Page 78 of The Unkindest Tide

“My sons are not for sale,” spat Patrick. He had a glass bulb in each hand, and looked ready to start throwing again.

I had no idea what was actually in those breakable projectiles, but given that half of Torin’s people were on their hands and knees, vomiting, I was fairly sure it wasn’t anything I wanted getting spilled on Gillian.

“Sale implies I believe you deserve some compensation,” Torin countered sharply. “You have no rights in the Undersea, lander. You’re a pet. A filthy, foul pet who dallied with my sister and needs to be put down for your transgressions. The children aren’t yours to claim. They’ll learn manners when they come to serve me.” He didn’t sound angry. If anything, he sounded . . . eager, like he was excited to get started.

The thought sent shivers along my spine, and not only because he had Gillian. At least she seemed to be unharmed, if furious. That was good. As long as he wasn’t hurting her, I wouldn’t have to take him apart.

“This is not smart, Torin,” I said. “I’m a hero of the realm. I’m sworn in service to Duke Sylvester Torquill. He’s not going to like you threatening my daughter.”

“You should have considered that before you dressed her in sealskin for the sake of the sea witch,” said Torin. He sounded far too pleased with himself. It made sense. He thought he’d won. I didn’t have to like it.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Tybalt walking toward the shadows at the side of the courtyard. He was making an effort not to draw attention to himself, and thus far, it seemed to be working.

They don’t have Cait Sidhe in the Undersea. Unlike Dianda, Torin didn’t seem to have spent any measurable amount of time on land. It was possible neither he nor his people knew how dangerous Tybalt was. Even seeing us vanish over the edge of the dock wouldn’t necessarily have shown our hand since, apparently, people around here jump into the water all the time.

“I’m not a particularly patient woman, you know,” I said. “Gillian doesn’t look like she’s hurt. That’s a point in your favor. Let her go, right now, and we can keep our dislike for each other at its current levels. Still not great for you, since you did stick a big-ass knife in my back, but better than it could be.”

For the first time, Torin’s expression of smug self-satisfaction flickered. “The knife hit you, then.”

“Yeah, it did.” I put my hands on my hips. “Where did you think all this blood came from? Blood Costco? It came out of me, when we had to pull your knife out of my body. You’ve already pissed me off today. Don’t make it worse.”

“You’re bluffing.” His lip curled. “Or lying.”

“Uh-huh. How did you get my daughter? She was supposed to be locked up with the other Ryan kids.”

“She wanted to talk to you, didn’t you, poppet?” Torin turned to smirk at Gillian, who glared at him. “Thought her hero of a mother could help to calm the other Selkies, make them stop fighting among themselves. Thought she’d be safe as long as she had your name on her lips.”

I sighed. I couldn’t help myself. “That sounds like Gillian. It doesn’t make her yours to use as a bargaining chip.”

“Doesn’t it?” Torin produced another of those wickedly jagged knives from his belt, holding it up until the light glistened off its edge. “How about I start slicing strips off her and see how quickly you change your song?”

Gillian struggled against the Cephali that held her, terror and bleak rage in her expression. My heart went out to her, even more than I’d expected it to. She was my daughter, yes, but she hadn’t been raised to this—hadn’t even been raised knowing this could happen. In my own way, I’d done the exact same thing to her that my mother had done to me. I’d let her grow up thinking the rules were one thing, when they had never been anything remotely close.

At least I’d done it accidentally. My mother had done it all on purpose.

Accidents . . . “You didn’t mean to kill Isla, did you?” I kept my voice as mild as I could, like I was making an observation about the weather.

Torin froze. Only for an instant, but long enough for me to know my guess had been correct and my barb had struck home.

Gilly, sweetie, please trust me, I thought. I’m doing this for you. “What happened? Were the two of you planning to run away together while everyone was distracted by the chaos in Saltmist? She’d already answered the Luidaeg’s call. She could have slipped out with the tide. So something must have changed. Did she tell you she was planning to pass her skin along after all? If you didn’t plan to keep Saltmist, someone must have paid for those troops—you were supposed to stop the resurrection of the Roane, weren’t you? Did she tell you it wasn’t going to work? Is that why you lost your temper? Or was betraying her always in the plan? You don’t seem too thrilled to have mixed-blood nephews. Maybe she wanted more than you were willing to give her, and you realized she was a liability. Or maybe you’re the one who wanted more. Did she realize you weren’t happy being her secret? Did she want to change things?”

His eyes narrowed. “Shut up.”

“Not denying it. Interesting. I mean, sure, killing a human isn’t against the Law, but killing your lover has to sting, no matter what she is when she falls off the edge of the world.”

Gillian stared at me, fighting against the Cephali who held her with renewed vigor. “What do you mean, killing a human isn’t against the law? That’s sick! Faerie is sick!”

My stomach sank as Torin’s head swung around to her, his attention finding a new target. “Faerie is sick, little girl, that much is true, and creatures like you are the sickness.” He took a step toward her, expression thoughtful. “I could make it healthier.”

I rushed forward, grabbing the bars of the courtyard gate. One of Torin’s guards stabbed at me with her spear, but half-heartedly, like she was too confused to really commit. I grabbed the shaft and yanked it toward me, pulling it out of her hands.

“No spears for you,” I snapped. “No swords or tridents or anything else, either. You don’t know how to use them responsibly.”

“Rowan and thorn, you’re such a mom,” said Quentin.

“Quiet,” I said, eyes still on Torin. “You get the fuck away from her, Torin, or you’re going to wish you’d killed me when you had the chance. Do you hear me? I’ll declare war on the Undersea all by myself, and I’ll win, unless you move away from my little girl.”

Gillian looked like she couldn’t decide between terror and irritation, and settled for rolling her eyes, moving as far from Torin as her living chains allowed. The Cephali who was holding her pulled her a little tighter, until her back was against his chest. That just made her fight harder. It was a vicious cycle, and one that wasn’t going to end well for anyone.