So you’ll leave the University?”
“Yes, if necessary!”
“And Jarod? He’d have no choice but to leave, as well.”
“He’d leave,” she says with smug assurance. “He’d understand.”
“So, let’s say you and Jarod take her back to your pack,” Rafe calmly postulates. “You do realize you’d be plunging your entire pack into a potentially dangerous political situation.”
Diana snorts at this. “Dangerous for your people, maybe. Not for ours.”
Rafe exhales sharply and shakes his head. “Things are very tense between your people and the Mage Council right now, Diana. Our government considers your land rightfully ours. There’s talk of sending the military out to force your people—”
Diana huffs impatiently, cutting him off. “Your military is no match for my pack. You know that as well as I do. Your magic is useless against us, and the weakest of our kind is stronger than your strongest soldier. If your people were stronger, they would have stolen our land long ago, just as you’ve stolen land from everyone else around you.”
“Think how this would be written up in the arrest warrant,” Rafe continues. “‘Lupine Girl Kills University Groundskeeper...’”
“‘...Who Horribly Abused Seal Woman!’” Diana finishes for him.
“That part won’t make it in, Diana. Selkies are like a dirty little secret no one wants to talk about. No. It will be seen as proof that Lupines are dangerous, bloodthirsty monsters who should be eradicated. Do you really want to be responsible for throwing your pack into this?”
Diana throws up her hands like she’s throwing sand into Rafe’s face. “This is nonsense!”
“No, Diana, it’s not! Do you really want to be the one to make this decision? Without speaking to your pack first? Without speaking to your alpha?”
Diana freezes.
There, he’s done it, I realize with relief. He’s finally found an argument that registers with a Lupine.
She stands, staring at Rafe with a fiery glare.
Finally, she lurches forward toward Rafe, fists clenched. “I’m going out!” she snarls. She whirls around and heads for the door.
Rafe is on his feet in a flash. He strides forward and grabs Diana by the arm.
“To do what, Diana?” he demands.
Diana’s arm tenses and her fist clenches sharply like his hand on her is a challenge. She shoots him an incredulous look and glances down at the hand that attempts to restrain her, staring at it like she can’t quite believe that he would dare to be so bold. I wonder myself if Rafe has temporarily taken leave of his senses.
The tension in the room has suddenly become unbearable—and dangerous. Very slowly, Diana raises her head, her lips pulling back into a threatening grimace, a deep growl starting at the base of her throat as her amber eyes take on a ferocious glow. She takes a sudden, threatening step toward Rafe, and I flinch. He knows as well as I do, as well as Diana does, that she could rip his arm clear off without so much as breaking a sweat, and there’d be nothing Rafe or I could do about it. I’ve never thought of Diana as frightening before, but I realize now, for the first time, that she’s truly dangerous.
“I asked you where you’re going,” Rafe repeats, his jaw tensing, his tone unyielding, as he ignores her threatening posture completely.
Diana’s lips pull back farther into a full-blown snarl. “I’m going deep into the woods,” she growls, her voice low, her eyes two enraged slits, “where no one can see me. Where I can strip naked without offending the very delicate sensibilities of your most morally upstanding people. Then I will Change. And I will run. For a very long time. Because if I stay here, I will ignore all reason, and I will kill him.”
Rafe nods and abruptly releases her arm. She shoots him one last vicious look before storming out.
I start to breathe again as Rafe stares off in the direction she’s exited.
“Do you think she’ll kill him?” I ask, my voice almost a whisper.
Rafe places a hand on one hip and turns to me. “No,” he says, his lips tensing. “She just needs to blow off some steam.”
“She’s right, you know. He deserves to die. He’ll probably just buy another Selkie girl to abuse.”
“Probably,” Rafe agrees. He walks over to the window that overlooks the large open field leading to the edge of the wilds. I follow and can see Diana stalking toward the wilderness at an angry pace, the late-afternoon sun sending a soft, gentle glow over everything, making her golden hair appear as if it’s on fire.
* * *
Later, after leaving the sleeping Selkie under Wynter’s care, I set out to find Andras Volya, ready to beg, if necessary, to convince him to keep our secret.
As I walk along the upstairs hallway, I hear my brother downstairs talking to someone and pause.
“Hello, Diana,” Rafe’s voice is low and wary.
For a moment there’s silence, and I feel a tremor of nervousness for my brother’s safety.
