by J F Rogers
I stood. He scooped me up before I had a chance to object. How humiliating. But, like he’d said, what choice did I have? My right arm dangled awkwardly. The only place for it was on his shoulder. So, I let it rest there.
He flashed me his dimply smile, melting my heart. His tan skin was smooth. No stubble. “I’m Kai.”
“Fallon.” I fought the urge to run my fingers through his hair. His earlobes peeked out beneath tufts. I’d never been so close to anyone before, especially a man. I could smell him. Pine and something else. Intoxicating.
The sand gave way to a steep rocky incline. He was right. I wouldn’t have made it. Sweat beaded his forehead, but he breathed steadily.
We crested the hill, and a gorgeous lake with brilliant blue water came into view. He carried me along a steep path to a dinghy at the water’s edge. I groaned.
“Do you hurt?”
“No. I just don’t want to see another boat.”
“We can walk around, but we won’t get there before nightfall.”
“It’s fine.” How far were we headed? My friends wouldn’t able to find me.
Sitting in the rowboat with him on the opposite side, I looked him straight on. I couldn’t guess his age. The sun at my back blinded him every time he cast his gaze my way. He looked cute when he squinted. Angry and tough, but cute. His muscles flexed as he rowed.
Rác stretched out on the floor between our feet and yawned.
“Why don’t your lips match your words when you speak?” he asked.
Uh-oh. Just how close had he been watching me? Was it a bad idea to tell him about Drochaid? “Um… Well…”
“Your speech is off. Yet you speak perfect Cianese. And you have black hair. Otherwise, you don’t look like you belong here.”
Cianese? Where was I? “You don’t speak Ariboslian?” I’d never come across anyone who didn’t speak Ariboslian. Or had I? Wait. What was that language Evan and his brother spoke last year when they thought I couldn’t understand? Was it Cianese?
“I do. But why should I when you speak Cianese so well?” He cocked his head at me, squinting. “You don’t know what language you’re speaking?”
“Um… About that…”
“Welcome to my home.” He pointed to a house built on a cliff high above the water. A stone staircase descended below water level. He rowed us to a platform between two half-submerged balconies. Rác jumped onto the platform, shaking the boat. “Here. Let me help you. Do you think you can make it up these steps?”
A long, narrow stairway ridged the hill. “Uh.”
“I didn’t think so.” He stooped, offering his back. “Climb on.”
I didn’t even know this guy, and he had touched me more than anyone else in my life. And now I needed to climb onto his back? I was eighteen. Legally an adult, even if it was otherwise debatable. How much more humiliation could I take?
But the steps were steep. And there were a lot of them.
I swallowed my pride and climbed his back. His hair tickled my nose. Why did he have to smell so good? We ascended the stairs to a covered porch. He delivered me to a wooden couch lined with cushions. “I’ll return shortly.”
I gaped at the turquoise water, reminding me of pictures I’d seen of the Caribbean. Hills surrounded the lake on every side. If there were other dwellings, they were hidden in the greenery.
Kai returned with a mug, a tiny bowl, a thin board, and a bandage.
“What kind of shoes are those?” He motioned toward my sneakers as he placed his armful on the table.
“They’re sneakers.” I pulled the strings loose and dropped them on the floor.
He raised an eyebrow. “Are they for thieves or something?”
“No.” I laughed. “They’re just a type of shoe.”
“Your clothes are strange too.”
Time to change the subject. “What’s the board for?”
“To keep you from moving your ankle while it heals.” He scraped a greenish, black grainy substance from the bowl and rubbed it on my ankle. “This will help with the swelling.” He then placed the board along my ankle and bandaged it.
“My friends will never be able to find me here.”
“Shhh.” He handed me the mug. “Drink this.”
I put the mug on the table. No way was I drinking that.
Kai grabbed my mug. “Do you think I’m trying to poison you?” He took a sip. “It’s just water. You’re the one in my home wearing sneakers.” He put the mug back in my hand. Now he expected me to drink after him? “Where are you from that you are so untrusting?”
