Page 56 of Rising from the Depths

He leaned slightly into her touch, expression softening infinitesimally. “There came a day when Neo called for a hunt. It has always been our way that the male who declares the hunt should lead it. Any who disagree or dispute the leader’s methods may challenge him for that right. He led us far from home, insisting we hunt using traditional means though Arkon had devised new tactics that made our hunts faster. During that hunt, human ships came upon us. Neo insisted we attack. Both myself and Dracchus disagreed.

“But the hunters knew we were there. A battle ensued, and during the battle, I was struck by a harpoon.” He moved a hand to his abdomen, to one of many scars Eva had caressed on many occasions. “I was run through, and the humans were pulling me toward their boat. Neo fled, saving himself.”

They shared a meaningful look. Eva knew they were thinking about the same thing — the way Blake had left her to die. All along, Kronus had known what it felt like to be abandoned by someone he’d relied upon in his moment of need.

“It was Randall, the human who’d originally come to hunt kraken, who saved my life. Randall, whose death would have brought a smile to my face. Despite the danger to himself, he would not leave me behind…because he had accepted the kraken as his people. All kraken, even those of us who did not want him.

“When we returned to the Facility, we discovered that several of the females and younglings had been poisoned.”

Eva gasped, covering her mouth with a hand. Kronus inhaled deeply, giving her a fleeting glance before averting his gaze again.

“Despite all the things I had said, despite the hatred I had spewed toward her, that was the first time Macy attacked me. Because her friends and family had come to harm. Because herchildhad come to harm…and she blamed me. And as I looked upon those younglings — younglings who were saved largely because of Aymee, another human — I knew itwasmy fault.

“I had never called for them to be poisoned. I had known nothing about the plot. But I knew I was responsible, nonetheless. That was the result of all that I had said and done — several younglings nearly killed. Neo had arranged it. He and the others had worked without me to obtain the venom of the blue needler to taint the humans’ food supply, then he called the hunt to ensure that as many of us were away as possible. But Jax and Arkon had refused to go because they were having a… I do not know what it is called when people sit together on a blanket and share a meal.”

“A picnic,” Eva whispered.

Kronus’s brow knit, and his lips were downturned in a deep, troubled frown. After nodding, he bowed his head, squeezed both his hands into fists on his lap, and swallowed thickly. “It was decided afterward that all those who’d followed me would be banished. I was given a chance to stay after speaking out against Neo and denouncing what he had done, but… I could not deny my responsibility in all of it. And I did not feel as though I had a place in the Facility any longer. In my desire to protect our people, I had betrayed them. I accepted banishment along with the others.

“I was left withnothing, and I could blame only myself for it. I could not return to the Facility without risking death, and I faced the same if I attempted to join the kraken who had once followed me. I had been wrong,sowrong…but Neo and the others…” He shook his head again. “They had cast honor and tradition aside just to pursue their hatred. That wasn’t what I’d wanted, but I enabled it. I could not let it go, could not allow myself to forget and move on.

“I followed them, unseen, for two weeks. And when they decided to attack the Facility, to kill Dracchus, Jax, Arkon, Rhea, all the humans, and the younglings, I could not remain idle. That wasnotwhat I had fought for. So…I went back to the Facility, knowing it meant my life was forfeit, to warn them. I did not expect to leave alive. To be honest, I…I did notwantto. It would have been a good way to die, I thought. A small act of redemption, and then…nothingness.”

Tears spilled down Eva’s cheeks. She slid off the chair, down to her knees, but before her weight settled upon them, Kronus caught her and pulled her onto his lap. He raised a hand to her cheek and stared into her eyes.

“I fought alongside the people I had sought to remove from the Facility. I bled for them, and I killed kraken who I had known all my life. And if I could cry…I would have.” He touched the tears on her cheeks and rubbed the moisture between his thumb and forefinger. “Tears became another thing for which I envied humans.”

Eva wrapped her arms around his neck and cradled his head in the palm of her hand. She held him close, and he embraced her in return.

“You can’t blame yourself for what happened,” Eva said. “You might have given voice, but they already knew that hatred in their hearts. You…you didn’t know true hate. You sought to protect those you cared for.”

“I knew hate, Eva. First for the humans, and then…for myself. And when those I had wronged offered me forgiveness…I could not accept it. I did not know how.” His hold on her tightened. “Not until something more important came along. Not untilyou.”

Eva’s breath caught, and her heart skipped only to begin beating rapidly an instant later.

He drew back to meet her gaze again, leaning his forehead against hers. “I came to The Watch because there was nowhere else for me. No place I could fit in, no place where I could look around me and not be reminded of what I had set into motion, of the blood that has stained my claws. But this placeneverfelt like a home to me until you came into my life.”

She sobbed, unable to hold back fresh tears. “How? How could I have made such a difference? I was…” She shook her head. “I didn’t even see you as a person, either. I railed at you, hit you,hatedyou.”

“You were broken, Eva. I knew that was not you. From the moment I took hold of you in that water, I knew the sort of person you were.”

“What was I?”

“Selfless. Your leg was shredded, and your blood was misting the water, and all you wanted was to go back for your friends. All you wanted was to savethem.”

I have you, female. You are safe.

M-My friends Please! We n-need to save my friends!

Eva closed her eyes as the fragmented memory arose in her mind — Kronus’s words, followed by her own. The desperation and pleading in her voice had been clear, and even now it made her stomach clench with dread.

“When I carried you onto the beach, you tried to crawl toward them.” Kronus cupped her chin and tilted her face toward him. She opened her eyes to meet his golden gaze. “You had lost so much blood, teetered on the edge of death yourself, yet you spared not a thought for your own safety.Thatis who you are at your core. That is the female I wanted. That is the female I fought to save. All I did was help you remember who you have been all along.” He caressed her chin. “A worthy female. More than I deserve…but I could not keep away from you.”

Warmth blossomed within her. She recognized the feeling in her chest — it was overwhelming, consuming, breathtaking. It was joyous and painful, and everything in between. She’d only felt a fleeting hint of it before Kronus, a shadow, butthis…she knew what it was now.

Eva framed his face with her hands. “Youareworthy, Kronus. Everything you’ve gone through has made you into who you are now. It’s shaped you, made you stronger, just as you’ve done for me. You fought your way up from the depths to rise above it all. You are worthy.Soworthy. And you are the male I want. The kraken I love.”

“Love,” he repeated. He’d heard the word exchanged between the other kraken and human mates, had heard it from Eva, but it had never been directed at him. Though he had no prior experience withlove, he somehow knew it was the correct word. It encompassed all the simplicity and complexity of what he felt for Eva; as mysterious as it was powerful, consuming and fulfilling. It waseverything.

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