Sea Witch by Virginia Kantra Read Free Book Online

and blond curls, but the choice
    of garment was still somewhat shocking. The children of the sea
    generally wore no pelts but their own.

    Margred nodded politely. “Good hunting, Gwyneth.”

    Gwyneth smiled, revealing sharp white teeth between soft pink lips.
    “So it was. I went for fish and caught a fisherman—a trawler off Cape
    Savage.”

    “A handsome fisherman, I hope.”

    43

    “Well enough. No staying power. Fortunately his mates supplied the
    stamina he lacked.”

    Margred raised her brows, amused. “You did the whole crew?”

    Gwyneth shrugged, making the red robe slip on her shoulders. “It
    was a small vessel. Besides, one man between your legs is the same as
    another.”

    Memory stirred.

    My name , the man had said, watching her with those sea green eyes.
    It’s Caleb .

    I thought we could spend some time getting to know one another .

    Margred flushed. But she was no hypocrite, to rebuke Gwyneth for
    saying what she had thought herself.

    The other selkie’s gaze turned speculative. “I hear you’ve had good
    hunting yourself. In . . . Maine, is it?”

    Feeling burst in Margred’s chest—possessive, protective. “You hear
    a lot at Caer Subai,” she said coolly. “And little worth listening to.”

    Gwyneth ran her tongue over her teeth. “I only say, if you found
    something tasty, you would not grudge a friend a bite.”

    Margred’s eyes narrowed. Caleb was hers . “Unless I were still
    hungry.”

    Gwyneth’s smile broadened. “Now you intrigue me.”

    “That was not my intention. Do not poach on my territory, little
    sister. Or I will bite you myself.”

    Gwyneth’s laughter followed Margred down the stairs.

    But the joke, she thought, was on her.

    44

    Somehow the human Caleb had snared her, tangled her up like an
    unwary swimmer caught in a net. Why else would she decide to go back?
    Fleetingly, she thought of Dylan’s mother, who had drowned.

    Dylan’s warning rang in her ears: Because she ventured too close to
    shore.

    The sea boomed and echoed as Margred descended. Moisture
    gleamed on the old stone walls. The way widened to a tunnel. The stairs
    ended in a smooth slab of rock. Light penetrated from the cave mouth,
    revealing a series of high-ceilinged chambers, one opening into another,
    wider, deeper, each lined with chests and scattered with treasures.

    She picked her way to a sea chest bound and riveted in iron set on a
    ledge in the rock. Carvings of grain and apples chased around the rim.
    Shimmying out of her robe, she threw back the lid.

    Her pelt lay inside, silver brown and brindled in a pattern of fine
    dark spots, uniquely hers. She scooped it up, cradling the fur skin against
    her bare breasts with one arm as she bundled the velvet robe away.

    A fresh breeze teased her hair and ruffled the pelt in her arms. She
    raised her head to sniff the wind, shivering delicately.

    Dropping the lid of the chest, she followed the air current to the
    mouth of the cave. Light bounced from the sea and glittered on the rocks.
    The sea cliffs towered at her back. Waves hissed and rushed at her pale,
    thin, human feet. She stood with the water foaming around her ankles as
    birds wheeled and cried over the ocean.

    She raised the heavy pelt over her head. Its weight caressed her back
    and settled over her shoulders. She felt it wrap to embrace her as the
    Change took her, as her neck and forearms shortened, as her torso
    thickened, as her thighs fused and shrank. Color and sound dimmed.
    Brightness assaulted her expanding pupils. The cry of the birds sounded
    thin and far away. And oh, the smells! They poured over her, a thick, rich
    sea brew of kelp, cod, mussels, and plankton, carried to her on the breeze.

    She inhaled deeply, lifting her sleek, bullet-shaped head to the wind.
    Her whiskers quivered. She humped her body forward over the rocks,
    propelling herself awkwardly with her stubby flippers and strong
    abdominal muscles. A wave surged to greet her. She let