“How doesn’t matter, only that it is,” Jax said. He tipped his head forward, pressed his forehead to Macy’s, and closed his eyes. His hand moved slowly over her belly.
“A youngling?” Dracchus stared at Macy.
She placed her hand on the back of Jax’s neck. She was excited and terrified at once; there was no going back to The Watch, now, and she didn’t know anything about childbirth. What if something went wrong? What if something was wrong with the baby?
Aymee’s scans had put some of Macy’s worries to rest. She’d nearly cried when she saw the baby’s tiny hands and short, thin tentacles and heard the beating of its three hearts. By all appearances, their baby was a kraken. It was everything else that concerned her — would it heal like Jax? Would it grow claws to protect itself?
Would the baby be able to breathe underwater?
“This…this could be a blessing to our people,” Arkon said. “If we can reproduce with humans, perhaps we can overcome the way we were designed, and return from the brink of extinction.”
Macy pulled back from Jax and stared at Arkon; now that she knew the truth, she couldn’t forget about the past conflict between their peoples.
“Why are you looking at me that way?” he asked, tilting his head.
“If the others found out, what would they do, Arkon?” Macy asked. “The kraken have hated humans for so long, and if they discover this… What will this mean for human women? What would the kraken do?”
“Nothing.”
All eyes fell on Dracchus; Macy guessed the others were as surprised by his response as she was.
“The kraken have struggled,” he continued, “but that does not mean we will provoke another war against the humans. If our people can come together, you are the start of it, and you will need to be the example we follow.”
His words were a relief, but a kernel of doubt remained. What she’d seen of most of the other kraken hadn’t been reassuring, thus far, and she couldn’t guess how they’d react to this news. She hoped Dracchus was right…
But desperation could drive people to do terrible things.
“We do not need to discuss this now,” Jax said, running a hand down Macy’s back. “Are you ready to return to our den?”
“I’m ready.”
They thanked Arkon and Dracchus again and said their goodbyes. Jax bent down and carefully lifted Macy to his chest; her leg throbbed, but the pain was nothing compared to what it had been. He carried her through soothingly familiar corridors, past several rooms that held surprisingly fond memories, and, finally, into the cabin she’d chosen to share with him.
“Is my imprisonment reinstated?”
“No. They’ll not keep you here like that again. You are kraken, now, but more, you are mine. No one will treat you that way again, so long as I live.”
He set her down on the edge of the bed and sank to eye-level before her, raising his palms to her face. The pads of his thumbs brushed over her cheekbones. “I almost lost you, Macy. I have never been so afraid.”
“I know, and I’m sorry.” She placed her hands over his and searched his eyes; the echoes of his fear lingered in their emerald depths, but his love shone brighter. “I just couldn’t stand by and do nothing, Jax. I can’t… I hate feeling useless. When I heard Melaina was missing, I thought of Sarina, and how devastated Rhea would be if she lost her daughter. I needed to help. I know you and the hunters would’ve done everything you could to find her, but I…I had Sam.”
“I do not want apologies, Macy. It was dangerous and foolish, but you saved a life. And now…” Jax dropped his gaze. “You are safe, and that is all that matters.”
He drew her into an embrace, and she wrapped her arms around him, pressing her cheek to his warm, solid chest. She took comfort in his presence, in his strength.
“I’m so glad they didn’t hurt you, Jax.”
“I would do it again, even at risk of death…because they saved you when I could not. You gave up everything for me, Macy, and I would do the same and more for you.”
Macy lifted her head and kissed him, taking in his breath, tasting his essence. “Thank you for saving me that day.”
His tentacles slipped around her, drawing her even closer. “You are by far the greatest treasure I have ever taken from the sea.”
Epilogue
Macy bit down on her scream, digging her fingers into the backs of her thighs. Pain and exhaustion saturated every cell in her body. Rhea and Helen were on either side of the bed, keeping Macy’s legs parted and bent, and Thana was hunkered at the foot of the bed. As much as it hurt, Macy had to push when instinct demanded.
“Almost there!” Thana exclaimed.
“You are doing so well,” Rhea soothed, brushing her hand over Macy’s damp hair.
Macy concentrated on her breathing; any second, she’d need to push again. Hours of labor had steadily sapped her strength. She didn’t feel human anymore; she was a mindless, baying animal.
The urge came again. She pushed, and couldn’t contain her scream this time. “Jax!”
There was a bang.
Rhea lifted her gaze toward the door. “What are you doing?”