I set the mug back down. “America.”
“America? Where is that?”
“Nowhere near here.”
“Excuse me, Fallon. I’ll get us something to eat.”
How had I ended up here? Was it wrong that part of me was enjoying this?
Chapter Twenty-Nine
◊◊◊
SOMETHING LICKED ME. I opened my eyes. A black nose filled my view. A pink tongue appeared. I dodged and took it on the chin. “Rác!”
The dog whined, wetted my cheek, then sat in front of me, shuffling his feet into a more comfortable position. I wiped my face while he watched with eager anticipation as if I might say, “oh, go ahead,” and allow him full access to my face. Yeah, right. He was adorable though. A white patch ran down the middle of his forehead and covered his muzzle. Black surrounded his eyes. Like someone painted his eyebrows and the sides of his mouth brown with clown makeup. He licked his lips, then opened his mouth, panting.
Kai laughed. “My apologies. He loves everyone and doesn’t see many people around here. He’s deprived. I’m afraid he plans to take it out on you.”
Good thing he was cute. The dog too.
“Aren’t there other people around here?”
“Mm.” He handed me a plate and sat next to me. “There are villages. But I prefer to keep to myself.”
I poked the food with my fork. Fish. Mussels. Some wet, leafy substance. The fork wouldn’t pierce it, so I slid it between the tongs. It dangled over the plate, wiggling as if it were alive. “What’s this?”
He picked his up with his fingers. “Feamainn.” He took a bite. “It will help the swelling in your ankle.” He kept chewing, motioning me to try it.
I picked it off my fork. He’d eaten some. What could he do to it? Lace it with poison? But why would he have poison in a secluded area, population of one? Unless there weren’t any other people because of him.
I shrugged off the thought and tried some. The bitter sting of way-too-much salt assaulted my tongue. I fought the urge to spit it out. As I chewed, the saltiness dissipated. I gnawed the flavor right out of it, and it still wasn’t swallowable. After several more chews, it was small enough it shouldn’t choke me. I gulped it down. My first and last taste.
Kai opened a mussel and sucked the meat out of the shell. “I’ll try traveling north tomorrow to find your friends or signs of a wreckage.”
“Tomorrow?” Why did I act surprised? Coming here rendered me stuck. I faced the incredible lake and breathed in the sweet air. There were worse places to be stuck. But what should I do now? I couldn’t search for my friends. Worse…why didn’t I mind?
“Mm.” He swallowed some fish. “Is your ship from—what do you call it?—Am–Amer–A—”
As adorable as his attempts were, I couldn’t let him keep struggling. “America. No. Just me. We’re from all over, but we traveled from Bandia.”
Kai coughed, pounded his chest, then swallowed his mouthful.
“You’ve heard of it?” I sipped my water.
“You shouldn’t have come here.”
I nearly choked on my sip. Keeping a wary eye on him and checking the exit routes, I placed my mug on the table. Is this where he showed me his collection of dead bodies? “Why?”
“Your kind aren’t welcome here. If they’re found—”
“Found?” I stiffene
d. What threats had we washed up on? “By who?” You?
“My people. Of sorts.”
I relaxed slightly. At least he wasn’t admitting to being a threat…yet. “What people? We’re not familiar with these lands. How do you know of ours?”
“Because once your kind finds our shores, they’re imprisoned.”
Panic seized my heart. “What? Why?”
“To contain the gachen-selkie magnetism problem.”
“You’re a selkie?”
“Mm.” His gaze fastened on me. “Although many disagree.”
“Why didn’t you warn me?” I tossed the rest of my food onto the table. No longer concerned about poison, but no longer hungry. Was that what I felt? The gachen-selkie attraction? Would the pull affect me as if I were a full gachen?
“I’ve never seen a gachen. I’ve only heard stories. And I only considered the fact that a girl needed help.”
