“We’re not completely sure what kind of creature our renegade is,” Gregori said, looking thoughtful. “He has only appeared to people in his Human-seeming form. But everyone we’ve talked to paints the same picture: tall, dark hair, gray eyes, very handsome, very charming and charismatic, speaks with an Irish accent, acts like he owns the world. And by all accounts, he is very bitter about what Humans have done to the sea, so we’re assuming he is some kind of ocean being.”
Beka closed her eyes, shaken to her core. She knew someone who matched that portrayal exactly, right down to the attitude. But it couldn’t be—could it? She couldn’t have been that wrong about him. Besides, that description could apply to plenty of people—almost all the Selkies had black hair, gray eyes, and a dislike for the Humans who had despoiled their oceans.
Chewie gave a great roar and sprang to his feet, causing the table to rock back and forth until Gregori caught it in a steadying hand. “Aha!” the dragon said, looking around as if for someone to bite. A very particular someone. He gave Beka an accusing glare. “I told you I didn’t like him. Didn’t I? I told you there was something off about that damned Selkie.”
Alexei and Gregori exchanged puzzled glances, turning to Beka with identical expressions of confusion written on their very different faces.
“Wait,” Alexei said, scratching his beard and producing a rain of crumbs. “You know this person?”
“Maybe,” Beka said with reluctance. “If it is the same man. It might not be.”
Chewie grumbled low in his throat. “What are the odds of two handsome, arrogant, black-haired, black-hearted scoundrels showing up at the same time? Face it, Beka, you’ve been tricked. He has probably been hanging around you to keep an eye on what you’re doing and make sure you don’t interfere with his plans.”
Beka shook her head. “No. I don’t believe it. Kesh cares about his people, and he cares about me.”
“That wouldn’t necessarily stop him from trying to cause trouble for Humans, Beka,” Gregori pointed out gently. “So, I take it you know someone who might be our renegade?”
She pressed her lips together, as if talking about it might somehow make it true. But just because she liked someone didn’t mean they couldn’t be guilty of bad decisions, bad behavior, or worse. Brenna had always warned her that she was a terrible judge of people. Of course, Brenna thought she was terrible at pretty much everything.
“His name is Kesh,” Chewie informed the Riders flatly. “He’s a Selkie prince, and he’s been wooing our Beka for weeks. Leaving her stinky flowers, inviting her to romantic picnics on the beach. Showing up here, there, and everywhere. I never liked him.”
“You not liking someone isn’t exactly proof of wrongdoing,” Beka pointed out. “You didn’t like me when Brenna first brought me home, as I recall.”
Chewie settled down, pillowing his head on her foot after giving it a consoling lick. “You smelled bad,” he muttered. “And you kept crying on me and getting my fur all wet. But you grew on me.”
“See,” she said. “You might like Kesh if you got to know him better. The couple of times he’s been here, you barely spoke to him.”
“He was too damned charming. I don’t trust charming people; they’re always up to no good.”
“Well, that’s not proof of anything,” Beka said stoutly. “And neither is a vague description that could be any of a dozen people I’ve met since I moved here. I asked Kesh if he was involved and he swore he wasn’t. I’m not going to believe that he has anything to do with this until I’ve seen it with my own eyes.”
“Fine,” Gregori said, his tone mild. “Then come with us tonight when we go to this dock we were told of. If our renegade shows up, you can tell us once and for all if it is this Kesh or not. And either way, we will have him, and you can present him to the Queen.”
“Alive or dead, your choice,” Alexei added generously.
“Fine,” Beka agreed. “But how do you know that your informant didn’t just go running off to warn the man he spoke to you about as soon as you left?”
Alexei gazed innocently at the ceiling. “We might possibly have found a deep hole to drop him in. You know, temporarily. Just until we took care of this business.”
At Beka’s startled look, Gregori added, “Don’t worry, Beka. We’ll go back and fetch him out later.”
“If we don’t get busy and forget,” Alexei said with a laugh. “He really was a very nasty creature.”