The Wild and Lonely Sea
Contents
Title Page
Copyright page
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Learn more about the selkie kingdom
The Selkie Queen: Book 1
Isobel Robertson
© Isobel Robertson, 2017
Visit isobelrobertson.com for magic, fantasy, and free books.
Chapter 1
In the far northern seas, beneath the bitterly cold waves, Lisbetta sat in the palace courtyard and tickled her dolphin’s nose. Blue light tinted the many-coloured mosaics and gleaming marble columns of her home, the greatest palace in the Atlantic.
The sprinkling of rocky islands meant that the waters were still here, almost peaceful. Lisbetta’s red curls barely moved in the current as she played with her little pet. Her bodyguard lurked in the corner, ever watchful, but she could ignore him for at least a little while.
“You need to come now. Erlend’s here.”
Lisbetta’s younger sister, Anja, floated out into the courtyard, her white-blonde hair streaming out behind her. Like the rest of their selkie people, seal shape-shifters, they spoke out loud above water, but in their underwater home, most found it far easier to speak psychically.
So Erlend had come already. Could he not have waited a few months more? Even a few weeks? Surely she could have a little more time.
“I’ll come soon, Anja,” she said, absently stroking her dolphin’s nose. “Delfie was just enjoying the sunlight so much.”
“Stop worrying about a little dolphin,” Anja snapped. “You have bigger problems to be worried about. Mother is coming home tomorrow and she’ll be furious if she hears that you kept Erlend waiting.”
Lisbetta sighed. Anja might be in a nasty mood, but her words rang true. The Queen of the North Atlantic selkies had little patience with her daughters.
“Just give me a moment, Anja. I’m busy. I’ll see Erlend when I’m ready.”
“You always have to make a fuss, don’t you? I can’t see what you have to complain about.”
“This is the only time I’ve taken to relax in weeks,” Lisbetta pointed out, a little insulted.
“Well, that’s a lie. You’re always out here playing with that stupid dolphin.”
Did her sister really have no idea how hard she worked at her lessons and meetings? The two of them hardly spoke these days, but could they really have drifted so far apart?
She shook her head and turned to her bodyguard.
“Will you take Delfie back to my room? I will be greeting Lord Erlend in the audience chamber.”
Her bodyguard nodded and took the dolphin’s silver leash. The little animal followed him off across the courtyard, happily chirping away. At least all the servants liked him, even if Anja didn’t.
“I don’t need your company,” Lisbetta said pointedly as Anja started to follow her. “I can meet Erlend alone.”
Alone might be best if he’d come for the reason she suspected.
Erlend had once been her childhood best friend. In Lisbetta’s lonely childhood, he had been the only child her mother considered an equal, thanks to his aristocratic heritage and his father’s high status. Lisbetta and Erlend had even shared a nurse for a few years, a friendly selkie woman from the islands in the west of Scotland. But the two of them had grown apart over the years, their friendship changing into something formal and distant as Erlend became colder and more ambitious.
Gunnar, the court magician, waved Lisbetta through into the audience chamber, nodding respectfully but not bowing. As the only human who lived with them, the strength of his magic earned him a degree of freedom that none of Lisbetta’s own people would dare take.
Erlend already waited in the room, pacing from side to side, ignoring the dazzling mosaics that rose up around him. He turned when Lisbetta entered, swooping so low that his feet lifted from the floor as he kissed her hand. Flashy, as always. Most selkies at least pretended to stay on the ground, but Erlend always liked to go a little further.
“How are your family, Erlend?” Lisbetta asked politely. She did not take a seat, or offer him one. The quicker she could get this over with, the better.
“Very well, thank you, my lady,” he replied, smiling at her with his strangely empty eyes. “My father recently returned from border patrol, which is why I find myself free to attend you here at court.”
“Yes, I’d heard.”
“Erlend’s father held the position of the kingdom’s leading warlord, guardian of their borders and leader of their warriors. The Kingdom of the North Atlantic had not been at war in centuries, beyond the occasional border skirmish, but they were always prepared. Erlend’s family had dedicated themselves to defence as far back in time as the stories stretched, making them the most important family in the kingdom, second only to the royal family themselves. No wonder everyone expected Erlend to be Lisbetta’s king.
“And how are your family, my lady? It was a pleasure to see Anja today, even if only briefly.”
“Anja gets more difficult every day,” Lisbetta said dryly, surprising a brief laugh from him. For a second, his guarded expression relaxed and she saw her childhood friend. But then the moment passed and his mask slipped back into place.
