Page 29 of Song of the Abyss

He tensed as she reached out, running her finger along one of the nearest coral pieces. Daios hadn’t realized they were quite so close to them.

“These are sharp,” she said, her voice muffled and low.

Releasing his hold on her waist, he trusted her to hold on to him as he grabbed her hand. Gently, he forced her to let him look at the tiny finger that had been in so much danger. No wound, at least.

He pressed her hand between them, tucking her arms against his chest. “You stay very still,” he said, trying to keep his voice low, so she knew how important this was. “I fear there are achromos following us.”

The words were probably ridiculous to say to her. She was an achromo, and of course she knew her people were going to follow them. Not to mention she had no idea what he was saying.

So he gestured toward the lights, moving his hand as though it were a ship through the water. Then he reached for one of the corals, flaring red even brighter so she could see the plume of blood that immediately erupted from his skin at the barest touch.

He would keep her safe, he tried to mime to her. He would take the wounds for her.

Daios didn’t like the thought of her bleeding. He didn’t want to see those red ribbons stretch from her skin as they moved through the sharp red coral bed. Her blood would likely taste sweet, and he didn’t know how he would react to that. Not when all he could think about was a sea turning black with blood and all the people he had lost. All those souls that blamed him for their deaths.

Cool fingers touched his face. The strange texture of her gloves didn’t change the calm that descended upon him as she ghosted those fingers over his forehead. She smoothed the creases there, her touch lingering a little longer than it needed to.

And then his little witch of a woman whispered, “We can go through the coral. I’ll keep my arms tucked in tight.”

He could almost hear the ships now. The strange metallic hum of their movements through the water and he could certainly smell the oil in his gills that only those machines put out into the ocean.

With a sharp nod, he descended into the madness with her. The sharp spines cut into his back, slicing through his arms and shoulders as he pushed them into the only opening he could find. All he had to do was get to the bottom of this coral and then there should be space for them to swim.

All throughout the struggle, she remained still as stone in his arms. He gripped her around the waist, holding her spine in his one arm as he used his entire body to break through the coral. He would be her shield if that kept her safe.

Finally, he broke through to the bottom. There was enough space here for him to swim, and for him to keep her away from those sharp pieces. If anything stretched too close to the silty sand below, it would cut only him.

Until he smelled her blood.

He dragged the scent deep into his gills, feeling it flutter so soft against the edges of his rib gills and then he could taste her on his tongue. Metallic and oh so sweet.

His first reaction wasn’t one he was proud of. He wanted more of it. He wanted to sink his teeth into the graceful column of her neck and make more of that sweet scent plume in the water so he could drag it into himself. But then he hated the thought of hurting her. He hated that she was hurting now.

Tugging her in front of him to unfurl her body, he started looking for the wound. There wasn’t anything on her arms and hands, but of course he knew that. She had her arms tucked in to him. So maybe it was on her back. He spun her around, ignoring that she had started speaking. He had to find the wound. He had to make sure she wasn’t going to bleed out on him.

He’d promised.

Daios had promised he would keep this one alive. But the luck that followed him was so evil that no matter what he did, it felt like he was killing everyone and anyone that meant...

She tapped her fingers against his shoulder as he turned her, looking again for the cut that would dare to mar her flesh. Then more tapping, rhythmic movements that brought his attention to her face.

“The lights,” she said, her voice little more than a whisper. “You have to turn off the lights.”

She’d been touching her fingers to every single light that was flashing on his skin. Like she was trying to cover them up with her fingers, or that perhaps she thought her touch had turned them off. And when he finally pulled himself out of that dark place and realized the risk he was taking, Daios allowed them to sink into darkness.

It didn’t matter where she was cut. Clearly she wasn’t so injured that she risked death, and the ships were bound to be close to them now. Too close.

He pulled her against him again, holding her tightly against his twin heart beats as the strange ships moved over their heads. The silver bellies glowed, and he could see their insides through the glass panels that separated the sea from the creatures inside. Giant beams of light moved in front of the ships. They were searching for the two of them, and if he wasn’t careful, they would find them.

Nearly vibrating with anger, he drew her closer to him yet again and tucked them flat against the ground. The red coral and dark earth would hide his body, but her silver wetsuit would stand out just as much as the ships did. So he had to cover her.

At least, that’s what he told himself. He said that he was only covering her so that he could keep her safe for a little longer. He refused to admit that her tiny hands pressed against his bare skin twisted something inside him.

Then she started tracing circles against his chest. The circles became patterns as they waited for the ships to stop their search. Patterns he had no idea how to decipher, but fuck.

It felt so good to have someone touch him.

He couldn’t remember the last time someone touched him just to touch him. He’d always spent such a large portion of his time alone, and when he wasn’t alone, he was fighting. That was it. He had nothing else in his life until this little beast was forced onto his path.

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