Chapter 18
I can’t choke down another bite of the muffin. Even if I could, I don’t want to. I want to see Anastasia. I need to be around my daughter. Spend time with her. If I’ve been in bed for a week, like Em said, I should get cleaned up before I see anyone.
I gather a dress, a loofah, and drying material. I’m ready to head to the spring for a nice soak. I open the door to the cottage and freeze.
Blue eyes light and shine as they lock on mine. My heart drums, and the little—or not-so-little—thing growing in my belly does triple twist back flips.
“Finn,” I whisper, blinking my eyes, afraid I have a head injury and am delusional.
“Masha.” He reaches out and strokes his thumb across my cheek, leaving a trail of sparks. “Ballerina. You called.”
“Finn!”
So many thoughts and emotions flood through me, it’s all I can get out. His arms slip around my waist and hold me against his chest as my feet leave the ground. After kissing my belly, he slides me back down until we’re mouth to mouth, and his warm, salty lips crush mine.
Happy tears streak down my face. His hands cradle my cheeks and brush the wetness with his thumbs.
“You had me worried.” He says before meeting my mouth with his once again.
My brain short circuits the way it always does when he’s around. I don’t care. I’m in Finn’s arms. All I can do, all I can think about, is kissing him back and holding on to him so tight I’ll never let go.
*
“Thank you for saving me.”
“Thank you? You’re joking, right?”
“Not at all.” Finn looks at me like I’m a curiosity as we sit together on the couch. My legs lay draped across his lap, one of his hands rests on my thigh, the other on my belly. This is a life I can get used to. A life I want. “I’m sorry Em almost killed you.”
Finn shakes his head, circling his hand over my thigh and sending a shower of sparks through me. “He made me stronger. I don’t know if I would’ve been able to save you otherwise.”
“Em had nothing to do with you coming after me.”
“He gave me battle scars.” Finn lifts the hem of his shirt to show me a lash mark marring his left flank. Waves of guilt and sadness overwhelm me. Em’s brutality harmed him, and I was the excuse to do it. “My magic was strengthened. That includes the magic in the bracelet. It’s why you were able to not only breathe underwater, but get away once I sank my teeth into him.”
I can’t process what he’s saying. There was another terrifying moment starring Finn that I want to forget. Instead, I focus on his injury. “Does it still hurt?” My fingertips ghost over his skin as I trace the raised pink line.
“No.” His eyes twinkle like blue diamonds. “That brimberry is amazing!”
“Em allowed you to have some?” Boy, have things changed. Hardly ever is anyone outside of Em’s inner circle, meaning Erin, me, and Ana, allowed brimberry. Once in a blue moon, Em will allow an animal to have some, but only the ones closest to him.
Finn wraps a ribbon of my blonde hair around his finger and twirls it. “He insisted I have some while we kept you hydrated and watched over you. When I was well enough, he allowed me to hold you as he fed them to you.”
My eyes double in size. “Really?”
Finn nods. “He loves you and Anastasia very much. I’m sorry I resisted him. I didn’t understand what he was or his role in your life.”
I shake my head. “I handled everything so wrong. I should’ve told you about him and him about you,” I shrug. “But a part of me liked keeping you my secret. It sounds stupid and childish. But I didn’t want him to freak out and do exactly what he did.” I sniffle. “When the hell am I going to get a handle on these damn emotions!? I don’t think I ever cried so much. I was nothing like this with Ana.”
I shoot Finn a death glare as he chuckles.
“I had plenty of opportunity to explain myself and my intentions to Em before he lashed me. I didn’t. That’s on me. But I’m glad you have someone willing to defend you so fiercely. Now, you have two someones.” He leans in, touching his forehead to mine. “You are so very precious to me. I’ll do anything to keep you safe. It’s nice to know if I should fail . . .”
“You didn’t. You won’t.”
“Masha,” His voice holds a warning. “I’m still new at this.”
“New? Haven’t you always been a kelpie?”
“I started to explain, but we were interrupted . . .” He looks away, probably wanting to forget the sequence of events from that moment on. “Yes, I was born a kelpie. Because of that, my parents kept me hidden for most of my life.”
Because he was born a kelpie? I’m sure I’m misunderstanding. “Because you’re different.”
He nods, looking very serious. “Do you know why I’m different?”
“You’re a vegetarian.”
He smiles, his eyes betraying his surprise. “You remember,” he sounds awed. “I am. But why don’t I eat meat?”
Tension builds in my body. I feel my shoulders rising up to my ears. Since he isn’t telling me straight away, this can’t be good. I hold my breath, waiting for what Finn hasn’t said.
