Page 56 of Of Song and Darkness

I slipped my arms through the sleeves as Kai’s power pulsated over my body. What used to feel like agonizing pain was featherlight kisses as it washed over me now. Kai sat me on my feet as my brow wrinkled in confusion.

“It didn’t hurt that time,” I marveled, assuming I was growing accustomed to the change.

“I can be gentle when I want to be,” Kai whispered, the stubble on his jaw brushing across the sensitive skin of my cheek.

I reared backward as my mouth opened and closed like a fish and all kinds of words to call him rushed forward at once. “You sea snake! You made me feel that torturous pain on purpose?”

Kai shrugged, a wicked twinkle in his eyes as he turned away from me. I stomped after him, prepared to tear him limb from limb for being so connivingly vile.

A roar ripped from Kai’s throat as he gripped his chest and crashed to his knees. It felt like the world stopped spinning, and my legs were moving in slow motion as I made my way to him, then fell to my knees.

Kai’s eyes were glassy with pain, and he clawed at his chest like a madman, a person possessed. I latched onto his hands. Terror took root in the pit of my stomach, releasing deadly doses of fear in my bloodstream. The bite marks from the Dark Hydra were blackened and inflamed, as if the skin had been charred, and I could see the black poison coursing through his veins, heading for his heart.

Cael crouched down beside me, fear in his expression. The crew gathered around, all with looks of concern for their captain.

“What do we do?” I breathlessly asked Cael.

Cael’s dark brows gathered, betraying his concern. “Get him to bed.”

Several men rushed forward, gripping Kai under his arms and lifting him from the deck. I followed them below, fear knotting between my shoulder blades as they laid him in his bed. I crawled in after him, perched beside him on my knees.

“Out!” Cael barked, and the men quickly exited. “What happened down there? What is this?” Cael brushed his hands along the darkened veins, and Kai roared in pain.

I gripped Kai’s hand and squeezed as tears flooded my eyes. “Dark Water…it’s inside of him. The Dark Hydra was made of Dark Water, and when it bit him…” My voice broke on a whimper.

Kai’s eyes shot open, further adding to my concern. His electrifying blue eyes were duller than I had ever seen. So dark that they were nearly black.

My body shook uncontrollably, emotion welling up inside of me. “What are we going to do?”

“I know a lot about doctoring.” Cael sighed. “But I don’t know anything about this.” Hope sank further in my chest when Cael’s usually strong, collected demeanor betrayed his fear. “I’m going to get some supplies to clean the wound.” Emotion gathering in his eyes, Cael rushed out the door.

I flung myself onto Kai. His body was searing to the touch, but that did not stop me from lying beside him and wrapping my arms and legs around him as if doing so would keep him from slipping away from me.

At some point during the night, fatigue had gotten the better of me, and I closed my eyes. The soft lap of waves against the hull of the ship beckoned me awake. I shot upright when I realized that it was morning and I had unwillingly fallen asleep. My gaze snapped to Kai, and all my resolve flew out the window when I saw how deathly still he was.

“Kai,” I wailed and threw myself onto his chest.

“Easy, sea demon, wait until I feel better to do that,” Kai’s gruff voice was a balm to my aching soul. His face pinched with agony, but that did not stop him from teasing me. I smiled as a tear ran down my cheek.

I pulled back the bandages that Cael had applied, but my glimmer of hope failed when I saw that Dark Water was still slowly venturing toward his heart.

I laid my head on his chest as a sob erupted from within. “I don’t know what to do, Kai. Tell me what to do.”

Kai reached his hand up, brushing it through my hair. “There’s nothing you can do. I’m probably getting what I deserve anyway.”

I soaked his chest with my salty tears as I hugged him tighter. “Don’t say that.”

“Your tears are wasted on someone like me, Rhea.”

Rhea. At this instant, I hated the use of my name on his lips. That meant he was being entirely too serious and didn’t feel like exchanging our familiar banter. I pulled my face from his chest, wiping the tears away with the back of my hand. Folding my hands on top of each other, I placed my chin on them and leaned against his chest. I wanted to see his eyes, see the expression on his brawny, stubble-lined face. If I was going to lose him, I wanted to know everything about him, any detail that would imbed me deeper in his life.

I collected my fleeting courage and asked the question that had been burning on my tongue since I found out he was the son of Poseidon. “Tell me about your father?”

“I don’t have a father,” he spat. “But if you’re talking about the male who contributed to bringing me into this world, I wouldn’t know. I never met him.”

My brow scrunched with confusion. “Did he not know he had a son?”

“He knew. I made sure he knew by becoming the greatest sea monster hunter that ever lived. No normal man could have accomplished what I have.”

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