“Get lost, Levi,” he yelled back, then buried his face in my neck and added, “I need to savor this moment.”
I wanted to let him, but I knew the sun would be rising soon and they needed to go. I stroked his hair, which held remnants of seaweed. I picked a few and tossed them aside. I caressed his cheek.
“When will you come back home?” I asked.
He lifted his head, a smile curling his lips. “You just said home.”
“I know.”
“In about four days. Sooner if we find Deck and his blasted sailless ship. If they caught him, we’ll need to break him out. That might take longer.”
My stomach shifted. What if Tullius caught Storm, too? He didn’t appear worried. In fact, his eyes drifted shut, a sigh of contentment escaping him.
“Where’s the dagger?” I asked.
“On the ship.” His eyelids lifted. He studied me, a frown chasing away the contentment. “You know I’ve had that dagger for over a century, lass, and never had a chance to draw it.”
“That was before me. Promise me one thing,” I said.
“Anything.”
“If the need comes to use it or draw it, send Levi to get me first.”
Storm frowned. “Why would I do that, lass?”
“We’ve claimed each other, Storm, which means we belong together. I stand by your side through good and bad times, and you stand by me. Anyone who wants a piece of you will have to deal with me, too.”
I wasn’t prepared for his reaction. He hauled me into his arms and kissed me senseless. My head was spinning when he pulled away.
“You say things like that and I’ll be chained to your skirt, lass.”
As intoxicating as his presence and kisses were, I’d rather have the dagger instead. “Maybe you could give me the dagger for safekeeping?” He started to shake his head, but I kissed him before he could speak. When I leaned back, I stroked his cheek. “Think about it, he’lahn.”
He grinned. “You called me he’lahn.”
“Maybe I should have said my he’lahn. Because you are mine now, Storm Orath, which means I’ll be by the bridge every time you leave and when you come back. It means you will not keep me waiting or worried. Not for a second.” It means you can never use that damn dagger, I added silently.
“Yes, my she-lahn.”
His meekness didn’t fool me. He would continue to sail and cause mayhem. “Until I finish my training as a shieldmaiden and sail with you.”
He groaned, while I grinned. I didn’t realize I was stroking his bridle until my finger caught a loop. The bridle had separated from his skin and hung around his neck in layers like a necklace.
“It’s no longer bound to you.”
He grinned. “Your bite released it.”
“I bit you before.”
“You weren’t ready to receive it. The bridle is magical. It can tell a true claim. Now I can give it to you after we mate. If you want to be my Kelpie.”
I hadn’t thought that far ahead. I get the bridle, and I turn into a Kelpie. Storm’s Kelpie. I didn’t hesitate this time.
“I want to be your Kelpie.”
I got another mind-numbing kiss. Then he was gone. He walked to the dressing room, shameless in his nakedness. Not that he had anything to be insecure about. He had a gorgeous body.
I scooted off the bed and followed him. He was pulling on pants, and my eyes zeroed in on my bite. It was pink and had red spots where I’d broken the skin. I touched mine. It didn’t hurt anymore. He grabbed a cloak from one of the pegs and draped it around me. He didn’t bother with a shirt. My stomach hollowed out again when I thought about where he was headed.
“Come back to me in one piece, Storm.”
“Promise.” Outside the door, he scooped me up. “I don’t want you tripping and hurting yourself.”
His protectiveness was something I was beginning to accept as natural as breathing. I wrapped my arms around his neck. Levi was pacing at the foot of the stairs and stopped when he saw us. His eyes went to the bridle dangling around Storm’s neck, and a grin split his face.
“She did it,” Levi said.
“Aye, brother. I told you she was the one.” Storm lowered me to the ground and grabbed Levi’s right arm in a manly hug. They back thumped each other.
“How is the bond?” Storm asked.
Levi angled his head and frowned. “Stronger. I hadn’t expected that.”
“I suspected it,” was Storm’s response.
“What bond are you two talking about?” I asked, my gaze volleying between the two men.
