Page 56 of Fallen from the Stars

“What is it?” he asked.

“There’s an opening there,” she said, glancing back at him and pointing toward the cliffs. She grinned and ran toward it. “Let’s check it out!”

“Slow down!” he called, hurrying to catch up with her. Once he was close enough, he reached out and caught her arm, tugging her back against his chest.

She came to him without a fight, laughing and smiling, and threw her arms around him. “Damn, you’re fast for someone who doesn’t have legs.”

He couldn’t keep his lips from curling into a smile. “Perhaps you are slow for someone who does.”

Theo snorted, playfully smacking his arm.

“Caves like that can be dangerous, Theo,” he said, forcing his tone to solemnity. “The tide can rise quickly, especially during storms, and many seaside caves flood because of it.”

“Oh.” She looked away sheepishly. “Guess I let myself get caught up in the excitement. This is just all…so new.” Her eyes met his again.

“Well, it’s a good thing no one will ever mistake you for a trained soldier,” Kane said aloud.

Vasil glanced at the gentle glow on her wrist and shook his head. He understood sarcasm to a degree thanks to Randall and Arkon, even if he didn’t fully understand thewhyof it. With few exceptions, he was used to kraken speaking plainly, and the subtleties and nuances of human communication were still lost on him from time to time.

“I never said I was perfect,” Theo said.

Vasil brushed loose strands of hair back from Theo’s face, using the tip of his claw to tuck them behind her ear. “You are to me.”

Cheeks reddening, Theo smiled. “Vasil’s definitely at the top of my favorite person list right now, Kane.”

“Oh no,” Kane cried in an exaggerated whine, “bottom fifty percent? How will I go on?”

Theo snickered. “Actually, you’re in the bottom third.I’mmy second favorite, at the moment.”

“I would call you cold-hearted were I not well aware that your body temperature is perfectly normal.”

“If you want to explore the cave, Theo” Vasil said, “we can. We just need to be quick.”

“Yes!” Theo stepped away from Vasil. “Let’s go exploring!”

He didn’t release his hold on her arm. “You need to remain near me, understood?”

“Yes, sir.”

“For the record, the technical term isspelunking,” Kane said.

Theo smirked. “That sounds like a dirty word, Kane.”

“It sounds like a made-up word,” said Vasil as they moved toward the cave’s entrance, side-by-side.

“Allwords are made up by someone at some point,” Kane replied. “The ones that catch on become an official part of the language, and the rest, thankfully, are forgotten with history. I can only imagine how many words would—Iknowyou’re rolling your eyes, Theodora.”

Theo bought her wrist up and crooned to Kane’s blue light, “You know me so well.”

“I’m connected to your nervous system,” Kane said. “I know every move you make, no matter how small. It’sexhausting. You have a tendency to fidget when you’re bored.”

“Guilty as charged.” She tilted her head back as they neared the opening of the cave. “Now enough about me. Keep watch, okay?”

The cave’s mouth stood nearly twice as tall as Vasil was long, wide enough for him to fit his shoulders through with a little room to spare on either side. Water ran from the entrance, cutting a shallow channel through the sand on its journey to the sea, its flow not quite strong enough to be considered a stream. He couldn’t be sure if it was drainage from the last time the tide had flooded the cave or if there was a source of fresh water within.

The dreary daylight didn’t reach very far inside before succumbing to darkness.

Exposed, uneven rock comprised the entrance’s floor. Vasil moved in front of Theo as they crossed the stone. After less than a body’s length of distance — a few meters — the rock gave away to standing water, the surface of which reflected the gray sky behind Vasil up until the point where the shadows claimed their dominion.

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