It was one of the hottest days of the summer, which followed an already hot month. Heather in the marshes was dry and crispy, and the peat itself crumbled when one touched its surface. In other words, it was the ideal weather for cutting slabs of peat and letting them sun-dry, making some fuel for yet another long winter at the edge of the Swamps of Borban. Which was exactly what Leida was doing for the entire morning. Now she was on her way home, happy to get lunch and take some rest from the sizzling heat and tiny mosquitoes that knew no rest. 

She was about half a mile from the edge of the marshes when she suddenly started to feel nervous. There was no obvious reason for it. Nothing changed. The sun was still up and shining. Mosquitoes were still biting her every time she stopped to take a breather, yet there was something ominous in the air. Something heavy. And as any human living around the swamps, Leida knew that irrational fear was her best friend. There were plenty of terrible creatures living around the area. Kelpies. Kappas. Will-o'-the-wisps. And worse. And even though they usually appeared at night, plenty of them didn’t actually mind the sun. And they had magic. Terrible magic that appeared in almost every story the old folk told their children and grandchildren to warn them from evil. And while evil came in many forms, the stories always had one thing in common: when one didn’t heed the warning of fear? One was as good as dead. And so Leida ran. She ran as fast as she could, not minding the heat or the bogs and the fallen trees in her way. She ran and ran and ran, relying on the only magic the humans had – fear. Irrational fear pushed her and carried her into the safety of her home like some invisible hand. 

But when the sun abruptly disappeared, the marshes behind Leida lit up with fire, and terrible roars and screams filled the air; that fear suddenly started to seem entirely rational.

*

The marshes were burning for three days straight, and the amount of smoke and ashes in the air made it difficult to breathe or do anything physically demanding. Only the high number of bogs and creeks in the area stopped the fire from spreading further, and the people of Astoren kept watch through every night to make sure the wind didn’t carry the fire towards their little town. Nobody knew what had started the fire, and while some children swore they had seen dragons in the sky, the adults didn’t believe them. The closest dragons lived in Alanthys, and to the people of Astoren, that was so far it might as well have been on a different planet. But no matter the reason, the great fire happened. Nobody could deny that. And its results were terrifying. 

It wasn’t until the end of the third day that the young men of Astaron braved the marshes and went to examine the damage, and they returned pale and vomiting, bringing news of burnt bodies of kelpies and other magical creatures scattered around the marshes. After that, nobody was too eager to leave Astoren again. Not for a long while.

*

Unfortunately for Leida, there was no market in front of her door, so the dawn of the fourth day caught her on the path to Astoren. She was walking fast, and while she wasn’t panicking yet, her heart was beating frantically and her eyes were ticking from one side of the path to the other. The ash was still heavy in the air, the sky was red, and the warm southern wind was only worsening the already insufferable heat. There was a storm coming. Leida sensed it in how heavy the air felt. But maybe a storm was a blessing. It would wash away the ashes and fill the dried-out bogs. Maybe hide some of the bodies she had heard about…

She saw the flies first. There was a cloud of them right above a low bush. Then something blinked in the centre of the swarm. A light. Or a spark. A small flame? And all the flies suddenly took off, and the bush shook. Leida yelped and jumped towards the opposite side of the path, raising her basket like a weapon, ready to hit whatever would charge at her. But nothing did. The forest remained silent, and the flies returned to their previous spot. Yet Leida now knew there was something in the bush. And leaving it in her back unchecked was almost as bad as walking towards it. 

“Hello?” she tried. 

Nothing. The only reply was the relentless buzzing of flies and the suffocating heat forcing beads of sweat on Leida’s forehead. She wasn’t far from her home. Barely a quarter of a mile. Maybe if she turned and ran… Then a light blinked inside the bush again, and she heard a quiet sound. A very human sound at that. A pained moan. 

“Is anybody there?” Leida tried again and mustered the courage to cross the path towards the mysterious bush. 

And then she saw him. He wasn’t actually lying inside the bush but behind it, among ripe blueberries and cranberries, and from the distance, he looked like a mound of peat himself. His hair was full of ash, and his face and clothes were scorched and barely recognisable for what they once were. Leida could barely tell that he was a man, but his age or standing were a mystery. His clothes were little more than baked rags, and his boots had no soles; the leather was falling apart from the heat it withstood. Yet the man was clearly alive as he let out another moan and opened his eyes. And his eyes… His eyes…

Leida took a step back and let out a frightened yelp. 

For his eyes were red. 

*

The kelpie woke up gasping for air and coughing, but what came into his lungs wasn’t a relief. Every breath hurt, and the air was damp and heavy. He could feel his magic healing him, but it was struggling because the injuries he had suffered were too severe. Another coughing fit made him yelp in pain as the burns rubbed against the remains of his clothes and some… improvised bandages? The man looked around and realised he was inside a human barn, lying on a blanket on the ground among heaps of hay and… with a chain around his ankle binding him to a nearby beam. And then his sensitive hearing picked up the voices. They were coming from the outside, quiet and barely audible because the people were whispering. However, they sounded dangerously agitated, and the kelpie stopped moving in order to listen. 