“She certainly is a handful,” he said. “Still so young. It would be a terrible shame if she found herself forced to grow up too fast.”
Lisbetta raised an eyebrow.
“I’m afraid I have no idea what you mean.”
“She needs a strong hand, you know that. Just not a hand so strong that it would break her. And I hate to think of the danger she would be in without your mother protecting her.”
Lisbetta came fully alert, the hairs on the back of her neck prickling and all her senses focusing on the man in front of her.
“That sounds uncomfortably close to a threat.”
“Never, my lady. You know I have always wanted only the best for you and your family. Haven’t we always been friends?”
“Why are you here, Erlend? Stop dancing around. You know I always hated you playing the role of a courtier. If you’re my friend, act like it.”
Erlend exhaled hard, finally meeting her eyes.
“Direct as ever. I’ll get to the point without any fuss. You know that your mother and my father have always hoped that we would marry. I have come to officially extend a proposal to you. Marry me, be my queen, and rule the kingdom alongside me. You know that we could accomplish anything if we worked together.”
Exactly what she had expected - brief, logical, exact. Erlend may have been her friend once, but today she saw a powerful man who wanted the hand of the future queen.
He was a handsome man, yes, and an old friend, but how could she marry so soon? Other selkies spent their teenage years exploring, learning, choosing who to be. Lisbetta had spent hers being told who to be. And now, at twenty years old, her future as a wife and queen closed in around her, the last scraps of her freedom slipping through her fingers. A lifetime of responsibility and loneliness, an entire kingdom depending on her decisions - she wasn’t ready to become her mother. She needed some space to breathe and time to think.
“You know that I don’t intend to marry yet. You wasted a journey.”
“I expected that reac
tion,” Erlend said slowly. Something in his voice had changed; there was a tension that Lisbetta hadn’t heard before. Was he using magic while he spoke to her? The tiniest jolt of fear shivered through her. Here, in her own palace, she should be invincible, but Erlend had the strongest magical powers of any selkie she knew.
“I would like to explain further reasons for you to consider my proposal,” he continued. “I think that you will change your mind once you understand all the facts.”
Her hands were shaking, so she clasped them firmly together. She did not know this Erlend at all. How had she ever thought him handsome?
“My father is no longer willing to blindly serve this kingdom without reward. He is currently negotiating with your mother to marry Anja. She’s a little young to be my stepmother, yes, but he’s hopeful a young bride would give him a chance to have more children.”
“My mother would never agree to that! Anja is far too young to marry, let alone to someone as old as your father!”
Or to someone as cruel as the old earl. He’d beaten Erlend as a child, and had probably done the same to his last wife as well. There were enough stories about how she’d died.
“Your mother is a practical woman. She might not like it, but times are dangerous and she needs my father’s support. Humans come closer to our boundaries every day. We may only be months away from war, and your family will need every friend they have.”
“You talk to me like this and expect me to marry you?”
“Lisbetta, I am on your side!” Erlend burst out, weaving rapidly in and out of the old marble columns that lined the room. “I want to help you! If we marry, my father will know that his son is going to be king. He won’t be so determined to have a royal bride. I can persuade him to end the negotiations and let Anja marry whoever she wants.”
Lisbetta stared at him for a moment, her eyes narrowed. Her magic might not be as strong as Erlend’s, especially when emotions overwhelmed her, but she had powerful talents of her own.
“You’re lying,” she said. “I can’t tell which part is the lie, but I know you haven’t told me the truth. As your future queen, as your ruler, I demand the full, entire truth.”
“Lisbetta,” Erlend said soothingly, taking her hand and stroking his fingers across the backs of her knuckles. “You’re upset and shocked. I understand. But please believe that I only want to help you. Marry me and I will always support you.”
“I think you’re bluffing,” Lisbetta said. “You were too afraid to face me and just ask that you made up this ridiculous story about your father and Anja. It’s nonsense.”
“Agree to marry me and everything will be perfect.”
“Admit that you lied.”
Erlend rolled his eyes. She tugged her hand out of his grasp.
“Tell me the truth, Erlend. Be my friend.”
Perhaps that caught whatever trace of her childhood friend still lay hidden inside. He gazed deep into her eyes, then sighed and looked away.
“I didn’t lie. But I admit, I exaggerated. Your mother hasn’t agreed to anything yet. My father does intend to make it happen, though.”
Relief that strong felt almost nauseating. Lisbetta knew her mother would never let anything bad happen to Anja, her little golden child. She would sacrifice almost anything for the sake of the kingdom - but never Anja.
