“We have been looking for y—” The kraken in the lead came to an abrupt stop. “What is this?”
“Stand aside, Kronus,” Jax demanded.
“What happened to him?”
“Aside, now!”
Kronus pressed his lips together and shifted, as did the males behind him, allowing Dracchus and Jax to pass with Arkon. When his eyes fell on Aymee and Randall, they widened before narrowing. His skin turned crimson.
“Humans!” he snarled, raising his claws.
“Don’t you dare!” Macy shouted.
If Aymee had stopped to think, she might have acted differently; Kronus wasn’t as large as Dracchus, but all the adult kraken were taller and more powerfully built than most humans. She followed her instinct. Stepping forward, she rammed her fist into Kronus’s jaw, twisting her hip to put as much force into it as she could.
“Get back!” she yelled, glaring at him. “Arkon needs help!”
Kronus’s head snapped aside, but his expression was one of shock rather than pain. Rage quickly overcame that shock. His muscles tensed as though to strike.
A huge black arm wrapped around Kronus’s neck from behind. Dracchus swung the other kraken around and slammed him face-first into the wall. The structure itself seemed to shake.
“These humans are under my protection,” Dracchus growled, glaring at Kronus’s companions. “They are our people now. Do you understand?”
Kronus spat something that sounded like a muffled yes, and his companions nodded.
Dracchus held Kronus in place as the women hurried past with Randall, who leaned on them a bit more with each step. They passed Jax; Rhea was helping him support Arkon.
They reached the infirmary after one more turn, and Aymee’s hand was throbbing by the time they entered. With Macy’s help, Aymee guided Randall into a bed, removed his suit, and inspected his stomach and shoulder to ensure the wounds hadn’t torn open. Macy retrieved a blanket and laid it over him.
As Dracchus and Jax carried Arkon into the infirmary, Aymee pulled her arms free of the suit and tied it off as she had earlier.
She moved to Arkon’s side after they lifted him onto a bed and checked his wounds. They’d remained sealed during the journey, but his skin was pale and cold.
“We need to cover him up, too. He lost a lot of blood, and his body’s going to need all the help it can get to recover,” she said.
Macy settled a blanket over Arkon, and Aymee reached beneath to take hold of his hand. Several kraken lingered in her peripheral vision. They watched in silence, male and female alike, until Dracchus made them leave; only he, Jax, and Rhea lingered.
“He’ll be okay,” Macy said, wrapping her arms around Aymee’s shoulders. The worry in her voice was overpowered by a practical optimism. Aymee drew strength from it.
“This is a human male?” Rhea asked.
“Last I checked,” Randall replied, slurring slightly.
“Hmm.” She tilted her head as she studied him, then lifted the blanket to look beneath. Her eyes widened. “He is extruding.”
Macy laughed, pulling her arms away from Aymee as she straightened.
“Two women in one day,” Randall said.
“What does he mean?” Rhea asked Macy.
“People seem awfully interested in getting a glimpse of me, lately,” he replied.
Rhea’s attention returned to Randall. “He is not unattractive, for a human.”
“I’ll take that as a victory.” Randall’s voice trailed off as he succumbed to his weariness.
Macy brought a chair closer to Arkon’s bed. Aymee thanked her and sat down.
“Jax and I are going to check on Sarina. We’ll be right back, and I’ll bring you a change of clothes. Do you need anything else?”
Aymee shook her head. “No. Thanks, Mace.”
Dracchus and Rhea followed Jax and Macy out.
Sitting on the edge of the chair, Aymee slipped an arm around Arkon, laid her head on his chest, and closed her eyes. His hearts thumped beneath her ear, steady but weak. She squeezed him tight.
Exhaustion settled over her. Her body felt leaden, her eyelids heavy, but she kept her gaze on Arkon’s sleeping face. As much as he needed his rest, she wished he’d wake so she could see the vibrant violet of his irises.
I nearly lost him.
Tears rolled down her cheek to wet the blanket beneath her.
