Page 24 of Rising from the Depths

He lowered his head further. Desire kindled within him, shoving aside his frustrations. A little closer and he’d feel her mouth against his, taste her upon his lips, and take her breath into himself. His cock pressed against the inside of his slit, aching with sudden need.

He released his hold on her and drew back before giving into temptation.

“Tomorrow, Eva,” he promised, voice husky.

She shifted onto her side again just before he left.

* * *

With elbows leaned against the edge of the table, Kronus turned the little carving between his fingers. His eyes kept drifting to the figure’s broken leg no matter how hard he tried to direct them elsewhere. Each time he looked at it, he turned the figure a little more, as though the slight change of angle would somehow make it appear different.

Heavy pounding on the door startled him out of his thoughts. He shifted his gaze to the window, noting the deep orange of the sky; the sun had nearly set. How long had he been at the table, lost in contemplation? It had still been afternoon when he picked up the carving.

He dropped the figure, pushed himself upright, and moved toward the door as the pounding repeated. The noise grated on him, nearly making the tips of his tentacles curl. Grabbing the handle, he tugged the door open.

“What?” he growled.

Aymee stood on the other side, eyes wide, brown, curly hair in disarray, and shoulders heaving with ragged breaths. “Is Eva here with you?”

Her disheveled appearance cut through Kronus’s annoyance, allowing confusion to fill its place. “No. Why?”

“She’s not at the clinic, and her wheelchair is gone. I thought… I didn’t see you come, but I thought you might have taken her for another walk…” She swallowed. “She’s gone. I don’t know anyone else who might’ve come to visit, unless Blake…”

“I know where she is,” Kronus said. He latched onto the doorframe with his tentacles and pulled himself through.

Aymee stumbled out of his way. “Where?”

“Go back to the clinic. I will bring her there.” He hurried toward the rocky path leading down to the nearby beach.

“Kronus, where are you going?” Aymee called behind him.

He didn’t answer; there wasn’t time. Eva’s words echoed in his mind.

Why didn’t you just let me die, too?

He scrambled down the path and dragged himself across the sand as fast as he could. Instinctually, he knew the land route was a shorter distance, but he was far faster in the water.To the abyss with the razorbacks.

Kronus dove into the surf without a backward glance. The water, which was stained red-gold by the setting sun, shimmered liked liquid fire. His tentacles lashed forward, digging into the wet sand to pull his body forward until he was deep enough to swim. His hearts pounded like peals of thunder in his chest as he sped along the coast.

His muscles burned with exertion by the time he rounded the cape atop which the lighthouse stood, but Kronus pushed harder, faster, drawing upon reserves of strength he hadn’t known he possessed. Though his life had been in danger on countless occasions, this seemed the direst, riskiest, most important situation of his existence.

Far ahead, the underside of the dock materialized out of the ocean haze. He swam closer to the land, sweeping his gaze along the shallow coastal water, but saw no sign of Eva. That was a small relief. He pushed to the surface.

Once his eyes adjusted to the open air, his vision fell on the stone stairs bridging the dock platform to the beach. Eva’s wheelchair lay on its side at the base of the steps. A trail of disturbed sand led away from the chair toward the water.

And Eva was at the trail’s end, crawling slowly toward the sea on her belly.

This was where it had happened, where her life had been forever, irreversibly altered.

Kronus ducked underwater and darted forward, clawing at the sand to drag himself up onto the beach once he reached the shallows. He rose out of the water and hurried toward her.

Eva was at the water’s edge when Kronus reached her. Extending an arm, she buried her fingers in the wet ground and pulled herself a little closer to the sea. A little closer to dying with her friends.

A rage sparked in Kronus. He took hold of her beneath her arms, and she yelped as he lifted her up, swung her away from the tide, and dropped her on her back in the softer, dry sand. Her eyes met his, and for an instant, she stilled.

Then she opened her mouth and screamed. It was the most primal, agonized sound he’d ever heard — and it called to the despair deep within him.

She moved to sit up, but he lowered himself over her, caught her wrists, and pinned them to the ground as he restrained her kicking legs with a few of his tentacles. She bucked and writhed beneath him.

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