Page 42 of Fallen from the Stars

“I don’t recall any command being given…”

Boundaries, Kane! Learn them.

“Humans like to take things slow, correct?” Vasil asked.

“Um, yes,” Theo said, cheeks heating. “That’s part of the whole dating thing, you know?”

He gave her hand a soft squeeze. “I am willing to go slow, if that is what you need.”

Theo smiled up at him. That was…sweet. “Thank you.”

Vasil leaned closer to her; the sea scent of his skin mingled with the smells of burning wood and roasting meat to create an oddly sweet, intoxicating aroma. His eyes locked with hers as he caressed the side of her face with the back of one of his claws. “But know this, Theo: youwillbe mine.”

Chapter 8

Vasil fanned out his tentacles, slowing his forward momentum. He’d been swimming throughout the morning, keeping careful watch both for potential dangers and any features on the seafloor even vaguely familiar to him.

Five days had passed since Theo willingly touched his tentacle; it seemed a silly thing to mark the time by, so minor an occurrence, but it stood in his memory as a turning point. Every morning since, he’d gone out in search of clues to point him homeward, and every evening he’d returned to share a meal with her and deliver the same news — they were still as lost as they’d been on the first day.

Part of him embraced his failure; living with Theo on that beach was a life of contentment. He’d grown comfortable with their daily rhythms, and his want for her had only increased as days passed. He was skilled and knowledgeable enough to keep them alive and fed, and they’d both learn more over time. Vasil had no doubt they could survive there indefinitely — their camp was situated near the sea, with access to bountiful food and fresh water. The pod provided adequate shelter, and he was certain they could expand it as necessary given Theo’s expertise, her collection of advanced tools, and the jungle’s ample resources.

But he refused to accept that failure. Theo deserved far more than justsurvival; she deserved tolive, to know joy, comfort, and freedom from worry. The Watch wouldn’t offer a return to the life she’d known before, but it would provide security and potential companionship. All the humans he’d known, Theo included, seemed drawn to social interaction. Food and water nourished their bodies, but conversation and friendship fed their hearts and minds. He understood that well after the last two years — and had realized just how starved he’d been for most of his life.

And he could not forget Melaina. If he chose to remain on the beach with Theo, he wouldneverhave the chance to approach his daughter; he’d throw away any possibility of knowing her before ever trying.

He frowned as he scanned the water, which grew murkier with each passing beat of his hearts. Strong currents flowed around him, and sea creatures darted through the gloom with rarely-witnessed urgency and disregard for caution. The sea was restless.

A glance upward provided another clue —no sunlight beamed through the wavering surface.

Vasil angled himself upward and swam. Traversing open water alone was an undertaking to be avoided whenever possible; even kraken were vulnerable to other predators without strength in numbers. It was best to remain close to the bottom, where they could take better advantage of irregularities on the sea floor for cover and camouflage.

In this case, he considered the risk worthwhile — he had to be sure.

His suspicions were confirmed the moment he broke the surface. The sky was overcast and dreary. A thin strip of blue remained visible on the horizon in the direction from which he’d come, but the opposite horizon presented a dark mass of gathering clouds. Based on the direction of the wind sweeping over his head, the storm was moving toward him — toward Theo.

Halora’s storms sometimes lasted for days, and the most violent of them could alter the underwater landscape — his only reliable means of navigation — enough to make it unrecognizable. If that happened, he risked never finding their beach again. He risked losing Theo forever.

Vasil plunged below again. He wouldn’t accept losing his female; he had to get back to her.

He pushed himself harder, faster, riding every favorable current he encountered. The murky water — clouded by sediment, debris, and algae that had been stirred up by the agitated sea — surrounded him like fog would have on land, limiting his range of view.

Though he wasn’t eager to return with more bad news — this time without a fresh kill to present — he could not deny his excitement at the thought of seeing Theo again much sooner than he’d anticipated. He wanted to find the Facility or The Watch, wanted to return to his people, his friends, but he also wanted Theo, and a secluded life with her just simpler. Easier. More fulfilling.

How easy would it have been to cast off the duties he’d performed for his people for most of his life, to take what he wanted, to pursue his desires at the expense of all else?

No. That is not me. That is not my way.

He would protect Theo, provide for her, do anything she required, now and after he found his way home and brought her to The Watch to share his den. She’d be his mate; she’d behis. Everything he did thereafter — whether for kraken, human, or both — would also be for her. He’d abandon neither his people nor Theodora.

His newfound resolve granted him a fresh burst of speed. He darted forward.

And a monster surged out of the murk.

In all his years of hunting the waters, he’d never seen anything like the creature before him. Its body was cylindrical, covered in long, dull brown plates that tapered at either end. Bumps atop its segmented shell reminded him of the rocks so common across much of the seafloor. Long, jointed appendages, each ending in a wicked point, extended from the creature’s face, surrounding a set of four mandibles that parted to reveal a wide mouth possessing not teeth but strange, hair-like growths. Eye stalks jutted from either side of its head, tipped with fist-sized clusters comprised of dozens of dark, scintillating eyes.

Small flippers paddled water along its pale underside. At least a dozen long, thin tentacles stretched from the monster’s back end, wriggling to propel it forward. From end to end, it was more than twice Vasil’s length.

Vasil registered those details, despite the gloom, in the space of a heartbeat. His hearts stilled an instant later when he realized the creature was coming at him. He flailed his arms frantically and spread his tentacles to halt himself, snapping his torso backward.

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