“I’m only half gachen.” Did that matter? I felt something. He should’ve warned me before getting too close. Would the selkie-gachen pull strike us and keep us glued here, together, all hopes of fulfilling my quest forgotten like Cairbre and Deirdra?
“What’s the other half?”
“Human.”
His eyes widened. Such beautiful dark eyes. “I thought humans were a myth.”
As amusing as that was, the attraction concerned me more. “But…gachen. Selkie. Does that mean—?”
“I don’t know.” He rubbed his chin. “Although I enjoy my solitude, I’m here because my people exiled me.” He gulped his water.
Could this get any worse? I watched him, waiting for him to confess his crimes, praying they weren’t violent.
“When you reach your totem, you’re supposed to turn into a seal. If you don’t, they banish you from the villages.”
Phew. “So…” I dared let my hopes rise. “You’re not a full selkie.”
“That depends on your definition. I say I am. But, despite being born to selkie parents and having a strange affinity to the water, according to my people, no. I’m not.”
I let out a huge breath and relaxed.
“Well, since I’m part human, maybe we’ll be fine. It’s my friends I need to worry about. I need to find them.”
“What’s your plan?” He raised an eyebrow at me. “Walk into a selkie village to warn your friends? Have you listened to a word I’ve said? The potential magnetism won’t matter. Once the authorities find them, they’ll lock up your friends.”
Attraction or incarceration. Both were imprisonments. But he had a good point. “What do you suggest?”
He shrugged. “For now, let’s get you better. We’ll find your friends. No fear.”
Too late to do anything now. They didn’t know to hide. And if they hid, I’d never find them.
I ate the fish, hoping it was safe. After I’d eaten my full, my eyes drooped.
Kai stood and reached out his hand. “Come, I’ll let you have my room.”
“No, I—”
“I often sleep out here on the lanai.” He took a deep breath. “The fresh air is great for sleep.”
Why argue? I was better off somewhere I could close a door. I grabbed his hand and let him help me to the room. The door didn’t lock. A heavy table stood in the corner. I scraped it across the floor, careful not to put pressure on my ankle, and barricaded the door. Satisfied, I turned back to the room.
Blankets and a small pillow lay on a pallet. A ladder shelf lined with wooden figures propped against the wall. I hobbled over and picked up a dolphin. Heavy and smooth, the high-polished wood warmed to my fingers. I replaced it and studied the people. A man, a woman, and two kids. Remarkable detail. I ran my fingers over them. Had Kai made these?
“Ya!”
My body shot off the ground. Grinning widely, Kai leaned through an open window. I placed my hand over my thumping heart. “You scared me half to death.”
“Half is better than all.” He nodded toward the door. “You blocked the door with the table. Good thinking.” He tapped his head with his finger and winked.
My face grew hot.
“Thought you might want this.” He held out a blanket. “And be sure to lock the window. You never know what might crawl through.” He snickered. “Sleep well.” With a jaunty wave, he sauntered away.
I hobbled over to the window and peered in both directions. Nothing. I slid the wooden shutters, in their rails, until they met in the middle. After latching them, I returned to bed.
Chapter Thirty
◊◊◊
SLEEP MUST’VE FOUND ME amongst the tossing and turning. Once more, I stood in the field, with no pain in my ankle, watching Declan on the shore. Swirling lights formed a window to someone, offering the perfect opportunity to find out who followed us without giving away my location. I didn’t even know where I was. “Who are you?”
“Ah. You are there.” An unfamiliar voice rang in my mind. The window was a blank slate. Black. I needed to clear it for clues.
“You know me?”
“Aye. I do.” I sensed his pleasure, and something else. Something sadistic. “But how are you entering my mind? Particularly since you don’t seem to know on whose mind you spy.”
I stepped back. What was he saying? “Me? I’m starting this?”
“Aye. You must be powerful. I see why Morrigan fears you.”
He knew Morrigan? Well enough to know her fears? “Who are you?”
“Fallon!” Declan called though he still stared out to sea.