“Thank you for your honesty. I know you want to do what you think is best for the kingdom, but my answer is still the same. I can’t marry yet. The time isn’t right.”
“And when will it be right? You can’t put me off forever, Lisbetta.”
“Give me a month,” Lisbetta said, plans already slotting into place in her head.
She couldn’t refuse Erlend outright; he was too powerful. But that didn’t make her ready.
“I have things I want to do. But then I will listen to your proposal again. I can’t make any promises yet, but I will at least give you a fair chance.”
A slight frown creased Erlend’s smooth brow.
“I understand that it is a big decision, both for you personally and for the future of the kingdom. I can’t see that you will find a better option than me, but I appreciate that you need to consider this more fully.”
“What will you tell your father?”
Erlend shrugged. “I’ll tell him to stop worrying about finding a new wife. His attention should be on the borders, anyway.”
“Thank you. You know I’ve always appreciated your support.”
“I just hope it isn’t misplaced.”
“Never. Goodbye, Erlend. I will see you in a month. Please do not attempt to contact me again before that.”
He frowned again, but bowed low in farewell and did not try to stop her as she left the room.
A light-headed feeling set in as she drifted back into her chamber, letting the water cradle her as she hovered in the centre of the room. Her chance had come at last - perhaps her only chance. One month of freedom, to do what she had always wanted.
Her mother would certainly stop her, so she would have to leave straight away - and she would have to go alone. There would be no marriage until she had experienced a little more of the world. If she was to live a life of restriction and responsibility, she would have this moment of excitement first.
*****
Chapter 2
Lisbetta had never left the palace alone before, not even to go hunting in her seal form. Her mother considered the future queen far too valuable to risk, and always sent along an escort of two powerful selkie warriors. But tonight, Lisbetta was entirely alone. She couldn’t quite decide if she felt elated or terrified.
Slipping out of the palace had been surprisingly easy. It had taken only a few hours to prepare, packing herself a small bag of essentials and running through all the stories she knew about the human world. The tales told by the court minstrels lacked detail about how humans lived, but she had grasped at least the basics. At least, thanks to the selkie magic with languages, she could comfortably speak most of the human tongues found along the borders of the kingdom, although she had never tested her skills on a human other than Gunnar.
She switched into her seal form once she left the palace walls. Far faster like this, she could also relax the magic that allowed her to breathe in her human shape. She had to juggle the bag around a little awkwardly, but the speed and ease more than made up for it. She sped through the water, twisting and spiralling as she sensed her way along the fastest currents. Why had she not done this a hundred times before?
She had been ashore before, of course. Her mother had determined that Lisbetta should see as much of the kingdom as possible, even the dangerous areas that overlapped with the human world.
But Lisbetta had always dreamed of walking ashore on her human feet, and seeing human life for herself, even if just for a day. With an entire month before giving Erlend an answer, she had time for a grand adventure.
Selkies did not use maps, but Lisbetta knew the feel of the ocean well, and had easily worked out how to reach her destination. She had never been before, but her old nurse had told her so much about it that the way seemed almost familiar. She was going to Glasgow.
She reached the rocky Western Isles first, their strange currents and twisting channels difficult to navigate. She almost missed the open waters of the wild Atlantic, but the islands felt almost like home. Besides, the excitement more than balanced out the challenge.
Mountains and beaches slipped by, green and purple in the breaking dawn. She easily found the river that led to Glasgow; the taste of human influence thickened the water right out to sea. Navigating her way into the channel,she followed the taste upstream. There were more boats and ships now, forcing her to stay alert. She stayed close to the surface, where she could catch her breath and look out for any crafts coming towards her.
Not far from the edge of the city, she slipped into a quiet inlet and changed out of her seal form. Naked and shivering, she pulled a sodden dress out of her bag and pulled it on. A selkie dre
ss like this would probably seem strange to these people, but finding anything better on such short notice would have raised suspicion. She dried the fabric off with a whisper of magic, feeling her curls dry and settle around her shoulders. The dress’s laces tightened by themselves, drawing it neatly around her in deep green folds. With any luck, she would not stand out too much. She thrust her sealskin into the bag and drew in a deep breath.
A little noise disturbed the air behind her and she span around, her unsteady feet skidding on the wet grass. A familiar long face peered at her from the water.
“Go home, Delfie,” she hissed, not sure whether to laugh or cry. Her faithful little dolphin must have slipped away from the bodyguard she’d asked to care for him. How had he followed her so far? He squeaked up at her, looking incredibly out of place in the muddy water of the river.