“—won’t be enough,” a male voice hissed. 

“He is injured,” a female voice objected. “Barely alive.”

“And when he heals?”

“Then he will leave.”

“And slaughter us all?” a second female voice resounded in a frightened alto. 

“Well, we are not killing him, so what do you want me to do, mum?” the first female voice replied again. “You don’t have to take care of him. I will.”

“That’s exactly what their magic-”

“He is barely alive!”

“Just… Be careful,” the male voice ended the discussion with an audible sigh, “and scream if you need help.”

The kelpie lay down again and stared at a rafter above him. He knew he should be grateful for these people’s help and for the lack of murderous intentions on their side, but something inside him screamed that it didn’t matter at all. Everybody else was dead, so why shouldn’t he?

*

Leida pushed the heavy barn door open with her elbow, stuck her foot in, and squeezed through, losing only a few drops of water from the bucket she was carrying. In the other hand, she held a mug, a clean rag, and a bowl with soup, and she had to stop by the door for a moment to let her eyes adjust so that she wouldn’t trip over something and drop it all. But a moment later, she still hadn’t moved, although by then it wasn’t a matter of dim light. No. It was the kelpie. He was awake. And although she had heard him coughing, she still somehow thought… well… those red eyes staring at the ceiling with a completely blank expression weren’t something she was prepared for. 

“Hello?” she tried. “I am Leida.”

But the man didn’t move. In fact, he didn’t show any sign of acknowledging Leida’s presence. The strange thing was that he seemed really young. When Leida washed his face earlier, and the mud and ashes finally came off, what she saw was the face of a boy barely older than her. Yet now, when his eyes were open, he seemed a lot older. And a lot more dangerous.

“I’ve brought you some food. And water,” she tried again. 

The kelpie didn’t say anything, but he moved his leg, and the chain rattled in the still air. 

“My father did that,” Leida admitted, her gaze turning towards the chain, “and I suggest you don’t try to take it off. I know you probably can, but you shouldn’t. Because then, my parents would be a lot more scared of you. And they are already scared of you.”

The red eyes finally stopped hypnotising the ceiling, and his head turned towards Leida with an inquisitive gaze that made her want to fall through the floor. The kelpie was unlike any other man she had ever met. And it wasn’t just that he was handsome, which, despite the burnt and tangled hair and dirty face, he was, but mostly it was his eyes. They were looking at Leida with sharpness and intelligence she had learnt not to expect from people. And she feared to learn what he saw. 

Leida had never considered herself pretty. She worked the whole day, feeding animals, caring for plants, and picking whatever the forest offered, and her body had long adjusted to that. She wasn’t lean, and if she should name any traits she actually liked about herself, it would be her strength and her long brown hair, currently hanging in two thick braids over her shoulders. In comparison to the kelpie, she felt a bit like a monkey tending to a panther. Yet… his eyes showed no judgement. In fact, they showed nothing at all. After a short while, the man simply averted his gaze and continued hypnotising the rafter. 

“Alright,” Leida bit her lips, trying not to feel too disappointed by the lack of reaction. “I thought you might want to wash up, but it can wait. I will just leave the water here for you.”

She dared to step closer and set her heavy load down next to the improvised bed. 

“And when you want to eat, there’s chicken soup in the bowl.”

She wasn’t sure what the kelpies ate. Of course, she had heard all the stories about them hunting humans for meat. Or sex. Or meat and sex… To be completely honest with herself, she had to admit she understood those stories a lot better now. Both the fear and the appeal of running away with a man like him. Dangerous. Handsome. With smart eyes… She quickly bit her lips again and stood up. 

“I am not sure if you eat such things, but the soup is good. My mum made it. And I will have to change the bandages eventually. And bring you some new clothes, and…”

At that point, Leida was talking just for the sake of talking. She had no idea what to tell the man or whether he even understood her. But then his lips suddenly moved, and out came a raspy, deep voice that sent a shiver down Leida’s spine.

“You are not scared?”

Leida stared at the man for a good while before she managed to find her voice. It was so unexpected, hearing him speak. So…

“I am,” she admitted, “but I want to help you.”

She wanted him to reply. To say something. Anything. But he just turned his head away and closed his eyes. Stupid. She was stupid. She shouldn’t have admitted that. Maybe he… But it was too late now.

“I will come back later,” she muttered and quickly retreated from the barn. 

Only once she was outside did she realise that her cheeks were burning. And it wasn’t from the heat.