Storm tucked me to his side. “Since we claimed each other, we share a special bond, but I’m also still bonded to my brothers. Instead of theirs weakening because of our bond, it’s grown stronger.”
I wasn’t sure I liked this. “Am I bonded to them, too?”
“Is she?” Storm asked Levi.
Once again, Levi angled his head. He grinned. “I guess you haven’t lost your touch in the bedroom.”
My jaw dropped, warmth bathing my cheeks. Levi actually laughed at my expression. Did this mean they were going to know every time we had sex?
“Despite being satisfied, she’s worried about you, too,” Levi continued.
I wasn’t ready for this kind of intimacy, where nothing was sacred. Their world should really come with a manual.
“What exactly do you get from me, Levi?” I asked. Storm was easy to read. He was smug and pleased with himself. And since they were so open about their feelings and frolicked in the canal in their birthday suits, privacy was probably a foreign concept for them. “My thoughts? Images?”
“Only emotions, lass,” Levi said. “I swear.” He actually looked contrite.
I studied him and felt nothing. I crunched my face and focused to see if I could feel anything. Something.
“I don’t get emotional vibes from you.”
They laughed.
I crossed my arms, bumping Storm’s off my shoulders. They realized I wasn’t amused and sobered up.
“It comes with practice, mo ghra,” Storm said. “I’ll teach you.”
“Good. In the meantime”—I narrowed my eyes at Levi—“stay away from my emotions. Got it?”
His lips still twitched, but he managed a “Yes, she’lahn.”
I didn’t believe him. “What about the bond to the island? Am I also in that circle of love,” I said, not masking my annoyance.
Storm shook his head.
“We won’t know for sure until…” His voice trailed off.
Damn. I was going to find a way to get that silver dagger from him. We reached Delia’s and found her dozing.
“You shouldn’t have waited for us, muh’Delia,” Storm scolded her, but she dismissed his words with a wave.
“I’m wide awake.” She looked ready to topple sideways on the couch, but I had a feeling she was used to keeping an eye on Storm and his “brothers” at all sorts of hours. Storm helped her to her feet. “Don’t keep Levi waiting. You must be back on your ship before your crew wakes up, or they’ll ask questions. They cannot know about the lasses.”
“I know.” He kissed her cheek. “Thank you, muh’Delia.”
“Oh, shoo with you. Lexi will be here when you return. And congratulations to both of you on the claim. Or did you think I missed your loose bridle?” She patted his cheek and turned to me. “Come here, lass. You are now an islander. Welcome.” We hugged. When she leaned back and smiled, her eyes grew bright with tears. “The gods couldn’t have created a better mate to the lad. One down, eleven to go,” she murmured under her breath as she disappeared inside her bedroom.
Storm waited until the door closed behind her before focusing on me. “Can you promise me one thing, mo ghra?”
“Anything.” I was so exhausted I gave a big yawn.
“If you need anything, ask Delia. If she’s not around, find Ryun. He might be a pain in my ass, but he’ll protect you with his life.”
That was a scary thou
ght. “Because of the bond?”
“No, because you are an islander now.”
I followed his eyes to the remaining fruit on the table. “He brought those and apologized. Again. You must forgive him, too.”
He growled something, so I knew he wasn’t ready to do that yet.
“What did Delia mean one down and eleven to go?” I asked.
“The remaining five captains and quartermasters don’t have mates. When she became an elder, she vowed she’d see all of us mated in the next five years.” He chuckled. “She’s all talk, though. Elders, however powerful, cannot control when we meet our mates, and most of my brothers and sisters won’t claim anyone except their true mates.”
I escorted him to the door. Levi was pacing a few feet away. Ignoring him, Storm gave me a lingering kiss. When he lifted his head, he grinned.
“What?”
“Be good, mo chroi.”
“What mischief could I possibly get into here?”
“Plenty, especially with Ryun around. Just remember, I always know what happens on the island.”
