Gunnar shook his head.
“There are no easy tricks I can teach you. If you choose to adapt to the sea, that’s a decision you make for life. No going back. Are you sure about that? A life on land is a lot to give up. Think of your children, your business, your house. What about all the friends you’ll never see again, the family who can never visit you? Don’t give that all up so lightly.”
“I know what matters tae me most,” Cormac insisted. “I need tae find Rona, and I cannae do that on land. And there’s more. I need tae help the selkie kingdom defend itself. These are not your times anymore, Gunnar. This is the eighteenth century, and the seas are explored more every day. This kingdom cannae stay safe and secret forever, and it will take human help to protect it.”
Gunnar sighed, lifting to his feet and gliding slowly around the room.
“I will help you then. But I warn you, each change will make it a little harder for you to return to land. You may come to regret your decision.”
A memory of his first long sea voyage flashed in Cormac’s mind. How old had he been - fourteen? Thirteen? He’d taken to it instantly, loving the feel of the ship tilting beneath his feet, even when it pitched too steeply to stand and he’d lashed himself to the railings. Still, it had been a relief to come home to steady land - until that first step onto the dock. He’d fallen flat on his face, unable to walk without the moving deck. The other sailors had laughed until they cried. So Cormac had picked himself up and got straight back on the next ship out of town. From then on, he’d spent as long as possible on board a ship rather than on land. Even as a married man and father, it was only his nights and occasional days that he spent on land.
He smiled.
“Dinnae worry about me, Gunnar. I made my decision a long time ago. I’m sure that this is the right choice.”
No commitment had ever felt so right, not even his marriage to Lisbetta. He felt so ready that the urge burned through his brain and seared the corners of his vision. It was time to fully commit to the sea - both to the selkie kingdom and to the quest to find Rona.
Gunnar nodded, and began to cast the first spell, his hands shaking as he called magic out from the earth and the water. Cormac felt the pull as his own magic answered, snaking out to entwine with the strands of Gunnar’s power, the two spiralling together into an unbreakable rope. And then that rope wrapped around Cormac’s body and he felt the changes begin.
The tiny changes that had already helped him began to strengthen and develop. He looked down at his hands, watching in disbelief as the webbing grew thicker between his fingers, and felt the same tingle in his toes. His throat ached and his lungs felt lighter. He gently touched his neck and realised that his gills had expanded. Could he ever pass for a normal human again?
And then the true change came. Something shifted, deep inside, and he felt his magic change. It echoed the rhythm of the sea now, powerful and deep. His heartbeat pounded along with the waves, his skin catching in the pull of the tide, everything within him aligning with the sea.
“Stop!” he shouted, fighting to break free before the water drowned him and the magic swallowed him whole. “It’s too much!”
He felt the magic overwhelm him, crush him, sinking him beneath the weight of all the world’s water.
“Calm, you fool!”
Gunnar’s words were faint in the maelstrom of magic, but strong enough. Cormac seized onto them, focusing, relaxing, and he let himself unravel into the magic. He sank into it, the world around him dissolving into nothingness as the ocean took control.
When the blackness eased, and his breathing returned to normal, Cormac opened his eyes. Open water lay above him. No soaring ceiling, no thick undergrowth of plants. Where was he? He pulled himself to his feet, automatically reaching for a little magic to lift him up - and he shot all the way to the surface of the water, soaring out into the fresh air with so much force that he gasped and spluttered. He felt for the magic in his skin and almost collapsed at the power of it. He explored a little deeper. That tiny ball of glowing threads that had once nestled beside his heart was gone. Instead, every inch of his body throbbed with power, all of it pouring out of him as forcefully as Gunnar’s magic did. This must be what happened when a magician with sea magic completely aligned himself to the ocean. This incredible power, this magic beyond his wildest imaginings, was what he had bought for himself by sacrificing his life on land.
He reached out to Moira without pausing to think, no longer needing to feel for the thread between them.
“Sister!” he called, slamming into her brain - only to feel her recoil from the pain.
“Cormac?” she asked, her thoughts full of wonder - and a little fear. Suddenly, he could see her, slumped on the floor of the kitchen, gazing up at him.
“I can help you at last,” he told her.
“I can see that,” she said dryly. “Perhaps a little less, if you can. I don’t think I can stand this much power for long.”
He had too much magic for even Moira to control? Panicked, he eased back, leaving just the faintest touch between their minds.
“Better,” Moira said. He couldn’t see her anymore, but her voice was still clear in his mind.
But he’d had a thought. Surely he could do more than just give Moira extra power? He could protect his sons in ways that would have seemed impossible just a day ago. He began to weave, pulling his power into thick strands and wrapping them together. A little clumsy, perhaps, but it would surely do the job. He felt for his sons, playing out in the yard behind the house, and he gently placed the magic around them, tying the ends together to form a powerful barrier. He pulled it above and below, enclosing them in a bubble of powerful magic. Then he relaxed, sinking away from Moira and back into his own body as he gently floated on the surface of the sea.