“Where are you, Fallon?” The voice in my head pulled me back to the swirling lights. “I want to meet you. To tell you everything. There’s much you need to learn.”
“About what?” I stepped back, glancing Declan’s way. He still looked to the sea.
“About me. Your family. You.”
“Me? What do you have to tell me about myself that I don’t already kn—”
“Fallon!”
“Turn away from him, Fallon.”
Was that Declan’s voice? Twice? Speaking over each other? He had crossed the field. Like my mother, he bared fangs and lunged at me just as something crashed.
I jerked and slammed my elbow against the pallet. “Ow!”
Splintered pieces of wood littered the floor. Moonlight shone through a gaping hole in the shutters. I hobbled to the window. My heart pounded as I braced myself, ready for a monster to jump into the room. I slid open as much of what remained of the shutters aside as possible. They creaked and broke apart further. Something rustled the tree. Something big. Large wings flapped spastically as it took to the sky in a rush. An owl? That was the only large nocturnal bird, right? Perhaps not in Ariboslia. Whatever it was, I must’ve spooked it. I scanned the darkness for any other movement, straining to hear. Nothing. Silence.
Kai appeared in the window. “What happened?”
I jumped a mile, landing on my bad foot. “Ow!” I hobbled back to the mat. “I don’t know. I was asleep. Something busted the window.”
His straight brows narrowed together as he frowned. “Close it as much as you can. Rác and I will sleep outside your window.”
Was that supposed to comfort me?
****
I sighed and watched the still lake reflecting its surroundings like glass.
Kai returned from cleaning our breakfast dishes. He’d fixed the window, made a delicious fried vegetable pancake, and cleaned up. I pinched myself. No way was this real. I must’ve hit my head in the storm, and my body lay somewhere in a coma.
Might as well learn more about this amazing guy. “So, if you’re not a seal, what’s your totem?”
He smiled and stood. “Want to see?” He tugged the bandage on my foot.
I yanked my foot away. “What are you doing?”
“I’m removing the bandage, so you can get your foot wet. Is that a problem?”
“I guess not.” I unwrapped my own foot.
He inspe
cted my ankle and touched a tender spot.
“Ow.” I recoiled.
“My apologies. But the feamainn is working well. The swelling is going down. Hop on.” He knelt for me to climb on his back.
Somehow, it wasn’t as awkward today. He carried me down the stairs to one of the submerged balconies, then descended the steps into waist-deep water. It felt cool and soft on my feet. Kai placed me on a railing sticking halfway above the water. “Do you want to take that off?” He pointed to my chest.
“Huh?” My heart thundered. So, he was some sort of pervert after all.
“Your necklace. You don’t want to lose it in the water, do you?”
“Oh.” The amulet. I touched Drochaid and laughed.
“What’s so funny?” He cocked his head. Then his eyes widened. “Did you think I meant—” His gleaming bronze face blanched.
“No.” I hated to see him flustered…even if it made him look more adorable than ever. He’d proven himself trustworthy enough to tell him about Drochaid. “I need to keep this with me. I don’t speak Cianese.”
“Huh?” He scratched his head. “What do you speak?”
“English.”
I could almost see the light turn on. “Your lips matched. That thing allows us to talk? You’re speaking En–Eng—”
“English. Yes. I need to keep it, or I can’t talk to you.”
“It won’t fall off if you swim?”
I’d carried Drochaid through worse. “It should be okay.”
The water came midway up my calves. Careful not to injure my ankle further, I swirled my feet. The floor looked like tile. “Was this a balcony?”
“Aye. The lake has risen.” He slipped his shirt over his head.
Unprepared, I sucked in my breath and stared at rows of tan, tight abs.
“I’ll meet you on the other side.” Kai flipped the shirt over his shoulder, hopped back up the steps, and disappeared behind the trees.
I swung my legs over the railing, so I faced the lake. An endless sparkling blue. I heard a splash and turned to look for Kai, but he was gone. He must’ve jumped into the lake.
A dolphin brushed against my feet. “Kai?”