Authors: Flora Dare
Her eyes dropped down to the floor and she looked up at him, accusingly, “Wait, if you're a selkie, why aren't you leaving damp footprints on my floor?”
“I only leave water-filled footprints on the beach. It would make wearing shoes incredibly awkward, otherwise.”
For a long moment, they stood in silence until Liam broke the stillness. “Either way, we don’t have to disturb the gorgons in town today. I'd rather be fully dressed, anyways.”
She reached to him, grasping his wrist. She had to make him understand exactly what was at stake. “Liam, these are not kind people. They won't break the Covenant between the mundane and the fae worlds by hurting you, but you aren’t going to be welcomed. They can and will make life here very hard for you. Why do you think I want to forget, rather than be forgiven? If I forget, I can finally leave this miserable place.”
Liam moved towards Danae, trapping her against the counter. The heat of his body swirled against her, and even though there was still space between them, she imagined his taut, muscled body pressing into hers. Her breath started to come in spurts and she tried to shrink away from him, to create more space between them for her to breathe.
“I am not afraid of some tiresome villagers frowning at me. I am here because Neya sent me, because you begged the sea to take your pain and to grant you a boon. You are hoping for forgetfulness, that whatever happened to be taken from you, but you have to know this.” Liam paused and grasped Danae's chin between his fingers, forcing her face up toward him.
He continued, “That might not be what I can grant you. And whatever boon you are given, there will be a price. The sea does not give for nothing.” His grip tightened for a moment and she saw a flash of pain in his eyes. “You will have to open yourself to me, you will have to share all of your memories, all of your pain, your fears, everything.”
Danae worked so hard at hiding from those memories. To share them with this man who stood before her, strong and implacable, filled her with panic. But she couldn’t stay in this wretched half-life. “I can...I can pay that price.” She stared into his eyes, trapped.
“That isn't the price. That is just the process. You’ll have to relive all your pain, and I will have to share with you. We will have to know each other as well as we know ourselves. Can you do that? You will be utterly vulnerable to me, and I to you.”
She said, “Everything?”
He nodded.
Danae blinked back the start of tears. “I’m trapped in the worst of it every day already. That I might have relief at the end? I will do my best.”
“Do you consent? If you do, since you cast the spell, you must complete it. It sounds overly formal, but you have to say the words and accept the deal. Neya’s law is very clear on this.”
Danae drew a deep breath and shuddered. There was no going back once she did this. The memory of David’s face burned in her mind’s eye, so she nodded and uttered the words that would bind her together with Liam. She stared up at Liam and it felt like his shatteringly green eyes would consume her. “Yes,” she finally said, breath heavy in her chest. “I accept.” At the last word she uttered, it was like she was being shocked by lightning.
“I'm starting now.” He eased his body against hers, and Danae stiffened and started to protest, but was silenced by the gentle touch of his lips on hers. It was the sweetest, softest touch, and the memory of her and David's first kiss flitted through her mind. It was a hot summer night, humid and sticky. They were surrounded by fireflies as David pulled her into his arms. It was the moment Danae realized she was falling in love with David, leading into a summer of innocence and fumbling exploration.
Liam pulled away from her and said, “Thank you for sharing that memory with me.”
Danae had to support herself against the kitchen counter and pressed her hand against her mouth for a moment. She finally said, “You...you saw that?”
He said, “Yes, if we are touching when you remember something, it's like I'm there too. I feel what you felt. Although I see the vision, it’s like I’m watching a play from inside the actor’s mind. I feel whatever is inside, not what you saw.”
Danae flushed red, embarrassed that he'd felt the strength of her passion for David. Liam’s kiss was blending into the memory of David and she felt her heart crack a little. To remember and know it was never going to be again. She said, “Do you have to touch me for this to work?”
Liam nodded. “Yes. I have to know everything.”
Danae wondered if it was possible to die of embarrassment. Her soul, her thoughts, her feelings, ripped open before this stranger. The handsome man who confused her body, filling it with the desire that had been David’s alone.
He said, “Danae, you should know that while this is happening, the sharing, it will bond us. We will be experiencing things together. Sharing each other’s pain, passion, everything. We will be very vulnerable to each other. We will learn how to hurt each other.”
She touched her lips again. She could still feel the warmth of his lips, soft against hers. “Are we going to have to, uhm, be intimate?” She wasn’t sure what answer she wanted.
Liam stroked her face softly. “That part is tricky. You're going to want to be intimate. Especially if you haven't been with anyone in a while. I will do my best not to overwhelm you, to go slow. Now is the time to stop. If we go much further, we can't. Look at my aura, see the truth.”
Danae moved sharply away from him and slapped his hand away. She knew her tones were harsh and guttural when she said, “I don't look at auras anymore. Not since...” she trailed off. Her powers didn’t, couldn’t save her family. They had only brought her more pain and sorrow. She could see the sneers on the villagers’ faces on her way home from the hospital. The turned backs as Myrna drove her home.
She strode away from him, to the living room, when suddenly, the doorbell rang. She put a hand up and made him gestured for him to stay out of sight, in the kitchen, as she pasted on a pleasant smile and answered the door.
Her heart rose up into her throat, threatening to choke her as she realized who it was. She tried to remain calm and said, “Oh, hello, Simon.”
The delivery man leered at Danae as he extended his clipboard for her to take. She realized she was still in her nightgown as his eyes raked down her body. Liam might have kissed her in the kitchen, but Simon made her feel as if she were standing naked in front of him. She scribbled her signature on the papers and handed it back to him.
He said, “Surprised to see you ordering so much, the ladies in the village will be dying to know what all this is.” He handed her the packages one at a time and it felt like he was getting closer and closer to her.
