Page 58 of Secrets of the Forgotten Heir

‘So?’ I asked as Yanni approached. ‘Any more information?’

‘The coroner still needs to do a proper investigation, but it looks like a lovers’ quarrel turned into a murder-suicide.’

‘They were together?’

‘It fits.’ Yanni gave a long sigh. I felt guilty that she’d sent me home during the day when she looked like she needed a holiday, a bottle of rum – and possibly an exorcism.

‘Those poor families,’ I murmured. ‘That’s the last thing they’ll want to deal with. Are you going to tell them today?’

She nodded. ‘I have to. But you don’t have to come with me. I can do this on my own.’

My immediate instinct was to say that Iwouldgo with her but I hesitated when a wave of her emotions hit me. She was thinking about another loss. I’d felt those same feelings flow from her before: she was thinking about me, about what it had been like to tell me what I’d already known, that my parents were gone. Her feelings would be even more intense when she spoke to the Browns and Storcrests and I wasn’t sure that I could cope with them.

‘I’m sorry,’ I said quietly. ‘I’m not sure if I can. Unless you need me to—’

‘No, you need space. It’s okay.’ She managed a small smile. ‘Besides, that dog of yours looks like she needs a walk.’

I glanced at the office chairs, but rather than lying over them asleep Eva was sitting up, looking at me. I nodded. Yanni’s understanding had brought me both a relief and a guilt I couldn’t quite shake. ‘Come on, Eva,’ I said. ‘Let’s go for a walk.’

I wasn’t really thinking about where I was walking or how far I wanted to go; I wasn’t really thinking at all because my head too full of emotion. Poor Mrs Brown. I hadn’t lost ason, but I hadlost.I could empathise so strongly it made me want to crawl into my bed and not come out.

People expect to lose their parents eventually, though not as young as I had, but to lose a child? And in such a violent way? And there would be no escaping the Witchlight Cove gossip. I wished there was something I could do to shield her from the heartbreak I knew was coming but there wasn’t.

‘Where do you want to go?’ I asked Eva as I unclipped her lead. Without so much as a pause for breath, she bounded toward the beach.

I shouldn’t have been surprised: in London, she’d ended up dripping wet more than once after bolting toward any body of water she could find. The sea, though, was an entirely different treat, the fun of chasing the waves, the softness of the sand beneath her feet. I understood why she wanted to go there; I loved it too.

As we approached the shoreline, a figure emerged from the water. He was chest-deep at first, his broad shoulders cutting through the waves, then his torso came into view as water streamed down his sculpted muscles. My eyes stayed locked on him, unwilling – or unable – to look away.

When I realised what was about to happen – and the part of his body that was about to be revealed – I slappeda hand over my face. At the same moment, he noticed me. ‘Beatrix!’ he called. ‘Sorry, I didn’t realise—’

‘No, no, it’s fine!’ I said quickly, my voice muffled by my hands. Nothing to see here, nothing at all. Just a naked man emerging from the waves like a mythological thirst trap.

‘My towel’s over there. Give me a second.’

‘Yes, of course!’ I squeaked, turning my back and squeezing my eyes shut. There was absolutely no way I was going to look, absolutely not. Even though every part of me was screaming to have a quick glance.

‘It’s alright,’ he chuckled. ‘I’m decent now.’

I turned cautiously to find him buttoning his trousers. His shirt and leather jacket were draped over a nearby rock and it was that jacket that held my attention. It was far more casual than the suits I’d seen him wearing before and there was something about the material… There was a glimmer to it, as if it were infused with some deep magic.

‘You’re a selkie,’ I said.

‘I am,’ he replied.

‘And swimming in … you know … with actual skin. Like human skin.’ I was babbling. Someone help me.

‘Human skin. Wow, very technical.’ He smirked.

I felt a warm sensation spreadfrom him and settle behind my sternum. Why the hell did he always make me feel like this?

‘I like swimming skin-on-water sometimes,’ he said. ‘Feeling the struggle of it. As a selkie swimming is easy, but sometimes I like to work for my pleasure.’

‘“Working for your pleasure” isn’t something you hear often.’ I raised an eyebrow.

‘Well, I’m not like most people,’ he replied. ‘But from what I hear, neither are you.’

The warmth I’d been feeling cooled instantly under his gaze. ‘You’ve been asking about me?’ The thought made my gut clench.

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