The look of fear on his face sends a shiver through me. Tiny bumps prickle my skin.
“Masha, there are two ways kelpies come to be. The first is through conception.”
“Of course.” I let out a relieved breath and think of our love child squirming around inside me. “What’s the second?”
“The fae create Kelpies from the spirits of abused horses that are drowned or otherwise killed and thrown in the water. Kelpies are meant to avenge those deaths. Only they don’t care who they hurt or kill. Which is why most kelpies are malevolent.”
I feel numb. I didn’t expect that. I don’t want to hear anymore, but I know I have to, so I stay quiet and continue to listen.
“They feed on flesh. Especially that of children or misguided travelers. They grow stronger with every kill. Territorial wins help strengthen their magic as well.”
“You said children were cherished.” I feel betrayed.
He nods and speaks slowly, his next words turning my blood to ice. “Kelpie children are. They’re very rare. But they often have brutal upbringings, learning to hunt and fight starting at the age of five.”
“Five? By hunting, you’re referring to human victims?”
He nods. “The island I come from is in the barrier reef of North Carolina. It’s well known for its wild horses. People are lured there with the promise of watching them run free. Signs are posted, tales are told, and everyone knows bad things can happen if they try and get too close to the horses, but they still do. On the island, it’s less about hunting and more about luring victims. Once a human touches a kelpie, they never escape intact.”
Blood drains from my face. I pull my legs off him and set them on the floor. I remember Em’s surprise that I could touch Finn. I wasn’t so lucky with the black horse.
“Is that what you planned to do to me?”
He wears the pain of my insult on his face. “Of course not. That’s why I made the bracelet for you. To be sure I could never hurt you.”
A vision of him turning to me with his shark-teeth bared rushes to my mind. “In case you lost control and turned into the monster you truly are.”
“You know I love you. I gave you the bracelet as a layer of protection, yes, so that we could touch without consequence, but also to allow you to breathe underwater so you couldn’t be drowned if you touched another kelpie.”
“Did you tell them about me and Ana? That we’re vulnerable and easy prey?”
“Masha,” he takes my face between his hands, but I pull away. I scoot against the corner of the couch and turn my head. “Of course not.”
“Then why was that other one here?”
Finn shrugs. “I don’t know. It’s not like I was friends with any of them. I ran off, leaving everything behind.”
“What about your parents? Do you still communicate with them somehow?”
His shoulders sag. “If I didn’t leave when I did, it’s possible my father would’ve attacked me, maybe even tried to kill me on my thirtieth birthday in a few weeks. He’s always been a good, kind father, and I doubt he would’ve ever been so harsh with me, but the possibility exists.”
My hands wrap around my baby bump. He sidles over and reaches his arm around my shoulder, trying to get closer, but I push him off and slink away.
I can’t think straight with the terrifying images he described running through my head. Standing, I create necessary distance. I need to be as far away from him as possible.
“Masha.”
“Em was right,” I say, reaching for the clasp of his silver chain.
“Please,” he wipes his palms on his pants, so like an ordinary human man. But he’s not. At all. He’s a monster. An evil. Killing. Monster. “Masha, I will never hurt you or our children.”
“What about Ana?” I ask with a hole in the bottom of my stomach. “Do you get extra points for killing her?”
He shakes his head, and the horror I feel reflects on his face. “Never. I already consider her my daughter. I’ll never harm a hair on her head.”
“You’re damn right you won’t. You’ll never get near enough to hurt her. Ever.”
“Please, Masha, there’s more. I need you to calm down.”
“No!” I shake, fury growing inside me. “Em!” I yell as loud as I can, tossing Finn’s chain at the door. “Em, help!”
The door to the cottage swings open as I fiddle with the clasp of the bracelet. Em steps in and looks between us.
“I’m trying to explain, but she won’t—”
“Get out!” I shout, throwing the bracelet at Finn. I don’t want anything to do with him or his fae magic. “What are you waiting for? Get out!”
To emphasize my point, Safra stands at my door, a deep growl vibrating in her throat.
“I’m sorry, Finn.” Em’s apologizing? To an evil kelpie? What the hell is wrong with him? “If she doesn’t want you here, you have to leave.”
“Masha, I want to spend my life with you and Ana. With our child. Please don’t do this.” He sounds broken. My days of caring about how Finn feels are over.
“Finn,” there’s a warning in Em’s voice.
“I love you, Masha.” He tries one last time. I don’t acknowledge his words. I go into my room so I don’t have to look at him any longer. Or worse, watch him leave.