His boys would be safe for now, wrapped in enough power to keep even the sea at bay. He might need to do more before they turned seven, but for now they had the safety they needed.
He sank back into the water, searching for the selkie trails that would lead him back to the palace. Two of his children were safe. It was time to help the third.
Cormac and Lisbetta were curled up on the bed together, skin against skin, enjoying the chance to touch and stroke and hold each other close. How could he have forgotten just how much he loved her?
A knock sounded on the door. Cormac hissed in annoyance, getting ready to send out a demand for privacy, when he recognised a familiar pulse of magic soaking through his door. Anja. He eased Lisbetta off him, ignoring her little sounds of annoyance, and pulled his clothes back on. Now seemed as good a time as ever to confront Anja.
“Don’t let her in,” Lisbetta begged. “Not just yet. We need a little more time together.”
Cormac shook his head. “She needs to understand what she’s done. She needs to know how many lives she’s ruined.”
“Be kind,” Lisbetta urged, but Cormac just turned away, his fury growing back into a raging fire as he yanked the door open.
Anja stood gazing up at him, misery radiating off her so deeply that it almost knocked him backwards. His anger faded away as quickly as it had appeared.
Lisbetta had always forgiven her sister. In all the stories she told him from her childhood, the ones where Anja was petty and mean, Lisbetta had always found a way to forgive. Anja was lonely, she’d told him. Anja was ignored, and afraid. Their mother, cold and unforgiving, had only been interested in her elder daughter, the heir. Their father, or supposed father, soon to commit treason and face exile from the sea, had been cruel and malicious. Lisbetta had always suspected that Anja was the one who suffered from the worst sides of both their parents.
“I wanted to ask Lisbetta for something,” Anja said, edging into the room, watching Cormac with wary eyes.
“Anything you have to say to me can be said in front of Cormac.”
Lisbetta’s voice was kind, but a little cold. Cormac admired the fact that she could summon any warmth at all, gi
ven that her sister had trapped her in an animal shape for weeks. Still, there was much he did not understand about selkies. Was Lisbetta truly a seal trapped in human form? He did not want to think about it too closely.
Reluctance clear in her eyes, Anja lifted her white fur robe. Cormac and Lisbetta gasped as blood seeped out to colour the water, the fur already stained bright red inside. A huge gash down Anja’s arm was bleeding hard.
Lisbetta shot forwards immediately, pressing her hands desperately to the wound. Cormac could feel her magic battering against it, but she was still too weak and tired.
“What happened?” she demanded.
Anja shrugged a little, the movement obviously paining her.
“I was hit by a falling rock during the attack on the palace. I didn’t want to risk distracting anyone. And you know what would happen if the selkie lords thought I was weak.”
“You’ve been swimming around like this for hours?” Lisbetta’s voice mirrored Cormac’s horror. What kind of pain must Anja have been in? They couldn’t leave her like this.
Cormac bent forwards, touching his hand gently to Lisbetta’s. He felt his strength pour into her, and she gasped.
“We can do this together,” he murmured in her ear. “I have the strength, you have the knowledge.”
Lisbetta nodded and set to work, tiny strands of magic knitting Anja’s skin together like the finest needlework. It was fascinating to watch her through the eye of his magic, each detail accounted for as she repaired her sister’s damaged arm.
As the last of the magic soaked into Anja’s skin, Lisbetta leaned back, stretching out her cramped muscles, and Cormac let his power detach from her.
“Where else are you hurt?” Lisbetta asked.
“There’s nothing else,” Anja insisted. “It was only my arm. I managed to avoid any other injuries.”
“You’re still in pain,” Cormac and Lisbetta said at the same time, glancing at each other. What was she hiding?
“Show me,” Lisbetta said, lifting a hand to gently touch Anja’s cheek. Her sister swallowed and nodded, turning around. She shifted her hair to one side and slipped her cloak off her shoulder. Cormac winced at the bloody, bruised patch at the top of her back. He reached forward to touch it, feeling his magic soothing the pain. But then he noticed something else - a faint silvery mark, stretching down below the bruising. Beside him, he heard Lisbetta’s sharp inhale and realised she had seen it too. Carefully, he eased Anja’s cloak down a little further, horrified at what he saw.
“Who did this to you?” Lisbetta demanded, her thoughts so loud that the whole palace could no doubt hear them.
“Hush!” Anja said, tears in her eyes. “I don’t want anyone to know!”
“Who did this?” Lisbetta repeated, her fists clenched. “Tell me, Anja.”
Anja’s entire back was covered in a network of scars, faded to silver now, but Cormac could almost picture them fresh and raw. How young must she have been, for scars like that to have faded so much?
“It was our father,” Anja said softly, looking straight into Lisbetta’s eyes. “Or rather, the man we thought was our father. I loved him, but I was never good enough for him, and he punished me for it.”
“Father did this to you?”
Lisbetta looked sick, and Cormac’s heart ached for both of them. He understood the power a cruel father could have.
