by Lyra Evans
The air of the pool room was as hot as outside, the humidity hitting Niko like a wall as he stepped onto the deck. The room was massive and tiled in off-white and blue, and it echoed with their footsteps and Cobalt’s awed reactions. Niko walked right by the chairs along the perimeter of the deck and stepped to the edge of the deep end of the lap pool. The curved lip of the edge fitted beneath his toes, Niko took a deep breath and dove in.
Warm water enveloped him in a rush of bubbles and muted, hollow sounds. His body curved through the water, skimming the bottom before shooting back up toward the surface. He broke the water with a sharp breath and let the pool soak away all his tension, all his concerns and confusion. When he opened his eyes to find Cobalt, he saw the Selkie standing on the side of the pool, still clothed, arms crossed.
“What?” Niko asked.
“You have miles and miles of open ocean all around you, and you trap water in a tiled, concrete basin to swim?” Cobalt asked, shaking his head. “Have you an aversion to nature?”
Niko rolled his eyes. “It’s a lap pool. Meant for exercise, mostly. Some underwater training in a controlled environment. But I use it to clear my head.” He considered Cobalt’s pants and shirt, fitted to him like a second skin, and it annoyed Niko. The pants and shirt weren’t his skin. “You should join me,” he said. “You must be itching to go swimming, no?”
Cobalt gave him a pointed look, stepping closer to the edge to study the pool. “I am an ocean creature. I am not certain how I would react in this kind of water.”
Niko squinted at him, treading water. “You showered at my place,” he said. “That was fresh water.”
“And a shower is considerably less water than what is in the pool,” Cobalt explained slowly. Niko frowned.
“Well, it hardly matters, because this is a salt-water pool,” he said. At Cobalt’s raised eyebrows, he added, “It’s not ocean water, but the salts are supposed to be good for the skin or something. Our department is well-funded in some regards.”
Glancing around, Cobalt shrugged and pulled off his clothing, leaving them on a nearby deck chair. He wore only the iridescent trunks, fitted like spandex to his body, that he’d been wearing when he first appeared on Sickle Beach. His dark skin gleamed like black satin in the lighting of the pool room, and Niko let himself look.
Cobalt stood at the edge like Niko had. He cast Niko a look, waggling his eyebrows, then he dove. Unlike Niko, as Cobalt arced through the air he moved like water itself, and when he broke the surface to submerge, it was with the slightest rippling effect. Seamless and smooth, he moved across the pool in an instant, his body shining blue and purple and silver more brightly. His skin was a painting of the ocean, as deep as anyone could fathom going, and it was breathtaking.
Niko stared, with parted lips, as Cobalt circled him and resurfaced. His hair splayed out underwater like a crown, but above the water it still fluttered on the air, as though it had never been wet. Niko’s midnight blue hair was plastered to his head, meanwhile.
“Show off,” Niko shot, and Cobalt smirked at him. “Will you transform for me?” Niko asked, the words spilling off his tongue without prompting. He caught himself when it was too late, but Cobalt’s eyes were filled with a light Niko had not yet seen.
“This water is unlike any I’ve experienced,” Cobalt said. “Fae-made salt water is strange. I’m not sure how it will affect the transformation. But if you like.”
Niko opened his mouth, possibly to take back the request, to agree, to speak gibberish—it hardly mattered. Because as he did, Cobalt floated forward and caught him in a kiss again. Niko disappeared into the salt and citrus on Cobalt’s tongue, heat spooling inside him like a coil of molten wire. Cobalt broke the kiss and smiled wider.
Before Niko could say anything, Cobalt disappeared back beneath the water. A soft glow appeared then, and Niko realized Cobalt’s Soul Stone was the source. It shone bright white that faded to blue and green and gold, and as Niko was distracted by the Stone, Cobalt transformed.
It took a moment for Niko to realize the transformation was complete and the Stone was no longer glowing. Cobalt lingered at the bottom of the pool now, probably unable to breathe the open air the way he did before. He looked up at Niko with those same silver eyes, but the whites of his eyes were gone, replaced by black. His face was mostly unchanged, but for the set of gills that fanned open at either side of his neck. His arms smoothed through the water to either side of him, his fingers tipped with much sharper nails, his forearms crested with spiny fins so fine and iridescent they seemed almost ghostly.