*

The human girl didn’t come back the next day. Instead, it was her father who appeared with food and clean clothes, and he reeked of fear so strong that the kelpie chose to pretend he was sleeping to avoid scaring the man further. At noon, the storm hit, and the barn was shaking with each mighty thunder. But it was warm and dry inside, and the kelpie curled into a ball and slept through it into the night. The healing magic was making him weak, and he had no reason to fight it. He liked sleeping. It was the only time in which he got any respite from his own thoughts. Sadly, the awakenings were all the worse for that.

*

On the morning of the third day, Leida stepped into the barn with a new bucket of clean water and set it next to the kelpie’s feet. 

“They are looking for you,” she announced.

That did get her a reaction. Not a verbal one, as she had hoped, but at least the man turned his head to look at her. 

“I went to the town yesterday, and people were saying that the king’s men were scouring the marshes, looking for bodies and survivors. I could tell them—”

A flash of teeth and the expression of pure hatred forced her to take a step back. 

“Or… not,” she said carefully, raising her hands in defence. “I thought—”

“Then don’t think,” the man snarled, the hatred firmly embedded in his eyes and tone.

But Leida didn’t let that frighten her.

“I thought,” she continued, “that they might help you. But if not, then not. I won’t tell them.”

She took a small pause before asking the question that had been bothering her for six days now. 

“What happened there? In the swamps?”

The man shook his head and turned away, but this time Leida didn’t allow it to deter her. 

“You don’t want to tell me. That’s fine. But you should tell me something. If I don’t know anything about you, how can I help you?”

Silence. 

Leida scratched her temple and looked around. The plates from yesterday were empty, but the clothes lay aside, untouched. 

“Maybe you would like to wash your face? And change your clothes? I can see your wounds are healing, but it can’t be very comfortable like this.”

No reply.

“They are healing so fast too; is it magic—”

“If I change my clothes, will you stop talking? And leave me alone?”

Leida twitched from the sudden hostility. 

“Yes,” she mumbled, her cheeks gaining a dark shade of red, “I am sorry. I didn’t want to. I…”

She suddenly didn’t know what to say or where to look, so she pulled at her braid and nearly stumbled from how fast she backed off from the kelpie’s bed. 

“I am sorry.”

*

It took another day before Leida mustered up the courage to come back, and she did it only because she knew that despite his grumpy attitude, the kelpie needed food. And water. She prepared herself for his silence as well as his potential harsh words, excusing them by his state and whatever had actually happened in the swamps, but when she stepped into the barn, she quickly realised nothing could have prepared her for what she found. 

The kelpie had changed. 

He washed his face and changed his shirt, and now he was sitting with his back against the haystack, his leg extended towards the beam. His hair was messy, shorter and fused by heat on one side and longer and soft on the other, but his face was clean and completely… healed. Or almost completely. His skin was still a bit wrinkly and pink where the burns used to be, but he looked like a person again. A very handsome person. 

Leida opened her mouth in awe, but before she could say anything, the man pressed his lips together and shook his head. 

“Don’t. I have no intention to seduce you. Or hurt you for that matter. I am grateful for what you did for me.”

His words could have been meant as kind, but his delivery wasn’t. The kelpie’s voice kept its previous coldness and hostility, and the sentences sounded like an insult.

“Isn’t that great?” Leida glanced at the man, allowing her annoyance to seep into her voice. 

Maybe he didn’t notice, or maybe he just didn’t care, because he continued as if she hadn’t said anything at all. 

“And I will need you to unlock that chain if you want me to change my trousers.”

Leida scoffed and pulled out a small key from her skirt’s pocket. 

“Serve yourself,” she tossed the key into the hay at his feet. ”And lock it again once you are done.”

*

The human girl stormed out of the barn, and the vigour with which she did that made the kelpie sigh. He didn’t want to anger her that much. Then again, what did it matter? Everybody was dead. His parents were dead. His friends were dead. And he would be dead soon enough, too. The king’s men were already looking for him. They were even going through the corpses, the girl said. Which meant he wouldn’t even be able to bury them. He squeezed the key in a sudden surge of anger, and to his own surprise, it bent. The kelpie cursed and stuffed the tip into the lock to bend it back. It wasn’t a very sturdy key. In fact, it was—

He didn’t get to finish his thought as the door suddenly opened and the girl barged back in, his face entirely pale.

“What?” he asked.

“They are here,” the girl breathed out and cut the distance between them, kneeling over his leg. “The king’s men. They are here.”

“Mire!” the man cursed.

The girl swept the key from his hand and tried to plunge it into the lock.

“Quickly, you have to—”

“Don’t!” he quickly reached out to stay her hand. “It’s ben—”

But it was too late. Leida pushed the key inside with such force that it broke.

Now it was her time to curse. 

“Shit. What now?”

The kelpie looked around, his chest rising with a sharp breath as the adrenaline spilt into his veins. 

“Give me that bucket, quickly!”

