Children of the Sea 01 - Sea Witch

age as mortals do. Only when we are in human form.”
     
    “He sure as hell looked human to me.”
     
    184
    “It wasn’t until he reached puberty that his true nature revealed itself. When Dylan was thirteen, he Changed for the first time.” She gazed into Caleb’s cold, closed face, the chill settling at her heart. “That’s why your mother returned to the sea. To protect her son.”
     
    A muscle worked in Caleb’s jaw. “She had another son. And a one-year-old daughter.”
     
    Margred heart ached for him. For them all. “She had no choice. And she paid dearly for it. She lost her children and her life. Dylan—”
     
    “Look, I don’t need some crazy story to justify what my mother did,” Caleb interrupted. “And you don’t need to lie to cover up whatever it is you’ve done.”
     
    Margred scrambled to her feet. “I am not lying.”
     
    “Maggie . . .” His expression was patient. Weary. “This guy—the one you claim is my brother—did he hit you? Hurt you? Threaten you in any way?”
     
    She blinked. “No. I slapped him.”
     
    “Good for you. How about before?”
     
    She continued to stare at him, baffled.
     
    “On the beach,” Caleb clarified. “The night you were attacked. Was it the same guy?”
     
    “Oh, no.”
     
    “It was dark, you said. He came up behind you. Maybe you didn’t get a good look at him.”
     
    “I did not see him at all.” She had told him that much already. “But it was not Dylan.”
     
    “How can you be sure?”
     
    “It was a demon.”
     
    185
    Silence fell. Long moments passed, filled only by the whispering surf and the snickering wind.
     
    Her throat clogged. Dylan had not believed her. Why did she expect Caleb would? Because he was her lover? When had that come to mean anything more than—
    She trembled. When had that come to mean anything?
     
    “All this talk about mermaids and demons . . . It’s a problem, ”
    Caleb said, still in that measured, dispassionate voice.
     
    Disappointment was sharp as salt in her mouth. “ Your problem.”
     
    “Say ours .” He stood. “I want you to come to Portland with me to see Dr. Crawford.”
     
    She lifted her chin. “I am not sick. Or stupid. I do not want to see another doctor.”
     
    “It’s for your own good. Trust me.”
     
    “Why should I trust you? You don’t believe me.”
     
    “I believe something bad happened to you,” he said carefully, “and your mind is dealing with it the best way it knows how. So you’ve come up with a story to explain—”
     
    She thrust out her foot. “Explain this .”
     
    He glanced down at her bare foot, up into her eyes. “What?”
     
    “My toes are webbed.” She wiggled them to prove it.
     
    Caleb grabbed the back of his neck. “Maggie, they’re still toes.” His tone was patient. Pained. Caring. “Not fins or flippers. I need more from you than that.”
     
    She closed her eyes so she would not see the pity in his. “So do I.”
     
    She needed him to believe her.
     
    186
    And he couldn’t. Wouldn’t.
     
    Damn Dylan, anyway, for leaving her alone to fight his brother’s skepticism. Maybe he had not expected her to tell Caleb the truth.
     
    Or maybe he had. Maybe Dylan, more experienced in the ways of humankind, had anticipated Caleb’s reaction and chosen to spare himself his brother’s disbelief. His rejection.
     
    You are selkie, or you are not .
     
    She was not wholly selkie. Not any longer.
     
    But she would rather be half selkie, banished from the ocean, crippled by the loss of her pelt, than be dismissed as a damaged crazy woman by the human she was having sex with.
     
    She could use her magic to prove herself to him. Summon a wave, as Dylan had. Summon a storm, and dump it on his unbelieving head. But she should not have to. He should trust her.
     
    “Let’s get you back to the house,” Caleb said gently. “You can change out of those wet things, and—”
     
    Margred opened her eyes. “Getting naked with you is not going to help.”
     
    He smiled a little. “I wasn’t suggesting we solve our problems with sex. Although if you like the idea—”
     
    “I want to go to your sister’s.”
     
    Caleb looked wary, like a man approaching a shark on the beach.
    “Sure. We can stop at her place on our way home.”
     
    “I am not going home with you.” Her hands trembled, but her voice was quite steady, firm with her decision. “Not until you can accept me for what I am.”
     
    Caleb