J.R. Pearse Nelson's Blog, page 6

Castle and Crown (Water Rites #3) — Available Now!

The final installment of the Water Rites series is now available on all retailer sites. This story was a joy to write and now that it’s finished, I hope you enjoy it, too!

If you’d like to sign up for my mailing list, I’ll be happy to send you the first book in this series, Water Rites, as a free gift — and I’ll keep you in the loop as my next books hit retailer shelves.

Castle and Crown

Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Kobo / Barnes & Noble / iBooks

Fighting through the storm may be the only way to survive…

Nothing could have prepared Lorelei Dorian to live among the finfolk, with all of their alien ways. Life among their mind-reading race isn’t safe for her, with all she has to hide, but Lorelei will do anything to reclaim her sealskin and win her freedom. She has already proven that.

Clay’s schemes drive a splintering wedge in the midst of the selkies as he grasps for power. If he gets his way, they’ll all be under his control.

And Lorelei’s not about to let that happen.

Find the Water Rites series at your favorite retailer.

Read descriptions and link to the first three chapters here.

Water Rites 

Crestfallen

Castle and Crown

 

I’m on Author Interviews

Fiona Mcvie was kind enough to interview me this week for her site Author Interviews.

Living Your Dream — NOW

In many ways, this is the best time in the history of the world to be a writer or a creative entrepreneur. I absolutely believe that overall, that’s a true statement. We have access to so much information, inspiration, and the potential for community. It’s never been easier to share your creative work with the world. It’s never been easier to develop an independent business around your art.

However, some of the deepest pitfalls that have always existed for writers are accentuated by the world we now live in. Writers and other artists have always been their own worst critics. And perspective can be difficult to find in a world filled with the bright, the shiny, the NEW.

Every day we see an awesome new book cover, a great series we can’t believe we haven’t stumbled on before, or an author (new to us or one of our favorites) releasing a brand new book baby into the world. Distraction, comparison-itis, and fragmentation dominate our mental landscape.

But you can tune out the noise and begin to live your creative dream life, with small steps taken every day. You might even find you already have a lot of what you’re looking for. A shift in perspective to gratitude and joy will go a long way to reinvigorating your art, too.

So….here’s an exercise. And by the way, what I’m about to go into applies to all sorts of dreams, not just to creatives.

Sit for a moment and create a picture in your mind of where you were – who you were – five years ago.

How did you spend your days?

How much of what you spent time doing felt valuable to you?

Now…zoom forward in time to today.

What has changed?

Are you now spending more of your time on what feels valuable to you?

If not, why not?

Think forward to five years from now.

Where do you want to be?

What do you want to be doing with your time?

Really visualize (journaling helps tremendously with this). Think about what you want your daily/weekly life to look like in five years’ time. Do a little math for where that puts you in terms of your age, the age of your children if you have them, the development of your career. Think of the small stuff – so much of the good stuff in life is in the small stuff. What does your life look like in that future?

How do you feel in that future?

Can you picture it?

Now WRITE IT DOWN.

Next – as in tomorrow – start living your dream life to the best of your ability.

Many of us writers and artists crave more time to work on our art and breathe life into it as we send it out into the wild. You might not be able to drop the day job yet as your dream-self-in-five-years has done. But you can start taking the steps toward progress that will get you there if you put in the work consistently, every day. You just have to start somewhere and keep moving toward that pretty picture of the future you want.

You know what I notice when I think this way – visualizing where I want to be in five years and how I want to be spending my time? Most of my life is already my dream life. And I would NEVER trade time with my young kids for those extra hours that I crave for art. The parts of my life that don’t fit the dream are temporary and PRECIOUS. It’s another sort of dream life and writing can wait while I get to experience this. I wouldn’t give hours with my kids up for all the riches and quiet moments in the history of the world.

Sometimes I just need to slow down a little, adjust my perspective, and remember to enjoy what I already have.

You get one life. Are you living it how you want to? That’s a choice we get to make every day. Show up and create what we want…or not. I hope you choose to show up, because I can’t wait to see what you’ll make.

Take care and be happy, dear readers! I wish you less stress and comparison-itis and more laughter and contentment. Go forth and be great!!

Happiness & Me (& You)

So….maybe it’s the fact that I moved a few months ago, out of the “village” where I raised my babies, away from a heck-ton of siblings, my parents, and a lot of great friends. Maybe it’s the fact that my dog died in May and I don’t have him to look after (or him to look after me). Maybe it’s the focus on the physical that has dominated 2016 for me (home renovations, moving, more renovations). Maybe it’s the age of my kids — my youngest started kindergarten in September. Maybe it’s the cutthroat politics that have dominated news cycles and made the world feel so cold. Maybe it’s feeling like I don’t measure up to my own ideas of success, the possibility that I never will, and that I don’t know how to define a success that can be mine…that already IS.

No matter the cause, I have been thinking about happiness. What is it that makes me happy, and keeps me happy? Is my daily focus in the right places? What’s the important stuff — because I definitely don’t want to lose sight of it.

There’s a lot of research on happiness, and it points AWAY from the material and toward RELATIONSHIPS. People who feel connected and have close relationships are happier and live longer, healthier lives. People who serve — who provide value to others as a focus of their days, also tend to be happier.

Check out this TED talk with Harvard researcher Robert Waldinger covering highlights of a long-term study of HUMANS.

You Are Mighty

We can inspire people by just being what we truly are. By being kind, helpful, thoughtful, adventurous, fun, playful, joyous. All of these positives influence the world around you, the people around you, and they multiply beautifully into blessings you can’t currently contemplate.

Push for the next step in your personal evolution. You make your world and remake it with your heart, thoughts and actions. YOU ARE MIGHTY.

YOU ARE MIGHTY! Know it, believe it – and take action. Because not taking action is its own statement. Is it the one you want to make?

Your passion will likely scare others – the more passionately you feel, the more this will be true with SOME PEOPLE. They will try to hold you back to THEIR state of being if you let them. Don’t worry about them. You can’t please everyone. Don’t waste another second of your life trying.

When you pursue your passion authentically and with kindness and love, when you show up and share your heart and your truth, you will be surprised who will be influenced, who will begin to shine with a reflection of that radiance. And then it’s all a happy, abundant light flow back and forth. There’s nothing more beautiful than that.

Keep doing what you love. Be kind. Be passionate. Lift others up. The world – and your days – can only be better for it.

Virtually Yours Release Party Today!

Virtually Yours, a contemporary romance anthology that includes my novella Something Old and Something New, is on sale now for $0.99 at your favorite retailer. Come celebrate the release with us TODAY April 11th on Facebook, from 6 to 10 EST.

