Page 3 of Taming the Highland Beauty

I have told you all the stories about Dunvegan over the years.

“Tell them about the Dunvegan selkies,” a female voice came from amongst those gathered towards the back of the great hall.

“Aye, a selkie story,” Tormod said. “You never really explained to any of us why you have such a great fear of the selkies in the loch. There must be a reason why?”

Lady Janet floated back and forth, as though suddenly agitated. Her features became pinched. I do not fear the Dunvegan selkies. I simply do not trust them. That is why I have always warned my children to stay away from them.

“Tell them the tale of the selkie wife,” the female voice offered from her place, hidden amongst the guests.

Callum stood, trying to see who had suggested the tale, but he could not identify the woman among so many others.

“Aye, the selkie wife,” Tormod said with an encouraging smile and patting the open space on the bench beside him. “Please, Mother. None of us have heard it before.”

I have heard the story many times, but this is the only time I will tell you this tale, so listen closely. Lady Janet hovered on the bench beside Tormod as silence settled across the chamber.

One night, during a storm, a lonely fisherman walking along the shore stumbled upon a sight that made his breath catch. Lady Janet cleared her voice; even so, her tone held an emotional rasp as she continued. A group of beautiful women with hair all the colours of seaweed and skin that shimmered like moonlight frolicked on the shore. He instantly knew they were selkies who could shed their sealskins and walk on land.

Startled by a noise, the women grabbed their sealskins and vanished into the churning waves, all except for one, the most beautiful woman of them all, who hesitated. Driven by desire and greed, the man crept forward and took her sealskin, trapping the woman in human form. He offered the woman a deal: be his wife and he would keep her sealskin safe.

Their mother kept her eyes downcast. With no other choice, the selkie agreed. The two married, and for a time were happy. The man was a good husband, and the two had children, yet a deep sadness clung to the selkie woman. Her eyes, the colour of the ocean’s depth, would wander to the horizon, drawn by the call of the sea.

One day, while cleaning the attic, the selkie woman came upon a hidden chest. Inside, nestled amongst old clothes lay her stolen sealskin. A wave of longing washed over her and, in that moment, the life she had built with the man and even her children paled in comparison to the freedom of the sea. Tears formed in their mother’s eyes.

With a heavy heart, the selkie woman went to the water’s edge and donned her skin, let out a mournful cry at all she left behind, and slipped beneath the waves. Tears rolled down their mother’s cheeks and her voice sounded tight as she continued. The selkie woman was forever caught between two worlds. Her heart belonged to the sea, but her children were born of the land.

At the conclusion of the tale, the noise in the chamber resumed as those gathered talked about what they had heard. But not their mother. The story had affected her deeply as evidenced by the tears she tried to bat away, only to have her hands pass right through her ghostly face. Her failure only brought more tears.

Callum stood and went to their mother’s side. While the festivities continued around them, Callum and Tormod looked on with concern. “Thank you for the tale, Mother,” Callum said. “Now I understand why it was so hard for you to tell us that story, because you are also caught between two worlds.” Callum tried to wrap his arms around her seemingly corporeal body, but his hands also went right through her.

“That’s odd,” Tormod said. “We were able to embrace you a few weeks ago.”

Lady Janet’s gaze met Callum’s, and he saw not only fear but also pain. Something is changing. I am not as solid as I have been in the past, and there is an ache inside me that grows more intense each day.

“Mother, why didn’t you say something?” Tormod asked.

You were all so busy planning this celebration and preparing for Beltane next week. I did not want to distress you.

“Do you know what might have triggered this . . . pain?” Tormod asked.

Sadness filled their mother’s eyes. I am not certain, but I believe I am being pulled into the spirit realm where I should have been when I died, instead of here with you, my children. I fear that if I cannot truly pass into the afterlife soon, I will be caught in the emptiness of the spirit realm and live in eternal torment.

“Is there anything we can do?” Callum swallowed roughly, forcing his emotions back as he met Tormod’s gaze. They had to do something to help their mother.

Since it was fairy magic that most likely kept me with my children all these years, I believe it is only fairy magic that can help me to move from the human realm into the afterlife before I am consumed by the spirit realm.

“Do you think Aria or Pearl could help you?” Callum asked.

They have already tried. Their magic is diminished after their last battle with Oberon.

“Then who can help us?” Distress pulled at the corners of Tormod’s mouth.

There is one who might, but she was cursed by Oberon to live in the forests beyond Dunvegan. Helping me might jeopardise her own survival. We could not ask that of her.

“Who is this fairy, Mother?” Tormod asked.

Gille, Aria’s sister.

Callum straightened. Why did it always have to be fairies who could help the MacLeods? Over the years he had sworn to keep his distance from fairies. That had included Aria and her mother, Pearl, for a time, until he convinced himself that they were more human than fae, despite their bloodline. But Gille? She was different—spirited, untrustworthy, dangerous. He had not given her a second thought for over a year now. “She disappeared from Dunvegan after we defeated Oberon.”