The emotions she’d pushed aside rushed back, and all she could do was hold onto him as she cried.
“Don’t leave me,” she whispered, clutching the blanket against the pain in her heart.
Macy returned with Rhea shortly after, carrying clothing and food. Aymee stripped out of the diving suit and pulled on a shirt and a pair of loose pants. She didn’t touch the food, and Macy’ didn’t push it on her. They sat in silence, watching over the males, Rhea helping Randall sip water whenever possible.
The same wouldn’t work for Arkon — the kraken hydrated naturally by being in water. After some searching, Dracchus and Jax brought in a large basin filled with seawater. They set Arkon into it as gently as possible, positioning him so his head was underwater, and he breathed through his siphons.
When there was nothing left to do but wait, Aymee sank to the floor, keeping a palm on his chest. Each beat of his hearts was a pulse of reassurance.
Chapter 20
Arkon opened his eyes. The overhead light stung, and he squinted against it. Everything was a white blur until his vision adjusted.
The lights weren’t bright at all; they were dimmed. He knew the ceiling overhead, but his mind could not reconcile its presence.
He’d been in the Broken Cavern — the Darrow Nautical Outpost — not the Facility.
Something warm and scratchy was laid over him. He lifted his head, wincing as his neck cramped, to see a heavy blanket draped over him. Aymee’s arm was atop the blanket; she lay against him in the narrow space between Arkon and the bed rail.
“Arkon?”
He turned his head. Jax stood beside the bed, the shock in his expression quickly giving way to relief.
“You are okay,” Jax said. “Your color had been improving, and Aymee was outwardly optimistic, but none of us were sure…”
“How... You will forgive me, Jax, but…” Grunting softly, Arkon lowered his head. His entire body ached, now that he’d woken fully, making it more difficult to work through his confusion. “How did we get here?”
“You were badly injured. After Aymee closed your wounds, we brought you here to recover. This seemed the only safe place.”
The hunters. Cyrus. Echoes of pain rippled across Arkon’s abdomen, and he shifted a hand to the gunshot wounds. His fingertips brushed over hard scar tissue.
“No one else was hurt? Aymee wasn’t hurt?” Arkon’s hearts thumped; the events were fuzzy in his recollection, and Aymee was here, next to him, but had she come to harm?
“Only Randall. It seems he might have saved my life. We brought him with us.” Jax gestured to the other side of the room.
Arkon lifted his head again to see Randall in the bed directly across from him, covered by a similar blanket. His eyes widened when he realized Rhea was at Randall’s bedside, eyes closed and head resting on her crossed arms atop the blanket, back rising and falling in a slow, peaceful rhythm.
He looked at Jax and raised his brow in question.
Jax smiled and shrugged. “She has been helping Macy and Aymee care for the both of you over the last two days. They have had little rest in that time. Rhea seems to have taken an interest in him.”
Arkon studied his friend’s face; the gleam of surprise and relief had faded from Jax’s eyes, leaving only weariness. “What of you?”
“Now, I may finally join my mate and youngling in our den.” He placed a hand on Arkon’s shoulder. “I am glad you are well, Arkon.”
“Go to them and rest, Jax. I will take vigil. I have slept enough for now, I think.”
Jax departed quietly, and Arkon settled b
ack down onto the bed, his unfocused gaze directed at the ceiling. Aymee’s scent drifted to his nostrils; he inhaled deeply and sighed. Moving slowly, he slipped an arm out from beneath the blanket and wrapped it around her, drawing her closer against him.
She groaned, stirred, and moved her hand to rest on his chest. She exhaled softly.
He uncovered his other arm and placed his hand over hers.
Aymee tensed. “Arkon?”
“I didn’t want to wake you. I am sorry.”
She lifted her head. Her thick curls were in disarray, one strand endearingly hanging over her eye. “You’re awake,” she breathed.
“I am. But you should not—”
Aymee fell upon him, grabbing his face and pressing her mouth to his. She kissed him long and deep, then several more times in quick succession before wrapping her arms around him. “You came back to me.”