You can buy the anthology now on Amazon, iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Smashwords, and many other smaller retailers, or read it through your Scribd subscription!

Eight authors took on the concept of an internet service to pretend you are dating.

Virtual Match is your one-stop shop to convincing those nosy relatives, the too friendly coworker, or your ex that you’re off the market. We’ll match you up with an attentive boyfriend or girlfriend. Texts, emails, phone calls, and even gifts. A virtual love life is all the fun of being in a relationship–well, almost all the fun–and none of the commitment. Our matches know how to stay discreet and convincing.

All fun and games, right? …Honestly, this idea gives me the creeps, and so my take on it includes an ex-husband out for mischief — possibly even revenge. Here’s the description so you can see what I mean.

Something Old and Something New by J.R. Pearse Nelson: Delia has finally managed to kick her cheating ex-husband to the curb. In a parting jab at her lack of tech savvy and need for companionship, the ex signs her up for Virtual Match. The texts from the virtual boyfriend are as creepy as the idea and getting stranger, but she can’t figure out how to stop them. When an old friend—that’s all it can ever be—shows up on her doorstep, Delia is pushed to retire old heartaches in favor of a new vision of herself and her future.

Here’s an excerpt from the first chapter.

Excerpt:

Delia held her head high and smiled to herself as she entered the restaurant—an upscale place in the Midtown area, sure to have Shaun nervous as hell. That’s exactly what she’d wanted. Mention of her money always set him on edge, and she’d been twisting that knife recently.

Why not? She and Shaun didn’t have anything else to lose.

Twice divorced before thirty.

She couldn’t get the imaginary headline out of her mind.

The Maître d’ escorted her to their table, and she took her seat across the table from the most handsome man she’d ever met, probably for the last time.

Shaun sipped from his ice water and watched her. He was dressed to the nines, his hair slicked back neatly, as if to mock her choice of restaurant by showing up looking the part. He wore her money well. But his eyes were not warm; they were not soft and caring. Sometime in the last two months, they’d gotten mean.

When she didn’t react to Shaun’s stare, he broke eye contact and took a file of papers from his dark leather messenger bag—the one she’d bought him for their second anniversary—and laid a stack of papers on the table between them.

She studied her meticulously maintained manicure, her eyes avoiding the pile of papers, signatures and twin dates now staring up at her from the dotted line.

Well. That was that.

“Excuse me, I need to visit the ladies’ room,” Delia said softly as tears suddenly threatened. She rose from her chair and retreated, hoping her anger and sadness weren’t evident to Shaun or anyone else. She needed to compose herself; she would not be seen getting upset with her stupid now-ex-husband in public. She couldn’t save their marriage, but she could salvage her pride.

Delia did what she could to stay out of town gossip. She was a reporter for the Sacramento Observer, but she was as used to being in the news as creating it. Her father was the mayor, and he’d been a high-power trial lawyer before that, from old money in this city. Her uncle was a congressman. Delia was used to keeping her affairs to herself, used to the demands of being a public family. The TV news had a field day with any little thing they could get their hands on these days. And the mayor’s bad-girl daughter getting divorced for the second time was sure to be fodder for the twenty-four hour news cycle.

Bad girl. Heh. If she was going to be labeled that way, Delia wished she’d taken more advantage. She should wear skimpy clothes, and drink and smoke at a nightclub. That would really make Mother twitch.

Delia washed her hands slowly in the ladies’ room, thankful that there was no mirror above the sink. She did take a glance in the full-length before returning to her table to ensure she didn’t wear evidence of nearly breaking down.

She returned to her seat wishing to be anywhere else.

Shaun shoved up the sleeve of his sweater and ogled his watch, both of which were expensive and purchased with Delia’s money, looking for the final escape.

“I need to get back to the office.”

You mean the office secretary?

She’d finally asked for a divorce after catching him cheating three times in four years. With three different women. The latest was the secretary at the real estate office where Shaun had started as a temp last fall.

Her phone pinged with a new tone, and she picked it up from the table, wondering what the heck had been insta-installed now. She couldn’t keep up with the rapid change in these silly devices. As long as she could connect to her phone contacts, maps, email and Facebook, she was golden.

This was a text message, from a number—a name—she’d never seen before.

CRAIG: WELCOME TO VIRTUAL MATCH. MY NAME IS CRAIG, AND I’M EXCITED TO BE YOUR MATCH.

Another text came in while she was still trying to make sense of the first.

CRAIG: I CAN’T WAIT TO TALK TO YOU. I’M SO GLAD WE MET.

Huh?

Shaun stood up to leave, and she saw him grinning as she tried to decide how to reply to the mystery text. “Oh, did your new boyfriend text you already?”

“What?” Delia asked. “I’m not seeing anyone. Not that it’s any of your business anymore.” She gestured to the newly signed divorce papers.

He laughed. “Sure you are. Or at least, that’s what it’ll look like. You should learn a little more about tech, Delia. Like to lock your phone. Friendly word of advice.” His smile wasn’t friendly at all, it was malicious and mean and not at all the man she’d thought she was in love with.

“What did you do?”

“I just bought you a little help with your social life. A new ‘virtual boyfriend’ is the only hope you have for company, sweetheart.” He leaned in, his breath hot on her cheek. “It’s the least I can do, taking such a slice of your dough and all.”

He walked off.

Delia shut her eyes, allowing herself a few heartbeats of horror and embarrassment in the privacy behind her eyelids. She composed herself, discipline asserting its guiding hand.

She looked at her phone, brow furrowed. She swiped the screen, scanning for anything new, but she couldn’t see what Shaun was talking about. All of this stuff on here. So many parts of life with Shaun to disentangle from her own now that she’d cut him loose.

The money was worth it, knowing she wouldn’t have to come home to him again, knowing she wouldn’t have to wait and wonder when he was coming home to her.

She was free.

She ordered lunch. She most certainly was not returning to her car before she had lunch. Shaun’s manners be damned.

Had she really thought they’d sit across from each other and have a meal?

She didn’t know what she thought. What was right in this situation?

The waiter brought her salad, and she placed her napkin in her lap and lifted the salad fork, the familiar motions calming her a little.

As she stabbed into her salad, a smile lit up her face.

She was free.

*****

That’s a small taste of just one of the books you can get now for $0.99. A great chance to try out some new authors! Find it now on Amazon, iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Smashwords, and many other smaller retailers, or read it through your Scribd subscription!

For giveaways and games, remember to celebrate the release with us TODAY April 11th on Facebook, from 6 to 10 EST.

Happy reading! Happy release partying!

