Page 81 of Loched in Love

Elena watches me, her expression softening as she reaches across the table and slides her smaller hand into my large one, gently stopping me from pocketing the card.

“Lachlan, look at me,” she says, her gaze holding mine. “Using the card today doesn’t make you any less, and buying a plate of food on Frank’s tab one last time isn’t going to change anything. You can always pay him back later, yeah?”

The tension melts from my jaw as I look at her, and her voice cuts straight through my stubbornness. She’s right. “I’ll be able to pay everyone back soon,” I murmur, flipping my hand over to squeeze hers gently.

Practically moaning from the best taste of Scottish food I’ve had in years, we take our time finishing every last bite of the rich and hearty meal, washing it down with the hot coffee.

I hand over Frank’s black card for the last time as I tap out a quick and careful reply to Whitley, before slipping my phone back into my trouser pocket. We made it home safe and sound. We’re settling in nicely. Talk soon.

On our way out, we step inside the cafe to grab the one large black coffee to go, and I move to cradle the paper cup carefully in my hand so I don’t crush it.

The mid-morning sun is rising across the hills as Elena and I make our way back down the winding dirt path toward the secluded pebbled beach. The highland fog has mostly burned away, evaporating under the hot sun and leaving the surface of the lake looking like a sheet of dark polished silver.

It’s a bonnie day and entirely too clear, making it to where any human with a pair of binoculars could easily spot us from across the waters.

Before I can summon my weapon, I close my eyes and focus on the damp air clinging to the lake surface, commanding the atmosphere to shift.

Instantly, a thick, heavy blanket of white fog rises from the freezing depths and rolls over the pebbles, swallowing the shoreline in a dense and blinding mist.

With my magic safely hidden from human eyes now, I extend my right arm.

Come, I think, focusing my mind on the deep currents. With a brilliant flash of light, my trident materializes out of thin air again, its familiar shaft sliding perfectly into my grip.

I raise the weapon, and the calm surface of the loch fractures into massive walls of water, again towering high above us. “Ready?” I ask, looking down at Elena.

She smiles, slipping her hand into mine. “Always.”

Together we walk down into the basin of the loch and behind the magical boundary.

As we walk into the deep threshold of my sanctuary and step through the shimmering veil of magic, the heavy pressure of the lake closes behind us once we reach the quiet cavern.

Right on cue, a loud splashing breaks the surface of the dark pool inside the cavern, and a sleek mottled gray seal breaks through the water, gliding effortlessly toward the stone path. With a fluid, hypnotic twist of its body, the seal sheds their glossy skin like a cloak and catches it over one arm. A sharp-eyed, mischievous woman steps out onto the stone completely dry.

“Tell me that cup in your hand is the coffee I asked for, cousin,” Maren says, her voice echoing off the high stone ceiling, a wicked grin breaking across her expression as she points at the cup in my hand.

I chuckle, stepping forward to hand her the warm cup. “Aye it is, welcome back to Loch Ness, Maren.”

Chapter 33

ELENA PIERSON

Istand frozen in place, a huge smile stretching across my lips while watching Maren transform from seal to human.

And it’s a sight I doubt I’ll soon forget. The seal’s glossy silver spotted pelt seems to unfold from her, as if managed by a zipper. Her big tail turns to legs while she gets her bearings in Lachlan’s home.

She’s entirely dressed in cold weather gear underneath it, wearing a thick wool coat, brown pants, and boots to make up the ensemble, somehow completely dry under her sleek selkie pelt throughout her travels.

It’s amazing.

“Holy mother of the deep,” Maren gasps, her jaw nearly hitting the stone floor. She drops her seal pelt onto a smooth rock by the inlet and stalks toward the shimmering pile, her dark hair tied back into a ponytail and her gaze as wide as dinner plates. She picks up a gold coin and runs her fingers over it reverently. “Lachlan, you bloody oversized tadpole, I thought you meant a couple of stray coins you managed to scrape together. This pile looks big enough that you could buy your own island with all of it.”

I walk over with an affectionate smile and offer Maren a quick and friendly hug. “It’s so good to see you again, and trust me, I literally had that exact reaction when I first saw it too.”

“There’s a lot more from where that came. The oceans are chock full of the stuff, almost as plentiful as the sands,” Lachlan says with a shrug of amusement.

“Good to see you too, Elena,” Maren says, shaking her head in downright disbelief as she steps back from the gold. “Though I see you’ve definitely got your hands full with this stubborn relic.” She turns back to laugh with a small smile turning at the corners of her lips, as she reaches into the deep pocket of her coat and pulls out in a thick, official looking manila envelope. “Lucky for you, your favorite cousin is a genius and came prepared.”

She tosses the envelope onto the deck of the galleon, and Lachlan steps forward to carefully open it, sliding the contents into his big hand. I lean in close to look over his arm as he pulls out a crisp and flawless replicated driver’s license bearing his face on a modern passport along with a sleek new debit card.