He embraced her and marveled in her feel, her warmth, her energy. “I will always come back to you. I gave myself to you, Aymee. It is not my life to lose.”
“And I won’t ever give it up.” She raised her head and met his gaze, eyes bright with tears.
He brushed the moisture from her cheek.
“How do you feel?” she asked.
“Like I have not moved in days.”
She laughed, and it was the loveliest sound he’d ever heard. “That’d be about right.”
“Now that you are here... Will you share my den, Aymee?”
She lowered her head and ran her nose over his cheek before kissing the corner of his mouth. “Yes. That and more. I want to join with you, Arkon.”
Warmth blossomed in his chest and flowed to the tips of his fingers and tentacles.
After a moment, Aymee chuckled. “I don’t think I made the best first impression on some of the kraken here, though.”
Arkon furrowed his brow. “What do you mean?”
“I punched Kronus in the face.”
He lifted his head to look at her. She was serious. A dozen emotions flickered through him — pride, concern, anger. “What did he do?”
“He was standing in our way and threatened us.”
“What threat did he make?”
“Well, he raised his claws and said humans, and I needed to get you here, so I punched him.”
“Kronus said a single word to you, and you struck him?”
“He was in the way, Arkon.”
Arkon pressed his lips to hers in a lingering kiss. When he broke away, he touched his forehead to hers and grinned. “I love you, Aymee.”
She smiled. “I love you, too.”
“And I can hear you,” Randall said. “Trying to sleep over here.”
“Be silent and rest, human,” Rhea commanded.
Arkon and Aymee stared at each other, smiles widening.
“Be silent and rest, human,” Arkon whispered to her.
Aymee laughed and rolled off him. He raised the blanket. She slipped under it and curled against him as he took her in his arms, twining his tentacles with her legs.
Arkon closed his eyes.
His Aymee was beside him, he was home, and he finally felt complete. Finally knew contentment. Aymee was the centerpiece of his life. His heart.
His jewel.
Epilogue
Aymee clung to Arkon as he propelled them through the depths. His body glowed, a beacon in the dark, and she couldn’t help but run her hands over him. Her fascination never waned; he was a thing of beauty, a creation that had surpassed its creators.
And she’d come so close to losing him.
It’d been four weeks since their run-in with the Culver Hunters. Arkon had recovered within four days. His skin reverted to its healthy blue-gray, his strength returned, and if not for the three scars on his abdomen, Aymee might have believed she’d dreamed the whole encounter.
Tightening her hold, she rested her head on his shoulder. She couldn’t see anything beyond the soft glow he emitted. The ocean was as dark and endless as the night sky.
Arkon had told her there was something he wanted to show her. He wouldn’t say what it was, only that it was a surprise. The kraken hadn’t seen much of anything apart from the usual fishing boats, which remained near the coast and didn’t venture far from The Watch, so he’d decided it was safe enough. Aymee was also antsy to be back on land after weeks in the Facility. The rooms were comfortable — more spacious and accommodating than anything back home — but she needed open air every now and then.
He angled them upward, and his light went out.
Only the barest hint of illumination touched the surface of the water overhead. This was so far removed from the feel of the sea during the day — all the vibrant colors and sea life gone, leaving infinite black — that she felt like they’d traveled to an unknown, unforgiving world.
There was a faint speck of light ahead. She squinted, wondering if it was a trick of her eyes, but it was joined by more blue flecks.
They broke the surface a few moments later. The sky was partly clouded — patches of black dotted with twinkling stars were visible over the land to Aymee’s right, but it was only bleak, dark gray over the sea apart from two spots where the obscured moons backlit the clouds.
Arkon released his hold on her and guided her to his back. As he swam forward, Aymee’s eyes settled on the reflection of the stars upon the surface of the water. They were a bright blue, thousands or millions of them, moving with the gentle motion of the waves.
But the stars aren’t visible over the ocean now.
