Page 54 of Rising from the Depths

Another ripple of whispers spread through the crowd, this time with a slightly more alarmed tone.

“If I may,” Ector said, raising his voice to be heard clearly over the crowd as he moved forward. “I know that all the people here, human and kraken alike, socialize with one another frequently. Information has a way of moving through our community with great speed. Most of us know what happened to Eva and her friends, and we were all deeply saddened by it. Most of us also that her mate abandoned her afterward—”

“That is none of your damn business!” Blake shouted.

“It isn’t,” Walter said, nodding, “but itispublic knowledge, Blake. You know that… Well, that sort of thing is news around here, for better or worse, and…”

“And it has been known for some weeks now,” said Ector. “Kronus has taken Eva into his den — hishome— to shelter her and protect her.”

Blake looked at Eva, aghast. “You’re living with that thing?”

Eva glared at him.

“She shares my den, and she is my mate,” Kronus declared.

Let them all know it. I will faceanychallenger to my claim.

“Amongst our kind,” Ector continued, “it is considered the primary, defining purpose of a male to protect his mate for so long as she chooses to keep him. Though the nature and…tenureof those relationships have changed thanks to our friendship with humans, that tradition of protectiveness has not altered. If this woman is Kronus’s mate, and she was threatened, he was simply fulfilling his duty to protect her.”

“That’s not the way we do things here!” a human called.

“Please. Please!” Walter raised his voice, for the first time seeming exasperated. “It’s not ideal, no, but…but the fight is over now, and how many of us can say that we’d behave much differently if we were in that position? A lot of us have gotten into a scuffle or two. It’s part of life. But we pick ourselves up and carry on. Now, unless we all want to spend the time to organize a…a public hearing over this, I don’t think we need to worry on it much further. These folks’ll keep away from each other if they can’t get along because they’re all decent people.

“Now come on. We’ve got lots of food left, and Jon and the rest of the band probably have two or three more songs they know how to play, at least…I mean, depending on whether they’ve played one or two by now.” He cleared his throat, his cheeks burning bright red. “Guess I ought to leave the humor to our more charming citizens. Come on, everyone! Back to it!”

The crowd moved slowly, drifting back toward the other side of the town center, where they’d been gathered before. There was a buzz of conversation in the air, and Kronus didn’t miss the occasional over-the-shoulder glances cast his way. He searched for Blake, but the human had either lost himself in the crowd or fled.

Eva gently withdrew from Kronus’s hold and met his gaze. “Let’s go home.”

He nodded; his insides churned with unexpressed anger, and fire blazed through his veins. He understood that Eva and Blake had been mates before; though he couldn’t help his jealousy over it, their prior relationship was nothing to brood over. Butthis, this blatant disrespect of both Kronus and Eva, thispublicdisrespect…

Even if the immediate situation had passed, Kronus could not release the feelings it had sparked within him.

Before he could lead Eva away, he noticed Ector approaching. Kronus’s muscles tensed; he’d always held the elder in high esteem, but Kronus’s actions over the past couple years had not necessarily conveyed that. He knew his skin was still red, but he couldn’t find the will to revert it to normal.

“That was unfortunate,” Ector said, shaking his head. His lips were downturned in a small frown.

“I was not—” Kronus began, but Ector waved a hand dismissively, silencing him.

“I lay no blame upon you, Kronus. What good would it do for me to say I expect better of you when dealing with humans? I do not know a kraken who would not have hurried to defend his mate in that situation.” Ector’s frown shifted into a gentle smile as he turned his attention to Eva. “I am Ector, one of the kraken elders. We are…something like your councilmen. I have heard much about you, Eva, although I would rather our first meeting have been under more pleasant circumstances.”

Eva offered a tight, forced smile. “It’s nice to meet you, Ector.”

The elder nodded and looked at Kronus again. “She’s helped you find balance, it seems. The Kronus I once knew would not have been quite so restrained as you were.”

Embarrassment temporarily heated Kronus’s skin, but his lingering fury proved too great to allow his color to alter.

“Our lives with the humans are peaceful, calm,” Ector continued. “Quite unlike what we’ve known before. But we must always remember that, despite our many similarities, we are different. We were shaped for a different world, and it shaped us in return. Sometimes…our ways are not the best ways. In this world, our instincts may sometimes mislead us. But you seem to have an excellent guide.” Ector glanced at Eva again, briefly, before nodding to Kronus. “I will not keep you longer. We each have our lessons to learn, and you, Kronus, have already learned more than most.”

The elder reached out and placed a hand on Kronus’s shoulder; it was firm, and stronger than his years belied, but gave no hint of confrontation or aggression. The gesture confused Kronus. Male kraken rarely touched save for when they were fighting one another. Strange how Ector’s touch was unsettling for its unfamiliarity while Eva’s, from the very beginning, had been soothing, familiar, and thrilling all at once.

Lowering his hand, Ector turned and moved away, joining Walter and a few other humans.

Kronus turned his head toward Eva. His rage would have remained a towering fire if not for Ector’s gesture throwing him just off-balance enough to disturb the flames. Anger was a simple emotion, easily understood. Everything else…

If it weren’t for her, Kronus would have no idea where to begin.

He extended his arm, holding his hand to her palm-up. Eva took it without hesitation.

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