Page 52 of The Sea-Ogre's Eager Bride

I sag against my savior and listen to muffled, waterlogged conversations between him and Ranan. No words register, just the newcomer’s warm, friendly voice and Ranan’s sharper one.

Then I’m hauled bodily into the air and the world tilts around me. I’m flung on my back on a hard surface and squint up at the sun for a moment before hands are pressed on my abdomen and push, hard.

I immediately vomit saltwater.

Someone turns me on my side as I puke, and I stare at delicate feet with a sparkling bracelet around one ankle. A woman’s feet. When I roll onto my back again, I see there are multiple people standing over me with looks of concern on their faces. They all have the head sails like Ranan, four strong arms, and the same greenish cast to their skin.

That’s how I meet Ranan’s family—upon my back, covered in vomit, half drowned and naked.

Lord Vor has taught me so much humility this day.

Chapter

Twenty-Three

RANAN

The healer’s home is a crowded one.

Daidu’s tent is usually full of jars with cork stoppers—each containing fermented brews made from seaweed, various fish guts, and Vor knows what else—all for use with his healing. There is a small padded bed tucked amidst the jars, and a second padded bed for those that require healing. That alone is enough to fill his domain, but on this day, my tall mother hovers over the healer, frowning down upon him as he works on my leg.

And at my side, Vali is fast asleep, her hand clutching tightly to mine even unconscious.

After we were rescued from the water by my uncle Dorran and his mate Balo, I insisted that the healer examine my Valessa first. My wound is old, and she took in a lot of water in her valiant attempt to swim at my side. Now that she has been deemed well enough, she remains with me, but she is so fatigued that she has passed out.

My poor wife. I reach over and brush a lock of still-wet hair from her brow. Ever since I have been injured, she has notgotten a moment’s rest. Vali just burrows closer to my side, her breathing steady.

“What bit you?” Daidu asks, leaning in close to get a good look at my leg. “Doesn’t seem like a shark. The bite is too deep.”

“Sea dragon. One has settled near my grotto.”

Daidu clucks his tongue, reaching behind him to get fresh towels while examining my wound. “Bad luck, there.”

“Aye. I’ll set up elsewhere. Akara is still too wild to return to the flotilla.” And I am not sure what Vali would think of being here permanently. She loved the grotto and didn’t seem to mind that it was isolated, but she hasn’t seemed particularly excited about meeting the rest of my people. Perhaps she’s shy.

My mother paces while Daidu pokes and prods my leg. She finally loses her patience and leans over both of us, getting in my face.

“What is the meaning of all this, my son?” My mother keeps her tone low and even so she does not wake my slumbering wife. Her expression is full of emotion, though. Her mouth is pulled down into an angry frown and her eyes are full of concern as she watches Daidu poke and prod at my wounded leg.

The healer pushes my mother aside. “You’re in my light, Ajinai.”

Mother steps over my legs to move to my other side. This puts her closer to the sleeping Vali and her expression changes to one of distaste. “You know this is inappropriate. What will the other flotillas think?”

As if I care? “They’re not here.”

“But they will be in a month! You know the Laena flotilla’s chieftain has that lovely daughter about your age. She’ll be looking for a mate and our flotilla could use new blood.” She crosses her arms over her chest, giving me the same stern, motherly look she has all her life.

“Vali is my wife,” I state again. I have said this twenty times since arriving, and it seems I must continue to say it.

“But…why?” My mother leans forward again and then draws back when the healer shoots her another irked look. “Why, my son? Why a human?”

“Does it matter if she is human or not? I have chosen her.”

“I am not questioning your affection for her,” my mother says. Her expression is genuinely puzzled, as if I am speaking in a strange language. “But a marriage should be about strengthening the flotilla and the bloodlines there. It is about strategic alliances amongst others for the stormy season. It is about strong children, my son. It is one thing for your uncle to have a human mate, but another for you.”

“I do not see why.” I’m trying to keep the impatience out of my voice. I continue to stroke Vali’s hair back from her face, feeling the need to touch her softness, to reassure myself that she’s here and she’s fine. My heart nearly leapt from my chest each time she went under the waves. She tried so very hard even though she knew she didn’t have the skills to keep up with me, but she did not complain. Not once. “My uncle could have contributed to the flotilla’s bloodlines as easily as I could have, but he was allowed to mate who he chose. No one is more giving or thoughtful than Vali.”

My mother lifts a hand and plays with one of her dangling earrings, a sure sign that she’s agitated. “That might be, but keep her on the side and marry a nice woman of the seakind instead.”

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