Aila had become increasingly tense since the attack and the latest death. Alastair tried to be as much a centre of calm as he could and cheered her up to the best of his ability. Still, it surprised him that she wanted to go on a long walk to the shore with him.

  “Are you sure about that?”, he asked her as they left his cottage. “Doesn’t your foot hurt?”

  “It does, but I grow just so tense if I don’t move around”, she replied apologetic. “I guess it’s also because I can’t take a swim for some time.”

  “I’m sorry about that.”

  “Oh, love, you don’t have to be. As long as you’re by my side, it’s alright.”

  “I love you”, he told her with a warm smile and kissed her.

  “I love you, too”, she replied afterward, and hocked her arm under his.

  They walk like this past the village and towards the sea. The sun shone high, and it wasn’t that cold considering the season. Still, due to the calm air, Alistair couldn’t help but think and reminisce. Aila, being attacked the night another murder had taken place, had really cemented the danger she was in. A danger he couldn’t protect her from.

  “I wish I could follow you into the sea”, Alistair said, without thinking much about his words and the hidden meaning behind them as they arrived at the shore.

  “But you do so already”, she replied with a soft chuckle. “We always sail out together with your boat.”

  “No. I mean, yes”, he replied and shook his head. “But that’s not what I mean. I can’t follow you on your dives. All I can do is watch you vanish beneath the waves and pray that you surface again. I wish I had my mother’s sealskin.”

  “Oh, Alistair…”, she said and leaned against him. “Don’t push yourself so hard. It’s alright.”

  “It’s not”, he insisted, warped his arms around her and rested his forehead against hers. “I want to protect you.”

  For a moment, she seemed to be about to gently refute him. But instead, she took a deep breath and kissed him.

  “There’s a way for you to gain a sealskin fairly, but it’s dangerous and I rather you wouldn’t ask for it”, she finally said and looked with a frown out at the sea.

  “If there’s a way for me to be able to protect you from this sea-monster, then I’ll take it. Please, Aila. The thought of losing you makes me sick.”

  For a moment, she seemed about to cry, but ultimately didn’t. Instead, she looked him in the eyes with reluctance but also great understanding.

  “You’re part Selkie, so I guess you would fare better than someone of pure human descend”, she explained. “Out at the furthest point of the cliff in the west, there’s a nook with a shrine to Sedna. It’s only accessible by swimming. Once you’re at the shrine, you need to pray to Sedna and ask her for a sealskin. Tell her about your ancestry and why you ask for the skin, and she might give it to you.”

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  “That doesn’t sound too bad”, he replied with a hopeful smile.

  “Well, she may ask something in return for the skin. A task you need to perform or a sacrifice you must make. She can be as fickle as the sea and no matter what, you must follow her instructions to the point should you agree. Deviate even slightly and she might curse you. I can only urge you to not do it though.”

  Alistair fell silent. On one hand, he didn’t want to disappoint her, but on the other, he also saw no other way to make sure she was safe.

  “Please, promise me you won’t do it”, insisted Aila and threw herself against him. “I don’t want to lose you as much as you don’t want to lose me. And I already regret telling you.”

  “I…”, he murmured and held her tight.

  “Please, Alistair!”

  “I… I promise.”

  “Thank you. I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  With the wind tangling her black with his golden hair, they kissed while the waves crashed against the shore.

  —

  Rosomil chose this moment to leave. He had listened in on them by using some magic Aswald had taught him a while ago. While simple, the spell made it near impossible to be spotted or heard when one held completely still.

  As he returned towards the inn, he thought about what he just heard and compared it to what he knew from the books in the library at the headquarters of the Order and what he had learned in connection with the case. It had been odd that all the victims had been full-born Selkies. No human or human of Selkies-descend had been killed. Even odder was the fact that all of them had been found not just with their hearts missing but also their sealskins. Were the skins stolen by the killer? The wounds indicated, judging from their placement and depth, that those had been inflicted while the victims had been in their seal-form. The knife wounds showed a placement more congruent with being inflicted when they had returned into their human shape. Aila’s wounded foot and some of her explanations made this conclusion not just plausible but likely.

  Still, Rosomil wasn’t sure about the logistics behind this. What also didn’t help was the fact the places the corpses had been found clearly weren’t the places they had been killed. All of them had been thrown around the ocean for a while, but not so long as to bloat.

  “The currents… I need to know the currents…”, he murmured, and looked back the way he had come.

  But before he could turn around to ask Alistair for his knowledge of the local currents, he was approached by Lodwin. The redhead seemed unusually somber.

  “Something happened during the search?”, asked Rosomil, tense.

  “Kind of”, he replied and took a deep breath. “The priests have found out about Aswald’s role and made a formal complaint against you.”

  “They can complain all they want”, he said, and moved on with Lodwin. “As captain of our group, I can order them to let me search through their belongings. They’re ordained, but I don’t care. Especially as members of the clergy, they can’t stand above rules.”

  “Yeah, still, Captain Aswald has ordered me to return with you immediately. You’re under house arrest.”

  “What?! He can’t be serious.”

  “They way he spoke, he is. I know that you’re his favorite student, but even you can’t expect him to be lenient or write a favorable final evaluation in this case.”

  “I expected him to reprimand me”, said Rosomil with a tired sigh. “But house arrest… Tell me, Lod, was the search at least successful?”

  “No… not exactly. We didn’t manage as much as Aswald followed us. I guess he knew something was up.”

  “Damn it! Fuck! Now they’ve plenty of time to destroy any evidence left!”

  “You can’t change it by cussing yourself out.”

  At this, Rosomil glared at Lodwin.

  “If you continue to frown like this, you start to shot fire with your eyes”, Lodwin remarked teasing.

  “You really make me want to do just that”, he said sour, and took another deep breath. “House arrest. Fucking house arrest! How the hell is he expecting me to deal with this case now?”

  “Let’s go and talk to Aswald”, suggested Lodwin sympathetic, and placed his hand on Rosomil’s shoulder. “If someone can deal with him, then it’s you.”

  “You’re right…”, he sighed and continued to move on.

  Lodwin immediately fell in step with him.