His chest and stomach were still roughly the same, though his skin had taken on an iridescence, more clearly blending the undertones he had on land. And at his waist, skin transitioned seamlessly to scales, so much so Niko had difficulty noticing the difference until Cobalt moved. The scales caught the light and shone on chromatic shifts, though they seemed almost black otherwise, and the dorsal fin that tipped his tail was wide and strong and as iridescent as the fins on his arms. The other major difference was in the gold and black mantle tattoos. Or rather, what used to be tattoos. The marks on Cobalt’s skin had raised, taking shape and drawing thick ridges over his collar and shoulders and down his back. As he moved under water to show Niko his whole self, Niko saw the ridges turn to more spiny fins, gold and black and iridescent in colour.
After a long moment, Cobalt slowly rose to the surface of the water, lurking just beneath, his eyes wide and questioning Niko. Niko realized he hadn’t reacted visibly, hadn’t said anything or done anything. But how can you properly react to something so awe inspiring?
Taking a deep breath, Niko forced himself under the water, fighting to open his eyes to see Cobalt’s face. And before he ran out of breath and nerve, he took Cobalt’s face in his hands and pressed their mouths together. Bubbles escaped him through the kiss, and Cobalt gathered him in close for a moment, then he lifted Niko on top of him, pushing Niko out of the water enough so he could breathe but Cobalt was still submerged.
Niko broke the kiss after a while, vaguely aware he’d lost his mind. Cobalt smiled, his teeth sharper than they were when he was in his Landwalking form, and he released Niko. Niko gathered himself together, trying to remember why this was a bad idea. He tried to force himself not to get attached, not to let Cobalt in, but it was growing increasingly difficult.
As he watched, Cobalt transformed back and pushed up to the surface to speak with him. “Was it everything you imagined?” he asked.
Niko started, thinking for a moment that Cobalt meant the kiss. Then, realizing what he was actually saying, Niko shook his head. “I couldn’t have imagined that,” he admitted. It was beyond comparison, what Cobalt looked like in his Waterdancing form, but Niko couldn’t put it into words. He hoped the kiss was indication enough. Maybe too much.
“You seem vexed,” Cobalt said, his expression guarded. Niko realized he was frowning, eyebrows drawn close.
Shaking his head and spraying droplets of water around him, he tried to sort through the mess of his thoughts. He hadn’t been this confused since—since that first night in Sade’s dungeon. He’d been lost in the complexities of his situation then, and he was now. But the reasons were as vastly different as land and sea, and Niko didn’t think he was ready to feel that lost again.
“It’s not you,” he said, then immediately, “well, it is you. But—I just can’t focus. I came down here to clear my mind to think about the case and now—”
“I’ve distracted you,” Cobalt said, his voice carrying a sad tune. Niko looked up, his stomach in knots. Cobalt’s eyes were tinged with regret, but he nodded slowly. “Forgive me. If I’ve derailed you in regards to the case, I’ll never forgive myself.” Niko tried to make himself reassure Cobalt, but the Selkie floated toward the opposite end of the pool, soaking in the water in a way Niko could not have anticipated. “Please, pretend I’m not here.”
Given the out he needed, Niko swore inwardly but did as was suggested. He to
ok a deep breath and threw himself into swimming laps, breaking the water with arms and legs, crossing the length of the pool and back again in minutes, trying not to think about Cobalt or how he could swim it in seconds, or how he might look doing it. He had a job to do and musing over Cobalt was not part of it.
Forcing his mind back to the case at hand, Niko fell into a groove of motion, allowing himself to swim without thinking of his arms or his breaths, feeling the wall with one hand as he came upon it and diving down to push back in the other direction. How did this all fit together? Indigo had gotten involved with the Woods. He let himself be taken as merchandise, Niko had to assume. He wanted to free his friends, but he got himself killed. Then the Manor went on the market the next morning. But why?
