Page 17 of Sea of Evil and Desire (The Deep Saga #1)

15

Morgana

M y father was called Rory, and he was dead.

The pub next door was virtually empty. I ordered a dark beer and took a deep gulp. My hands were shaking. Aranare was going to tell me everything tomorrow.

For now, I needed a distraction.

I slipped into a booth at the back of the venue, pulled the book on Selkies from my satchel, and set it on the table. The cover was a dark canvas, and its title was embossed in gold Celtic font: Mythical Creatures of the Water .

I scanned the contents.

SIRENS

GRINDYLOW

MER

KORRIGANS

ST. ELMO’S FIRE

SELKIES

KELPIE

MORGEN

NYMPHS

BLUE MEN OF THE MINCH

FINFOLK

SEA SNAKES sightings mainly occur around small isles and deserted beaches. Sailors often associate the Mer with storms and bad weather. They have beautiful voices that are treacherous to human ears and have lured many sailors to their death.

The book then documented images of Mer in Scotland, Ireland, Europe, Asia, and Africa. Each culture had a slightly different representation and name for the creatures, but their mythology shared striking similarities. I skipped forward to a chapter that caught my eye:

Powers of the Mer:

Throughout folklore, Mer are described as dangerous and possessing various magical powers. Most tales tell of the Mer being beautiful and charming, but their charms can become deadly when they lure humans out to sea or into captivity. The Mer are immensely beautiful, yet grotesquely fierce when aggravated. There are tales of humans receiving gifts from Mer, but these often come with watery curses.

It sounded like the Mer had used their powers against humans for centuries. But what about the Drowned? There was no chapter on them. Who knew what sins they had committed? Edward had mentioned “four great battles.”

I skimmed the following paragraph, and disappointment flooded me. This text said nothing about the seven houses or their unique powers drawn from the different oceans. If I wanted to learn more about the House of Neptūnus and the other Mer houses, that would mean returning to the deep.

My heart quickened as I flipped to chapter six.

Selkies live as seals in the sea and transform into humans on land. These shape-shifters can only transform at dawn or dusk, when they are most powerful.

Seals! The little dark heads I had seen bobbing above the water and sunning themselves on the rocks swam into my mind.

In Gaelic lore, Selkies are often called “maighdean-mhara,” meaning “maidens of the sea.”

According to the text, Selkies originated from the Celts. Granddad had grown up in this town, and my grandmother said her family came from Orkney. Could I be a Selkie? My hands trembled against the open page as the thought washed over me. But wait, I couldn’t be. This text said they turned into seals. I’d just been . . . furry. I needed to know more. I needed to go down to the water and look for some seals.

“May I join you?” The voice startled me, and I instinctively scooped the book up to my chest.

Finn. I’d been so preoccupied I hadn’t noticed his approach. Now, he was in front of me, and I was struggling to breathe again.

He didn’t wait for an answer before sliding into the booth across from me. His black hair was slicked to one side, accentuating his dark brows and eyes. The dim shaft of light from the small nearby window barely touched his face, now shadowed by the pub’s walls, but I felt his gaze on me. The vulgar tunes of the slot machines chimed somewhere behind us.

“Your jacket . . . I’ll bring it to work.”

Finn gestured dismissively, as if he couldn’t care less about me still having his expensive woolen coat. “What are you doing in this pub, drinking beer? You are unusual.” His eyes lingered on me for a quiet moment.

I had forgotten my beer and took a little sip. Shit . I put it down again quickly, remembering the whisky.

“I’m just exploring my local area. Is that okay with you? Wait a minute, what are you doing here?”

He smiled playfully. His smile differed from the boy’s at the bookstore. Finn’s was darkness, and Aranare’s had been light.

“I came here looking for you . I was coming to see you at your place, but then I saw you wandering up here.”

The way he emphasized the word made me feel light-headed. The thoughts he stirred in me were wrong, yet temptation kept clawing at my resolve.

Why does he keep seeking me out when he has a fiancée?

“You didn’t yell out, just followed behind? That’s not creepy at all.” I rolled my eyes, slinging my satchel over my shoulder.

“I saw you go into the bookstore, and I could see you talking to Aranare.”

“You know him?”

“I know of him.” A flicker of annoyance passed Finn’s face.

“Of course, the small-town thing.” I began shuffling out of the booth. “But wait, you only just moved here . . .”

“We’ve had the pawnshop here for years. It’s impossible not to know the Williamsons when they own half the town. I don’t know why you care so much.” His shoulders twitched.

“I was just about to go down to the beach. You don’t happen to know where the best spot to see seals would be?” I mumbled, fidgeting with my hair.