Arkon carried them amidst the tiny blue points of light, which flowed in a wide stream toward land. Aymee stared in awe and reached a hand out. Several of the flecks, most no larger than a grain of sand, flared as they flowed between her fingers, returning to their prior brightness once they’d moved away.
“Halorium fields detected,” Sam said. Something resembling a map with spots of blue color, varying in thickness, blinked across the mask. “Interference is currently minimal, but it is suggested that you turn back and avoid further exposure.”
Aymee frowned. “What will the exposure do, Sam?”
“My systems may be compromised by the energy fields emitted by halorium, which could result in failure of life support.”
“Is the halorium dangerous?”
“Only for its potential effects on your PDS.”
An unfamiliar thrum pulsed over her skin; she knew the suit created some sort of invisible buffer between itself and its wearer, but this was the first time she’d felt it.
“It does not have any known adverse effects on living creatures,” Arkon said. The tiny spheres bathed his face in a soft glow, making his smile even gentler.
“Is this what you wanted to show me?” she asked.
“Yes. But we’re not quite where I intended yet.”
“The concentration of the halorium radiation is increasing,” Sam said, a hint of static in his voice. The vibrations in the suit increased.
“Sam, release the mask.”
The seal broke with a hiss and the thrumming ceased. Aymee removed the mask and tugged off her hood. Relaxing against Arkon’s back, she kept her arms around him as he continued forward, smiling when one of his hands brushed her arm.
The blue flecks thickened around them until it looked as though they were swimming through a clear night sky. Waves of blue flared, rippling out around them.
“The color reminds me of your glow,” Aymee said.
“I do not think it is an accident,” he replied. “Many native sea creatures have similar bioluminescence.”
Arkon took them toward a stretch of beach. The sand was pale against the dark, imposing forms of the cliffs backing it, but even from a distance, she could tell it was covered with the little flecks of light. As soon as the water was shallow enough, she released her hold and walked alongside Arkon onto land.
She turned to face the ocean, water skimming past her ankles, and her breath caught at the beauty of it. Waves rolled ashore, and the flecks
they disturbed pulsed like lightning crackling in the clouds. Kneeling, she ran her hand over the water’s surface, watching it come to life, and when she lifted her hand, particles sparkled on her suit.
“This is incredible!” she exclaimed, looking up at Arkon.
His eyes were upon her. “It is.”
Warmth flooded her. The combination of his words and intense expression made her heart pound. She looked back down. “Why isn’t it like this everywhere?”
“I do not know,” he replied, moving closer. “But this — this place, at this moment — is just for the two of us.”
Aymee tilted her head back and smiled. She stood up, running a finger from the center of his waist to his chest. “What should the two of us do in such a place?”
“Anything we want.”
Stepping away from him, Aymee moved up the beach until she was a safe distance from the water. She tossed the mask into the sand and turned to face Arkon. Wrapping her hand around the suit’s centerpiece, she twisted her fingers, and the fabric separated at her back.
“And what do you want, Arkon?” she asked, peeling the sleeves off her arms.
He approached slowly, the glowing surf sweeping around his tentacles, gaze fixed upon her. “I want you. Only you. Forever, you.”
Aymee’s heart raced. His voice, deep and filled with desire, enveloped her. She slipped the suit down her body until she was able to kick it aside. Her breasts ached, and her nipples tightened, begging for his touch, and a throb of arousal slickened her inner thighs. She held her arms out to him.
“You have me.”
He slipped an arm around her waist, and she looped hers around his neck. He eased her onto the sand and held himself over her. Tiny glowing orbs clung to his skin, granting him an ethereal visage.
Arkon leaned down and slanted his mouth over hers. His kiss was equal amounts love and lust, tenderness and passion, possessiveness and surrender. Her hands roamed over his chest and shoulders to cup his face as she returned the kiss with everything she had to give.
The Kraken Series Boxset: A Sci-fi Alien Romance Series Books 1-3 with Bonus Exclusive Short Story Page 55
