The selkie female kept her arms around Maddy as they dived, safe from prying Tuatha eyes. Maddy thought of Danny, Roisin and Nero back in the castle and tried to struggle back to the surface, but the selkie had her locked in her embrace. Maddy’s lungs began to burn as the air ran out and she thrashed about, terrified she would drown. When the selkie pinched her nose and held her head back, the last of her breath burst from her in bubbles and she was convinced the creature had tricked her and was now trying to kill her. But a dark shape swam up to her, a whiskered, fanged mouth was pressed to her own and stale air, second-hand air from another’s lungs, was passed over. The pain in Maddy’s lungs eased and she found all she had to do was signal with bubbles she needed more air and the whole process would be repeated. At first her mind rebelled at not being able to control her body’s breathing. Panic clawed and gibbered at the walls of her mind and Maddy twitched and squirmed in the selkie’s embrace.