Leida had no idea what he wanted with the bucket of semi-dirty water, but she didn’t question it and handed it over. The kelpie took a palmful of water and poured it over the lock. The liquid dripped from his fingers in a strange way. Almost as if it weren’t a liquid at all but something much thicker. It moved into the lock, filled it and started moving inside like some sentient slime, and Leida had to cover her mouth not to yelp with disgust. But the lock suddenly clicked open, the chain fell off, and the man bolted up and towards the door.

“No!” Leida grabbed his wrist and pointed towards the haystack with the other. “They are already in the yard. Hide.”

The kelpie opened his mouth to protest, but his ears picked up multiple heavy steps in the yard, and he knew there was simply no time, so he dived into the heap while Leida picked up an armload of hay and spread it around the beam to hide the chains still wrapped around it. She wanted to hide the blanket as well, but the moment she moved to do so, the door opened and two soldiers walked in. Leida knew she had about a second before their eyes adjusted to the darkness of the barn, so she just quickly dropped the blanket on top of the rags the kelpie had discarded, straightened up, and turned to face the visitors. 

Immediately, she noticed that they weren’t both fae. Only one of the soldiers had pointy ears. The other one seemed human, although that didn’t mean much. There were other magical creatures that didn’t share the fae’s distinctive features. Kelpies for once. Or he could have been a crossbreed. 

“What’s this?” the man laughed upon seeing Leida. “A beautiful jewel, hiding in the shed?”

The fae male snorted, but as he did so, his nose wrinkled and he sniffed the air. Then again. Then he frowned and nudged his partner with his elbow, pointing at the blanket.

Leida knew what he must have smelled. She smelled the kelpie too, and she was no fae. She took a deep breath and gave both the soldiers a shy smile.

“You came at a wrong moment, I am afraid.”

She even managed to blush while she drew her dress closer to her body, as if afraid it could slip off.

“Oh yeah?” the human laughed, his eyes sparking. “Or maybe we came at the right one, no?”

Leida gave him a shy laugh, but it didn’t persuade the fae male. He frowned and pushed his partner aside, taking three steps towards the girl. 

“Where is the man?” he asked firmly. 

“I—I can’t,” Leida stuttered, “you see, if my father learned…”

“Where is he?” the soldier repeated, and his eyes moved to the haystack behind Leida. “There?”

"Please," Leida's breath hitched as she attempted to step into the male's path, but the soldier simply pushed her aside and into the arms of his partner.

The next moment Leida felt two heavy hands landing on her shoulders and gripping her bones much firmer than was necessary. 

“It hurts,” she protested, but it made no difference – she could do nothing but watch as the fae soldier stepped towards the hay and pulled out his sword to—

Then suddenly the hay moved, and a voice called out from the middle of it. 

“Alright! Alright! I am coming out! Please don’t hurt me!”

Leida blinked. It was the kelpie’s voice she heard, but it sounded different. It sounded… weak. Pleading. Scared. Yet, whatever the kelpie intended to do with it, it seemed to work. The fae male kept his sword unsheathed, but he didn’t stab the heap. And the human laughed.

“Oh my! You weren’t lying. Let’s see your lover boy…”

Leida twitched. That was the end. They were about to kill the kelpie the moment they saw his red eyes. And most likely they would kill her as well for lying to them. No. They would do worse. And then kill her. But maybe she could fight. Maybe they would just kill her that way…

The hay moved again, and with a lot of grunting and panting, the kelpie fell out of it, a crown of messy hay covering the burnt part of his hair, and he was… without his trousers for some unknown reason, his legs and everything completely naked, his private parts barely hidden by the overhanging shirt. Leida gasped for air and braced herself. That was it. Now. When he would raise his head, when he… But he did. And to Leida’s biggest surprise, his eyes weren’t red. They were brown. Entirely deep brown. And the two soldiers started laughing. 

“For dragon’s sake, Bellen!” the human chuckled, “she must have been giving him head when we came in. Oh gods! Poor guy.”

His grip on Leida’s shoulders loosened up, and he slapped her ass instead. 

“You’ve got fire in you, girl, I‘ll give you that.”

Leida yelped but didn’t dare to protest; she just stumbled towards the kelpie and jumped  into his arms, pretending he was indeed her lover. The man’s arms closed around her with a surprising tenderness, and for a short moment, despite the whole situation, she felt quite safe in the embrace.

Behind her, the fae soldier sheathed his sword and turned around. 

“Sweet. But not what we were looking for. Come on, Terek.”

“Oh damn, but I would so love to stay…” 

The human laughed again, but luckily he showed no real intention to disobey the order. 

“You better finish the job, girl. It’s bad manners if you don’t.”

Leida was quite sure he winked at her or made some rude gesture, but luckily she was spared the sight, hiding her face in the kelpie’s chest, her entire will focused towards preventing her body from shivering in fear. Only when the door to the barn closed and she heard the soldiers marching towards their unit and clearly telling them all about the extremely funny scene they had just witnessed, as the yard soon echoed with booming laughter, did Leida dare to breathe again. 

