Page 28 of Heart of the Deep

Neo’s grip on Larkin loosened as he tumbled sideways. Dracchus forced himself between the two and broke Neo’s hold. Despite his dazed state, Neo raked his claws across Dracchus’s back, creating fresh trails of agony.

Dracchus wrapped his arms around Larkin and pushed to the surface.

She sucked in a huge, ragged breath, and then fell into a coughing fit. Her body shook, and the force of her coughs rattled through Dracchus. He placed a hand on her hair and tilted her head back, checking her neck; watery blood flowed from several minor cuts, and bruises were forming on her pale skin.

She struggled in his arms, dragging her blunt claws across his skin, hitting him with boots, elbows, and knees. Dracchus tightened his hold on her.

“Be still, Larkin,” he rumbled.

Her frantic gaze lifted to his face as though seeing him for the first time, and she ceased her struggling. She shivered against him.

Neo surfaced a moment later, a body length away. Dracchus turned, shifting Larkin to one side to keep himself between her and the other kraken.

“Even after what they have done, you defend them?” Neo shouted over the roaring ocean.

“They have done no worse than you would, if given the chance,” Dracchus replied.

“I demand her death!”

“You will demand nothing. Be thankful you have your life.”

Nero snarled, baring his teeth as he advanced. “You threaten me,your own kind, while you protect that filthy human slit?”

Larkin stiffened. The warm, steady flow of her breath against his neck intensified.

Where was the honor in this? Neo, Kronus, and their fellows claimed to uphold the ways of their people, but attacking a defenseless female violated all those traditions.

“Cry off, Neo, or I will—”

A loud boom sounded over the other noises, interrupting Dracchus’s words. Something hit the water with a hissing splash in front of Neo.

Not thunder.

Dracchus turned his head toward the smaller boat in time to see another gun-flash and hear the next boom. Another round struck the water, spraying mist into Dracchus’s face.

Neo growled and vanished below the surface.

“Hold your breath,” Dracchus said.

“What? No! The boat is there. Just let me go.” She loosened her hold on him.

Turning away from the boats, he swam, adjusting his rhythm to account for his hold on her. “Hold your breath, Larkin.”

Another gunshot. Dracchus didn’t know if they were firing normal bullets or the sleep bullets Larkin had used to capture the kraken, but he didn’t intend to find out.

“Dracchus, no! Take me—”

He dipped down, and before the water closed over their heads, he heard her deep inhalation.

Chapter 8

The rain began shortly after they left the ships behind, silencing Larkin’s repeated demands to be returned to her comrades. She offered no resistance when he shifted her onto his back to free his arms. Her body was soft and warm against him, and the feel of her hold around his neck and shoulders was surprisingly comforting.

He’d never been one to feel lonely — not until recently — but he was grateful for her nearness amidst the restless, impossibly dark waves, which were illuminated only by occasional flashes of lightning.

When the storm finally broke and the water eased, a hint of dawn loomed at the edge of his vision.

The sunrise gave Dracchus a target — the sun always came up over land, and they needed land to rest and recover from the night’s ordeals. He swam toward the light on the horizon, not allowing himself to slow as the gloomy gray of early dawn gave way to red, orange, and finally gold. The sun was fully visible over the ocean when he spotted land in the distance.

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