Virtually Yours: Contemporary Romance Anthology

Virtually Yours – A Virtual Match Anthology

My novella Something Old and Something New is one of eight novellas in the Virtually Yours anthology, on sale now for $0.99 at your favorite retailer. Come celebrate the release with us on Facebook, April 11th from 6 to 10 EST.

You can buy the anthology now on Amazon, iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Kobo and Smashwords, or read it through your Scribd subscription!

Virtual Match is your one-stop shop to convincing those nosy relatives, the too friendly coworker, or your ex that you’re off the market. We’ll match you up with an attentive boyfriend or girlfriend. Texts, emails, phone calls, and even gifts. A virtual love life is all the fun of being in a relationship–well, almost all the fun–and none of the commitment. Our matches know how to stay discreet and convincing. You might even forget it’s not real. Log on to Virtual Match and meet the match of your dreams who doesn’t mind staying just a fantasy.

Wish I Might by Kait Nolan: Bookstore owner Reed Campbell wasn’t looking for a woman. But when the new clerk he hired won’t take no for an answer, he needs a girlfriend in a hurry. His friends give him the perfect out—Virtual Match, a service that offers a fake relationship with none of the fuss. But when Reed gets a second chance with Cecily Dixon, the one that got away, his virtual girlfriend may cause more problems than she solves.

Lip Service by Wendy Sparrow: Amputee Berg Cyrano is struggling with civilian life. Dating is perilous, but the girl next door is oh so tempting in her sexy sundresses. His new gig as “virtual boyfriend” allows him to bask in her sunshine without risking rejection and without her knowing. Roxie Edmonds has tried cupcakes and pizza and her neighbor doesn’t adore her yet. Using the Virtual Match site he recommended will get rid of a slimy coworker, but she absolutely can’t fall for her new fake boyfriend.

Code Name: Girlfriend by Jessica Fox: Drew needs a girlfriend—fast. Trouble is that he already told his nosy coworkers all about her, and she doesn’t exist. When his best friend sees an ad for Virtual Match, it seems like the answer to all his problems…until he starts falling for his match. Caroline is struggling to get her writing career off the ground when she gets a chance to write a tell-all feature on Virtual Match. Seems easy enough, until pretending to be someone’s girlfriend suddenly gets far too real.

Dream Home by Lisa Kroger: Evie Bowen doesn’t have time for the boyfriend her mom and sister think she needs. Still reeling from her husband’s death, she’s renovating the antebellum plantation meant to be their dream home. Enter Luc Savini, her virtual boyfriend. Luc may keep her family at bay and provide company in the dark of night, but when sinister things start happening in Evie’s house, she’s still very much on her own.

Something Old and Something New by J.R. Pearse Nelson: Delia has finally managed to kick her cheating ex-husband to the curb. In a parting jab at her lack of tech savvy and need for companionship, the ex signs her up for Virtual Match. The texts from the virtual boyfriend are as creepy as the idea and getting stranger, but she can’t figure out how to stop them. When an old friend—that’s all it can ever be—shows up on her doorstep, Delia is pushed to retire old heartaches in favor of a new vision of herself and her future.

Matchmaker Reality by Sharon Hughson: Ronnie Shay isn’t willing to put her heart on the line and risk it being broken. A fake boyfriend through Virtual Match will prevent her from investing in a relationship as well as keep her nagging family at bay.

Unexpected sparks fly with her imaginary boyfriend and she gets in deep—her feelings unearthing a past secret she’d buried. When her virtual boyfriend wants to meet, reality might ruin Ronnie’s chances of a real connection. Will her heart survive and is love worth the gamble?

Virtual Surprise by Catherine Lynn: Home is where your heart heals. And, Anna’s moved on since her divorce. Really. To convince her friends, Anna signs up for Virtual Match. A fake boyfriend is safe and easy…right up until their relationship feels real. Then, there’s her high school crush—who broke her heart. Neither man is simple and one may not even exist. Luke’s job with Virtual Match is just for extra cash, not for a relationship. He’s still dealing with his anger for the girl who once hurt him. Then, he starts falling for his assigned “girlfriend.” Is it worth the risk to make their match real?

Home Field Advantage by Kate Davison:

Home isn’t always where there heart is—sometimes it needs a little push.

For Shelby Steele, going home to Suwannee Grove after her sister’s death is the hardest thing she’s ever done. The reasons she left make it even harder. One look at Dallas Lane and she knows her bigger mistake may have been staying away so long.

Dallas has always considered Shelby the love of his life and he’d like nothing more than for her trip home to be permanent. But if Shelby ever finds out Dallas was posing as her sister’s Virtual Match, he doubts even his home field advantage will help convince her to stay.

Find J.R.'s books at your favorite retailer!

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iBooks

Nook

Kobo

Crestfallen (Water Rites, #2): Chapter 3

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Chapter 3

Mom slammed her phone down on the table and crossed her arms, her eyes full of fire.

“Not what you wanted to hear?” Dad asked.

Vardon took another bite of bacon, which he’d been hugely thankful to find when he returned from his swim, and listened, hoping to catch whatever had Mom scorched. The better to stay out of her way. There was no reasoning with her when she wore a look like the one she had on now.

“They’re coming. Next weekend. We have one week to prepare to have our space completely invaded.” She growled the last, and Vardon’s instinct was to hide under the table. But she wasn’t throwing sparks at him.

“Not to Anacortes?”

“No. Seattle. And that is far too close.”

“Who’s coming?” Vardon asked, forgetting himself.

Mom glared.

Dad watched her for a moment, and when he decided she wasn’t going to answer, he spoke. “The Council is coming to Seattle to discuss what happened with Lorelei.”

“What?” Vardon asked, rhetorically. The selkie Council had never ventured across the Atlantic, as far as he was aware. He recalled the stooped old men from the Council from when he was seven, when they’d gone to Ireland. They’d shown their respect by making an appointment and stopping to greet the Elders of the Council. The only thing that had stuck with him was the stale smell in the cavernous stone room where they all sat in tall-backed chairs around a table that dwarfed figures shrinking with age.

“I have to call everyone.” Mom picked up her phone and went to the other room to start calling the local selkies.

“Does she have reason to be that worried?” Vardon asked Dad, who’d helped himself to another slice of bacon as soon as his wife left the room. He leaned back in his chair in what could have been a mirror image of Vardon’s posture.

“Yes. There’s reason to worry. What happened with Lorelei…” He met Vardon’s eyes, his look cool, parental.

“Was completely effed up.”

“Watch your mouth. If your mother hears that she’ll take you by the ear, and you know it.”

