Page 16 of Kissing the Kelpie

“Stop!” I plead, crying as I get to my feet to try and help the man I’m falling for. Once the contraption Em works around Finn’s head is fastened, his struggle weakens. I catch a glimpse of his blue eyes, and the dimming of their light terrifies me. “Emerald Hickory!” I shriek, “Stop it! You’re killing him!”

“That is to be seen,” the leshy I once worshiped glares at me as he drags Finn to the edge of the spring.

“Em, please.” My body shakes and racks with sobs. “It’s my fault. He didn’t do anything wrong. Please!”

“Look, Masha,” Em hisses, “See what he really is!”

Em throws the tamed Finn into the deepest part of the spring. His legs hit the water with a crack of lightning, brightening the sky and evoking thunder louder than Em sounds when he’s angry. The second his body breaks the surface, it jerks and contorts as he transforms.

Finn no longer has legs. Instead, he has a giant whale’s tail.

I hug my arms around myself. Shivering, I watch in horror as the man that entranced me turns into some sort of animal. His head and hair turn into that of a horse, like the horse I thought belonged to him. A horse with webbed front feet and a giant tail. He isn’t even an animal. He’s a monster.

I feel sick and back up so I can lean my hand against the trunk of a tree. Bile rises to the back of my throat, forcing its way out. I vomit violently at the sight of the thing I let ravage my body. I can’t bear to look at it thrashing in the water. He lied to me. Made a fool of me by impersonating a man and pretending that he cared just so I would have sex with him.

No wonder he had difficulty restraining himself. He’s an actual animal. I feel the disgust in my chest settle on my face. I won’t look at him again. I can’t. Never, ever again.

Hiding my face, I reach for my clothes and dress without a word to either man. Correction, either monster. I feel their eyes on me, watching me.

I feel like thousands of ants are crawling up and down my skin. Safra lies on the ground with her head between her paws, ears back like she’s frightened. She lifts her head as I get close, letting out a low groan. Even she can’t look at me.

“Good for nothing!” I yell at her. “You can’t look at me? Ironic, isn’t it? You had one fucking job to do, protect me, and you sucked at it,” I grind out through clenched teeth as I walk past her and head to my cottage.

Chapter 11

“Masha,” Erin calls, knocking on the door. “Please don’t make me come in unwelcomed. I need to see that you’re okay before Em storms his way over.”

I stumble out of bed. The room spins. I stretch my arms out, allowing the wall to break my fall. This is why I haven’t ventured out of bed for more than a few minutes at a time. I haven’t even managed to get up to eat or drink, but I have to make my way to the door. The last thing I want is to see Em. I don’t care if I ever see him again.

I’m ashamed and embarrassed. Of everything. Of how I spoke to him. Of how I acted. Of allowing a disgusting monster to touch me, let alone fuck me. And when Em confronted us, what did I do? I defended the freak. I’ll gladly deal with Erin. She’s not likely to be quick to judge after falling in love with a leshy.

I shut my eyes and shield my face from the bright sun as I open the door.

“Oh, Masha!” I hear pity in her voice and wonder how bad I actually look. “You poor thing!” Erin hugs me. “You look sick.”

“I feel sick. I don’t know how many times I threw up in the last two days.”

“Come,” Taking me by the hand and wrapping her arm around my waist, she leads me to my couch. She helps me sit as if I were a young child. “Let’s see if we can get some water into you.” She takes one step away before I grab her hand.

“Don’t.” I sound pathetic as I use all my strength to pull her back.

She sits next to me. “You need to let it out, don’t you?” I meet her eyes for a fleeting moment and nod. “Okay, but first, let me empty the basin. It smells like vomit in here, and that can’t be helping you. I’ll be right back.”

I lie on the couch in the fetal position, waiting. When Erin returns and sits next to me, I cry.

I cry like I haven’t since Mike died. For a long time, Erin doesn’t say a word. She smoothes my hair and stays with me. She doesn’t ask questions or offer useless advice. She lets me be.

“How about a sip of water?” She asks after getting more material for me to blow my nose.

I shake her off.

“One small sip. You need to stay healthy and hydrated. Ana’s getting worried, especially with the horse tied up. All she wants to do is pet it, but Em terrified her, telling her if she touches him she’ll be stuck, and then he will kill her.”

“Horse? That thing had a horse?” Of course he did, he’s half horse.

“He is the horse.”

“What?” I sit up, only slightly engaged in the conversation. Honestly if she hadn’t mentioned my daughter, I wouldn’t care at all. But how does Erin know the horse is Finn? “How?” And why do I feel a hint better hearing he’s a horse than that sea creature I saw?

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