“I will not wait out there any longer,” Jax said, moving to Macy’s side.
She looked up at him; his eyes were wide beneath a creased brow, his pupils narrow slits across their green backdrop.
“This is a female’s place, Wanderer,” Rhea said firmly.
“And this is my female,” he replied, not looking away from Macy. He placed his hand on her shoulder. “My place is at her side.”
Macy had argued that she wanted him there to begin with, but the females had been insistent.
Rhea opened her mouth to say more when another contraction hit. Macy sucked in a deep breath, reared up, and pushed.
“The youngling is coming!” Thana said.
Immense pressure filled Macy, crushing her insides. She released one more cry. Relief flooded her abruptly. She fell back against the bed, limp, and closed her eyes.
A loud, high wail filled the room. Jax tightened his grip on Macy’s shoulder.
“She is a female,” Thana declared happily.
Macy opened her eyes as Thana tied and cut the umbilical cord. Rhea wiped the baby’s face with a towel, and then the newborn was in Macy’s arms.
She stared down at her daughter’s tiny features; though the baby favored its kraken blood, she possessed some distinctly human features. Macy brushed her finger over the little nose, along the soft brows, and through the fine hairs atop her head. She moved her eyes down to the small, webbed fingers with their dainty claws. The baby’s skin was nearly the same shade as Jax’s, darkening near her waist, where her eight tentacles were drawn up in a tight bundle.
Jax sank down beside the bed, leaning over the low side rail, and gently ran the back of one finger over the baby’s cheek. “We have a child,” he said, voice filled with awe. “A daughter. She is so small…”
Macy turned her smile toward Jax. “You’re a father.”
Though the bewilderment in his expression didn’t fade, the corners of his mouth lifted.
“It is the mother’s place to name the youngling,” Rhea said. “She needs a strong name, so she will thrive.”
Macy knew the kraken took inspiration for their names from stories they’d heard through the holograms — stories from ancient Earth mythology, barely remembered in The Watch. She’d listened to a few of them with Jax and Arkon, but none of the names stood out to her.
“Jax?” she asked.
He finally pulled his gaze away from their daughter. “What is it, Macy?”
“Would you name her?”
“But it’s the female’s place,” Rhea argued.
“You thought Jax was strange before he took a human as a mate,” Macy said gently, “so why start conforming now? We do things differently.”
Rhea blew air from her siphons, though a smile tugged at her lips. “So be it.”
Jax’s e
yes were back on the baby; he lightly traced her cheeks and chin with his bent knuckle. Macy lifted her up, and he carefully pressed his palm to the baby’s chest, covering it completely. He was silent for a long while, not looking away from their child. One small tentacle wrapped around his wrist.
“Sarina,” he said finally.
Macy’s breath caught, and her eyes stung. “Really?”
He nodded, and with his free hand, cupped Macy’s cheek, brushing away the first of her falling tears with the pad of his thumb. “She is birthed of land and sea, and will know the love of two peoples. She is…a new beginning. We cannot forget the past, but we can shape the future.”
Her heart expanded with love for Jax and their daughter, and she drew the baby close. Sarina began rooting, and Rhea helped Macy position the baby at her breast to feed.
Macy wrapped her arm around Jax’s head when he leaned in, turning her face to kiss him.
“You are the greatest treasure in the sea, Jax. You’ve given me more than I could ever have hoped for.”
“Anything and everything for you.” Jax looked down at Sarina and caressed her head. “Both of you.”
Also by Tiffany Roberts
ISLE OF THE FORGOTTEN
Make Me Burn
Make Me Hunger
Make Me Whole
Make Me Yours
Make Me Surrender (TBD)
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THE KRAKEN
Treasure of the Abyss
Jewel of the Sea (Spring 2018)
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OTHER TITLES
Dustwalker
Ice Bound: Short Story
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VALOS OF SONHADRA COLLABORATION
Undying (Spring 2018)
About the Authors
Tiffany Roberts is the pseudonym for Tiffany and Robert Freund, a husband-and-wife writing duo. While Tiffany was born and bred in Idaho, Robert was a New York native who made the decision to fly across the county to be with her. Tiffany and Robert have always had a passion for reading and writing, and it was the dream to write books that they both shared that brought them closer. While they never gave up on this dream, work and kids came first until they were able to focus on moving their writing career along.
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Connect with us:
Website: https://authortiffanyroberts.wordpress.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorTiffanyRoberts
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