Page 53 of Jewel of the Sea

“I am not a human, Aymee. And it was a relatively minor wound.”

“This...this is fascinating!” She looked up and met his eyes, bubbling with excitement. “You heal this quickly with any injury?”

“It depends upon the nature and severity. We are not invincible, by any means. Cuts such as this are quickly healed, but more serious wounds take days, if they are not mortal to begin with. Jax once lost a tentacle during a hunt. It regenerated over the course of many weeks.”

“Did they know this? The people who engineered your race?”

“They did.” He smiled down at her, and her excitement was reflected in his eyes. “It was one of the traits inherent to the cephalopods they used as a basis for our design. As I mentioned, I believe they wanted us to be as self-sufficient as possible. Eliminating the necessity for regular medical attention would’ve gone a long way in that regard.”

Lightning flashed again, dragging thunder in its wake. The sound vibrated through Aymee as she ran her fingertips over his scar. Arkon’s hearts thumped against her other palm, which rested flat on his chest.

“It’s amazing,” she whispered.

What would Halora be like now if those long-dead humans had treated the kraken differently? Might humans and kraken have lived and worked together to build a mutual society on land and sea alike?

What wonders might have been accomplished with tools that could alter life, that could create it? How many lives had been lost in the years since the first landing because so much of that technology, so many of those techniques, had been swallowed up by time?

One of Arkon’s tentacles cradled her bottom. Aymee started; she’d been so shocked and excited upon discovering his wound had healed that she’d straddled him without realizing.

He settled his hands on her hips.

She stared into his eyes, and awareness crackled across her skin — awareness of his touch, of his heat, ofhim.

Of her desire to have him.

Aymee hurriedly climbed off and sat on the step beside him. The fabric of her skirt offered no protection from the cold radiating from the concrete. She didn’t want to force a repeat of the situation three days before, when he’d fled her attention; she couldn’t handle the rejection right now.

“Are we going to the Facility?” she asked.

He shifted upright and faced her, frowning. “No, we will not be going. But I should.”

“You’re leaving me here?”

“I wish that I didn’t have to, but there’s no other choice, Aymee. I have to inform my people of what’s happened, have to warn them, and there are supplies I can retrieve that will benefit you.”

Relief flooded Aymee, easing her tense limbs and pounding heart. “Then you’re coming back?”

“OfcourseI’m coming back. After everything, do you think I would truly abandon you?”

Now that he’d said it aloud, the ridiculousness of her fear dawned upon her. If her emotions hadn’t already been so frayed, she might’ve felt shame, but she had to cut herself some slack — the last twelve hours or so had been some of the hardest of her life. “I’m sorry.”

“No need for apologies.”

“You can’t take me with you?”

He shook his head. “You would not survive the journey, Aymee.”

“Why?” But she already knew. She stared down at the concrete beneath her feet. With Arkon here, this place was dark but tolerable, and all the sounds — most of them produced by wind and water — were almost soothing once they faded to the recesses of her consciousness. But alone?

Every little noise could easily become a monster creeping toward her through the murk — Cyrus with his battered face dragging himself up the ladder, or Randall with a neat little bullet hole in his head.

It was irrational, but this place was foreign to her, and Aymee would have only her thoughts to keep her company until Arkon returned.

Aymee’s imagination had always been active, especially when no one was around to distract her. Normally, that was a good thing — it allowed her immense surges of inspired creativity — but given her current mental state, the prospect frightened her.

“Even if you could hold your breath for long enough, the pressure at that depth could cause you harm. I will bring a PDS back with me. Those are the suits Macy wears to travel underwater. But...even with the suit, Aymee,” he hooked a finger beneath her chin and turned her face back toward him, “I do not think it wise for me to take you to the Facility.”

Her brows lowered. “Why not? Macy is there.”

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