Page 30 of King of the Cage

Ma had always been the moral compass of the family, and now, we were without her strong, maternal guidance.

She glanced over at me and the leather jacket in my arms. “You should never steal a selkie’s skin, Bran. It’s wrong.”

I blinked at her, processing the fact that she’d called me by my name out of the blue.

“Ma?” I asked.

She stood, suddenly agitated, pointing at me accusingly. “You should never steal the skin!”

A couple of nurses burst into the room. “What’s going on here?”

“She got upset about my jacket,” I told them, at a loss for how to explain.

“Oh, Sheila, it’s just a story, love,” one of the nurses tried to calm her down, and when it didn’t work, she looked at me apologetically. “She loves that old song, the one about the selkie and the spring tide, where the man steals her skin and keeps her?”

I nodded. I knew it well.

The nurse grimaced as Ma thrashed about. “You should go. She needs to rest.”

“She called me Bran,” I told the nurse and went past her.

The nurse nodded. “That’s good. She comes and goes, it’s nothing personal.”

I let out a bitter chuckle. “It feels plenty bloody personal.”

“I’m hungry! The service here is terrible. I haven’t eaten in days,” Ma suddenly proclaimed.

The two nurses exchanged glances.

“I’ll go and get you a tray right now, Sheila,” the head nurse said and gave me an encouraging smile. “Seems like you helped, one way or another.”

“Really?” I wondered as I was bustled out of the room.

Quinn waited outside, pointedly ignoring Declan, who leaned against the wall opposite her.

“Well?”

“She’s going to eat something, maybe. Go on in and see. Ion will take you home. I’ll see you later.”

Quinn nodded and went toward the room.

Declan detached himself from the wall and started after me. I strode down the hall.

“You’ve got a fight tonight,” he warned.

“Don’t remind me.”

“Half the family have money on it, so you better show up.”

“I’m going,” I grumbled.

“Should I invite your fiancée?”

I shot Declan a glare so dark his chuckle died on his lips.

“Calm down. It was a joke.”

“There’s nothing funny about being ordered to marry someone by your father.”

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