Page 16 of The Rake OR The Orca Who Met His Match in a Selkie Desiring Revenge
“I’m not certain I would call it inexplicable…” Elspeth blushed, and Aegir's heart went skittering through his chest. “The explanation is quite evident, I should think." She cocked her head to the side. “I’ll admit it is surprising to me that you feel it too. It makes sense that with such a permanent bond, I would feel an attraction to you. It’s a survival mechanism, really. Judging from my mother’s reaction to my father’s death, yours would be extremely painful for me, so it makes sense that my body would take measures to ensure I do what I can to keep you well. I’d assumed that that aspect was one-sided. So, it’s interesting that you feel a similar pull."
Aegir frowned, it made sense, but the way that she phrased it so clinically didn’t sit right with him. As much as he disliked being bound or compelled, there was also something exciting about feeling so deeply for someone. He’d never felt anything quite as profound, and her calculated assessment diminished what was altogether magical for him.
“I suppose that makes sense, and it is good to know that it’s not just me. Even before I knew about the bond, I felt the attraction. And quite frankly, I thought I was going mad, because I’ve never felt anything like it. Not that you aren’t attractive, you are, extremely, and I think I would’ve been attracted to you regardless. It’s just—this seems so much more intense than anything I’ve felt before, and itwasworrying me."
It felt odd to admit to such a thing; vulnerable, and cathartic. Aegir was so used to playing a character, perhaps he could just do the same here. If she attributed these feelings to the bond, then he didn’t need to worry about what was going on with him. Instead, this was just another character.
“Aegir in love."
Yes, that felt right. Once again on firm footing, he allowed himself to explore what this character might be like. Many of his characters were heavily based on characters he read in books, or an amalgamation of them. What elements did he want to bring into this persona? Parts of it would need to be based on himself, of course. Otherwise, Elspeth would surely notice that something was different. He didn’t normally use himself as the base for a character, but he couldn’t see any way around it.
So then, what did he add? He could play up some of his licentiousness? It made sense for him to be quite flirty. Considering his deep attraction to Elspeth, it certainly wouldn’t be any hardship. He should be confident, that was always attractive, and he thought it might help Elspeth feel more comfortable with the situation. It wasn’t unfounded either, he did know more about theirdestination and dealing with the Empire than she seemed to. He still wasn’t certain exactly what had happened to her, but it was clear that she hadn’t left her home of her own volition.
Perhaps, if he shared something of his own background, his own life, she would be inclined to share as well. Whatever information she could give him around the circumstances of her capture, that of her brother, and who had captured her could certainly only aid in their search. Over his years extracting information, he’d found that vulnerability, or at least the semblance of it, allowed others to feel comfortable opening up. Often, he simply made up the stories that he offered, but considering this persona was based on himself, it might make sense to just share the truth.
“This evening we should arrive at an inn I know. We can get a room for the night, and see if we can gather some information before we cut across land. After that, if it’s alright with you, I can shift into a centaur so we can cover more ground. I would pitch a griffin or another flying creature, but we aren’t far from Berggeheimnis and the dragons there are covetous of their airspace. The gate guards and scouts should recognize me from previous visits, so we shouldn’t have any trouble."
“And you really think going there is a good idea?" Elspeth asked. “It does all sound a bitdangerous. I know you want to check this library, but how realistic do you think it is that will find what we’re looking for? Everything I’ve been told indicates it’s permanent."
“Ah, don’t worry, love, I’ll make sure you’re quite safe. After all, I think you’re right. The bonddoeswant me to protect you."
“Oh—of course, yes. Well, if you think it will be worth the effort… and they’ll have information about the Navigator who took him?”
Aegir nodded.
“Then I suppose it can’t hurt… As much as I would like to get to Feann quickly, I suppose it’s been a while already, it’s unlikely that anything would change soon. Especially if we could find out how to free him from the bond, too."
“Just so, and from what I could gather from the letter, they seem to value him. If they were willing to expend energy to reclaim you, then it makes sense that they wouldn’t want to jeopardize him."
Elspeth stopped swimming abruptly. "Reclaim me? What do you mean?"
