Page 49 of Selkie AU: Beyond the Storm

“Prince,” the woman interrupted, giving me a scrutinizing look.

I needed to sit down.

“And for the record…” Milo winked, then gestured out over the water. I turned in stunned silence to look out at the dozens anddozensof white-haired strangers with black eyes who were watching us. Far more than I was prepared for. “Thoseare selkies.”

24

Milo

“So… you… didn’t hear any of that?” Rowan asked, blushing adorably.

“I heard the last part. What else did you tell them?” I asked as I grabbed his hands and pulled him to me.

He shrugged a shoulder. “It was kind of a lot.” He swallowed. “You didn’t tell me you were a prince.”

“I’m not anymore.”

“We’ll see about that.” Et’el huffed.

Rowan pulled away from me to bow his head awkwardly at her. “Umm… Your Majesty. I uhh… had a whole speech. I’ll start again. I’m Rowan—”

“Yes, yes.” Et’el rolled her eyes. “I know who you are.”

I chuckled.

“Let’s do this later, shall we? I’m told we have a coat to retrieve,” Et’el said, marching over to the helm. “How do we make this go?”

Rowan swallowed before hesitantly pulling away. “I can steer us, if we know where to go.”

“We know.” I smiled as I nudged into his side again.

The moment the others had agreed to help, I’d felt my internal compass pulling me in a new direction, away from the colony, leading me to where we needed to go next.

The boat rocked lightly as Raq pulled himself up, eyeing Rowan with suspicion, and then the boat with curiosity. A couple of the bolder selkies shortly followed, then a few more. There wasn’t room for everyone, but with some of them still seeming too cautious to approach, that wouldn’t pose too much of a problem.

Rowan exhaled heavily. “Right, then. Just… point me where to go.”

I went up on my toes to give him another kiss before pointing him in the direction that felt right. When this was all over, and I could really,trulybe with him, I was going to love him so hard he’d not be able to leave our nest for days, with or without a heat to keep us there. Thoughwithwould be preferable. We had the rest of our lives to be together, but I wanted to get started on pups right away. That way, our pup could be best friends with baby Sila.

We weren’t going as fast as we usually would, not wanting to leave behind anyone swimming after us.

By the time we left our waters and cautiously proceeded into Aarlinuk territory, the rainbow sky was fading, signaling early dawn.

The polar night would be enough to cover our approach, and as if aided by the goddess herself, the direction we were headed was soon obscured by a heavy fog. We continued beyond the silver mist.

“I can’t see anything,” Rowan whispered to me, sounding concerned. “Can you?”

I shook my head, whispering back, “No, but have faith. She won’t have led us here for nothing.”

“Milo, if we hit any ice—”

“You don’t have to trust her. Trust me, Rowan. Your mate. Everything is going to be okay.”

The edges of his lips pulled into a frown as he swallowed, but he nodded. “I do. I trust you.”

I smiled at him, and that frown on his lovely lips slipped away, the corners of them pulling up into a slight smile instead. I loved my mate all the time, but I especially loved when he smiled. He’d never do it for no reason, so each time his lips curved upward was like a reward, like treasure, and I wished it were possible to steal them all away and keep them safe in our nest.

I was about to lean in and claim this one for myself with a kiss when a loud cry rang out behind us. “Aarlinuk!”