The Selkie Sorceress (Seal Island Trilogy, Book 3) Read Free

she moved the book to leave you a clue so you would look for her,” Tara suggested as Dominic settled into the chair beside her. “Maybe she wanted you to find the story, but in a strange way that would raise your suspicions.”
    Caitlin frowned. “That’s pretty far-fetched.”
    Liam nodded. “I agree with Cait. How could she have known I’d be a professor, that my line of work would take me on a path of uncovering ancient fairy tales?”
    “She couldn’t,” Sam said. “And we won’t know anything until that librarian gets back.” He stood, rubbing a hand over his eyes. He needed a shower, and about thirty-six hours of sleep. “If you think of anything else, tell me tonight. I’m heading back to Dublin first thing in the morning.”
     

     
    TARA SQUEEZED DOMINIC’S hand and rose, following Sam outside. The sun sparkled over the ocean and the ebbing tide lapped at the shoreline, but it was strange not to see the waves breaking against the cliffs and the seagulls diving in and out of the jagged crevasses. And it was even stranger not to be wearing a sweater in January.
    “Sam, wait,” she called after him as he strode across the road, shouldering his satchel. “Don’t you want to stay for lunch? You can’t possibly have anything in your fridge at home.”
    “I’ll pick up something at the market.” He nodded to Sarah Dooley’s shop on the other side of the street.
    Tara trailed after him. “I’m worried about you,” she said, when he stopped and turned to face her. She took in the thin lines at the corners of his mouth, the puffy rims around his eyes and the stress marks etched between them. “I don’t like how this case is affecting your health.”
    “I’m fine, Tara.”
    “You said you were done,” she said gently. “That you didn’t want to do anymore investigations. It was wrong of me to ask you to do this.” She shielded her eyes from the sun as she looked up at him. “We can hire someone else—”
    “No.” He cut her off, more sharply than he intended. Dragging a hand through his hair, he gazed out at the ocean. “Things aren’t clicking like they used to, Tara. I’m not finding the clues I need to get the job done. It’s harder this time, like something’s stopping me from what I need to do.”
    Tara frowned when Sam continued to scan the horizon, almost like he was looking for an answer in the sea.
    “I’ll find her,” he said. “Besides, it’s the least I can do.”
    “Sam—”
    “No. I mean it, Tara.” He looked back down at her. “I owe you, and I won’t let you down.”
    “We’ve forgotten it.” Tara waved him off. “It’s over.”
    “Has Dominic forgotten it?”
    “He will,” Tara said stubbornly. But she stole a glance back at the pub and sighed. “This investigation is hard on him. He’s still not completely sold on the idea.”
    “How could he be?” Sam rolled his shoulders, relieving some of the tension. “Brigid left him with a father who beat him for years until he and Liam escaped. I wouldn’t have warm feelings toward the woman either.”
    Snatches of Dominic and Liam’s conversation drifted into the street. Sam lowered his voice. “You know when you came to me in November, after Nuala and Owen arrived? You said you didn’t know what was going on, but you felt something was off?”
    Tara nodded.
    “I’ve got that feeling now.”
    “So do I.”
    An alley cat tiptoed across the street, winding itself around Sam’s ankle. Tara pulled something out of her pocket and held it out to him.
    Sam took the small glass vial wrapped in blue and silver ribbon. “What’s this?”
    “I’ve been working with herbs lately,” Tara explained. “Trying different combinations to see what works and what doesn’t work. This one has sage, bergamot, rose petals, and oil. It’s supposed to have protective powers in it.”
    Sam tested the weight of the tiny vial in his hand. “Do you think I need protecting?”
    “I don’t know. Those are the