Page 100 of Fallen from the Stars

“There is something we have wanted to tell you,” Rhea said. “The ways of our people have changed, and we believe it is time for you to know.”

“I don’t understand, Mom.”

“Well, I’ve filled the role of a father to you,” Randall said, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. “And I love it; it’s been great, and more fulfilling than I could have ever imagined. But I’mnotyour birth father, and… Well…”

“Vasil is your sire,” said Rhea. “Your father by blood.”

Melaina looked back and forth between Rhea and Randall until her gaze settled on Vasil. There was still confusion written upon her features. “And?”

“What do you mean,and?” asked Randall.

“I already knew that. Was there something else you wanted to tell me, or was that it?”

Vasil’s lips parted, but no words came out. His mind was, for several heartbeats, empty. After all his deliberation, all his struggle…

“Youknew?” Randall asked.

Rhea spoke at the same time. “How?”

Melaina gathered her tentacles beneath her and shifted closer to Vasil. She smiled at him and settled a hand over his. “We are alike. You hide it inside, but I’ve seen it. And we have the same eyes.”

Vasil couldn’t have stopped his laughter if he’d wanted to; it flowed from him freely, and it feltgood. “How long have you known?”

“For many years. I saw you once when I snuck out of our den, while the males were gathering for a hunt, and I just knew. I knew you were my sire.”

“I feel like a fool for having waited so long.”

“It was not our way,” Rhea said softly.

Her words made his smile fade; Rhea was right, but knowing what he did now, he could no longer look upon that tradition favorably.

“I did not know my sire,” Vasil said. “I never followed my curiosity because it was not our way. But our ways have changed, and I know now what I have missed. If you would allow me, Melaina, I would like to be more than your sire. I would be a father to you.”

She grinned and squeezed his hand. “I would like that very much.”

They talked for a while longer; Melaina was quite animated as she rattled off stories and a seemingly endless string of questions. Eventually, she led him into her room to show him the various objects she’d collected over the years, both on land and in the sea, and told him stories of how she’d come by them. The items ranged from shells, driftwood, rocks, and dried flowers to paintings similar to those Aymee often created, carved toys, and bits of humanmade jewelry.

Melaina plucked something off the stand beside her bed and turned to Vasil, holding the object to him on her palms. It was a shell, its silvery interior surface reflecting the light in the room.

“You can have this one,” she said. “I found it the day I first saw you. It made me think of you.”

Vasil looked down at the little shell, a strange tightness spreading through his chest. “And you kept it all this while?”

“Of course. And now you can have it so you can think of me.”

He lifted his hand, palm up, and she carefully laid the shell upon it. Slowly, he curled his fingers around the precious little bauble. “I will keep it always. I am sorry. I have no gift for you.”

“You could bring me one. Tomorrow,” she said, eyes bright and hopeful.

He nodded. “Tomorrow.”

“Melaina,” Rhea said from the doorway, “it has grown late. We should let Vasil return home to his mate.”

“So soon?” she asked with a frown.

“This is just the first time,” Vasil said. “Not at all the last. I have to bring a gift tomorrow, do I not?”

“Yes!”

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