“Seals?” His eyes flickered with something. “I’ll show you.” A grin curled the corners of his mouth as he gestured to the door.

It was chilly outside, and a light rain tickled our faces. Finn walked close to me as we trailed down the hill toward the bay. I sensed his proximity—quiet, dark, and broody. He’d worn his green jacket again today, and I peeked at him from the corner of my eye. He really was attractive. I found it hard not to watch him, but his charisma came more from how he carried himself.

“Where is your fiancée anyway?” I bit the words out before I could stop myself. Skye and I had tried to find Finn on Instagram, but he didn’t seem to have an account, and there was no sign of anyone living with him in his clifftop fortress.

“She lives on the . . . estate.” He waved a hand as if trying to brush off the question.

“How did you meet?” I asked, even though I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.

“Oh, you know, it was just like one of those romance movies you love.” He shrugged.

Sarcasm. Another mask. It was better than arrogance or ice, but it was still a mask.

He stopped at the top of the dark rocks that led to the sand and turned to face me.

“So, was it love at first sight?” I pressed him.

His brows narrowed as I said the word love , shadows flickering in his eyes. “In my family, we don’t have the luxury of such trivial things. It’s not about what I want . . . it’s about what’s expected.”

We descended the rocks in silence as I scanned the beach for seals. The salty sea air caressed me, and I searched for those familiar smells and rushing sensations, but I felt nothing. I hadn’t felt that pull since I returned.

Finn jumped onto the sand at the bottom of the rocks and turned to face me. “I’m sorry for being short with you.” He let out a weary breath, running a hand through his hair. “You’re asking too many questions about things you won’t understand.”

Something was eating away at the sense of self-confidence he’d shown that night at his house. He looked out to sea and sighed. “Have you ever wanted to just . . . leave everything behind and go somewhere you can be yourself without all the pressure?”

“Yes.” I jumped the final cluster of rocks, landing on the sand beside him. “That’s why I came here.”

He smiled sadly, taking in my face before continuing toward the bay’s curve. Slick black pebbles were imprinted in the sand beneath his lace-up leather boots as he led the way.

“I guess the life I lead numbs you in a way, so I never really think about it or who I might be without the confines . . .” He shook his head, looking out over the ocean again.

“Working in the pawnshop can’t be that difficult.”

He let out a low chuckle, waving off my comment. We walked in silence for a moment.

“You’re not wearing your signature fur jacket today.” He turned and looked me up and down. The Finn I had just glimpsed had disappeared, replaced by a steely mask, but there was a hunger in his eyes as he surveyed my body.

“Glad you are so interested in my fashion choices. I will wear it just for you next time.” I batted my eyelashes at him in mock flirtation.

He ran a hand through his dark curls, and heat warmed the space below my navel. Shit . His salty scent, that deep, silken voice—each word he spoke ignited a fire inside me. And those damned dark eyes, flickering with things I couldn’t decipher. It was as if my traitorous body didn’t care that he was moody or engaged. I pressed my thighs together and turned to the gray ocean, searching for a distraction. These feelings were so confusing. These feelings were so wrong .

The weather blurred the distant horizon, and I hoped Granddad had returned safely from his fishing trip. With my newfound understanding of the Drowned, my worries had somewhat abated—he would probably relish sharing rum with gnarly sailors in Davy Jones’s Tavern.

A buoy tinkled in the fog, and a gull left tracks across the granite sand. Finn led us toward Merrow Rocks, the outcrop that made up the bay’s left fist—the same one the two kids had disappeared from, the ones who now lived under the sea with the Drowned.

Mist veiled the bay. I glanced back, spotting the rocks we had climbed near my jetty, but the harbor and its moored boats had faded into the haze.

“The Cailleach is holding us in her old wintery fingers today.” Finn turned to me, the fog curling about his leather boots.

My grandmother had told me stories of the Callieach, a divine hag associated with storms and winter.

Unfazed by the growing mist, Finn hopped onto the first rock and offered me his hand, my feet sliding as he helped me up. We navigated the haze, guided by the sound of waves crashing against the distant edge. Despite myself, I was glad to have his company in this weather.

As we neared the point where the rocky arm met the open sea, the stones ahead seemed to shift and move. Seals . They hauled themselves over the edge and into the ocean as we approached. If they were connected to the world I’d discovered, perhaps I could communicate with them for answers. Only three of the animals lingered.

“Hello . . .” I looked intently through the fog into the largest creature’s big black eyes.

The seals were silent. They continued to hasten into the water, disappearing one after the other.

Finn erupted in laughter at my side. “Were you just trying to talk to them?”

I glared at him.