“You were right,” Diana blurts out, her voice uncharacteristically strained. “You were right about everything. Everything you said was true.”
“I’m glad you’ve calmed down,” Rafe says patiently.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry I got so angry at you.”
“It’s okay, Diana. Apology accepted.”
There’s another uncomfortable silence.
“And I’m sorry I thought about tearing your arm off,” she says.
I creep to the doorway and peer through the slit where the door swings away from the wall.
Rafe stands facing Diana, his arm on the stone wall next to them. He looks down, collecting his thoughts. Then he glances back up at her, a small smile on his face. “Thank you, Diana. Thank you for not ripping my arm off.”
“It’s just that... I...I have no experience with...with this level of cruelty,” Diana explains haltingly. “I’ve just never seen anything like it.” Diana looks up at Rafe, her face distraught. “Rafe, her whole body...he must have beaten her repeatedly...”
“I know.”
“She’s so scared. So broken. And her eyes...her eyes...” Diana’s voice breaks, and she begins to sob.
My brow flies up in surprise. Diana is so strong and sure, never ruffled by anything. My own sadness for the Selkie wells up inside me, hearing Diana cry so.
“Shhh...” I hear Rafe say. “Come here.”
Diana’s sobs become muffled as Rafe pulls her into a tight embrace.
“I’m so sorry!” Diana cries. “I wasn’t thinking! I could have caused so much trouble! My first real test...and I failed!” Her words come out in a tangled rush. “I’m a disgrace to my pack!”
“Shhh, Diana...you’re not,” Rafe whispers into her hair. “They’d understand. You’re not a disgrace.”
“Yes, I am!”
“No, you’re not. Stop. Look at me.”
Diana raises her tear-soaked face, amber eyes now red and puffy.
“You are not a disgrace,” Rafe insists, his voice full of kindness. “You are brave and kind. You’re just a little...impetuous.” He smiles and reaches up to gently wipe away some of her tears.
Diana nods and manages a reluctant smile in return. “You’re just being nice to me because I let you keep your arm.”
Rafe laughs. “Maybe so.”
They’re both quiet for a moment, their arms loose around each other.
“Rafe,” Diana finally says, her voice uncharacteristically soft. “I’m falling in love with you.”
Rafe’s face immediately grows serious, and he inhales sharply. “Oh, Diana,” he breathes as he reaches up to cup the side of her face, “I’ve already fallen...” He pulls her toward him and kisses her hair, her arms twining around him. He brings his mouth to hers and they kiss, gently at first. Then Diana moans and presses herself into him, their kissing quickly becoming passionate.
I pull away from the door, heart thumping, a pang of distress spreading through my chest.
My brother, the Gardnerian, and a shapeshifter. All my suspicions about them completely on the mark.
Sweet Ancient One in the Heavens Above, what a mess we’re all in.
I’ve stolen a Selkie. Yvan’s plotting to steal a military dragon. Both Rafe and Aislinn are in love with Lupines, and I’m becoming increasingly close friends with a shunned Elfin Icaral.
This has actually gone way beyond a mess. We’re all treading on increasingly dangerous ground.
What on Erthia are we all going to do from here?
CHAPTER TEN
Andras Volya
After Diana and Rafe leave together, I step out and find Andras Volya in the University stables.
Andras is crouched down on one knee as he tends to the front leg of a black mare, gently massaging herbal paste into the animal’s leg. If he sees me, he gives no indication, as he continues to focus entirely on the horse. The horse, on the other hand, turns to eye me with calm curiosity.
I walk slowly over to where he kneels. “Andras?” My voice is tentative, and he doesn’t look up. “I...I need to speak with you,” I persist.
“I won’t say anything about the Selkie,” he says, “if that’s what you’ve come to ask.” He stops massaging the horse’s leg, stands and murmurs softly to her as she nuzzles him, the crimson rune-marks all over his red tunic glimmering in the light. “His treatment of her bothered me greatly,” he says. His brow tenses as if he’s remembering something disturbing. He turns to look at me. “You were right to rescue her. I should have done so myself.”
“How long was she there?” I ask him.
He considers this, staring off into the wilds, in the direction of the groundskeeper’s cottage. “A month’s time, I’d say.” Andras cocks his head to one side and studies me as if I’m a puzzle to him. “The granddaughter of Carnissa Gardner. Rescuing Selkies.” He sets the paste jar down and wipes his hands with a rag. “Doesn’t your aunt want the Selkies shot?”