“It’s alright,” the kelpie whispered into her hair, and the sound of his voice made Leida burst into silent tears. 

It was alright. Almost. It was almost alright. Yet instead of feeling better, Leida’s body began to tremble uncontrollably. She wanted to say something, but the words did not come to her. Luckily, it seemed the kelpie understood her struggle, and instead of saying anything else, he just kept her in his arms, his palms gently stroking her back. 

“It’s alright,” he repeated. “You saved me. Again.”

Leida squeezed him harder and pushed her mouth against his shirt to muffle a violent cry that was pressing on her lips. 

A neigh came from the outside, and the sounds of hooves against the path let them know that the soldiers were leaving. Leaving! Leida raised her eyes to the kelpie, but instead of saying what she really wanted to say, she chuckled. 

“By the gods, why aren’t you wearing any trousers?!”

“Well, love,” the kelpie grinned back at her, a mischievous smile lighting up his eyes, “my trousers are in a somewhat incriminating state, as you may remember.”

Of course, Leida reminded herself, of course. They were burnt. And…

“Your eyes. What did you do with your eyes?”

“Magic, love,” the kelpie smirked and winked at her. “Sometimes it is quite useful.”

“Right.” 

Leida gulped, and then there was suddenly nothing more to say. And yet… Yet she didn’t want to leave that embrace. She raised her hand and started picking the hay out of his hair. 

“Let me…”

She half expected him to move away, but he didn’t. Not for the first few seconds. Then he suddenly twitched and almost jumped away, as if he just realised he was doing something wrong. 

“What—”

“Your parents. They are coming. You should talk to them. And I should dress.”

“Right,” Leida took a deep breath and straightened up. “Right.”

“And Leida?” 

The girl turned back to find the kelpie with an extended hand. 

“My name’s Kerr,” the man introduced himself with a small formal bow.

Leida swept that hand away and laughed.

“Put those trousers on first, for bog’s sake!”

*

Since that day, things were beginning to settle down. Kerr soon fully healed, and with that, he started helping around the house and with the animals. As a reward, Leida’s father stopped insisting on chaining him to the beam and treating him like a beast. He still didn’t allow the kelpie into the house and tried to keep him as far from Leida as possible, but Leida didn’t have to be alone with the man to enjoy his presence. Kerr didn’t frown at any work they asked him to do, be it cutting the peat or mucking the stables, and to Leida’s joy, he slowly started to talk more. He still didn’t tell her what had happened in the swamps, and from time to time she caught him standing at the edge of the clearing, leaning against a tree or staring into the woods, but most of the time his company was quite light-hearted. He was, of course, no ordinary groom, and even though he wore her father’s clothes and his eyes didn’t return to the red kelpie colour, he never looked the part. Soon, it also became painfully obvious that his education was superior to anyone Leida knew, especially when he began explaining how some things worked, but she didn’t mind that either. The kelpie was intelligent and charming, and time ran faster when he was around. The only thing that bothered Leida was that ever since the day in the barn, the man had kept his distance. He never tried to touch her, never tried to flirt with her, and when their hands accidentally touched during work, he always pulled away faster than her. Leida wasn’t surprised. She knew she wasn’t beautiful by anybody’s standards, but it still… hurt. She would have loved to feel his arms around her again. Just one more time. To know that the tenderness of his embrace wasn’t something she imagined.    

 But the days slipped by, and before she knew it, autumn came and filled the dry bogs with rain, turning the forests into a deathtrap for anybody who didn’t know the right path. Kerr did, of course. He was now spending most of his time hunting with Leida’s father, showing him the hidden paths and best hunting spots so that they could fill their cellar with dried meat for the winter. At first, Leida’s father was reluctant to trust the man, but the more times they returned from the forest unharmed, the more he was inclined to believe that the kelpie truly was helping him to repay his debt. And that came hand in hand with an invitation for lunch. And then dinner. And breakfast… Before Leida knew it, Kerr became a usual guest in the house, making the whole family laugh with his jokes and entertaining them with stories about ancient princes and princesses. As far as Leida could tell, he spent less and less time standing at the edge of the forest, and only his eyes sometimes showed the pain of the previous summer. 

Overall, before winter started, the kelpie’s presence around the household seemed as natural as breathing, so it came as no surprise when her father decided Kerr should accompany Leida on her shopping trips to the town to protect her from thieves, bears and wolves. 

Kerr agreed to the task in the same way that he agreed to any household chores and only asked to be introduced as Leida’s cousin should anybody want to know who he was. Leida seriously doubted that any part of her family could move with the same grace the kelpie did or look half as good, especially now that his hair grew back, but she knew they needed some story if he were to stay. And she did want the man to stay.  

