Your betrothed. 

The words echo like thunder in my ears and I am unable to hear anything for a few seconds. When I finally snap out of my stupor, Galvyn is speaking again, a pleased smile on his face. 

"Well then," he says with a wink at Quinn, "we ought to get going. Tribe business to talk about before the dance. Ronan, make sure to greet Aina properly." He gives his son a stern finger wag before he and Quinn walk away, their heads bowed towards one another as they discuss whatever there is to discuss.

Aina is looking at Ronan, a shy smile on her face and a tint of pink over her cheeks. All her life, Aina has been particularly shy when it comes to strangers. I've always helped her break the ice and she looks to me now, silently pleading for my intervention.

"Oh. Yes. Ronan." I want to slap my hand over my face. What kind of idiot am I? This is no way to start off a conversation. "This is Aina. She's my best friend." I give him what I hope passes for a bright smile, but I know I'm showing too many teeth. 

"Hello Aina." Ronan keeps looking at me, even though he is talking to Aina. "My name's Ronan. Did you come to dance tonight? Or did your father drag you up to the beach?"

Aina gives a nervous little laugh. It sounds weak, even to my ears. "I love to dance, especially on the land. What about you? Are you here to dance too?" Her voice is almost painfully shy and it hurts me to listen to. It must be taking all of Aina's courage to keep talking. 

Ronan nods, his eyes still on me. I feel his unasked questions floating in the air around us, weighing it down with tension. I clear my throat. "I should leave you two to dance. The moon will be up soon." 

Before either of them can stop me, I turn and walk off. My hair lifts in the strong breeze before it slaps wetly onto my upper thighs and all down my back. It feels strange to be above ground and to be so heavy. 

In the water, every movement is freedom. The only thing that holds you down is yourself.

I lift my head to the sky and close my eyes, offering up a prayer to our beloved Selene. Please come out and sing for me, pale one. I want to dance and forget. 

Selene is on my side tonight. She rises obediently and sings a song so powerful that my body moves without command. The fire is lit on the beach and the others are gathering to dance, but tonight I stray away from their warmth and happiness.

Tonight I dance for myself. To forget what being in Ronan's arms felt like.

Beneath my feet, the sand glitters as it did the night before, only now it looks like tear drops. I wonder why?

As I move in the night, the wind dries my hair and the sand clings to my legs. When Selene has disappeared, I look around and realize I am out of sight of the others. I must have danced to the far side of the island. 

My legs are trembling, so I fold in on myself, settling into the sand to watch the beautiful waves lap gently against the shore. As time passes, the sun grows bright and the tears on my face dry, but still I remain sitting. 

Until an unfamiliar voice calls out to me. 

"What are you doing all the way out here?"

I turn to look over my shoulder, certain that it must be someone from the other tribes on their way to fetch their skin from it's hiding place. "I'm just rest...ing..."

Behind me is a young man who looks to be around fifty, like me. His wind-swept hair is a vibrant brown and his sea green eyes are focused curiously on me. Unlike the rest of us, though, this man is wearing clothing over his body and legs. 

Worse, he's wearing foot-traps. Which means he must not be a Selkie.

"Resting? Butt naked on the beach by yourself?" His voice has the light tone of amusement, but the way he casts his eyes around quickly before looking at me again tells me that he is really worried. Worried I might be some kind of trap, or maybe that I'm dangerous.

It's the same way I look at a particularly tasty  octopus and weigh the dangers of tentacles against how hungry I am.

Time seems to slow down as my heart kicks into overtime. A human on the beach? This is an island, so he must have gotten here somehow since he couldn't live here. His clothes aren't wet, so he didn't swim. A ship must have brought him and that means... 

More humans!

The tribes don't know about it. If they did, they never would have come here for the dance. I look around, but don't spot anyone else, human or otherwise. If I make a run for the other side of the island, the Selkies who haven't fetched their skin yet will be in danger.

But if I stay here, who knows what will happen to me?

The man takes a step forward, and then I spot the bucket in his hands. I've seen them before, from a distance. He must be on shore fetching something the ship needs. I bolt upright, making my decision as I stand.

"Hey!" He calls out, startled.

"Nice to meet you!" I yell back instinctively as I run straight out into the water and begin to swim. Ugh. My ma would be happy to hear her lessons on manners have stuck with me even in life and death situations. 

I dive into the deeper water and begin to swim downwards, but my legs are awkward and untrained. I've never swam with them before. Worse, my lung begins to burn. I don't have my gills either. 

Despite my best efforts, the water won't accept me in my human form. The edges of my vision start to go black as I try to reverse direction and head up. I've almost made it, my arm reaching out for the surface of the water.

All of my air is gone. I'm too late.

As I begin to sink into the depths, all I can think is that this is one hell of a way to forget a boy.

His stormy gray eyes are the last thing I see before the darkness overcomes me.