Page 52 of Kraken the Seal

“How would that even be possible?” Mark asked, his tone clearly saying he thought I was an idiot.

“I don’t know,” I said through gritted teeth. “That’s why I’m asking.”

“She doesn't understand what it really did,” Norris said. “What it means.”

Mark's aggression vanished, and he gave me a look I'd seen parents give children who asked why the sky was blue.

“During the 1600s, we lost many selkies to the fire,” Mark said.

“The fire?” I asked. “What fire?”

“The witchcraft trials,” Norris said.

Mark nodded. “They accused our men and women of witchcraft and burned them. Many of us fled to other places, but there was no safe place. All of Europe and its colonies were killing us as creatures of the devil. We were once a sign of good fortune, but we were suddenly seen as the devil’s work. We all went into hiding and worked very hard to keep our secrets.”

He sounded like a storyteller, and he had my full attention with the first line despite myself. I glanced over, and he had Delmar's interest also.

“Even after it was over, we suffered,” he continued. “We aren't like humans who breed children quickly. We couldn't make up our population without magical help, so four necklaces were created. It took many covens of druids to make, but the expense was worth it.”

“You had a spell created to make more selkies?” I asked. “That’s not ethical at all. How would you feel if I created something that turned you into a human?”

“That's not the same,” Norris said. “Let Mark finish explaining.”

He gave Norris a thankful look, then continued. “The necklaces don't create selkies, they reveal them.”

“What?” Delmar and I said together.

Mark nodded. “Only someone with a selkie inside them would be drawn to the necklace. If you had been entirely human, or some other creature, the spell wouldn't have affected you. There is selkie in your ancestry. All the spell did was pull it out. You've always been a selkie, it was simply being diluted by human blood.”

Out of everything they could've said, that hadn't been something I'd considered. “No, that can't be. My dad is terrified of water, and my mom can barely dog paddle. No one in my family has ever been anything but human.”

“Neither of your parents can shift, but that doesn’t mean they might not have selkie ancestry themselves,” Mark explained. “You were blessed to have enough selkie in you to be turned by the necklace. If you breed with one of our males, then your children will be blessed with almost pure selkie blood.”

“So you're telling me that I always had a seal, and the spell brought her out?” I asked.

“Yes, exactly,” Mark said.

Relief made me feel dizzy. I hadn’t stolen anyone's seal. I could keep her without causing someone else pain. That was great.

“Can this spell be reversed?” I asked.

Norris laughed. “That would defeat the purpose of the spell.”

As much as I was relieved by his words, I was still infuriated. This entire spell took away people's choice. It would be one thing to offer to help someone recover their selkie, but it's a whole other thing to force someone to be a shifter.

“You can’t have the necklace,” I said, my voice surprisingly even despite my rage.

“That belongs to us,” Norris said. “It was created by selkies. Think of all the new people we could bring into the colony with it!”

The thought of people being turned without a gentle and caring Delmar to help them transition made me shutter.

“No,” I said, then gave Norris my best shark smile. “If you have someone come to you desperate to bring out their selkie, you can contact me and request access. But I interview the person first and make sure they understand what they’re getting. I will also demand that they be given the right to not join the colony if they don’t want to.”

“That’s unacceptable,” Norris said, all good humor gone.

“You must hand that over,” Mark said.

“No is a complete sentence," I said, standing up. Delmar stood up with me.