“Who do you think betrayed his treachery?” Anja asked, lifting her chin a little. “He wanted to make me queen and rule through me. But I refuse to be anyone’s puppet. And look what I have achieved. I have wealth and power, an entire army to guard me, I’m never out of reach of a weapon. No one will ever again hurt me like he did.”
“Oh, Anja,” Lisbetta whispered. “I didn’t know. Mother never told me.”
“If only I’d known about Gunnar. You cannot imagine the relief at learning that man was not my father. But I don’t know if I can cope with remembering all the pain I suffered for no reason at all.”
“You loved him, Anja,” Lisbetta said, wrapping her sister in a hug. Cormac stepped forwards, touching Anja lightly on the shoulder, letting his power pour into her as she relaxed, safe in the arms of the sister who loved her. She began to shake, her body wracked with sobs as Lisbetta cried into her hair. Cormac felt her pain lift, dissipating out into the water. He watched his magic glide along the scars on her back, smoothing and fading them until nothing was left.
It felt like forever since he had last stood on this beach.
“You know I’ll take good care of them,” Moira said, wrapping him in a tight hug before letting go and glaring up at him. “Did you hear me, Cormac?”
He nodded. “I know ye will. I dinnae doubt how capable you are. It’s just going tae be hard.”
He looked over at where Lisbetta crouched on the sand, her arms around both her her sons as they snuggled against her. Their faces were hidden behind her thick red hair, but he knew they were crying. The time had come to say a final goodbye and prepare for their future in the sea. Red, Jamie and Norah stood behind him, awkwardly silent as the family said farewell.
“I need tae tell ye the full story of what happened to Rona,” he said.
Moira sighed. “I think I already know most of it,” she told him. “I felt her change. But is the curse not broken now?”
“It should be. But nobody can find her. We’ve had selkies out searching the entire kingdom, but there’s no’ a single trace of her. So now it’s time for me and Lisbetta to search. We willnae stop until we find her.”
Moira bit her lip. “Searching the whole sea could take a long time, Cormac. Once Joseph turns seven, I don’t know if I can keep him safe. You only have a few years.”
“Surely we will find Rona before that. We just need ye tae keep the boys safe for a little longer.”
Moira ran a hand through her windswept hair. “I have a suggestion, Cormac. You may not like it. There’s a man, a good man. He’s asked me to marry him. I was planning to turn him down, but perhaps I should agree. We can take the boys with us, away from here, and find somewhere inland to settle. Away from the sea and its power, they should be safe. We’ll raise them as farmers and hope this curse never touches them.”
Cormac felt his body stiffen as his eyes widened. A man? Moira? She’d always insisted that she would never marry. He had tried to push Jamie on her, but she had rejected him outright, and refused to even consider any other suggestion. She would remain independent, she had always told him. Who was this man she was now willing to marry? He dredged up a faint memory of a name: Humphrey. How had she met him - and what had changed her mind?
“That’s not an option,” Lisbetta said, walking up behind Moira, gripping the boys’ hands tightly in her own. “You can’t take the boys away. I need to visit them often, even if I can’t stay here for good.”
“It’s not that straightforward, and you know it,” Moira said. “Until you find Rona and break the curse, how can we know that the boys are safe? The ocean is no place for human children. Send them inland, at least for a little while.”
Lisbetta shook her head fiercely.
“They stay with me.”
“Perhaps for a few months,” Cormac suggested. “We’ll have found Rona by then, and we’ll know it’s safe.”
“That’s still too long!” Lisbetta insisted.
“We’ll be away searching,” Cormac pointed out. “We wouldnae have a chance to see them anyway. And besides, even a few weeks away from the sea might break its hold over them. It’s worth a try.”
Lisbetta looked between him and Moira, tears pooling in her eyes.
“Very well,” she said at last. “Moira and her man will keep them safe. But I will return for them soon.”
The hush of breaking waves caught Cormac’s attention, and he spun around. Anja had appeared from the sea-foam, water still pouring off her as she stood on the border between land and sea.
“I have come to offer thanks,” she said, her voice low and husky as sh
e spoke aloud. “I have gifts for those of you who helped my people.”
She held out one hand, and Cormac saw a palm full of tiny white sea shells. Red looked down at them dubiously, keeping his hands close to his sides.
“They will bring you luck,” Anja said softly. “With one of these shells, you will find success in whatever you do.”
Red took one gingerly, careful not to touch Anja’s hand, and shoved the shell quickly into his pocket. Norah took one as well, murmuring her thanks.
“I have another gift for you,” Cormac said, turning to his old friend. “I want you to take over the shipping business. The entire thing.”
“All of it?” Red asked in astonishment. “What about your share?”
“I don’t think I’ll be around enough to justify calling it my business,” Cormac said, bittersweet pride tugging at his heart. He’d built that business up from almost nothing. “And what’s the point hanging onto my money when it cannae bring my daughter back?”
Kingdom of the Sea (The Selkie Kingdom Book 2) Page 10
