Page 33 of Heart of the Deep

He rose, and her feet left the ground. She lifted her legs instinctively, squeezing her thighs against his sides, and he looped his arms under her knees to guide them around his waist. He was big enough that her feet couldn’t touch on the other side.

“Who is Arkon?” she asked.

“One of my people,” he replied as they entered the water. The rhythm of his movement reminded her of the way the ship had moved while the sea was calm. “He uses words the way humans do.Cryptic.”

“And you don’t?” She tightened her arms and legs around him as the water rose above her midsection. It was cold at first, but she quickly adapted to it.

“I do not toy with words.”

She felt it when they lifted away from land. The shock and exhaustion had left their previous journey a blur in her memory, but now she was alert and attentive. His method of movement in water was just as strange as on land, creating a similarly odd rhythm. He spread his tentacles wide and forced them back together, propelling them forward. Their burst of speed slowly deteriorated until he repeated the process.

She leaned forward, touching her cheek to his as water lapped around her shoulders.

He pulled his face away from that first contact, tension thrumming through his body, but it was short-lived. He soon relaxed and moved his head back to its original position.

Eventually, the distant mainland emerged from the horizon, growing steadily larger and more defined. Larkin focused on it, ignoring the feel of Dracchus’s body. What good would it do her to watch the muscles of his arms stretch and relax, or to brush her fingertips over his shoulders as they moved?

Randall was all that mattered.

She didn’t know where he was, but if there was even a tiny chance Dracchus was telling the truth — and, crazy as it felt, she didn’t think he was lying — shehadto take it.

Chapter 9

Branches and leaves snapped and crunched around Dracchus as he followed Larkin through the dense vegetation, announcing his presence to all creatures within earshot. The destruction in his wake left a visible trail.

Everything was strange to him on land — the colors, the smells, the tastes and sounds. Living and dead plants, while essentially the same thing, possessed entirely different textures and scents, and even the ground had no consistent feel from place to place. The thick, hot air held only enough moisture to tease Dracchus and make him long for the sea.

The vegetation seemed to claw at him as he passed, like it recognized he did not belong. Everything in the jungle felt soclose.

Larkin, by contrast, moved silently and effortlessly, slipping between plants and walking over the cluttered ground as easily as Dracchus could swim.

“Are you always this broody?” she asked.

Dracchus looked up. Larkin stood on the crest of a small rise, looking down at him over her shoulder. Her damp clothing clung to her body, particularly around her breasts and backside, accenting her curves. He trailed his gaze over her body slowly; it was easier than answering her question, which had only confused him. A brood was a group of younglings. Did she think he was acting like a youngling?

Larkin turned to face him, one brow arched. “What are you doing?”

“Studying your body.”

She frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. There was a hesitance to her action that spoke of uncertainty; was it because he was a kraken?

Her attempt to hide her breasts only pressed them together and pushed them upward, granting him a more enticing view.

“What is wrong?” he asked. Why were humans always so intent on covering themselves? Even Randall, a fit, confident male, wore clothing that covered most of his body. Dracchus understood that humans were more sensitive to cold than kraken, but how couldanycreature find this air cold?

“Well, most men don’t just admit to ogling women.” She shifted her weight onto one leg, cocking her hip to the side. “They like to think they’re subtle about it.”

Dracchus glanced down at himself. “I do not think I am capable of being subtle.”

The corners of her lips twitched before finally lifting into a grin. “I guess not.”

He’d not seen her smile in the brief time he’d known her, and the expression lit up her face like he couldn’t have imagined. For an instant, he saw Larkin without worry, without pressure, with nothing but a bit of joy. And she was beautiful.

“You’re doing it again,” she said, grinning wider.

Dracchus nodded. He’d spent considerable time with a small group of humans over the last year, so their features were not particularly new or unusual to him. Yet he couldn’t help staring at Larkin, even with so many unfamiliar things surrounding him.

She turned away and lowered her arms. “Come on. We need to find a source of water and a place to shelter before it gets dark.”

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