*

The day they headed to Astoren was crisp and cold, and despite it being still autumn, there was already a patch of snow on the ground. Upon arriving in the town, they first went to the market to sell some milk and furs from the hunting trip. Finding their customers was, for once, easy and fast. With the winter already knocking on the door, people needed something warm to wear, and Kerr’s charming banter and easy laughter made sure they wanted them from him. Leida felt slightly jealous about that, but when she realised it left them with the rest of the day free, she quickly forgot all about that and took Kerr shopping for vegetables and supplies, and then offered to show him around the town. The kelpie expressed polite interest and followed her on the walk, but when Leida mentioned that she needed to see a herbalist, he automatically turned left, which made her suspicious.

“You’ve been here before,” she accused him.

“Yes,” he didn’t even try to deny it. “A few years back. But not in the human form.”

“In what— Oh!” Leida blushed and quickly looked away. “I forgot you could…”

Kerr laughed and nudged her with his elbow, “There’s more to me than meets the eye.”

“As long as you don’t start whinnying. Oh! Look!”

Leida pointed to a small tavern at the end of the street. It had an open door through which one could hear laughter and music, feel the warmth of the fireplace, and smell roasted meat. It was a lovely sight, especially as the short autumn day slowly faded into dusk. 

“They’re having a dance night!”

“Uhuh.”

Kerr didn’t seem quite as excited as Leida felt, but she didn’t let it deter her.

“Come on!” she grabbed his hand. “It’s so rare that I am in the town for one of those. Please? You can sit in the corner if you want, though I doubt you’ll have a lack of girls wanting to dance with you.”

“That’s… exactly what I am afraid of, Leida,” Kerr said evasively and tried to pull his hand out of hers, “I don’t want to draw attention.”

“Well…” 

Leida thought about it for a second, her face growing sad. He was right, of course, yet the prospect of dancing—

“But,” Kerr suddenly smiled at her, “you can go. I will wait outside.”

Leida’s eyes brightened up, but she hesitated. 

“Are you sure? You’ll be bored and—”

“I will manage, Leida,” Kerr smirked at her, his voice growing amused. “Go. Have fun.”

“Alright!” Leida squeezed the hand she was still holding and finally let go of it. “Thank you. I’ll be right back!”

*

Kerr watched the girl disappear into the warm light of the tavern, and something in his chest ached at the sight. Joy. Laughter. Dancing. It had been so long since all of those were a natural part of his life. Not anymore. Maybe not ever. He sighed, walked around the tavern and found himself a bench below one of the back windows. It was hidden and dark enough there for him to feel comfortable, but also close enough so that he could keep an eye on Leida. And there were stables nearby filling the air with a familiar scent of horses and straw, which he found pleasant and soothing. 

He crossed his legs and leaned against the wall of the tavern, ready to spend the next hour or so in the same position when something blinked next to his left hand. Something small and bright. Something golden. 

“I was wondering if some of you made it,” Kerr said and opened his palm. 

The golden light immediately landed in the centre of his hand, and he lifted it up so that he could hear the faint buzz the creature was making and see the small fairy in the centre of it all. Will-o’-the-wisp. One of the most enigmatic creatures there was. Small. Vulnerable. And yet to many people – utterly terrifying. 

Kerr pricked up his ears and tilted his head, his eyes narrowing as he tried to decipher what the creature was trying to say. He had learnt how to understand the will-o’-the-wisp’s language as a small boy, but he was still a long way from mastering it. And this particular fairy had a lot on her mind.

“And now you decided to show up?” Kerr raised his eyebrow. “No, I am quite happy here, thank you.”

The light blinked, and the buzzing started to sound inquisitive. 

“And safe. I am safe as well.”

The buzzing grew in intensity, and Kerr frowned and tried to shake the creature off his palm.

“Not interested, thank you. But if I ever am, I will let you know.”

The light fell off his palm, but only to fly higher and stop in front of his face. The sounds it was emanating turned into short, angry bursts of noise. 

“If I wanted your advice, I would have asked for it,” the kelpie stood up and his face tensed and darkened as he looked down upon the small light. “And I am still your Lord, so watch your mouth.”

The buzzing finally stopped, and the light backed off from the angry kelpie. 

“Good,” the man drawled and pointed towards the town gates. “Now leave me be. I will contact you if I have a need for you.”

The light blinked and died out, leaving only the small fairy hanging in the air in front of Kerr’s face. She pouted her tiny lips, canted her head, and with a mighty flap of her wings, she flew up, disappearing from his sight. 

Kerr sighed. Some encounters he could live without. He looked at the bench, intending to sit again, but as he turned his head, he caught a glimpse of Leida. And what he saw stopped him dead in his tracks. 

The girl wasn’t dancing. She was sitting in her simple dress in the corner, her heavy coat on her knees, her hands holding onto its fur as if it were her salvation. 

Kerr took a second look around the room, and he frowned. There was no lack of men to dance with. A lot of them weren’t dancing at all, either standing by the bar or sitting around the tables, talking to each other. And some— 

Kerr drew a sharp breath. 

