Page 58 of Jewel of the Sea

“As I told you, Macy, kraken younglings develop quickly after birth,” Jax said gently, putting an arm around her shoulder and drawing her against his side. “Her growth will slow when she gets older.”

“But she won’t be a baby for long.” Macy sighed wistfully. She pecked a kiss on Jax’s cheek, turned her gaze to Arkon, and stepped out of her mate’s embrace, eagerness gleaming in her eyes. “Did Aymee have more letters for me?”

“Yes, she did,” Arkon said. “But...I do not have them.”

Macy glanced at the container and frowned. “What do you mean?”

“There is a situation,” Dracchus said. He had Sarina up high, moving her around as though she were flying. She waved her arms and tentacles in a pantomime of swimming.

“What situation?” Macy demanded.

“Aymee is safe. Her injury was only a minor one,” Arkon replied.

“What?”

“A bruise! She’s only bruised. She was struck in the face by one of the hunters yesterday, but it should heal normally.”

Macy stared at him, jaw agape, eyes wide, but there was a moment’s delay before true anger tinted her expression. Fury etched itself into every line of her features. “Tell me what happened.”

Arkon nodded. He spoke rapidly, telling them about the exchange from beginning and end, leaving out his regrets — even if different choices might’ve resulted in a different outcome, it was no longer important. The past was done.

“Bring her here,” Macy said as soon as he finished. It wasn’t a request.

“I do not believe that to be a wise choice, currently,” Arkon replied.

“What do you mean? She’s out there alone and hurt. I know how that feels. She should be here, where we can keep her safe.”

Jax winced at her words but shook his head. “Macy, this place is not even fully safe for you, and you nearly died to protect a kraken. It would be an even greater risk for her.”

“She could have died protecting Arkon! How is that any different? She’s been trying to turn the hunters away from kraken, surely she’s proven herself enough.”

“No one outside this room has witnessed any of the things she’s done. For some, our word will not be enough,” Jax said. “Another human brought here without the approval of our people as a whole might well be enough for Kronus to throw everything into chaos.”

“He does not need everyone’s support,” Dracchus said. “He only needs them to doubt, and it will further his goals.”

Macy visibly deflated. “Then what can we do? I hate that she’s out there by herself.”

Seeing her so suddenly resigned hurt Arkon; his spirits sank. In all his life, Macy had been only the second person he’d considered a friend, and he did not enjoy feeling as though he were the cause of her distress.

“She won’t be,” he said. “Help me gather whatever will be useful to her. We have fresh water, and if you have food to spare, it would be of benefit. I do not know what else, though I am certain there is more.”

“I’ll gather things for her.” She closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. Arkon returned her embrace. “Thank you. If it were anyone else, I’d probably still be arguing to have her brought here…but I trust you.”

Once she released Arkon, Jax hooked a tentacle around Macy’s waist and drew her back against his chest, enfolding her in his arms. Arkon exchanged a look with him; there was no threat from Jax, but he wasn’t likely to ever be comfortable with another male touching her, with another male’sscenton her.

And wouldn’t Arkon himself feel the same regarding Aymee?

“I will keep her safe, Macy.”

Chapter 12

Time had never held much meaning to Aymee in The Watch; she woke with the sunrise most days, worked in the clinic, painted, sketched, visited her friends, and readied for bed around sunset. On her few free days, she often helped with other duties — mostly tending crops, before Macy had left.

But the passage of time had altered after she met Arkon. Days spent in longing and anticipation dragged on through eternity, while moments with him fluttered by much too quickly, falling away into the past with startling finality.

Worst of all was time passed alone and scared in a cold, dark, unfamiliar place.

The rain continued long after Arkon had left, but the thunder and lightning diminished as the storm swept inland. Despite their lessened intensity, each bone-rattling boom quickened her heart and shortened her breath, leaving her on edge.

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