Page 62 of Fallen from the Stars

The door of Dracchus’s den was open. Vasil moved into the doorway. Dracchus — easily the largest of their kind in length and breadth — leaned over the table within, working with something on its surface.

Vasil knocked on the doorframe, producing a quick series of metallic clanks.

Dracchus paused his work and turned his head to Vasil. His eyes widened in a rare display of shock, and he turned his entire body toward the doorway. “You are here.”

Frowning, Vasil glanced down at himself as though it would grant insight into Dracchus’s odd greeting. He found no answers there, nor when he returned his gaze to the other kraken. “I am.”

After days of searching.

Dropping the corners of his mouth into a frown that made Vasil’s look like a smile, Dracchus twisted his torso toward the table and carefully placed the objects in his hands atop it — scissors and an oddly-shaped, folded paper. Once they were down, he approached Vasil, stopping only an arm’s length away. His skin remained its normal black; with any other kraken, the lack of color change would indicate a lack of strong emotion, but Dracchus, like Vasil, rarely betrayed his thoughts through such outward signs.

For the space of many heartbeats, silence stretched between the two kraken. Vasil stared up at the larger male, uncertain of what to anticipate.

Dracchus’s amber eyes revealed nothing as they moved over Vasil, studying him from head to tentacle.

“You are well?” Dracchus finally asked.

“Yes.” Vasil’s weariness was not worth mention.

“You have been gone for two weeks.”

“And a day.”

Impossibly, Dracchus’s frown deepened. “What happened?”

For a moment, Vasil’s instinct was to withhold his answer. Some part of him — recently awoken and as-yet unfamiliar — was unwilling to revealanythingabout Theo to another male. She was Vasil’s, and no one else deserved to even know her name.No onewould take her from him.

He cast that instinct aside; Dracchus had a mate to whom he was fiercely loyal. He would not betray Larkin. And Dracchus was a kraken of honor, regardless, who would not willingly seek to disrupt the bond between a mated couple. Most important of all was that Theo needed help to get here — to get to safety.

“Something fell from the sky the night I left. I chased it to sea,” Vasil said.

“We were woken by its sound. The humans said it was ameteor. A rock fallen from beyond the sky.”

Vasil shook his head, holding Dracchus’s gaze. “It was an IDC pod. Humanmade, from space.”

Dracchus’s brows lowered; it was his only response.

Drawing in a deep breath, Vasil continued. “I discovered it floating on open water just as a storm struck. We were caught adrift and carried to an unfamiliar beach. Only today did I finally discover signs to lead me back here.”

“We?” Dracchus asked.

“There was a female in the pod. A human.”

Clenching his jaw, Dracchus dropped his gaze. “She is IDC, then?”

“Shewas. I need a diving suit for her.”

Dracchus met Vasil’s gaze again. “Where will you take her?”

“The Watch. But we will have to stop here on the way.”

“No.”

A fire sparked in Vasil’s gut. He gritted his teeth, forcing the flames down. “Explain.”

“You know the history, Vasil.”

“She is stranded, Dracchus,” Vasil said through his teeth, struggling to maintain an even tone. “She cannot contact the IDC, and they do not know where she is.”

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