For some of those men were wearing clothes he knew. Clothes he remembered his friends wearing. Clothes they must have pulled off their rotting corpses. Rage shot through Kerr’s veins like hot lead, and the man cut the distance to the tavern’s door in five long steps. It wasn't until he was standing right in the doorway that he realised he had no idea what he was doing. Or what he was about to do. Yet, by then, it was too late to turn. The whole room turned as one to look at the stranger at the door, who looked like he was either about to commit a murder or faint, and, for the first time in his life, Kerr actually hesitated. 

Luckily, the awkward moment didn’t last for long, as Leida jumped in front of him and tugged at his shirt to draw his attention.

“Kerr?” she hissed, her eyes darting from one staring person to another. “What are you doing?! I thought you said you wouldn’t come in…”

Her voice sounded worried, and only then did Kerr realise what he had actually done. He took a deep breath and looked down at the girl in front of him. 

“Dance with me,” he said firmly. 

“What?”

“Dance with me,” Kerr repeated and offered his hand. “Please.”

“Alright?” Leida said carefully and placed her small hand into his palm. “But…”

“Why weren’t you dancing?”

“Oh, come on,” Leida chuckled, while pulling him into the circle of dancers, promenading around the dance floor in a merry whirl of wild steps and laughter. “I am not exactly pretty, Kerr. Or rich. Or in a beautiful dress. As you have no doubt noticed yourself…”

Kerr either knew the steps, or he caught up quickly because soon he was better at the dance than most of the semi-drunk young town folk. Yet now, he disregarded the steps entirely and pulled Leida into a private twirl of his own, looking into her blue eyes. 

“That’s the reason? Really?” he raised his eyebrow. “Well, fuck them, Leida. They are not worthy of a dance with you. Your dress might not be of the latest fashion, but at least it is not stolen.”

His words caused Leida to halt and look around. She hadn’t realised it before, but now that the kelpie said that, she could see the patterns… The same patterns she had seen on his burnt clothes before they discarded them. 

“Is that why you came in?” she breathed out in shock. “Oh, Kerr! I am so sorry!”

But the man shook his head.

“Don’t be. I am an idiot. I shouldn’t have let it rile me up the way it did. It’s not like they killed them or had anything to do with that…”

“Oh, Kerr.”

“Are you gonna dance, or…?”

Leida shook her head in disbelief. 

“Of course I am going to dance, you moron!”

But the music stopped a few steps later, and the musicians called a break while they poured beer down their dry throats. So Kerr and Leida were forced to halt as well, and the man ventured to the bar to bring them both some drinks. Leida watched him go with an absent-minded smile. Dancing with him didn’t feel quite as good as being hugged by him, but it was close. And if he would stay, they could dance again, and—

“Who is that, Leida?”

Leida turned her head and met the inquisitive gaze of one of the most beautiful girls in Astoren – Maraia Ediren. A girl that had never spoken to her before.

“You… know my name?” she asked, surprised. 

“Of course, I do, Leida,” the girl smiled warmly, but then her eyes moved to Kerr, who was still waiting for the drinks by the bar. “But I don’t know the name of your friend?”

“He is a cousin of mine,” Leida muttered, lowering her eyes, failing to come up with any proper name for the kelpie. 

“Oooh! So he is new in town?”

Leida blushed. 

“You know he is new in town…”

“Of course, I do, darling. Of course! You are such a sweetheart. Ah, but forgive me, I forgot to introduce you,” she pushed forth a man standing next to her. “My friend, Peol.”

Leida raised her eyes and met the gaze of one of the townsfolk, a young man, rather good-looking, but about as interested in the introduction as a horse would be in a chunk of meat. 

“Nice to meet you, Peol,” she whispered anyway and offered the man her hand. “I am Leida.”

“Leida,” the man repeated her name and planted a polite kiss on top of her hand. “I was wondering if you would dance with me?”

“Dance?” 

Leida’s eyes went wide, but before the young man could reply, she felt a firm arm wrapping around her waist, and Kerr’s pleasant deep voice hummed next to her ear. 

“Who are your friends, Leida?”

“This is Maraia Ediren and—”

Before she could even finish the introduction, Maraia had already taken over and offered Kerr her hand for a kiss. 

“Maraia. It is a pleasure to meet Leida’s relatives.”

But Kerr didn’t kiss the hand. And when he spoke up, his voice was a mix of amused and ironic. 

“Is it such a pleasure?” he asked. “Leida wasn’t good enough for you to talk to when I wasn’t here, and now you’ve brought her a mercy fuck just so you could dance with me? I can see that pretty dresses can hide a lot of dirt.”

Maraia’s smile froze and her hand dropped. She straightened up and frowned, but she still wasn’t ready to give up. 

“I don’t know what you are talking about. Perhaps we could dance and—”

“No, I am fine, thanks,” Kerr smiled and pulled Leida closer against his side, “but perhaps you could give your lapdog a mercy fuck instead. For being such a good pet.”

