Rowan
The air was tense and heavy as I stepped into the house. Panak had already made his way back into the living room and was eyeing me with caution.
“Where’s Milo?”
Panak stared for a long moment before he spoke without answering my question. “You won’t take her from me.”
“Where is Milo, Panak?”
His jaw clenched.
A slipper flew from an open doorway, smacking Panak on the side of the head. He flinched, but didn’t seem otherwise bothered by it, nor by the tiny woman who followed it.
I exhaled in relief as Milo followed her, looking confused, before he made his way over to me. I threaded my fingers through his the moment they were in reach, and decided right now that I wasn’t letting him leave my side again.
Miki stomped over to her husband, gripping his face in her hands and forcing him to break the death stare he held with me to look at her instead. She shook her head at him. Panak sighed.
“Take a seat,” he grumbled before returning to the kitchen.
I was so confused, but as Miki turned to smile at Milo, and then offered a slightly more cautious smile at me, I let Milo pull me to the table.
“Miki doesn’t need to be rescued from Panak,” Milo told me, and Miki nodded.
“But you told me your goddess—”
“I got it wrong,” he interrupted, pouting as he looked away from me.
I squeezed his hand a little tighter. I still had no idea what was going on, but if we were wrong about this, then that was probably a good thing. Though it did raise some more questions.
“Where’s the baby?” I asked.
Miki closed her eyes and tilted her head, pretending to sleep for a moment.
Then Panak joined us again, sitting stiffly in the seat across from me and looking between me and Milo with suspicion.
“Someone is going to need to explain what’s happening here,” I stated.
There was silence as we all seemed to decide if we could trust each other or not. Miki seemed to trust Milo, but seemed a little wary of me, and Panak didn’t seem to trust either of us, but he wasn’t as defensive as he’d been at the market.
He turned to look at Miki, and she nodded at him.
With a sigh of resignation, he turned to us again. “You know what she is?”
It was a statement more than a question, but I nodded.
“She’s a selkie,” Milo answered. “And she doesn’t have her coat.” The last part had a bit of accusation in his tone.
“No, she doesn’t.” Panak answered.
“So where is it?” asked Milo.
Panak turned to Miki, and again she nodded.
“Poachers.” It was a simple word, but it still made my stomach twist with unease as Panak continued.
“They captured her and took her coat. But she escaped them. By the time I found her at sea, she was weak with exhaustion and hunger. I brought her here, and she has chosen to stay with me since.” He sent a glare at Milo, then me.
“She wasn’t able to get her coat back before she could escape. ”
Milo turned to look at me, a question in his eyes he wasn’t sure if he should voice.
“Poachers are… hunters without honor,” I explained.
His lip pulled up in a snarl.
“If this is true, then why didn’t you let us talk to her at the market?” I questioned Panak.
“She’s a selkie, Rowan. You think poachers discover a thing like that and let her escape?
Others have come after her since. I know you, but I don’t know you, and I certainly don’t know him.
” He gestured at Milo. “When we got home, Miki explained he could be trusted.” He still gave Milo a suspicious glance.
“But just because he’s selkie doesn’t mean he’s safe. Not all the poachers are human.”
“They have selkies working for them?” I asked in shock.
Panak nodded. “Among other things.”
There were other things beyond selkies and humans? I shouldn’t be surprised.
“Is this true?” Milo asked Miki, and she smiled sadly before nodding. “Then what about your baby?”
“We keep Sila’s coat hidden, so that no one will see it and try to steal it from him.” Panak explained. “He has it when it’s safe.”
My head hurt from the turn today had taken and all the information that had been revealed. “And you got all of this… how? I don’t mean to be insensitive, but how do you know all of it if you weren’t there and if she can’t speak?”
Panak looked at Miki, and she stared back at him as they seemed to have a conversation through eye contact alone before he turned back to me. “Mind speak.”
Milo had mentioned that to me earlier. I glanced at him to see him looking a little confused as he processed, before his eyes sparked with understanding. “You’re bonded as mates,” he exclaimed.
Miki smiled as she nodded.
He looked at me with a wide smile. “They’re bonded as mates, Rowan,” he repeated. “The goddess blessed them. So they can hear each other.”
“Yes, well,” Panak interrupted. “Sometimes. The longer Miki is without her coat, the harder it’s getting for her to communicate.
” Panak’s thumb smoothed circles over the back of Miki’s hand.
“She’s sick, and she’s getting worse. She needs her coat.
But I can’t leave her alone, and I’ll never take her back to those monsters. And we have Sila to protect now too.”
“That’s why she needs help,” Milo exclaimed, his hand gripping my arm suddenly. “We have to get it back for her, Rowan.”
I swallowed nervously. As much as I would love to get Miki’s coat back for her, there was a big difference between sneaking around and breaking into a human’s home and locating a group of poachers from two years ago.
If we could find them, there was still no guarantee that they’d still have the coat.
It was also significantly more dangerous.
I opened my mouth to speak but then made the mistake of glancing at Panak and Miki and seeing the hope and desperation in their eyes.
A tiny cry broke the tension. Miki pulled her hand from Panak’s before disappearing into one of the side rooms.
I cleared my throat awkwardly, and Panak scratched the back of his neck as he stood up again. “You’ll be staying for dinner, then. I’ll make more,” he said, dismissing himself to the kitchen.
Milo looked at me with big puppy dog eyes and a pleading pout on his lips.
I wasn’t sure if he knew how much he was agreeing to here, or if this was just a normal thing selkies would do for each other, putting themselves in danger to save one of their own.
The world would be a much better place if humans were more like that.
Miki returned, a silver-haired baby Sila in her arms. He wasn’t crying anymore, but his lower half was wrapped in what was undeniably a white fluffy seal coat.
Milo’s feet tapped excitedly on the floor before he stood up and walked over to her to greet the baby. He cooed at Sila, who grabbed his offered finger. Miki smiled before holding the baby out to him, and Milo happily accepted.
“Aren’t you just the sweetest,” Milo fussed as he sat down again next to me. “Look, Rowan. He’s so precious. We’re going to have a baby soon too, and you’ll both be the best of friends,” he declared, booping the baby on the nose.
Miki didn’t seem at all surprised by his words. She smiled softly at us before going to help Panak in the kitchen.
“We’re going to save your mama, aren’t we, Rowan?” he asked, giving me those puppy dog eyes once more.
I sighed. “We’ll do what we can,” I promised him. I just hoped it would be enough.