Sade had said the events were usually a whole weekend, the bidding taking place the morning after the first night. So Indigo’s murder interrupted the event entirely. But what did it matter? They had the property to themselves, and they were already engaged in deeply illegal activity; what difference did Indigo’s murder make? Unless something about his murder was a danger to the Woods. Danger enough to end the event before selling their ‘merchandise.’
As he swam, something Pauline had said stuck in Niko’s mind, merging with what Sade had told them. The man Pauline saw slapped hadn’t reacted. He’d simply kept smiling as though nothing happened. And Sade said the buyers like the merchandise because they all seemed to want to be used and abused and sold. And all of the Selkies Pauline saw were missing their Soul Stones. Niko could only think of one way to make someone docile and cooperative, giving up a significant part of themselves, in that circumstance.
Breaking the surface of the water in the shallower end, Niko stood up abruptly, shaking off the excess water from his hair and face. He wiped at his eyes a few times, blinking through the salt water to locate Cobalt. He found him floating serenely off to the side, but he popped his head up when he realized Niko had stopped swimming.
“What is it?” Cobalt asked, swimming over to Niko in a blink.
“What would make Indigo give up his Soul Stone?” he asked without explanation. Cobalt blinked at him. “You knew him best, right? Of maybe anyone other than his family?”
Cobalt nodded. “I believe so,” he said. Thinking it over for a moment, he said, “I don’t know. I can only imagine him giving his Stone to his Soul Mate. Until he found that person, I can’t imagine him giving it up for any reason. Particularly not while stuck on Land, away from his people and his Court.”
“What if he had no choice?” Niko asked. Cobalt raised an eyebrow, getting to his feet before Niko rather than floating in the water.
“How do you mean?” Cobalt asked, but as Niko opened his mouth to answer, Cobalt frowned and shook his head. His expression verged on anger. “No. I told you before, the Soul Stone cannot be taken from a Selkie. It cannot be forced. It must be of the giver’s free will.”
Niko brushed that aside. “Right, but you also said that you can make someone do something if even a tiny part of them wants to do it. So if there was even a sliver of a Selkie that wanted to hand over their Soul Stone—”
“No,” Cobalt said, his voice hard. “The Song cannot override the magic of the Soul Stone.”
“Are you certain?” Niko asked, remembering Cobalt saying their powers were poorly understood still now.
Cobalt hesitated a half-second. “I have never seen anyone with the capacity to override the Soul Stone,” he said flatly. “And I have witnessed some who have tried.”
Niko sighed heavily, crossing his arms. The air in the room felt cooler on his skin now he was only half submerged, but he paid it little mind. “What if it was possible?” Niko asked, and Cobalt’s tension became almost palpable on the air. “Just for the sake of argument. If it was possible to override the Soul Stone, is there a possibility Indigo would have given it up?”
Cobalt’s jaw flexed. “No,” he said. “Indy’s Stone, and thus his ability to return to rule his people, was too integral to his identity. He was proud to be prince, fiercely protective of his Court and his people. He would never have given his Stone to someone who would then stop him returning to his father’s Court. Further, Indigo put himself in danger to save his friends. He planned out all his investigation on the wall of his room and was even about to send a message to me to get help. You think after doing all that he would just give up his Stone? For any reason?”
Niko thought it over. “True,” Niko said, piecing the puzzle together slowly. Every fragment was jagged and uneven, and he was forced to turn them all over in his mind, again and again, before finding out how they fit in with the whole. “Indigo was in control of his own actions until at least two days before his death, when he approached Starla for help.” He pressed his fingers to his lips, diving into the depths of his thoughts. “But the other Selkies had already given up their Stones. Why would they have done that?”
Cobalt’s tension eased slightly. “I do not know. I did not know them as I did Indy. Though given their lives back in Azure’s Court, I can’t imagine it would have been a simple decision. They were wealthy, well-liked, with positions that afforded them varying amounts of power. And given their closeness to Indigo, they could have had great influence over the Court as a whole once he became King. He loved his friends.” Cobalt paused, eyeing Niko. “But it sounds as though you think the person responsible is, in fact, a Selkie.”
