Wound it with sighing, girl, kill it with groans;
Or get some little knife between thy teeth,
And just against thy heart make thou a hole;
That all the tears that thy poor eyes let fall
May run into that sink, and soaking in
Drown the lamenting fool in sea-salt tears.
-William Shakespeare, Titus Andronicus
...
These are the things every Selkie-child knows ... while we may love the ocean, the ocean doesn't love us. The ocean is incapable of loving us, no matter how sweetly she loves the Merrow and the Cetacea and the Roane. We know that we, among all the fae, are temporary and hence flawed, although no one tells us why ... We know that we must never, never, upon pain of misery beyond measure, trust the sea witch, or take her bargains, or risk her anger. These are the things every Selkie-child knows.

Of all the horrors that haunt Faerie, of all the evils that can never be undone, of all the sorrows that seem impossible to right, the story of the Selkie and the Roane and the Luidaeg is among the most heart-breaking (if my heart could break). And this brutal little story wraps it all together and delivers the pain with power and vulnerability. Ms. McGuire takes a character from [b:One Salt Sea|10783217|One Salt Sea (October Daye #5)|Seanan McGuire|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1312045992s/10783217.jpg|14735184] who was unsympathetic and whiny and gives her her voice, her story, her place, and it is beautiful. Of all the shorts in the series, this is the best I have read. (I am only missing "Rat Catcher" and "Never Shines the Sun" from my collection right now.)

If you are following this series, give this a read. There is a reason it was nominated for the Hugo. Even though it is set prior to the beginning of the series, I would say it is best read immediately after One Salt Sea, as it will not have the emotional punch it should without the information in that book. (It is still very enjoyable if you have read the rest of the series as well.) It is available free at http://www.seananmcguire.com/tobyshorts.php in ePub, MOBI, and PDF.

If you haven't yet begun the series, do yourself a favor and start with [b:Rosemary and Rue|6294549|Rosemary and Rue (October Daye #1)|Seanan McGuire|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1406866868s/6294549.jpg|6478937]. ( )

Fun short story about a Selkie-kin girl. Provides additional information about characters in One Salt Sea (October Daye, #5), and should probably be read after that book (even though chronologically it comes much earlier). Technically, however, there aren't any spoilers for the main October Daye books. ( )

4.5 stars

well. damn ( )

This story is one of my favorite things I've read so far this year. It's full of all the things I like: learning who you are and who you want to be; wonderful, exciting, new love; making painful choices and learning harsh lessons. It's part of the October Daye series but you can certainly read it on its own. [2013 Hugo Nominee Reading] ( )

A beautiful, heartbreaking story about two people faced with impossible choices. ( )