He grasped my cold free hand and spun me around to face him, studying me curiously. His hair was damp with mist and sea spray. I tried to pull myself from his gaze, but he didn’t let go. He took a step, and then another, until we were close enough for his warm breath to caress my cheek.

“It’s killing me that I can’t figure you out.” His fingers softly tangled in the hair framing my face before gliding down to rest on my shoulders. His eyes narrowed and flitted back and forth, searching mine. I let them. Perhaps he would read my mind and discover all my secrets. Then I wouldn’t have to carry them alone. My father. The underwater world. My father. I couldn’t bring myself to talk with Finn about what I had discovered—at least not yet. Not until I knew more.

I locked on to his obsidian gaze as his hands glided from my shoulders to my waist. With one tug, he could pull me against him. Then I would feel all of him.

Drops of water decorated his cheeks, dark brows, and lips, and I couldn’t stop staring at them. My body began heating up, filling with things I didn’t usually feel.

What is he doing?

I willed myself to push him away. Placing my hand against his torso, I felt the definition of his stomach beneath his sweater.

“You know, I’ve never met anyone like you.” Finn’s voice had dropped, now rough and gravelly. He lifted his hand from my hip, tracing his lower lip with his thumb as he studied me.

Heat expanded within me, throbbing below my navel. It was so nice not to be nauseated by his feelings . Only my hand on his chest kept our bodies apart. My fingers were curling at the cloth of his sweater. One tug—that’s all it would take to pull him into me.

No, no, no. This was not okay. I unfurled my fingers and shook myself free of him. Exhaling, I moved toward the rock’s edge and let the sea spray pepper my face.

This was too far. I had let myself get too close. The urge to be near him was consuming every rational thought. He needed to stop doing this confusing stuff.

My eyes scanned the area where the seals had been for skins or some sign. Perhaps they hadn’t responded because I was with Finn. Maybe I should read the rest of the book and return here tomorrow evening.

“What do you know about Selkies?” I asked, seating myself on a damp rock.

“So that’s why you tried to talk to the seals. Selkies are seal shapeshifters.” Finn crouched beside me, a flicker of a smile haunting his lips.

“So, you’ve heard of them then?” My eyes widened with excitement.

“Selkies are an old myth. Now I’m curious. What makes you want to learn about them?”

I swallowed as a warning flared, my instincts urging me to keep this from Finn.

“I-I just came across a book about them.” I shrugged.

“Which book?” His eyes pinned me in place.

Mist coiled around us as Finn inclined his head, slow, assessing, like a predator studying its prey.

“It doesn’t matter. It was a stupid question.” I rose to my feet and turned away.

“If you believe in them, then why not Mer?” Finn stood also, folding his arms across his chest.

“Maybe I believe in both, and more.” I pouted, my cheeks warming.

“If you believe in Mer, you should be afraid, because local legends say that this is a spot from which many innocents have been lured to their death by their song.” He gestured at the mist-encircled rock pools around us.

He was teasing me again, but he had no idea how much truth might be in those tales. Goosebumps spread across my skin, and I pulled the hood up on my coat.

The fog had thickened, hemming us in like a hungry crowd. Mer aside, it was easy to imagine how many had unknowingly wandered to their deaths in haze like this.

Mist curled about our feet, its tendrils crawling across the water, pooling in the crevices of the rocks, reminding me of the creeping darkness that enveloped my dreams.

“Let’s go back,” I grumbled. The seals had provided no answers, and I couldn’t stay here any longer alone with Finn, battling this electric current between us, drawing me into him . . . making me want to . . .

No ! I shook my head.

A chill enveloped me as I splashed back through the rock pools. It wasn’t just from the wetness of the surrounding mist, but from something more intangible, a sensation I couldn’t entirely attribute to the environment. A sensation that gave me the creeps.

I looked for Finn, but I couldn’t see him.

“Finn?” I peered into the mist. That’s strange . I was sure he had been right behind me a moment ago.

“ Finn! ” I called his name louder. Had he been beside, behind, or in front of me? I wasn’t sure now.

Slinging my satchel across my back to shield my precious books, I navigated the slick rocks, crawling when the terrain demanded it. My hands were red and numb from the cold. Each splash of ocean spray sent a flicker of fear through me—I was close to where the shore met the sea. I turned in circles, hoping to see the top of the old stone lighthouse, but the fog was too thick— too close. It was reaching for me, hemming me in.

“Finn!” I called his name again. No answer.

How far had we walked? Surely no more than a couple of feet onto the rocks.

Then I saw the eyes. They appeared in the mist like two crimson coals in an ashy fireplace. My pulse thudded so loudly that it drowned out the ocean’s sighs. I shook my head, but they didn’t disappear. They blinked.