Vardon rolled his eyes. She would, too.

“Excepting Lorelei, Selkies and finfolk haven’t mixed blood in living history. There are a couple of stories, from centuries ago…but there are reasons our kind does not mix with their kind, Vardon.”

“What happened to Edeline Shaye,” Vardon stated.

“And what happened to you. A selkie can shift shapes, given our skins. We heal quickly. But that’s the extent of our powers. The finfolk…their powers are scary.”

“You don’t have to tell me. I’ve seen it.”

“As not many selkies have, not in real life. Most selkies have heard tales of the finfolk. We know that they’re out there, and we know to avoid them. But to meet one? This is the stuff of legend. And now legend has come home to roost in Anacortes. The Council is nervous.”

“Mom was worried before Lorelei’s birthday. Why didn’t they come then, before it was too late?”

“Is it too late?” Dad gave him a hard look. “Have you given up that easily?”

Vardon narrowed his eyes. “Mom acts like it’s too late. Lorelei is being trained—her finfolk mentor arrived today.”

“How do you know that?” Dad drew back, his tone annoyed. No doubt because Vardon had chosen to share this with him, and now they had to fill Mom in, and she would be mad that Vardon had gone to see Lorelei today.

He fessed. “We swam today.”

“What? You swam with Lorelei? You aren’t supposed to be even seeing that girl. What am I going to do with you? You have no fear—and the biggest fear you should have is that woman in there!”

“No, Dad, that’s your biggest fear. You’re the one tasked with keeping Mom happy. Good luck.”

Dad gave him a light, joking punch on the shoulder. “Just wait. Someday it’ll be you.”

Vardon was silent a moment, and Dad’s look grew thoughtful as he watched his son.

“Yeah,” Vardon said, his throat surprisingly tight. “Sure.”

“I know, son. I know you liked the girl. But she isn’t the last girl you’ll meet.”

She was the only Lorelei, and Vardon knew it.

“Is the Council going to try to get Lorelei’s skin back?” he asked, betraying the true line of his thoughts with his careless question.

“I’m not privy to the Council’s thoughts. I can’t get past the idea that they’re coming here.”

“It’ll be okay, right? They’re coming to help.”

The pause before Dad nodded was disconcerting. “Yes. They’ll help. Who they’ll help is another question, and I don’t know the answer.”

 

 

“Prince Clay,” Shona said as she walked from the waves on a small beach not far from Lorelei’s home. She opened a part of her mind to him, inviting him to communicate. From her thoughts he could see she craved escape from this series of islands and bays. It had been nearly a week since she arrived. She’d spent a lot of that with Lorelei, or watching the girl to learn more about her.

Clay wore his human form, the one Lorelei would recognize, and scorn.

“You called,” Shona said, meeting his intrigued gaze.

“And you answered. I am impressed.”

“You are exiled, sir, but you are still a prince and the chosen heir to castle and crown.”

“I am.” He puffed out his chest, but the look she gave him was unimpressed. No matter. And no surprise. Shona had never been drawn in by finfolk males. She liked the maids better. He chuckled inwardly at his own unspoken joke.

“What do you need?” Shona asked, showing her impatience.

“You have met Lorelei. How is she?”

“Is that why you called me? I’m not going to have a weekly meeting to update you, Clay. You’re supposed to be leaving the girl alone.”

“I have not given up on Lorelei. Is she well?”

Shona shrugged, and Clay wanted to throttle her. “Yes. She’s fine, I guess.”

They watched each other for a moment, and Clay realized that prince or no, Shona would not be an easy source of his love’s secrets.

“Why do you wear this form? Why meet me here?” Shona asked. “Why stay around Fidalgo Island at all? The girl resulted in your banishment. Why do you stay?”

Maybe he should have felt embarrassment, but all he felt was a shot of adrenaline. That’s what Lorelei did to him. “I will stay. I find I must.”

“She hates you. You do realize that?”

He didn’t answer. Lorelei might think she hated him now, but as she learned more, as she became a finfolk in spirit as well as blood…she would grow to love him. He knew it.

“There is something I would ask of you,” he said.

“What is that?” She was frustrated. He didn’t care.

“Tell Lorelei Dorian that I would see her. I would exchange words.”

“You have no right to command her now, Clay.”

He noted that she’d lost the ‘prince’ she had earlier attached to his name.

“No right to command, but every right to request.”

“I do not believe she will treat your request kindly, but I will give her the message.”

“In the current state of things, that is all I can demand.”

Someday, he would be Shona’s king. She knew it. And so she dove back into the waves, carrying part King Cleophus’ instructions and part his.

A weight that had been stifling him for weeks lifted. Lorelei would meet him. She must face him, and she knew it.

 

Find the Water Rites series at your favorite retailer.

Read descriptions and link to the first three chapters here.

Water Rites 

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iBooks

Kobo

Crestfallen

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iBooks

Kobo

Castle and Crown (**Coming winter 2016**)

Crestfallen (Water Rites, #2): Chapter 2

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Chapter 2

Lorelei wasn’t sure what to expect. She’d heard the finfolk call when they were swimming, and it had stopped her cold. After two weeks, the finfolk had finally seen fit to send her mentor. Finally, she’d have someone to answer the million questions she couldn’t handle rolling around her mind any longer.

Finally.

She hoped Vardon wasn’t pissed. They’d been having fun. Yeah, it was different than it had been, but it had been fun. It had been a release, and she needed it. Would he be mad that she’d abandoned their time together the moment the finfolk called? She had to. She had to learn all that she could if she was going to make sense of how to move forward.

Being not-Lorelei didn’t work for her. She had to reach an understanding of these new powers, and who she was now that she could wield them.

Since the first call, she’d heard nothing. Was the mentor coming?

Almost as soon as she thought it, the response entered her mind, unbidden.

I am here. Wait for me.

And that was it. So Lorelei did as she was commanded. The voice in her mind felt like a woman, and Lorelei hoped it was so—she didn’t want much to do with finfolk males at this point. Not after finding out two weeks ago that one of them had been trying to turn her into his child bride. She waited, treading water, naked as a jaybird. Skinny-dipping had never been so unanticipated.

Not two minutes later, an unknown head popped through the waves. “Child bride?” were the first words this new contact spoke. Definitely a woman—and relief flooded through Lorelei.

“Uh…you heard that?”

“I don’t miss much.” And she smiled. “I am Shona. King Cleophus tells me I am the perfect choice as your mentor.”

“I’m Lorelei…but you know that.” Lorelei returned what seemed to be a friendly smile. “I’m glad you’re a chick. I can’t handle the guys right now.”

“Yeah, I heard you think that, too.”