Chapter 8
Something was different the next day when we did our rounds. Swordsmen and shieldmaidens patrolled the canal, and no Kelpies or Selkies were in the water. Even the dogs were missing from the streets.
“Why is no one in the water today?”
“We are giving the gods a chance to claim the three lasses and escort them to their islands. If we don’t, they might mistake us for those whose souls they plan to escort.”
Ryun canceled training, and the merchant shops were closed. Even the shieldmaidens and the swordsmen didn’t train.
“What did you tell the children?” I asked as we walked back to the Great Hall.
“That the gods and goddesses of the deep are coming out to play,” Delia explained, chuckling. “That’s enough to put fear in them.”
I was confused. “Gods and goddesses of the deep?”
“In most pantheons, there are two sets of gods and goddesses of the sea. You have the ones who protect the sailors and the fishermen, guide the waves and the wind, and watch over all Muh’rens. But deep in the abyss, beyond Undine City, are the islands of the dead. Our children know to stay away from the ocean when those gods and goddesses come up to collect the dead. They don’t linger, but they are swift and merciless. We didn’t tell the children they came to collect the dead because they’d want to know who died. Death is not something they are used to, so we say the gods and goddesses of the deep are coming out to play. After all, the ocean is for all of us.”
The island mourned for two days. There was no thunder or lightning. On the third day, the children were back in the water and the merchants opened for business. We stopped by the bread makers and sampled some of the pastries—bread with different spices and pies with different meat fillings. No sweets.
The seamstresses making my clothes promised to stop by in a couple of hours to unveil the finished products. They acted like they were top secret and refused to show us samples. The ones making my curtains had no problem sharing. They promised to deliver them the next day. That seemed to be the consensus among the merchants working on my pieces.
We picked up a few candles, soaps, and hairbrushes, including one for my Kelpie. Delia actually used those words, and the brush-maker chuckled.
“I still haven’t forgiven you for that,” I whispered to her as we walked away. “You knew and didn’t say anything.”
“You and the lad are happy now, lass. Most Tuh’rens don’t get to meet their Kelpie until during Selection. You bonded with the lad and his Kelpie, and that’s the way it’s supposed to be.”
She had a point. I’d fallen in love with Storm’s Kelpie first, and now I was quickly falling for the man. I sighed. I just wanted him home so he could help Tommy and make my life complete.
We headed to the cabinet maker, and my eyes zeroed in on a mop of red hair behind a chest. Meda. Her father and his various apprentices were working on my furniture, which I recognized from the designs I’d chosen.
Morgance stopped to show us what they’d done and explained the next step. Each apprentice was working on a piece, which he planned to bring to the hall and assemble in the bedroom. Meda watched us from the chest without moving.
“They are beautiful,” I said.
“Thank you, lass. We’ll deliver them in the next two days,” was his answer.
“There’s no hurry,” I reassured him and moved closer to Meda.
The little girl showed me the dress she was working on. I wondered where they’d bought the sketchpad and the charcoal pencil she was using. Next to the pad was sandpaper, which she used to sharpen the pencil. I squatted beside her and admired her sketches. Beautiful female gowns and bodices, and knee-length breeches and slops the sailors wore around the island.
“Do you know what? The seamstress is delivering the clothes she made for me. If your daddy says it’s okay, you can visit me at the hall and tell me what you think.”
Her eyes lit up. “Can I really come with you?”
I nodded.
She ran to her father. “Can I go with Storm’s lass to see her clothes?”
Morgance looked at me, Delia, and then his little girl. It was obvious he was conflicted. It was the first time an islander had acted uneasy around me.
“It’s okay if you don’t think it’s a good idea,” I reassured him.
He chuckled. “No, that’s not it, lass. We eat in an hour. Then she practices shifting in the canal by the second bridge. She usually goes with our neighbors.”
“We can feed her and take her to the bridge for lessons,” Delia said.
“And I’ll keep an eye on her until your neighbors arrive,” I added.
