Chapter 26

Her knees digging into the warm rock, feeling Kai’s cock throb deep inside her with the final tremors of his release, Luna gulped back the emotion that threatened to engulf her.

Sex with Kai was incredible, mind-blowing. Oh yeah, she’d had more than her fair share of sex before, but this… this felt cosmic. Her orgasm had been so intense it was impossible to know where Kai’s body stopped and she began. And when they’d climaxed simultaneously, that moment had seemed to transcend time and space.

But with the cool air between them as they parted, reality snapped at her heels.

She reminded herself that her quest had never been to find Kai. It had always been about finding Tomas.

When Kai relaxed onto the rock beside her and reached for her hand, she drew it away.

He pushed up onto one elbow, frowning down at her. “You’re slipping away from me. I can feel it.”

She turned her head to avoid his eyes, staring at the white caps on the waves out beyond the pools. “It’s better that way.”

“Why are you so determined to be lonely?”

“I’m not lonely, I’m alone,” she muttered. “Besides, soon I’ll have Tomas.”

Kai huffed a sigh. “Luna, stop lying to me. To yourself. You and me… we’ve got something special.”

He was close, his tentacles gathered in such a way that she’d only have to move an inch or two, and she’d be cradled in among them again.

But she shook her head. “It means something, but only for now.” With that she jumped up, shoved on her clothes and started to arrange her little stack of bedding, then curled up on it. Pulled her hoodie over her head.

“So how far do we have to go tomorrow?” she asked brusquely from the confines of her cocoon. Alone, not lonely.

Stiffly, he responded, “A full day of mostly beach, sand and pebbles. Some wading and swimming through pools. We should reach there by dusk.”

“Great. Okay, goodnight Kai.”

For a long moment she thought he was not going to answer, then softly he said, “Goodnight Luna. Sleep well.”

Her body still limp and warm from her orgasms, she longed for his touch, but she couldn’t succumb. It was too dangerous.

Like she’d told him, alone was better. Alone was safe. Except now, like she said, she would have Tomas.

She focused instead on what she would say to her brother when they met. He’d be sixteen now. A teenager. Who would he look like? Her mom or her dad? She screwed up her face trying to remember them, but as always, their images were murky, unclear, just the flash of a smile, the turn of a head, a word or two in a certain intonation. That was all she had to hold onto, like faded snapshots from an old camera, like the photo she had in her locket. The locket she’d brought with her in her pack to give to her brother.

But what if they just didn’t hit it off? Supposing they had nothing to say to each other? Supposing Tomas didn’t want to spend time with her?

Kai was right. She would be alone. So, so alone.

And alone would feel so much worse now that she’d tasted togetherness.

A little sniffle escaped her.

“Luna?” Kai was at her side in a blink.

She peeped out from under her hood. “What if I meet Tomas and he doesn’t like me?” she whimpered before she could stop herself. “Maybe I’m not likable.”

“Oh gods, babe, you are so much more than likable.”

Her lip wobbled dangerously. “I’ll meet him and forget to smile because I can’t show when I’m happy, and then I’ll put him off. And… and he’ll… hate me.”

Kai laughed softly and gathered her against his chest. And she gave in, safe here in his embrace.

“Stop fighting the good, kind person you are inside,” he growled softly in her ear.

“I’m not good. Or kind. You of all people should know that. I’ve been horrible to you. What do you even see in me?”

She tried weakly to push him away, but he held her closer, and eventually she went limp, burying her nose between his pecs, letting herself inhale the salty musky scent of him, the dearness of him, the rightness of him.

“I see a beautiful person, a good, kind, brave person, braver than any I’ve ever met, who when she lets herself smile, lights up my whole world. A person I—” He stopped abruptly, and Luna held her breath, but he just let out a soft hum then said, “Now, beautiful Luna, you’re going to get some sleep. Because we have a long day ahead and you need to be ready to meet your brother at the end of it. And have some energy left to smile.” She groaned, and he kissed the tip of her nose. “It will come naturally when you see him. Promise.”

Luna snuggled into Kai’s chest, heard the rhythmic beat of his two hearts, and closed her eyes. She made her lips curl upwards, imagining her smile was reaching to meet the stars.

And just like that, in Kai’s embrace, she fell asleep.

She woke to the warm sun on her skin and a delicious smell tickling her nostrils.

As Luna opened her eyes, her gaze traced curls of smoke rising up against the blue of the sky.. She sat up to see Kai had already lit a fire and was cooking something that smelled utterly amazing. Her mouth watered.

Getting up and pushing off her hood, she wandered over to him, standing cooking by the pile of stones and twigs he’d concocted from the low, dry saltbush. On the flat stone over the flames were thin slices of pearl-colored meat.

“What’s that?”

“Abalone.”

“Abalone! But there aren’t any around these parts.”

“There are—if you know where to look.”

“Oh my gods, I’ve searched for them forever.”

“But have you ever come this far past Motham? They need the cleaner southern waters to thrive.”

Luna shook her head. “These beaches border onto high-breed human lands, so I’ve never wanted to come here.”

“Valley humans don’t come to this part of the coast. They believe there are ghosts of shipwrecks here, and besides, too many sharks frequent these waters.”