“You don’t talk like them.”

Shona tipped her head to one side, bright blue eyes sparkling, reflecting the early morning sun on the waves. “No. I don’t.”

Well, that was mysterious.

They looked at each other for a moment.

“I’m having a bit of a personal issue.”

“Swimming with a seal, perhaps?”

“It wasn’t the swim. It was the shifting. I lost my clothes.”

“You weren’t supposed to experiment until you’d been assigned a mentor.”

“I couldn’t help it. I don’t have anything to do now that I’m ostracized from school and my friends because I’m a total weirdo.”

Shona’s laugh surprised her—it was loud; the type of laugh you could easily hear across a crowded room. Lorelei liked it.

“Look…is there somewhere we can go to talk? There are others here, and I would have a private word with you.”

“Clay?” The one word was enough to drive slivers of ice through Lorelei’s nerves.

“Yes. The prince has not left these shores since your birthday.”

Lorelei frowned at the word prince. The idea that the one who had stalked her had standing among the finfolk drove her crazy. What kind of people could they possibly be if this was a prince among them?

“You misunderstand. He isn’t all bad.”

“Okay, quit with the mind thingy. I’ll speak my questions, thank you.”

“Miss Spitfire, I can’t help but notice when you think so loud.”

“Can he hear everything I think, too?”

“Yes. It is part of what drew him to you.” Shona shrugged. “We will talk about all of this.”

“We can go to my house. It’s close.”

Lorelei could have sworn Shona looked frightened for a moment when she said that, but the finfolk mentor quickly shielded her expression.

“First…my clothes?” Lorelei squeaked.

Instantly, she wore the bright whites King Cleophus had also chosen. “Er….something, anything else?”

Shona read her mind again, and the color shifted to a soft blue, matching the waves that buffeted them as they moved toward shore.

She and Shona were about the same height, about the same coloring. The finfolk smiled as Lorelei digested her looks, and Lorelei knew she’d read her mind…again.

Impossible to keep private thoughts from the finfolk. Mental note.

Shona smiled bigger, and Lorelei rolled her eyes and led the way up the beach, her clothes drying instantly. Shona was full of tricks. Lorelei followed the trail to her back door, the finwoman behind her.

Was this a smart idea? What if Shona meant her harm?

Lorelei hushed her runaway thoughts with an exasperated sigh. She didn’t have any option but to trust that the mentor King Cleophus had sent was here to teach, and not to cause trouble.

The house was empty. Dad would be at work. Lorelei suddenly missed Grandma Shaye, who had stayed with them before her birthday, when the selkie revelation came out. Grandma and Grandpa Shaye were full-blooded selkie. It had taken a threat against her grandmother’s life for Lorelei to accept she was finfolk.

While the initial acceptance was forced—Clay would have hurt Grandma Shaye, possibly killed her, if Lorelei hadn’t complied—Lorelei now wondered if any other decision had been possible. No matter what, she would have had some level of finfolk powers, just like her father. Learning to reconcile these three parts of herself, the selkie, finfolk and human, would have to happen at some time.

If, like her father, she hadn’t accepted her powers fully on her seventeenth birthday, she still would have had to learn how to handle the powers she did possess, which were considerable. Even her father could shift shapes, could exercise control of susceptible minds. She would have needed to come to grips with similar powers eventually.

And a secret part of Lorelei was excited to have the potential to join their kind in Finfolkaheem.

Her father could never go there. Everything he’d learned had been on his own terms, and he was not fit to live among the finfolk. She’d understood this since the night she accepted her powers and was instantly stronger than her father in them.

“Are you listening to my thoughts?” Lorelei asked, realizing she’d been thinking a lot.

“I think that’s my job. I’m supposed to help your transition, right?”

Lorelei rolled her eyes, but she grabbed the key from under the pseudo-rock hiding place, and opened the back door, letting Shona into her kitchen, and into her life.

 

 

“What is your first question?” Shona asked. Her hands were wrapped around the cup of tea Lorelei had brewed.

Lorelei hadn’t realized this first exchange would depend on her…and a million questions burst randomly into her mind. Too many questions. The first?

“Why doesn’t my dad have the same powers I do?”

“You already know the answer. He had no ceremony. The finfolk didn’t find him in time. Our tribe is ruled by men. They are far less likely to track down a male halfling. He is more a threat than a blessing.”

Lorelei absorbed that. It left a sour taste in her mouth. Why would they think her a blessing, just because she was a girl? She wasn’t sure she wanted the answer to that one. “Why does the ceremony matter so much? If it’s in the blood, then what is the difference if you have a ceremony or not?”

“There is a difference with some of our gifts, and not with the others. For instance, anyone with finfolk blood will have artistic gifts not often rivaled by humans. And even without a ceremony, those who try to develop their gifts in shape changing and illusion will have some success.”

“Yes, I’ve seen that with Dad.”

“Have you noticed a power your father does not share?”

Lorelei nodded. “The telepathy. He doesn’t hear any of you. And may I guess that you do not hear his thoughts, either?”

Shona grinned, her eyes glimmering. “Correct! The ceremony opened you to our telepathic link. Your father’s mind was never opened to it, and so he cannot participate.”

Yeah. Participate. That was one way to put it.

“So the ceremony opened my mind…do you all hear each other all the time?”

She chuckled with genuine amusement. “No. Any finfolk with a lick of practice will close off most of their thoughts to this intrusion. We only share what we wish to share, besides a general sense of each other’s presence when we are close by.”

“I’ll learn that, then? Because I could really use that. The fact that Clay is always out there listening to my thoughts does not help my peace of mind.”

“Yes, I will help you to learn.” Shona set the warm mug on the table, entwining her long fingers in front of her in a gesture Lorelei found oddly familiar and reassuring. “There is a reason that King Cleophus chose me to teach you.”

“What is that? Besides that you’re a woman and the men of your kind are entirely untrustworthy?”

She had to get in that jab. It felt good.

“I, too, was raised among humans. I made the choice to move from sand to sea, to join the finfolk.”

Lorelei stilled. She hadn’t expected that. “Where did you grow up?”

“California. I was raised near San Francisco.”

Weird. Lorelei found herself watching Shona more closely. She’d appeared at first entirely otherworldly, and that just showed what expectations did to your vision. Now Lorelei thought maybe she could see it. A similarity with her own position. A humanity the others hadn’t borne.

“Did you know what you were when you were a kid?”

“Not exactly. My father knew my mother was different, but it took him a long time to figure out what kind of a woman he’d been dealing with. She left when I was small, an infant, in fact.”