Stunned, I stare at him blankly.
He lifts his chin and considers me closely. “She introduced the motion. On your Mage Council. Earlier this year. To have them shot as soon as they come to shore.”
There are better ways to deal with Selkies that are far more humane than keeping them in cages, forcing them to...act human.
She meant...killing them!
He must read the shock in my expression. “You didn’t know?”
I shake my head and let out a long sigh of disgust. Just when I think Aunt Vyvian can’t get any worse. I sit down on the hay bale behind me, momentarily reaching up to massage my aching temples. The world is so much worse than I ever imagined. And Aunt Vyvian is so devastatingly cruel.
The mare’s tail makes a swishing sound as she flicks it from side to side, a chilly breeze flowing into the stable from the outside. My eyes are drawn to the rolling, violet-tinged hills, their base carpeted with a line of bright yellow larch trees.
“It’s beautiful here,” I observe.
Andras looks out over the landscape and nods.
“It’s like another world,” I muse. “It reminds me of my home.” I hold up my hand, covering up the University city, which is rendered small by our distance from it. “It’s like you can almost pretend the University doesn’t exist.”
“I try to do that sometimes,” he admits.
I turn to look at him. “You don’t like it here?”
He shakes his head. “My mother and I used to live on the outskirts of Western Keltania. I much prefer it.”
“Oh,” I say softly, momentarily at a loss for what else to say. Then my eyes alight on the intricate designs on his tunic. “Your runes,” I observe hesitantly. “They glow.”
He glances down at the marks and nods. “Amaz runes. They’re crafted from a melding of several runic systems. They enhance our power—”
Andras breaks off suddenly, eyes darting to look at something behind me, and his whole body stiffens.
I turn to see Andras’s mother, Professor Volya, standing in the stable’s back entranceway. Fear swamps over me. How long has she been standing there? Did she hear us?
I can see it in her shrewd gaze—she did hear us. My heart hammers out my dire concern.
“Mother,” Andras says, his deep voice guarded.
“My son,” she replies tersely.
We all stare at each other for a long moment, the silence thick and uncomfortable.
“Mage Gardner,” Professor Volya finally says, her black eyes sharp on me. “I just had the most intriguing visit from the area’s Vu Trin commander and the Verpax groundskeeper. It seems as if the groundskeeper’s Selkie has gone missing.”
I stare back at her like a deer caught in the torchlight.
Her eyes tight on mine, she takes a seat on a hay bale. She sits like a man. Legs spread apart, arms crossed.
“Relax, Mage Gardner,” she tells me. “I, too, will keep your secret.”
I let out a heavy breath, relief washing over me.
“So,” Professor Volya says, peering at me, “Carnissa Gardner’s granddaughter has rescued a Selkie.”
“Her body,” I tell them, my voice low. “It’s covered in lash marks. He must have whipped her over and over again.”
Andras makes a sound of disgust and looks away.
Professor Volya doesn’t look the least bit surprised. “It is the nature of men.”
Andras’s head jerks toward his mother, his brow tight with offense.
“To beat women senseless?” I question, incredulous.
“To be cruel,” she replies. “To attempt to dominate women in any way possible.”
Andras’s jaw tenses, and his face takes on a hard look. He throws down his cloth and stalks out.
His mother ignores him. “It has been this way since the beginning of time,” she continues, her eyes steady on me.
I shift uncomfortably on the prickly hay bale beneath me. “I don’t understand what you mean.”
“It is not surprising,” she observes, “that you are ignorant of your own history. Sad, but not surprising.” Professor Volya regards me coolly for a moment. “This world,” she says, leaning forward, “and everything in it, was made by the Great Mother. And the first people she made were the Three Sisters. This is your history.” She waits a moment for this to sink in as I stare back at her. “After they were created, Ama, the Great Mother, saw that the Sisters were lonely, so she took a bone from each of their fists and made the First Men.” She holds her fist straight up as she tells me this, then lowers it again. “The First Men were not grateful for all the Goddess had done for them. Instead, they tried to convince the Three Sisters to join them and slay the Great Mother, so that they could rule over all of Erthia.” Again she pauses.
I’m amazed at how different this creation story is from the one I’ve grown up knowing.
“One of the Sisters refused to betray the Goddess. She went to her and warned her of the terrible plan. The Great Mother renamed this First Sister Amaz, and set down a curse on the others.”
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