Page 32 of Rising from the Depths

She recoiled as he turned his face back toward her; she hadn’t meant to do it, hadn’t even thought about it.

There was a fire in his eyes, but it wasn’t fueled by the fury she’d expected. Maroon rippled across his skin, mingling with the crimson. “Are you angry, female?”

“I didn’t mean to—”

“Are youangry?” he growled, looming over her. “Are you angry about the way I talk to you? About the deaths of your friends, about the loss of your leg, about the way your mate abandoned you like you were a piece of refuse he’d grown tired of?”

Fresh tears, tears of anguish and fury, gathered in her eyes. She pressed her hands to his shoulders and shoved, but he didn’t budge. “Why are you doing this?”

“Because anger is a tool, and you have failed to utilize yours to its full potential. Be angry, Eva. Latch onto it. He cannot harm you in your fury. Latch onto it and see how strong you are!”

“I can’t!”

“If you couldn’t, you would have died with them.” He reached forward and grasped her jaw. She could feel the pinpricks of his claws against her cheeks. “You fought for them. Now is the time to fight foryourself. You deserve better than what Blake has given you. And you will not lie down and take whatever krullshit he or anyone else tries to throw your way. You are better than all of them, and you will know it if I have to shout it at you every day for the rest of your life!”

Eva blinked, her tears falling as she stared into his eyes, searching them; they were filled with fury, passion, a hint of desperation, but above all a sense ofneed. His lips were pulled back, his sharp teeth bared, their white color a stark contrast to the red tones of his skin.

She reached out and cupped his jaw. “Why are you doing this for me, Kronus?” she asked softly, brushing her thumb over his cheek.

He nearly recoiled from her touch, confusion flitting across his expression — as though the last thing he expected was for his aggression to be answered with gentleness.

“Because someone must remind you of your worth even if you cannot see it yourself,” he replied.

“Does anyone see yours?”

His brow furrowed, and the tension faded from his jaw as his mouth fell open. His eyes shifted from side to side without looking away from hers. “I have done things that cannot be forgiven, Eva,” he rasped.

The rawness of his answer stunned Eva. She hadn’t expected him to respond, hadn’t expected this vulnerability in him. Perhaps she was looking into it too deeply, but she couldn’t help feeling like he’d opened himself to her, if only in a tiny way, had shown his trust in her.

“Because they won’t forgive you, or because you won’t forgive yourself?” she asked, sliding her fingers over his jaw soothingly.

He closed his eyes and leaned into her touch. His hold on her face eased slightly, and the pads of his fingers trailed over her skin with surprising delicacy despite the strength he possessed. Just as he seemed on the verge of leaning closer still, he lowered his hand and withdrew from her touch.

Kronus opened his eyes and met her gaze. “I am here foryou, Eva. And I will not let you fall.”

Chapter 11

Kronus was gone when Eva woke the next morning. She looked around the room; the wood shavings had been cleaned up, the door was closed, and golden sunlight streamed in through the gauzy curtains. Eva frowned as she sat up.

It was strange not having him beside her, whether he was pushing her through exercises, forcing her to eat, or carving a piece of wood with an exaggerated look of concentration on his face. For days now, he’d been there when she went to sleep and when she rose. A pang of guilt struck her. When did he rest? Didn’t he long for his home, for his own space? He’d stuck by her, pushing her to do better and refusing to let her wallow in self-pity.

Iwilldo better.

He’d been right. She wasalive, and it was because of him. Twice he’d saved her, and he continued to make her fight, continued to insist she was worth saving. It was time she showed Kronus that shewantedto live. That she was willing and able to fight for herself.

Deciding to take advantage of the privacy, Eva pushed herself to the edge of the bed, grabbed her crutches, and propped the pads under her arms. Sliding the rest of the way off the bed, she found her balance and walked to the bathroom.

Though it was a simple, plain room, it benefited from the clinic’s status as one of the surviving structures from the colonization — there was a toilet and a sink with running water on one side, and a large showerhead on the other with a drain in the tile floor beneath it. A floral-patterned curtain provided the only color in the room. Sturdy-looking handles were bolted to the wall near the shower, and a seat jutted out from beneath them.

Eva relieved herself and quickly stripped out of the clinic gown. Her flesh pebbled at the chill in the air. She turned on the shower and stepped into the spray as soon as the water was steaming, leaving her crutches against the wall outside the splash zone.

The hot water sluiced down her body, and she nearly moaned at how good it felt. She’d been surprised by the easily accessed hot water the first time she’d showered here two days ago. Nothing in Emmiton had been maintained well enough to grant hot water on command; a warm bath meant building a fire first. Though most homes in The Watch had running water, she didn’t know anyone who could turn on their faucets and have hot water on demand.

She’d asked Aymee about it, and Aymee had explained that more resources had been devoted to keeping the clinic running than any other building in town simply to ensure that the townsfolk had the best care possible over the long years since the first colonists landed.

Once she’d finished showering, she dried off, dressed, collected her crutches, and returned to her room. She was sitting on the edge of the bed brushing her hair when there was a knock at the door, which opened a few moments later. Aymee poked her head through, caught Eva’s gaze, and grinned.

“I have a surprise for you,” she said, stepping into the room.

---