“Well, in the spirit of honesty, I was going the same direction as you, but only because I was hoping I’d guessed your destination correctly. The back of the letter had some hand written notes, seemingly fromthe recipient. They indicated their intent to send several squadrons after you. I’m not certain what they want, but they certainly seemed interested. I worried about you after you left, so I took a gamble that you would probably be headed toward your brother's last known location."
Elspeth didn’t respond, she only furrowed her brow and chewed her lower lip.
Now that he knew the source of his intense feelings, Aegir no longer felt compelled to resist them. Perhaps this could be like any of his other affairs—with the bonus of increased intensity, but the promise of it ending once they fixed their little problem.
“Like I said, little siren, I’ll keep you safe. I didn’t come after you only to allow them to re-capture you. I know the bond compels me, but I would do what I could to protect you on principle, regardless.”
Elspeth nodded, looking away before taking a deep breath. “You mentioned a few things before, that made me think there is something more to your purpose here. You don’t seem overly fond of the Imperial Watch, though I suppose most people who aren’t elves or orcs probably aren’t. What exactly are you doing here?”
Aegir immediately regretted his decision to be vulnerable with her. His mission allowed him to disclose some details to citizens ofthe Empire that seemed as if they might be sympathetic to their cause, but those same rules obligated him to eliminate any of those people that subsequently responded unfavorably. He didn’t have much choice, though, seeing as how she was sure to catch on once they were in Berggeheimnis.
“As I mentioned before, I’m human. Some of what I’m about to tell you may seem highly unlikely, I admit, but I assure you it’s the truth. As you probably know, the closest thing we have to humans on Caihalaith are were-people.3 Indeed, normally, humans look like a werewolf does when they are not in their animal form. Though, I will note that the human culture is markedly different than those of the were-nations.”
Elspeth was still squinting, but she didn’t interrupt, so he continued. “All of the humans live on a different continent, or large landmass. For the past thousand years or so, there has been a magical barrier separating the two continents. This barrier constrains ships so that once they pass a certain boundary, they lose time, and are convinced that they circumnavigated the globe, only to turn around and return to Caihalaith on the same side that they left. It’s similar for sailors from the opposite continent.
“There is one place, however, where you can pass between the two continents. At the northernmost tip of both land masses, they meet in a land bridge. Because of its extreme northerly location, the weather alone discourages people from passing through. My people, as keepers of this passage, have been attempting to make allies in the Empire for quite some time. Recently, Pathian scouts have been attempting to pass over this land bridge to gain access to the opposite continent. While the Empire has worked hard to make sure its people assume humans are a myth, they have been systematically attempting to gain access to the human continent. On this other continent, there is a magical substance called lunula. It is a bioluminescent algae that allows people to change their bodies. For most people, this means that they can alter parts of their body. For my people it means that we can alter it significantly more. It’s something that I have spent my life working on, and for that reason, I’ve become quite proficient. And this proficiency allows me to maintain a variety of forms, and shift a good deal faster than my counterparts. For example…”
As he shifted, the black and white pattern of his skin rippled as his tail grew scales and turned green.The color of his chest and arms faded to his natural creamy skin tone, though he left his hair its signature black with white wings at his temples.
Elspeth stared at him, mouth agape. He smiled and resumed swimming, allowing the scales to fall out and reveal his once more black and white skin.
After recovering herself, Elspeth, hurried to catch up with him. “About this inn, I—I don’t have any money."
Aegir chuckled and indicated his cross-body bag. “I do, though—more than enough to get us a room, and you some proper clothes. I noticed my shirt and the stockings were gone, but you’ll want something more. When we get close, I’ll pop into town and grab you something more suitable and then we can proceed to the tavern. Since it’s a coastal town, there is quite a bit of travel through the area, though the native peoples are largely fauns, so I don’t want you to be alarmed about that. In the past, when I’ve visited this tavern, I’ve been under the guise of an elf so I’ll be assuming that form when we are in public. I have a fairly good rapport with the locals that could be of benefit to us.”He softened the end, considering what he assumed was her history with elves, she might be sensitive to him in that form.
“Very well.” Her face was set, but her shoulders were a bit too tense. She’d been through a lot, and—he feared—it was not nearly finished yet.