She set the packages just inside the door, holding her ground against him. She didn’t want him inside her house and not just because he’d see Liam. She tried to wave him off and said, “Oh, you know, this and that. Just some things I’ve needed for a while.”
He leaned against the door-jamb and said, “Wanna let me in? I know you've been so lonely out here.” His eyes dropped to her chest and he licked his lips.
She crossed her arms across her body, trying to hide from his gaze. “No, Simon. I told you, not gonna happen.”
“Danae, a woman like you can't be alone for that long, and David’s been dead a very long while. You're all alone out here...unprotected.” He reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her towards him. “You need a man to protect you.”
Danae felt the menace radiating off Simon and for the first time felt afraid of him. She struggled to pull away when Liam came up behind her and pulled the door the rest of the way open.
He let go of her arm and stepped back in surprise.
“She has one.” Liam loomed behind Danae and glared at the other man. He stepped in front of her, putting his body between her and Simon. Liam’s tone was sharp and cold, and she could see the tension in his body. “Me.”
“So I see.” He wilted under Liam's steady gaze. He peered around Liam and tried to catch Danae’s eyes. He finally said, “Well, you know where I live.” Simon spun on his heel and walked away.
Danae grabbed the back of Liam's shirt and hauled him into the cottage. She pulled the front door closed, leaned against it and sighed. Fear and adrenaline mixed in her.
“I thought the packages wouldn't come until tomorrow!” Danae tried to keep the panic out of her voice. “Oh Liam, now you've done it. He’s going to run and tell everyone in the village you’re here. Staying with me and wearing David’s clothes.”
Liam stared at her and shook his head. He said, “You might not read auras anymore, Danae, but I do. Do not trust that man, he had every intention of forcing his way in, he wanted to hurt you. Who cares about provincial gossip compared to keeping you safe?”
“I do, I care.” Danae's voice rose and sounded almost shrill in her ears. She had to make Liam understand. “These are David's people and I have to live here. They barely tolerate me as it is.” And it was the first time anyone had threatened her, had made her feel afraid for her safety. They were willing to make her miserable, but no one had ever threatened her physically.
Liam's eyebrows beetled together and his confusion was clear. “Then why don't you move? Seems like you shouldn’t stay where you feel constantly assaulted.”
Her voice cracked and she said, “I can't leave their graves, Liam. I can't leave
them
. And Simon hasn’t ever done that before. Been that pushy, I mean.” She took a shuddering gulp of air and calmed herself.
Danae cleared her throat and distracted herself with practical things. “Besides, no one will buy this house. The villagers run off any outsiders, and they would never give me the freedom of simply buying the house from me, even for a pittance. They all blame me for the accident and the deaths.”
“Oh, I didn't realize...”
Danae's voice rose again and she slapped her hands together as she said, “I can only buy things at one or two shops. The rest won’t let me in. If I order things online, my packages go missing. I hate Simon, hate knowing he's ready to pounce at any weakness, that he’s now ready to take what I’ve refused him. But if I'm not polite to him? If I don't gently deflect his attentions? If I defend myself in anyway, he'll destroy what little makes my life bearable.”
Liam asked, “Then why do you ask for forgetfulness, rather than freedom from this wretched place?”
Danae's voice got very small and she had to force each line out. “Because then I
can
leave. If I don't remember, I won't care if I have to abandon this house. I won't care that I have to leave
them
behind.” She strode into the living room. Liam grabbed the packages and followed her. Danae stood in the window, looking out over the calm, blue sea.
Liam dropped the packages on the table. “I'm sorry, Danae. I didn't mean to cause problems for you. I just didn't want him to hurt you. I couldn’t let that happen.”
Danae shrugged at him. “Thank you. I’m glad you did, I never expected Simon to do that. You know, I've been trapped in this wretched half-life for so long, I don't even remember what life was like before. I can't remember being smiled at, or feeling a warm touch. I almost felt relieved about Simon, like I deserved for it to happen.” She spun around and walked over to the packages.
“Let's see what Neya sent.” She popped the tape on the first box and pulled out stacks of clothing. “Good God, Liam, how did they even get all this in here?”
“You poured your pain into the ocean. Neya must’ve known the reception I would get. So, I'm well stocked and the village can suck it.”
“I don’t understand, if she’s an all-powerful goddess, why didn’t she just conjure up things for you. A package that is magicked into being that appears at my door.”
“You know it doesn’t work like that. It’s vastly easier for her to have a minion do her bidding.”
“You mean use the internet?”
“Can you imagine the Immortals playing Candy Crush?”
Danae laughed and moved on to the next box, this time revealing slinky lingerie. She held up a red negligee and cocked her head at Liam. “Something I should know?”
“I believe that is for you, not me.” Liam had a wicked tilt to his mouth.
Danae had a sudden urge to touch his lips. She flushed and dropped the gown, suddenly very aware of the plain cotton nightgown she was wearing. “Why on earth is the goddess of the sea sending me slinky underwear?”
“Neya works in mysterious ways? Or, more likely, she knew that you were unlikely to be getting attractive things from the village shops and figured you’d like it? She is a woman, as well as a goddess.”
Danae hastily shoved that box under the table and cracked open the next one. “Ah, shoes.” She pulled out a few pairs of men's shoes, and then a pair of strappy heels. “I take it Neya thinks I wear boring shoes as well?”
She handed Liam the box of men's clothing. “You can leave your things in the guest room.” She pointed at a door down the hall. “Get settled, take a shower, whatever.” The phone started ringing. “That is probably my being called into town.” Liam disappeared into the room and Danae walked to the phone.
She rested her hand on it and thought about not answering. Of course, even if she ignored it now, Maude would just keep calling. There would be some reason Maude needed to see her right away. That her weekly grocery order was ready, or that Maude would be ‘going out of town’, and the shop would be closed.