Page 22 of Fallen from the Stars

Ignoring the scratchy sand clinging to his tentacles, he swept his gaze around the immediate area. The soft ground around the pod was cut through by chaotic tracks created by feet and tentacles, too jumbled for him to make any sense of.

A boulder coalesced in his chest and sank into his gut.

He hurried to the pod and raised his torso on flexed tentacles to peer inside; Theo was not within. As he lowered himself and spun around, he noticed the leaves upon which he’d left food for her were bare. Vasil rushed over and ran his tentacles over them, seeking any unfamiliar tastes or smells. All he detected was sand, fruit, the leaves themselves, and the faintest hint of Theo.

His hearts thundered, and his mind raced. If some beast had attacked her, there would’ve been a lingering scent, would’ve been some sign of struggle — blood, torn cloth, unfamiliar prints in the sand.Something.

The signs, however few in number, pointed toward her having left of her own will. Had he pushed too far the night before? Had he done nothing but give her real reason to fear him?

I shouldn’t have been so aggressive. I should have…

No, that was wrong. She needed to understand what was at stake for Vasil and his people. The kraken had spent generations expecting the IDC’s return, and Vasil’s interactions with Theo, though brief, had been enough to confirm what he’d long suspected — human technology had only become more advanced in the years since the IDC’s departure. The kraken would not survive if the IDC choose to reignite that old conflict.

Whether she’d fled in fear or not, he had to find her. He had to know she was okay.

But where might she have gone?

He set the fish down, wrapped them with the leaves, and surveyed his surroundings. No fresh footprints led along the shore in either direction, meaning she’d likely gone into the jungle. Why? He’d left her fresh food, and she knew now how dangerous the jungle could be.

Vasil ran a palm over his scalp and looked to the sea.

Why go if not to escape him? She wasn’t used to kraken; she likely saw him as a monster.

The morning had dawned clear and sunny, leaving the ocean a mix of vibrant turquoise and teal beneath an azure sky. Gentle waves rolled onto the beach in an endless back-and-forth, claiming an infinitesimal bit of land each time the retreated.

Water.

Even having seen the humans of The Watch drink more times than he could count, he still seemed to forget so easily. Humans needed to consume water to survive. She may well have gone to the stream they’d discovered the day before to obtain fresh water.

Swept onward by an unexpected surge of excitement and hopefulness, Vasil plunged into the jungle. If Theo had left evidence of her recent passage, he was not skilled enough to pick it out amidst the dense foliage and layers of decaying vegetation covering the jungle floor. He used the landscape as his guide back toward the stream. Though the jungle was little more than a living, chaotic mess of green, purple, and brown to him, he’d committed to memory a few of the more unique features along the path — a large fallen log propped against another tree, a trunk with a huge cluster of pale blue fungus growing on one side, a curtain of vines sprinkled with red-orange blossoms.

Theo likely would’ve used the same markers to find her way, and if that failed, she had Kane. Vasil didn’t doubt Kane had the ability to map Theo’s location and guide her along the right path, just as Sam could through the diving suits.

But none of that provided him much assurance. His hearts did not ease, and the weight in his gut did not diminish. His skin felt overly warm and itchy, sparking a primal, unsettling urge to claw it off for relief. He could not forget the snatcher, and his imagination suggested other dangers lurking in the greenery too numerous for him to fully comprehend.

Why should she be so important to me after barely two days when I have gone years without approaching the youngling I sired?

The answer that resonated in his mind was too quick, too confident, too final.

Because Theo ismineand mine alone.

Ahead, the vegetation thickened, and through it came the muffled sound of trickling water. The stream was close. Vasil cast away all other thoughts. Finding Theodora was the only matter of any importance, and the way he felt about her had no bearing on that task.

He shoved through the foliage and emerged on the bank of the stream. With no barriers to dull the sound, the stream’s burbling was loud and clear, but it wasn’t enough to drown out his thumping hearts. He swung his gaze from upstream to downstream and sucked in a relieved breath.

Theo was downstream, submerged up to her shoulders in the widest, deepest part of the stream with her back to him. The tension in his chest faded as he moved toward her.

She tipped back her head. Her light blonde hair spread around her, floating on the water’s surface, as she ran her fingers through it. When she was done, she stood up.

Vasil halted. For an instant, nothing moved within him — not even his hearts or lungs — and all the world’s sounds vanished.

Theo was naked.

Rivulets of water cascaded over her pale skin, trickling along her spine, her flaring hips, and the tantalizing curve of her backside, the latter of which was just visible above the water line.

Without conscious thought, Vasil moved into the nearby foliage and eased closer to her. His skin altered its color to match his surroundings. He could not remove his eyes from her. There were stark differences between the human and kraken form, and while he found beauty in both, there was an undeniable allure in the sensuality of human females.

She turned, making her way back toward the shore, and Vasil inhaled sharply. His attention was called in a dozen different directions; the black markings covering her left arm and side would have consumed his curiosity in most other situations, but her body above her mid-thighs was bared to him now. His gaze went to her firm, rounded breasts and the hardened nubs of her pink nipples, upon which droplets of water glistened, before dipping along her stomach. More of the black markings — lines and circles, lacking any discernable pattern, that reminded him, somehow, of machinery — ran over her belly toward her pelvis.

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