“That was the same for Dad. My mom was selkie; she at least stuck around until I was six.” A harsh joke that rang loud in the quiet of the kitchen as Shona said nothing, just watched her with large eyes blue as the sea on a clear day.

Why did Lorelei want to cry?

The door opened in the other room, and a shot of adrenaline burst into Lorelei’s veins. “Dad?”

“Yeah. Hey, I came back for my—” he broke off as he walked into the kitchen and caught sight of the guest seated at the breakfast table with his daughter.

He seemed to realize he was staring, and Lorelei knew he understood this person was another finfolk, and yet Lorelei had let her into the house…she caught all of that flash across his expression before he said, “Hello. I’m Peter Dorian. Lorelei’s father.” He spoke the words like a challenge.

“Hello, Peter. I am Shona. I was sent to teach Lorelei what she needs to know.”

A snarl twisted Dad’s expression into a look Lorelei had never seen on his face before. “They sent you to teach her? How about release her from the promise she made under duress?”

“Dad,” Lorelei said softly.

He looked away. “Well, can I join you, at least?”

Shona waved him over and he took a seat with them at the breakfast table. “Today, yes. You may join us. You need to hear what I have to tell Lorelei as much as she does. It affects you, too.”

He clenched his jaw. Dad had gotten seriously less good at keeping his cool over the last couple of weeks. Lorelei hurt for him. This was hard on her, but for her dad, who had always tried to protect her…the last two weeks had been miserable. She knew he felt he’d failed her, though he’d had no way to know what Prince Clay of the finfolk had planned.

“Shona was born among humans, too. It’s why they sent her,” Lorelei said, to break the silence that seemed to be hardening into ice between her father and Shona.

“It is one reason,” Shona confirmed. “I will tell you the other before wasting any more time, because I fear if I take any longer at least one of you will hate me forever.”

No one smiled at her attempted joke.

“What is it?” Lorelei asked, her voice sounding far off. She couldn’t take any more surprises.

But isn’t that the way life goes?

“My mother…” Shona locked eyes with Dad. “My mother…is your mother, Peter.”

Lorelei’s blood roared in her ears like ocean waves in a winter storm…your mother, your mother, your mother…

“You’re my aunt?” For the second time in a few minutes, Lorelei’s image of this woman seemed to refocus. This was her father’s sister. Her aunt. She thought she could see it now in the cheekbones, and the shape of her eyes, but that was probably just her mind playing tricks, trying to tie it all together.

Dad said nothing for several seconds, and Lorelei realized she’d been holding her breath.

“I don’t know what to say.”

“May I tell you what I know?” Shona asked.

He locked his fingers together in front of him in a classic Dad impatience gesture. And Lorelei realized why she’d found the same gesture familiar when Shona had done it a few minutes ago.

Holy shinoly. It was true.

“Yes,” Dad said finally. “I want to hear what you have to say. But it can’t possibly be…” He trailed off, and Lorelei didn’t remind him of what he already knew. He’d never known his mother. Anything was possible.

“I was born near San Francisco in 1980. My father has pictures of my mother, very pregnant with me. They had not planned a child, but when one occurred they settled in with one another and my father thought they planned to raise me together.”

Dad just watched her, and Lorelei couldn’t tear her eyes away. She flashed to the painting in the living room, painted by the same woman—maybe?—that Shona spoke of now. The shining golden castle of Finfolkaheem. The mermaids, with their flowing hair mixing with the seaweed.

“But when I came, she left.” A wry smile. A look that expressed what they all felt when they thought of their mothers. Left. Abandoned. Cast off for the wide blue open.

Her own mother was no different. Lorelei knew now that her mom lived with another selkie, in a half-land, half-water lifestyle that she didn’t choose to share with her only daughter.

Lorelei swallowed. She reached for Dad’s hand, and he gave it over, watching their fingers interlock. He seemed to draw strength from that. As he should. They were family. And no matter what, she’d never forget that Dad had stuck around for her. He’d made every sacrifice to make sure she had the life she deserved.

“How do you know she’s the same finfolk?”

“Because I met her, after I joined them.”

Dad made a strange noise. A strangled growl? “You met her?” He said it like he’d never really believed she existed.

Lorelei squeezed his hand.

“Yes. And she spoke of me as her second child. The second of three, in fact. I believe our younger sibling is about twenty now. I have no idea where she lives.” At this, Shona met Dad’s eyes and grimaced. “I know this is not welcome news for you…but I’m glad we have been given the opportunity to meet.”

Dad remained silent.

“Me, too,” Lorelei said. “I’m glad I know.”

Was she?

Who could tell?

Shona smiled at her, a slow sad smile that put a crack in Lorelei’s facade of calm.

Suddenly, she wished Dad wasn’t here, and she could talk to Shona on her own. This admission had brought up more questions. Issues she didn’t feel comfortable discussing with her dad in listening range.

Dad sat straighter. “There’s nothing that I can do to avoid you spending time with Lorelei. But I’m not one of you, and you are no sister of mine. Stay clear of me, do you understand?”

Shona blinked, just once, and then nodded her agreement. “I am here for Lorelei, as you say.”

Lorelei swallowed to clear her throat. Well, this had not gone swimmingly. Not at all.

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Crestfallen

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Castle and Crown (**Coming winter 2016**)

Crestfallen (Water Rites, #2): Chapter 1

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Chapter 1

 

“Prince Clay. Why am I not surprised to find you here?” Shona hauled herself from the waves onto the rocks where he sat.

He lifted his gaze slowly from the girl he’d been watching on the beach, pivoting to meet the finwoman. Shona was seated where the waves met the rocks. Mist rose from the water to mingle with the weather. A fine drizzle had been falling off and on through the night, but the clouds had thinned as dawn neared. He watched as Shona’s silver and green fin split and morphed into legs in the space of a few heartbeats.

He’d thought he was alone on this rocky outcropping in the San Juan Islands. He came here every day to see if he could catch Lorelei on the beach near her home. Today he’d dared to come close, grateful for the dim light of predawn, but still shielding himself against her view with finfolk magic.

He had not expected Shona’s intrusion today, but he had known she would come eventually. “I expected them to send you sooner. It has been weeks.”

She rose and stood next to him. “If I find you have bothered the girl—”

“You needn’t worry,” he snarled. “I would not disobey a direct order from the king.”

“On pain of death.”

“I know it. Do you presume to remind me of my honor, Shona the Shameless?” He said it to get a rise out of her; the king would not be pleased.

“If you refer to me by that name again I will do my all to turn Lorelei against your proposal.”