The gratitude on Morgance’s face was painful to watch. “Thank you. Now I don’t have to stop my work to walk her down to the river. They usually meet by the second bridge, near Captain Ryun’s farm.”
“Does that mean I’m going, Da?”
“Yes, muh’Meda.”
The hug she gave her father was exuberant. As we walked away, she kept looking back while beaming. Her grin didn’t disappear even after he was no longer in sight. She held on tight to my hand during the short walk back to the Great Hall, waving at other kids her age.
“Thank you for brightening her day,” Delia whispered before leaving us.
Meda helped me cut up the rest of the fruit, and we stuffed ourselves before running upstairs to join the seamstress, Lorelei, and Bay. They’d displayed everything around the wardrobe.
There were skirts to be worn with regular and under the bust bodices, long- and short-sleeved blouses, chemises made of the finest cotton, scarves, and satin and cotton bloomers. The bodices came in different designs. One even had fancy embroidery.
Then there were dresses with bodices attached to the skirts. Lorelei called them kirtles. Some were sleeveless with lacing in front or the side, and an opening to show off the inner skirt. Those were worn with a blouse or a chemise.
Meda didn’t comment and stood to the side. In fact, she’d gone quiet the second we’d arrived in the tower. I tried to think up ways to engage her. After a few skirts, I deliberately put on the bodice the wrong way, stepped out from behind the screen, and said it didn’t fit. I watched the little girl from the corner of my eye as she palmed her face. The seamstress caught on quickly and joined in by not fixing my deliberate mistake.
“Not like that,” Meda finally said, and I hid a grin. I thought I’d have to wear bloomers on my head to get her to react.
“Help me with the rest of them, kiddo. We don’t wear clothes like this where I come from, you know.”
The rest of the fitting was fun. Delia walked in with a basket of food and bread as the seamstress and her apprentice were leaving, all the clothes folded and arranged nicely on the table. The meat was still too salty and spicy for my taste, even with the leafy garnish. The little girl ate with relish, grinning when I gave her some of my meat.
; “You don’t like it, do you?” she asked, whispering.
I shook my head, and she giggled.
“How can you tell?”
“You make funny faces when you eat.”
“Like this?” I crossed my eyes and twisted my mouth as I chewed. She laughed, almost falling off the chair.
After lunch, we took care of the dishes, then swung by the kitchen to tell Delia we were headed to the river. Gráinne gave me a long, searching glance before shooing us away.
Women sat in groups along the canal, their laughter and voices mixing with squeals from the children already in the water. They waved us over, but I told them I was taking Meda to her friends. They still called me Storm’s lass, which I didn’t mind. One day, I’d just be Lexi.
We kept walking until we reached the second bridge. Her neighbor was seated on the edge of the canal with her feet in the water, and from the size of her stomach, she looked ready to give birth. I couldn’t see her children.
Meda ran to her, and the woman hugged her. Two Selkies surfaced and waved to her before diving under water. Meda stripped and jumped in the water naked. When she floated to the surface, she had already shifted. Her friends joined her. The woman patted the ground.
“Join me, Lexi,” she said.
“How do you know my name?” I asked, sitting.
“Just because everyone calls you Storm’s lass does not mean we don’t know your name. I’m Darya, Una and Carrick’s mother.” Squeals from the children interrupted us as more joined them from the other side of the canal. Like Meda, they shifted effortlessly into fur.
“I thought Selkies shed their skins before they can shift.”
“We shed our fur, yes.” She patted the rolled, soft fur on her lap. “When they are young, their skin is versatile. It stretches and shifts easily. When they stop growing, around seventeen or eighteen, they must shed it to shift to skin.”
“Ma, are you coming in?” her daughter called out.
“In a minute, sweetheart. That’s my Una, seven going on thirty. The monster chasing them is Carrick. Nine. They both want to join their father, who’s a swordsman, but I’m hoping one of them will stay at home with me.”
[Phantom Islanders 02.0] Storm Revealed Page 13