Luna’s eyes widened with alarm. “Do they?”

“Yes. Some of the largest, but they know to keep away from the kraken. Let’s just say we have an uneasy truce.” He laughed, then turned some dough next to him, kneaded it and threw it onto another flat stone on the fire.

“What are you making?”

“Pancakes, from eelgrass flour. It’s a staple in Thedaka.”

Luna watched, fascinated. “Where did you learn to cook like this?”

“My mom. All kraken men learn to cook so they can look after their partner when they are heavy with younglings.”

Luna swallowed the jab of envy that constricted her throat. He’d cook like this for his kraken mate one day. She concentrated instead on the wonderful taste of her meal, thinly sliced abalone alongside the pancakes he’d served her on a big shell. It tasted like tender chicken. And the pancakes were light and fluffy. She ate ravenously.

After breakfast, as they packed up their belongings ready to leave, she couldn’t resist asking, “What made you decided to compete in the games?”

“Why d’you ask?”

“You just don’t seem the type. You’re nothing like Acha. You’re considerate, and thoughtful, and not the least bit vain. Basically, you’re not an A-hole.”

“Well, thanks.” He shrugged. “The games are the pinnacle of achievement for young kraken. When you are told you are The Chosen, you don’t refuse.”

“Why not?”

He looked perplexed. “What do you mean?”

“Well, they’re a set-up aren’t they, and you parade about like a complete dick, and brag and show off. It’s hardly noble, is it?”

He fell silent. “I competed to prove myself.”

“But you didn’t have anything to prove.”

He sighed. “In Thedaka, unless you are a warrior who can fight, you are letting your species down. Being the contestant in the games is the biggest honor a young kraken male can achieve. My father, even though he is a scientist and has done wonders to rehabilitate our waters, is not as highly thought of as my uncle Shen. Because he was a champion in the games, and now he runs them.”

“That’s just fucked up.” She snorted. “Really, your women folk need to call the males out on it.”

“They do—sometimes.”

“Yeah, well Hana did a little, by helping me, but really, I still felt she didn’t want to upset the elders. What is all this shit about, women not daring to go against them?”

“My mom went against them to help me,” he said quietly.

“How?”

“When I didn’t heal from my injuries, she took me to a mage outside of Thedaka. One of the best in Motham. Have you heard of Waldo?”

“Yes, of course. He has a YouTube channel about healing and relationship stuff. He’s kind of famous.”

“Yep. He’s the best. So even though my grandfather forbade her to take me there, Mom overruled him. She learned to concoct the healing potions from the recipes Waldo gave her, and she made me do the exercises. Every single day she had me doing those damn stretches.” He laughed. “She was a complete tyrant. She got my dad on side, so much so that he stood up to the elders, which for my dad, is really saying something.”

“Couldn’t your own doctors heal you?”

“No, they’ve lost much of their healing magic through the centuries.”

“But kraken can still shift. That’s a kind of magic, isn’t it?”

“Shifting is buried deep in our gene pool. We are lucky that it hasn’t weakened in us.”

“Hana said humans have not set foot in Thedaka for hundreds of years.”

“That’s true. But we know there was some alchemy with humans a long time ago, otherwise we wouldn’t be able to take on human form.” His gaze held hers. “Maybe it could happen again.”

“How? Your people hate humans.”

“They didn’t hate you Luna, they’re just cautious.”

Luna rolled her eyes. “Next you’ll be telling me the elders have a soft spot for me. No, they just knew they did wrong by sinking my family’s boat. They’re making amends. And then they’ll make sure never to set eyes on me again.”

He didn’t answer.

Somehow, she swallowed past the giant lump in her throat. “You’ll go back to Thedaka, find a nice kraken girl, I’ll go back to my job on the wharf, maybe I’ll see you at the games, but no, they probably won’t let you compete again, even though I’ve publicly said I cheated. And humans will hate me too because they realize I’m worth nothing to them. Basically, same old, same old.”

“I don’t hate you. So far from it.” He reached over and smoothed the line between her brows with his fingertips. Instinctively, she pulled back. The sweetness of his words, the magic of his touch nearly broke her. And she couldn’t break, because soon he’d be gone from her life. “Please… don’t touch me.”

He retracted. Muttered, “Ah yeah, must only touch when it’s sex, right.”

“Glad you remembered,” she retorted. He couldn’t know how much she wanted him to keep touching her, holding her, loving her… to tell him that somehow, they’d work it out. But she didn’t know how to ask. All she knew was how to hurt with her words. “Last night… you know it was just a finale fuck, right?” she said gruffly.

For a second his beautiful face contorted, then he barked a laugh. “First the hate fuck, then the bribe fuck, and now the finale fuck. Should have guessed.”

“Pretty much sums it up,” she lied, biting the inside of her lip until it bled, hating herself for her cruel jibe. “See—what you said last night, it’s not true. I’m not good, or kind, am I?” she finished bitterly.

In the silence she heard him say softly, “I refuse to believe that.”

He stood, threw the shells into the fire and stomped the embers out with his foot. When he looked at her his face was a blank slate. “It’s time we got going. It’s a long day’s hike to reach our destination.”