He ground his teeth together, knowing further harsh words wouldn’t help him with Shona. King Cleophus had sent her to do a job, and that gave her a feeling of worth beyond her station. Not that he needed her help with Lorelei. He just needed time. When she realized all that being a finfolk meant, she was sure to choose their people, sure to choose him.

Fighting Shona would win him nothing. He swallowed his annoyance at being caught watching his future bride, and changed tack.

“Have you met her yet?” His eyes drifted back to Lorelei, across the small expanse of water. The sky was growing lighter, and he could see her face now, her fine features turned toward him with an openness that made his heart beat against his ribs. His love was looking their direction, watching the moon floating low behind him. He knew it was full without even looking at its round and glowing face, for he could feel its promise as all finfolk could. Could she feel him here, watching her as she watched the moon?

“For now I am observing. I will make contact today.”

“Does it bother you? Meeting them this way?”

Shona was still. He asked only to unsettle her and didn’t expect an answer. They were not close and such a personal question was not appropriate, especially given his current exile, and her assignment. The truth was, Shona unsettled him, to a degree. He could not read her as well as many of their kind; likely because she was raised among humans, like Lorelei. It was the reason King Cleophus had chosen Shona for Lorelei’s mentor.

Clay had no power over the choice, but he approved. If anyone could convince Lorelei that she belonged among the finfolk, it was one who had chosen their way of life.

“No,” Shona answered, finally, her eyes on Lorelei. “It does not bother me. It is time I met my family.”

 

 

A soft glow illuminated the sky around the full moon; February mists at their finest.

Fine droplets clung to Lorelei’s hair and coat, but she didn’t move from where she stood on the beach near her home in Anacortes, Washington.

That full moon riding low over the cresting waves held her spellbound. The water below glowed with the moonlight, shimmering with untold secrets. She’d risen from bed drawn by the power of that moon, by the power of the sea and all it held in its wild depths.

She was early, and so she waited.

Did she really want to do this?

It had to happen sometime. She knew that.

She held one hand in front of her and pictured her father—called his image into being. And her hand changed. It was his hand. She knew if she looked in a mirror, she’d see his face, not her face.

A rock clicked as someone walked toward her, and Lorelei hurriedly changed back.

She’d been amusing herself with small shifts like this for days, ever since the fear wore off and the anger began to simmer like hot coals under everything she tried to do.

She turned, showing her own face again, to greet Vardon.

Her heart thumped against her ribs. That had been too close. She didn’t know how she’d explain her experiments with shapeshifting to Vardon. She didn’t want to have to.

He waved at her, the same Vardon he’d been two weeks ago.

Envy seethed, feeding the coals with whispers of how things could have been.

He carried his sealskin. Hers was in the depths of the ocean, with the people who had claimed her and forced her to accept them. She was supposed to be a selkie, but she couldn’t be now.

“Hey,” he said when he was finally close enough to touch. He smiled, but his eyes were serious. “Thanks for meeting me. How are you?”

Lorelei shrugged. There was no way she could honestly answer that question. “Your mother let you come?”

It was a mean thing to say; implying he was a child who had to ask permission. But her supposed boyfriend hadn’t talked to her for nearly two weeks. What was she supposed to think?

“She doesn’t know.” He moved closer, like he would embrace her, and Lorelei turned from him to avoid the contact.

“She isn’t going to let us see each other, Vardon.”

“Does it even matter?” he asked, his voice soft, but cold. “Everything changed, didn’t it? Two weeks ago you had to make a decision. You made the choice you had to make, and it screwed absolutely everything up.”

“Especially us. I’m just…Vardon, I’m just angry all the time. I don’t know what to do. I have about ten weeks to figure it out before the finfolk decide whether I’m even worthy of them. Until then, they have my sealskin and I’m adrift between freaking species.”

He laughed harshly. “That’s one way to put it.” He reached out a hand tentatively and Lorelei steeled herself to accept his touch.

Why did this have to happen right after they got close? Why did she have to be punished for her existence? She wasn’t a threat to anyone, and yet both the selkies and the finfolk were ready to make her an enemy. She just wanted her life back.

Except that wasn’t one hundred percent true. She couldn’t go back, and she knew it. Not after that swim when she’d first taken her finfolk form. Not after feeling the fluid slide between shapes, the allure of the depths…nothing would ever be the same, and life here on land didn’t satisfy anymore.

Where did that leave her?

Stranded.

Vardon’s hand was heavy on her arm, and she stepped closer to him. She remembered her racing heart, the catch in her breath, when she’d thought of Vardon before.

“Why did you wait two weeks?”

“Why didn’t you call me?”

They both watched each other, and then Vardon cracked a grin. Lorelei followed suit, humor feeling awkward for the first time she could remember.

“I could probably do with more human contact,” she said, trying to keep it light.

“Or…maybe you could do with a swim.”

“Is that why you called?” Adrenaline shot into her veins. She knew it was a stupid decision, but she wouldn’t turn him down. “You know I don’t have my sealskin.”

His eyes darkened under a scowl. “Of course I know. I was there when it was stolen,” he growled.

She turned into him, finally welcoming the hug he’d been offering with body language throughout their exchange. He wrapped his arms around her, and her cheek rested against the hollow of his throat. His skin felt cool against hers, where she remembered it being so warm.

“Lorelei. I missed you.”

An ache in her throat made speaking too difficult. She just nodded against his chest. As much as it hurt to be near him now that everything was different for them, she’d missed him, too.

“Do you want to try a swim?”

She pulled back so she could see his face. “What exactly are you suggesting? You want to see me as an evil mermaid?” She tried to laugh, but she saw the hurt in his eyes.

“I like that nickname a lot less now.”

“It isn’t flattering, is it?”

He finally chuckled, which was the reaction she was after, and she smiled back at him. “I know you don’t have your sealskin, but what if you used your finfolk power to change into your seal shape? Have you thought about that?”

She tilted her head to one side. No. She hadn’t thought of that. “Uh…the idea gives me an unsettled feeling that I probably shouldn’t ignore. But I think I want to ignore it.” Her smile turned into an all-out grin. Yes, it sounded creepy, but it also sounded like fun. She could use a distraction.

“So you want to give it a shot?”

“Yeah, let’s try it. Don’t freak out on me when I smell like finfolk, though.”

“I’ll try to keep my head, fins.”

“Fins? Don’t call me that, flippers.”

“Ugh. Agreed. No sea-related nicknames. Flippers? That’s terrible. I might have to call Mom that one of these days.”

“Stealing my idea?”

“You have great ideas.”

“Are we giving this a try, or what?”

“Let me change. You want to look out there or something?”