I let out a strangled cry, splashing into waist-deep freezing water that had pooled between the rocks. I clambered out, and the eyes were still there. A body slowly materialized around them—the traces of a sharp jawline and a man’s muscular torso. I knew those red eyes. They were the ones from my dreams.

Join me, amica mea.

The words echoed as a whisper in my mind, and the mouth that emerged from the mist curled into a smile.

I didn’t stick around to see the rest of the red-eyed man come into being. I sprinted in what I believed to be the direction of the mainland. I stumbled and fell—another rock pool. I was soaked from head to toe, but I pulled myself up, gasping for breath as a stitch shot through me.

Suddenly, the red eyes were in front of me again, like two rubies rimmed with long dark lashes. Shit . I pivoted. My wet hair clung to my face, obscuring my vision. Icy water seared my waist—I’d tumbled back into the cold pool. I was going around in circles.

I clambered out, reaching for the navigational instincts I’d developed beneath the waves. Nothing . Perhaps they didn’t work on land. I was almost ready to give up and offer myself to the strange man, but then the music began. The black pupils within the red eyes flicked back and forth as if they had caught the song before vanishing into a swirl of mist.

The tune caressed me softly, then swelled until it surrounded me. I wasn’t just listening to it; it was inside me. Was it the Drowned calling me back? Perhaps the seals had opened a portal for me to return.

Oh wow. I am thinking like a crazy person.

The music grew louder, but it wasn’t the music of the Drowned. The call of the dead had been haunting and melancholic. This was eerily beautiful, but it wasn’t mournful. The notes weaved around me, cold and ancient, like swell moving through an underwater cavern. As the tune caressed my being, it became bright and tantalizing, like starlight glittering on the waves. I had never heard such beautiful music. Mer!

I clamped my hands over my ears and hunched over, stumbling in the direction I imagined the safety of the shore was.

I slid and stumbled over the wet rocks as the music filled me with longing—I had to walk in the direction it was taking me. I knew this was some malicious Mer leading me toward my death, but I couldn’t stop myself. I closed my eyes and let the beautiful melody draw me forward. I no longer stumbled but walked sure-footedly along with the tune.

Soon, the jagged rocks gave way to grass and concrete. The old lighthouse stood before me, and when I turned, I could make out the harbor and the bobbing shapes of boats beyond.

The fog was thinning, and the song began to fade. I tried to hold on to the melody, but it slipped away. Soon, all that was left was the sound of the waves breaking on the rocks behind me. So far behind me. I hadn’t been led to death, but to safety.

But where was Finn?

I was soaked from rock pools, sea spray, and dew. My long hair clung to my face like moist red vines, and my eyes stung from the salt. I turned on the spot, but I couldn’t see him. Had he been lured out to sea by the song or climbed too close to the edge and fallen?

“Finn!” I cried. “ Finnnnn !” But my screams were smothered as the gathering wind put its fingers in my mouth.

Help. I’d have to go for help.

I started jogging back to the boardwalk; I’d made it all but a few meters when I saw him sitting on a park bench, watching me.

“You’re okay!” I flung my arms around him without thinking. I let go when I realized he was dry.

“I think it should be me rejoicing, by the looks of you.” He tilted his head as I threw myself onto the bench beside him.

“Where did you go?” I tried to smooth my wet hair, but the wind made it wild. I looked like a drowned rat, and irritation flared within me when I saw how put together he was.

“I was just in front of you.” He took my cold hands in his and attempted to rub them warm.

“That’s strange. I thought I was in front of you. I called out to you. Didn’t you hear?” I pulled my hands away.

“No, I guess the wind drowned it out.” He shrugged.

“Or something else.”

He looked at me, puzzled.

“You said yourself those rocks were haunted.” I raised my brows at him and whispered, “ Mer ,” as if worried they might hear me.

Finn burst into laughter, his eyes sparkling. “Those are the tales of a superstitious town.”

“B-but didn’t you hear the song? I think they saved me.” I squinted at the gray ocean, half expecting to see one waving.

“Saved you from what?” He was still laughing.

“The fog . . . and . . . It doesn’t matter.” I stopped before saying, Red eyes that have haunted my dreams my entire life.

“Are you sure it wasn’t the seals?” He let out a few last chuckles. “Come on, let’s get you warm.” Taking off his dry jacket, he threw it over my quivering shoulders. “Do you want to come up to mine?” He motioned toward his sleek designer home perched on the opposite arm of the bay.

“I don’t think it would be appropriate.” I shoved his coat back, my jaw tightening.

A look flickered in his eyes. Shock .