Page 65 of Fallen from the Stars

The sun had not yet fully risen over the jungle behind her, leaving the ocean a bleak, dark gray, but the figure wading toward her in the surf was immediately identifiable — Vasil. He moved forward at a steady pace, swaying as the tide continued its endless back-and-forth between shore and sea. He held a large, chest-like container between his hands, but his movements seemed unhindered by either its size or its weight.

His smile was radiant when their eyes met, in total defiance of the gloom.

Leaping to her feet, Theo ran toward him, heart pounding so rapidly that she felt as though it might burst from her chest. Vasil dropped the container on the beach and held his arms out to her. She slammed into him, embracing him tightly, and he wrapped her in his arms to hold her close. She didn’t care that he was soaking wet, or how cold his skin felt against hers because of it; all that mattered was he’d come back. He was safe.

“You scared the shit out of me,” she said.

“I am sorry, Theo,” he replied, tightening his hold on her. “I had little choice.”

Kane’s voice was soft through the neural link. “Um, Theo…there’s another one.”

Eyebrows falling low, Theo glanced up.

Another kraken stood in the surf not far behind Vasil. Theo’s eyes widened as she took him in; he had to be nearly half again as large as Vasil, with impossibly broad shoulders and thick, powerful muscles. She wouldn’t be surprised if he weighed more than three hundred and fifty kilograms. And, as though his size weren’t enough, his piercing amber eyes shone with a predatory glint, in stark contrast to his black skin.

Theo drew back from Vasil, keeping her eyes on the larger kraken. “Holy shit…”

Without removing his arms from her, Vasil twisted to glance at the other kraken. “He is Dracchus. Dracchus, she is Theo.” He turned his face back to her. “Did I perform the introduction correctly?”

“Huh?” Her understanding of his words came slowly. “Oh, uh, yeah. Vasil, he’s very…large.”

“Yes,” Vasil said.

Dracchus grunted. He also held a container in his arms; Theo guessed it was the same size as Vasil’s despite appearing smaller in Dracchus’s hold.

“Um, Hi.” Theo wiggled her fingers in greeting. She leaned closer to Vasil’s ear and whispered, “Why does he look like he wants to rip off my arms and beat me with them?”

Vasil glanced at Dracchus again and tilted his head. “That is just how he looks. Randall suggested it is some sort of medical condition calledRBF, but he would not elaborate on what it meant.”

Theo pressed her lips together to hold in her laughter; she succeeded only in snorting.

Dracchus’s brows fell low over his unsettling eyes. “I do not mean you harm, human.” His voice was the deepest she’d ever heard — so deep that she wondered if it pained him to speak.

“Good. I wouldn’t want to have to hurtyou,” Theo said, smirking. “There’s an old saying where I come from: the bigger they are, the harder they fall. And you look like you’d make a crater when you hit the ground.”

“I am not sure I like her,” Dracchus said.

“She is showing her lack of fear. Is that not what your mate would do?” asked Vasil.

“Humans do not speak that way when they are unafraid,” Dracchus replied.

“I’ll be honest,” said Theo, “you’reterrifying. But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t try getting a few shots in before you grind my bones to a fine dust.”

Brow furrowed, Dracchus looked at Vasil for a moment before returning his gaze to Theo. “Why would I grind your bones to dust?”

“Just a saying.Annnndsince you don’t plan to, we don’t need to worry about it.” Theo pointed to the container in Dracchus’s hands. “What are those for?”

“For holding things,” Vasil replied.

“Kane, I believe your sarcasm is rubbing off on Vasil, and I don’t know how I feel about that.”

“You should feelthrilled,” Kane said aloud, causing Dracchus’s eyes to widen infinitesimally. “He just became that much more interesting.”

“That was the computer inside her?” asked Dracchus.

“Computeris such a diminishing, impersonal term. My name is Kane.”

“It does not sound like Sam or the Computer in the Facility,” Dracchus said.

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