Page 56 of Ballad of Sea and Sky

How many times did males generally need saving? Caspian was proving to be particularly needy on this front, although maybe he was just delayed. Something told me this was wishful thinking, and I sighed, stretching out my magic to feel for the stream I had sent him to.

I let my senses guide me more than my sight. It was absolutely possible that Caspian had been waylaid, or taken a wrong turn. I had never made a map before, and I had no experience directing others toward anything.

Something flitted in the field of water magic, a bright spot moving far too fast to be a normal body of water. More spots appeared, converging on the little stream I had sent Caspian to.

Fuck.

It took maybe half an hour to reach the stream, but it felt like hours as I scrambled barefoot over rocks and slippery moss. I had to pause to catch my breath twice, and I felt my chest tightening painfully as I reached the little stream. The shadows of a few scraggly trees rose up next to the water, which was much easier for me to see with my magic, but there was no one in sight.

“Caspian?” I shouted, my voice echoing eerily into the night. “Cas?”

What do you want, little water goddess?

The sound that filled my mind wasn’t really a voice as much as it was a thought, wrapped in watery darkness and edged with white bones and glimmering seaweed. I shivered, my brain screaming at me to run from whatever thethingwas.

“Hello?” I said tremulously, my voice wavering in the clearing.

We can hear you, Little Goddess.

“Who are you?” I asked, frantically turning to try to see where the voice-thought was coming from. I sent out my magic again, sensing shapes of something in the water, made of water itself but somehow alsomore.“Whatare you?”

A form rose from the stream, water running at the same speed over its flank and neck as the water in the stream. Or, rather, the waterwasits flank and neck. A being of water emerged, mane streaming in watery droplets behind it as its form glowed faintly green against the shadowy outlines of trees.

“You’re a kelpie,” I whispered, remembering the name of the water spirits that were said to haunt the lakes and rivers of the archipelago. I had a book on them hidden in my secret cache, and my father had laughed when I had asked about them as a child, saying they had long been driven from the main islands.

The book had been filled with painted pictures of watery beasts that took the forms of horses with serpentine tails. They were said to lure travelers to their deaths beneath the lakes, holding them down until they drowned and then consuming their remains.

The two front hooves of the kelpie pawed angrily at the steam, as if it could sense my growing fear of it.

We are kelpie,it corrected in my mind, several other equine noses pushing above the water to snuff and snort at me.We are the herd. And you are trespassing, Little Goddess.

“Please,” I said, trying to force calm into my voice and mustering as much bravery as I could. “I’m looking for someone. A friend. Have you seen a winged male pass by here?”

Snorts and snuffles between the herd told me that they had definitely seen Caspian, and that they didn’t want to tell me anything else.

We have,the kelpie said. Kelpies, like other fae beasts, couldn’t lie. But they were experts at bending the truth.If you climb on my back, Little Goddess, we can help you look for him.

I stifled a guffaw, thinking the kelpies would probably take offense if I laughed outright at them. “I will not be climbing on your back,” I replied, trying not to dwell on the oddity of speaking with a water horse in the middle of the night while Caspian was the seas knew where. This was the main way kelpies lured people to their deaths, and I was well-read enough to avoid this peril. “Is that how you ensnared my friend?”

Your…friend?The kelpie tasted these words, as if trying to decide on their truth.He is more than a friend, is he not, Little Goddess?

My irritation grew, not only at the nickname which I was sure was making fun of me, but also at my inability to get a straight answer from the beast.

“Is he alive?” I asked, the question coming out firm and emotionless, despite my pounding heart.

He lives, the kelpie replied, tilting its head to the side.Tell me, Little Goddess, why do you want him back?

“I don’t see how the ‘why’ is your business,” I countered frostily. Insulting the kelpie wouldn’t help my goals, but if they had no interest in bargaining with me, the herd would have already left. They wanted something. “Name your price to return him unharmed.”

The kelpie made an odd watery, burbling noise that I realized was laughter.

A favor,the kelpie replied, its voice deepening like angry waves that crashed against my mind.And a kiss.

“What kind of favor?” I asked, wary of making any deals with fae creatures. A favor was potentially anything, but perhaps I could phrase it in a way that would ensure my safety. The kiss was an odd request, but I supposed I could kiss the kelpie. It would probably just be wet, if not a little awkward.

That is our price,the kelpie replied, refusing to answer my question with a shake of its head. It’s mane splashed, flinging water droplets all over me.Agree and we will return your mate unharmed.

My heart stuttered for a moment at the word “mate.” Fae beasts were exact with their words, and this no doubt meant something, but if Caspian had been trapped under the water more than a few minutes, time wasn’t on my side. I couldn’t waste it arguing the semantics of my relationship.