Page 9 of Between Salt and Serenades
“The selkies?—”
“Stayed out of it. As did the kelpies,” I cut her off, my anger building once more. “While the sirens were being slaughtered, the other sea fae did nothing to stop it. The sharks and whales did more to protect us, circling boats, intimidating the humans, acting as a buffer to our pod. The sea fae didn’t lift a finger. They all stayed in their corners of the world and minded their business as our numbers dwindled—as we died. Mothers.Fathers.”
Breena cleared her throat and straightened her jacket before saying, “Maybe if your kind didn’t kill us?—”
“Try again,” I snapped. “Sirens didn’t start killing selkies until after the hunger set in, about a hundred years after the war had started.”
“Neither one of us were alive back then, and I don’t intend on holding a grudge over something that had nothing to do with us,” Breena said. She dropped her legs back down and crossed her arms over her chest. Her gaze dropped to my wrist. The sensitive skin was bruising, a ring of purple in the shape of her hand.
“It’s too late for that,’ I said. I covered up the bruise she left on me and hardened my gaze so when she looked at me, she knew just how I felt about that little mark, her unintentional claim.
“You’re telling me that you will forever hold a grudge against me and all other selkies?” Breena asked, clicking her tongue in annoyance.
“I will,” I promised. After a choppy wave hit the boat, I adjusted my position on the chest again, shoving a rag beneath me to serve as a buffer between my butt bones and the latch.
“That is downright pathetic.” Breena was now the one scoffing.
“Excuse me?”
“Punish me all you want, but you are really going to hate all selkies for not getting involved inyourwar? Something that had nothing to do with us?”
“Yes, just as I am not forgiving the humans. While it was the sailors who did what they did, you really think the rest of the humans are any better? I have been there on land amongst them. You have no idea what it’s like.”
“And are you going to pretend human men don’t steal selkie skins and force selkie women to become their wives and the mother of their children?” I asked. I knew I would strike a chord with my words, but I spoke them anyway. I would always sit in my anger, but I wanted to see hers.
“That’s different.” Breena gritted her teeth, her elongated canines poking out from behind peeled back lips.
“How?” I pushed myself off the chest, my bare feet striking the slick wood of the deck. My toes stung instantly, but it didn’t stop me from taking a step toward Breena. She flinched, but her body remained where she sat on the chest. “The women of this sea are used and then tossed away when they are no longer convenient. You and I are the daughters of the sea, and it is our job to protect it against the predators who want to destroy it. You can’t ignore what has been done.”
“I’m not ignoring it! But can’t I want peace? We have our cove, and we stay away. Our cove is protected, and that is enough for me,” she said, eyes squinting.
“Protected?” I laugh. “You are starving just as we are. How much longer do you think the selkies can hide away in their cove when there is nothing to eat? How long before the kelpies start looking at you as their food source?”
“They wouldn’t.” Breena all but cowered under my words. She might be stronger than me, but I could crush her without lifting a finger. All I had to do was open my mouth. That was where my true gift lied.
“I wouldn’t be too sure. Why don’t you leave your family with them and find out? Oh, that’s right, you already did leave them, didn’t you?” I asked, sudden guilt piercing me as I thought of my own family and how I had chosen to leave them in hopes of saving them, just as Breena had.
“This is ridiculous. I will be returning home to my family as soon as rest finds me. And when we reach shore, fish…you better stay away from me.”
“Or what, seal?” I asked, my guilt fleeing my body as Breena’s threat left her lips.
“Or you will discover much more than a simple bruise around your wrist,” she said, her voice stiffening, as if her vocal cords had turned as hard as the stone her kind sunbathed on.
I strode over to her and grabbed her by the face, forcing her to meet my eyes before saying, “You may be stronger than me, but I advise you to never forget that I control this sea. Even seals aren't immune to the wrath of the water.”
My heart pounded in my head, blocking out all other sounds. Breena’s eyes darkened as she glared at me under long lashes, her lips puckered by the strength of my fingers on her face. Her fists gripped the edge of the chest, and the wood she sat upon splintered and cracked.
“I haven’t forgotten,” she spat before she tilted her chin up with a swift movement, breaking my hold. My arm dropped back to my side, but my fist still held the tension of my annoyance.
“Find your rest, then,” I demanded, taking a step back from her to help put out the fire between us.
“Like I would close my eyes around you.”
“You think I plan to kill you in your sleep?” I laughed. “You insult me. I’ve already had so many chances to take you out. I don’t need to wait until you’re vulnerable to make a move. Now, shut your eyes and get some sleep.”
“And what will you do?” Breena asked, her grip on the cracking trunk loosening.
“Watch.”
