Page 115 of The Secret of Drulea Cottage

“Briony, why are—” His voice broke off as he noticed the webbing between her toes. “What is that?”

“Even in human form, a remnant o’ my other nature remains.” She pointed to the skin wrapped around herself. “This is my sealskin.”

Santiago’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean, yours?”

“The seal in the water…was me. To be a selkie is to be both human and seal yet also something else entirely.”

Santiago froze as he took in her words. And in those beautiful green eyes, Briony saw it, the thing she’d known she would see: fear.

“You can’t mean that, Briony. You couldn’t be…a seal, selkie, whatever it is.” His tone was incredulous, but the look on his face belied his words.

Briony sighed and closed her eyes, hating that she was about to make him even more afraid. But it was necessary.

She lifted one hand to the sky, summoning darkness above them. The swirling clouds were heavy with rain, barely containing themselves as they awaited Briony’s command.

When she returned her gaze to Santiago, her heart wilted even more at his shocked countenance.

She ordered the clouds to disperse and then reached for Santiago’s hand. “’Tis all right! I did na cause the storm earlier. ’Twas Niall. Truly! I’m still me! There’s no need to—” Briony broke off when Santiago jerked his hand away.

“I’m sorry, I…” Santiago stared down at his fingers as if they had betrayed him, his face red with shame.

Briony shook her head with a tight smile. “Nay, I understand.” She rose and turned her face toward the sea, surreptitiously wiping away a stray tear.

Silence followed, and Briony felt a lump form in her throat. Her hopes and wishes for the two of them seemed so far away now.Just the impossible dreams o’ a silly, foolish girl.

That same cruel voice in her head, the one that always came out when she was feeling sorry for herself, whispered,You knew this would happen. You knew he would react this way once he found out. Why did you na put a stop to these feelings before it came to this?

Briony nodded to herself, for she wished these self-deprecating thoughts were wrong, but the evidence was clear.

“I can see now that I made a mistake. I should have told you so much sooner. Perhaps then I could have saved both o’ us from heartache. I don’ blame you fer being frightened. All the appalling things Niall did: the storm, the deaths… I’m capable o’ that too. I’m so sorry you got caught up in all o’ this.”

Briony opened her mouth to say more, but then a hand grabbed hers and turned her around. “Stop. Stop right there.”

Santiago put both his hands on her shoulders and stared at her fiercely. Angrily.

Briony stared back in bewilderment. “Stop what?”

“Stop talking about yourself like that. As if you and Niall have anything in common. I may not know a thing about selkies, butI do know you.”

“What…what are you saying?”

“I’m saying that Niall was a right canalha,[33]but just because you’re both selkies, that doesn’t make you one too. How many times have you saved me now? And after Niall tried to kill you, youstillshowed him mercy. It was far better than he deserved. Far kinder than most humans would have been.” Santiago’s gaze remained fixed on her, all traces of fear replaced by a firm resolve.

Briony’s emotions, on the other hand, were all jumbled within her. Part of her was elated to hear him say she and Niall weren’t alike, but another part of her couldn’t accept his words. “You suffered because o’ that decision! ’Tis probably better if you stay away from me. I’m dangerous, Santiago.”

“I don’t care.” He tucked a strand of black hair behind her ear before resting his palm against her jaw.

Briony pulled her face away. “You don’ know what yer saying. But that’s my fault. I’ve bewitched you, and I’m sorry.”

Santiago frowned. “Bewitched me? Aye, you could say that. But why is that something to be sorry for? I’m sayingI love you, whether you’re human or not.”

“Nay, you only think you do. I… I made you believe that. I did na mean to—I did na even know what I was doing. I—”

“You what?”

Briony took a deep breath before confessing, her voice only a whisper. “The day you came to Drulea Cottage and k-kissed me, ’twas na o’ yer own will. When I say ‘bewitched,’ I mean real magic. I don’ understand it, but the song o’ a selkie holds sway over humans. When you heard me singing, it enchanted you. It made you think you were in love with me. And I fear you’ve been confused ever since. Otherwise, you would have surely run away by now.”

Santiago’s brows furrowed as he recalled the memory. “I do remember feeling like I’d lost myself for a moment. Like I told you then, I’m not the sort of person to do that. I…” Suddenly, the man’s mouth curled up, and he laughed.