Maraia didn’t manage to think of a reply to that. She just yelped, and her hand rose to her heart, which Kerr ostentatiously ignored. He pressed the cold drink he had brought into Leida’s stunned hands and turned the girl around, leading her to another corner of the room. 

“What… Why…” Leida muttered, her hands shaking and making the lemonade inside her glass splash violently against the walls of the glass. “Why did you do that?”

“Why did I do what?” Kerr shook his head. “Called her out on what she was doing? She didn’t deserve anything else.”

“I mean…” Leida stopped and turned to look at her companion. “I mean – why did you stand up for me? You didn't have to. I mean… I would be lucky if a guy like Peol noticed me?”

Kerr raised his eyebrow. 

“Excuse me, love? Mister Peol would be lucky if you noticed him.”

“Kerr,” Leida sighed and placed her hand on the man’s chest. “I appreciate that you are trying to be nice, but let’s be honest here, alright?”

“Alright,” Kerr nodded, “Let’s be honest.”

And then he leaned down and kissed her.

*

Leida didn’t know how it happened. Or why. All she knew was that he smelled like peat and sea and that his lips tasted like resin and sweet wood. And that he was simply… perfect. His arms were once again wrapped around her back, and they were firm and strong and tender. And his chest beneath her palms. Gods, his chest. Leida closed her eyes and prayed to all the deities of Entirie to allow her to keep dreaming this dream for the rest of her life. 

But it wasn’t a dream, and eventually she had to open her eyes.

“Kerr…”

The brown eyes flashed with mischief.

“If you want me to apologise, you are out of luck, gorgeous.”

“No, I… I just… why?”

“We should dance.”

Leida twitched. The music was indeed playing again, and there were several couples on the dance floor, most of them giving the pair frequent glances and giggling in whispered conversations. 

“We should get the hell out of here,” she whispered, flustered. “You didn’t want to draw attention.”

“Well, seems I fucked up in that regard then, didn’t I?” Kerr grinned. “Come on, love. One more dance. Then I’ll take you wherever you want to.”

“Alright… one more dance. Or two...”

*

When she tried to recall that night later, Leida had no idea what dances they danced or how many. She didn’t remember the steps. She only remembered Kerr’s eyes. His scent. His arms. And how dizzy his whispered words were making her. That night she understood that all the tales about kelpies were a lie. The reality was just so much… wilder. And Kerr was… he was…

Kerr was walking next to her, carrying their shopping, smiling, and holding her hand, as if they were a normal human couple. As if he wasn’t…

“How old are you, really?” Leida suddenly asked. 

The kelpie looked at her and laughed. 

“I am twenty-five, love.”

“Really? I thought magical beings were much older.”

“Eventually, yes, we can be,” Kerr chuckled, “but we are not born ancient.”

“So you are actually twenty-five?”

“I am actually twenty-five. Is that too young for you?”

“No! I just keep wondering why you… Why me?”

Kerr stopped and turned towards her, raising her chin up with two fingers. 

“Leida,” he said seriously, “if you haven’t noticed that I was crazy about you ever since that day in the barn, I am afraid you are as blind as a mole.”

“You’ve never said anything.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because I am…” 

Now it was his turn to look away. 

“Because I am a kelpie, Leida. I didn’t want you to think that I am trying to charm you for other… reasons.”

“Other reasons like… killing me?”

Kerr huffed, but it didn’t sound amused. A crooked smile spread across his lips.

“Like killing you, yeah.” 

Leida reached up and turned his head back towards her. 

“Would you kill me?”

Kerr’s eyes were soft and a bit sad when he shook his head.

“No.”

Leida nodded, and then her lips spread into a mischievous grin. 

“And would you kidnap me to have sex with me?”

Kerr huffed again.

“Is that a trick question? Because I can hardly stop thinking about having sex with you—”

Leida didn’t let him finish that sentence. She threw her arms around his neck and stole the last word from his lips with a passionate kiss. He tasted like resin and sweet wood, and right then and there, it was a taste she would kill for. 

“Beautiful Leida?” Kerr took the girl’s head into his palm and looked into her burning blue eyes. “Will you let me kidnap you to the barn?”

Leida shook her head, blush rising to her cheeks, “I don’t think I can wait that long.”

“Oh?” Kerr tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear, and his lips spread into a mischievous grin. “You’re gonna be cold.”

“What else can I do when you’ve waited the whole summer to tell me?” she raised her head with a defiant fire in her eyes. “You better keep me warm.”

“Love,” Kerr dropped the shopping on the ground, lifted Leida up and held her in his arms with an ease that left her speechless, “that’s easy. I’ve got a whole summer’s worth of heat saved just for you.”

Leida laughed and kissed him again. This man was making her happy. Truly happy. 

Of course, there was the matter of him being an immortal kelpie, but she could think about that later. Later… When she wasn’t busy unbuttoning his shirt…