Lorelei obliged, turning so that he could strip and tie on his sealskin. She tried to find the moon, but it had slipped behind clouds so she could only make out a bit of its glow.

“Ready?” Vardon asked.

“Um…sort of?”

“You sound like you did that first time we swam together.”

“It feels like a first again.” Lorelei squinted out at the waves, her own feelings more of an untamable wilderness than the ocean would ever seem again. “And we just had all of those firsts. I’m waiting for things to settle and feel normal, but they never seem to get around to that.”

“Well, I’m ready, so let’s do this.”

He grabbed her hand and made for where the water met rocks and sand.

Could she remember how to do this? She’d only made a full shift with King Cleophus, and then into her finfolk form. She’d been playing with small shifts, but she was far from certain that she could shift into her seal form.

Vardon’s face began to morph before they were thigh-deep in the waves, and he dropped her hand and hurried into the water to complete the shift.

She followed, the water soothing her worries. No matter what happened, this was bound to be fun.

Chest deep, she pictured her seal form. She started with a visualization of the knots tying her skin…it felt odd now, somehow wrong, to be so divorced from one’s shape that an implement like a pelt is needed…but today she didn’t let that bother her. She recalled the shift, the feel of her seal shape, and that’s where she landed within a few seconds.

Yes! Success!

She dove, her whiskers picking up the vibrations of a boat offshore, and a whale pod not too far off. The wilds and the humans, meeting again. Humans were everywhere, their touch even affecting the deepest and darkest places on the planet’s surface.

Vardon swept past her, smacking her shoulder with one flipper as he passed. He gave a short bark that carried, muffled, through the water.

It didn’t feel the same. Oh, how she wished that it did now that she remembered!

Would this day leave her missing her sealskin more than ever?

Vardon circled and returned, passing her again and heading into deeper waters.

Lorelei shoved her snout above water for a great gulp of air, and followed him under. The sun had risen, but it wasn’t yet high enough to touch the underwater world that was theirs alone.

She could smell any number of small creatures to eat…and her belly rumbled because she hadn’t bothered with breakfast before she left the house. But she hadn’t yet graduated to harvesting crustaceans. She’d never tried it.

Another smell haunted her.

Finfolk.

There was the ever-present Clay, who never seemed to leave the ocean near her home, now that he was exiled for all he’d done – forcing Lorelei to complete the ritual that would welcome her finfolk powers. He’d wanted to make her his bride, apparently. Which was just strange. They’d never even had a real conversation, though he’d been stalking Lorelei for weeks—maybe months—before her birthday, when he’d forced her into the ritual that would change everything.

What could he possibly know about her that made him want to be her husband?

What did it even mean to be a finwife, as King Cleophus had put it two weeks ago, when he’d proclaimed that she had three months to prove herself finfolk and gain access to the golden undersea kingdom of Finfolkaheem?

But Clay’s scent was not the only one. Another finfolk was nearby. From this one she sensed frustration, impatience. And it was directed at her.

King Cleophus had said he’d send someone to teach her the finfolk ropes…could this be the one?

If so, it appeared Lorelei had already managed to frustrate. And there was so much she needed to learn.

 

 

This Lorelei was not the same one who swam with him before. In his seal form, Vardon knew it. She smelled different; she’d come into her finfolk powers. It left him with a feeling of disquiet in his gut that he couldn’t get rid of no matter how hard he swam.

Did it have to change everything?

His nose said yes. He couldn’t ignore the scent of finfolk, both Lorelei and the others that roamed the bays and inlets near Fidalgo Island now that Lorelei had come of age.

He wished one of them were that King Cleophus, who had flung him out to sea on Lorelei’s birthday like he was a flea being flung off the back of a dog. It had taken so little effort it was frightening. Or the one who’d pounded his face in when he’d been trying to find Lorelei, and then forced him to the beach for the confrontation. Both of those had some control over the stalker, Clay, who had changed everything with his intrusion.

There was no competing with the finfolk. Vardon understood that better now that he’d faced them himself. They were just too strong. Selkies could shift shapes and heal quickly, but they weren’t sorcerers.

His parents had never questioned the animosity between selkie and finfolk, but because of Lorelei, he had.

The local selkies were still coming to terms with the finfolk so close to them. And it was Lorelei who brought them to the area, so her name bore the brunt of the scorn.

That was unfair. Lorelei hadn’t caused the situation, but at this point what was she thinking? Did she already know it was fruitless to pretend? She sure wasn’t saying much.

He’d hoped this swim would bring them closer again, but Lorelei was distracted, and so was he.

In deep water, flying through the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Lorelei came to a sudden halt, stirring the water with her flippers as she hovered, uncertain, highlighted by the refracted light now making its way beneath the surface.

He circled round and nudged her, and she whirled and fled for home.

He stayed right at her flank, not knowing what drove her away from the strait, but not willing to leave her side. She swam near the surface, but not too near; she knew enough to be wary of boats.

He forgot how new she was at sea-life…she made it easy to forget; she was such a natural in the water. She’d barely had two weeks of knowing she was a selkie before the finfolk took that away and called her one of theirs.

As they neared the beach, he realized one of the finfolk was very close. Terror thrummed through him, and he quelled the natural instinct and focused on reclaiming his human shape.

He and Lorelei shifted simultaneously, but as he strode up the beach, he realized she wasn’t by his side. He looked back and saw her swimming offshore.

She grinned sheepishly. “We didn’t think this through. I lost my clothes in the shift. Pretty idiotic, right?”

“What, they just melted?”

“I don’t know where they went when I shifted! What do I know about this? That was one of my favorite shirts, too.” The smile died. It had never reached her eyes anyway. “Vardon…I need to stay. I think my finfolk mentor is here. She called me mind-to-mind…”

He shivered. Their mind powers were creepy beyond belief.

Hiding his disappointment, he quipped, “Hope she can show you how to dress again.”

She rolled her eyes, and he felt an arrow straight to the heart.

His girl. She was so his girl.

“Call me tonight, okay?” she asked.

“Yeah. I will. Um…have fun?”

“I’m sure it’s going to be…interesting. I don’t know about fun.”

And with that, Vardon left for school, leaving Lorelei alone on the beach. No part of him wanted to, but no part of him wanted to meet a finfolk again in person, either. Especially as the one thing standing between Lorelei and all that she was supposed to learn.

The finfolk had stolen her. And he was powerless to stop it.

Find the Water Rites series at your favorite retailer.

Read descriptions and link to the first three chapters here.

Water Rites 

Amazon

Nook

iBooks

Kobo

Crestfallen

Amazon

Nook

iBooks

Kobo

Castle and Crown (**Coming winter 2016**)