The motor sounded louder. It’d be at the head of the driveway now. From the driveway’s angle, a driver wouldn’t be able to see behind the cottage, but there was no time to waste.

Madeleine nevertheless stood frozen, looking at Hæra slumped on the ground. Blood wasn’t gouting out of her, exactly, but it came in a steady stream.

Jonathan kept his eyes on Asgall until he was out of sight. Then he cursed, set down the gun, and went to Hæra. His gait looked none too steady either. His motion snapped Madeleine out of her trance, and she hurried forward too, until she could kneel in front of Hæra.

Hæra’s mouth hung open as she breathed too slowly. Asgall’s blood covered her muzzle and sharp teeth. Her yellow eyes were dull, and she didn’t seem to see Madeleine properly.

“Lass.” Jonathan knelt too, with more effort and a groan. “Change back. Hurry. They’ll be here soon.”

“What happens to her wounds?” Madeleine demanded. If they got worse when Hæra transformed…

“They turn into the human version. I think?” Jonathan rubbed a hand over his forehead. “That’s what happened after she washed up on shore. Hæra, change, we’ll take you to Sue.” When Hæra said nothing, he grabbed a hank of her mane and tugged. “For God’s sake! Can you hear me?”

“Change,” Hæra said slowly. “Yes.”

She rolled slowly on her side, the one without the bite. A pained whinny escaped her anyway. Madeleine held her breath and waited for the transformation to begin. What would change first? Would Hæra’s long Each-uisge face become her inhuman human one?

If it did, then she’d become the Hæra Madeleine knew. She could explain everything. In spite of everything Asgall had said, maybe there was still some misunderstanding.

Hæra’s hind legs quivered. She pressed them together. They seemed suddenly to fuse into one shape. The hooves began to lengthen.

They spread out into two fins.

Her hide changed too. As Madeleine stared, Hæra’s bottom half turned from flesh to scale, her powerful hind legs becoming a fish tail.

“Oh God,” Jonathan choked. “Like him…like he was…”

“Yes.” Hæra lay in the mud, her tail flopping weakly, as if she’d been caught in a net and dragged onto the deck of a ship. “This is what we are.” She turned her head with a groan and looked into Madeleine’s eyes. “This is what I am.”

Wrong, Madeleine wanted to protest, you’re the woman who kissed me on the beach, you’re the woman I left my whole life for, you’re the woman I⁠—

“No more lies.” Hæra tossed her head, dragging her mane in the dirt. “I was going to—what he said. I was going to kill you.”

No.