Niko met Cobalt’s gaze evenly. “I’m just looking at the facts of the case. The victims of the Woods all seemed to want to be bought and sold, abused and used. Even Starla said the Selkies she talked to seemed happy with their situation. And they all gave up their Soul Stones, presumably to the same person. I can see some of the Selkies maybe changing their minds about going home or finding their ‘Soul Mates’ or whatever, but all of them? In a matter of weeks? In the same Court?” Niko shook his head. “It’s too unlikely. The fact that Selkies can Sing and control people—”
Cobalt’s expression was hard and unyielding as he said, “We cannot control more than one person at a time. Even the most powerful Selkie in my knowledge only ever managed to control two. And then only for a short while. It is excessively draining to have that kind of power over another living, sentient being. No one would be able to maintain it. Unless you’re suggesting an army of Selkies is in fact abducting other Selkies and murdered the prince of their former Court?”
Niko fought the urge to shrink back from Cobalt, instead standing his ground more forcefully. He stared down his partner for a moment, then yielded, realizing what it must sound like to Cobalt.
“Of course not,” Niko said. “It just fits. Sort of. At least the idea of mind control or brainwashing.” Niko ran a hand through his wet locks. “Ash and Fir, I don’t know. I just can’t account for the victims involved being willing. Smiling when hit or after someone pours boiling oil on them.”
“Are Witches and Wizards capable of that kind of magic?” Cobalt asked. “Or perhaps a Fae? Perhaps a Fae traded their free will for obedience?”
Niko thought it over. “It’s a stretch. I’ve never heard of a Witch or Wizard making any kind of potion or spell to control people. And for a Fae to make a deal that complicated and dramatic, they’d have to be exceptionally powerful. I guess it’s not entirely impossible.” But it still didn’t fit. “But if it was a Fae, how did they know to take the Selkies’ Soul Stones? Did they just mistake it for a gemstone on a Witch or Wizard? Even that seems farfetched.”
Cobalt’s expression darkened. “You did entertain the idea that one of Indigo’s friends might be involved,” he said. “I cannot reconcile the notion, but perhaps it is a mix of both theories. Perhaps a Selkie is involved in the Woods, and a Fae in control of the victims.”
Moving to the edge of the pool, Niko pushed himself out and onto the deck. His head felt full to bursting with pieces, knowing the solution was in there somewhere but unable to locate it. Then another thought occurred to him.
“What about
the cause of death?” Niko asked. Cobalt gave him a confused look, pushing himself out of the water as well. Streams of water slipped down his body and back into the pool with minimal splash or sound, as though he was actually part of the water rather than a separate entity. “Dr. Aspen said it was like a soundwave or sonic boom or something. Song is your power. Could a Selkie Sing to make that happen?”
Cobalt shook his head, his hair flowing like seaweed in a current, only there was no water left to drip. “We cannot make a sound like that. I’ve never heard of it in any of our history. Our Song is for control, not attack.”
“What about a Fae?” Niko asked. Cobalt gave him a look as though wondering why Niko was asking him that. “I mean, what if a Fae made a deal and—enhanced—Selkie Song in some way?”
Hands on his hips, Cobalt looked out into the distance of the room, seeing nothing. “I suppose it is possible, depending on the limitations of Fae magic. Although, by the same token, a Fae could enhance their own voice to that end, could they not?”
Niko shook his head. “I don’t think there’s enough power in any single Fae to make a trade that broken.”
“Regardless, I cannot see any of Indigo’s friends, involved with the Woods or not, willing to murder their own prince, their friend, to protect their secret.” Niko opened his mouth to interject a possibility, but Cobalt brushed him off instantly. “Even if they were ordered to do it, by some power. All forms of control I know of break the moment the instruction is at odds with the person’s core. Killing Indigo would certainly shatter that. I don’t think even Fae magic could override it.”
Niko wasn’t so sure about that, but another thought did occur to him. “What about seeing Indigo dead?” Cobalt cast him a questioning look. “Would seeing Indigo dead snap them out of someone’s control?”
There was a long silence. “I am not certain,” Cobalt admitted. “It’s possible. For at least a few of the Selkies on the Landwalk, anyway. Most of them were fiercely loyal to the royal family and the Court. They have their places in the Court precisely because of that loyalty. In that circumstance, perhaps even the sight of Indigo murdered would be enough to break a magical hold on them.”
