Page 31 of Lover from the Waves

Keeping his movements slow to match the vriga’s, Ector spread his tentacles, bracing himself. His hearts thumped in anticipation of the battle that was likely to commence, filling his limbs with thrumming energy.

“I need you to crouch. Get lower to the ground,” Kathryn said.

The vriga took another step in its cautious advance, long tail swinging behind it slowly, fangs still bared.

Ector shook his head once. “I will not expose you.”

“Trust me, Ector.”

He clenched his jaw, and his nostrils flared with a deep, frustrated inhalation. It went against his every instinct to do as she asked, but hedidtrust her. Though this creature was utterly alien to him, Kathryn knew what it was. It only made sense to follow her lead in this—while remaining prepared to protect her.

He spread his tentacles farther and eased his torso down. The vriga dipped its head lower to follow his progress. A clear, glistening liquid gathered on its foremost fangs.

The barrel of Kathryn’s rifle entered Ector’s peripheral vision. A moment later, she lowered it onto his shoulder, aiming directly at the creature.

“This is going to be loud,” she said softly. “Don’t move.”

The vriga opened its jaws wider and released another hiss. The scales around its head flared open and swept forward; Ector’s instincts took it as an overt display of aggression, as a challenge, but he forced himself to remain still.

Suddenly, the beast leapt toward Ector.

The vriga’s feet had barely left the ground when the rifle boomed. The weapon jolted back slightly, and the vriga crashed to the ground in a heap. A ringing filled Ector’s ears for several seconds, drowning out all other sounds. The creature’s legs and tail twitched, rustling fallen leaves and living vegetation alike, and then the beast went still.

Ector released a slow breath, muscles tense as he stared down at the fallen vriga. It remained unmoving; even the slight rise and fall of its chest that most animals exhibited while breathing air was absent. Behind him, Kathryn released a heavy breath of her own, which fanned across the side of Ector’s neck, warm and oddly soothing.

“That was a bit intense,” she said. Though her voice sounded distant—Ector’s hearing was still recovering—it was perfectly clear.

“Just a bit.” He couldn’t help but chuckle; that chuckle turned into outright laughter that shook his shoulders as the energy that had tensed his muscles dissipated. His body felt unsteady and weak in the wake of that energy—from a high to a low, just that quickly—but he knew that feeling would pass soon enough. Sometimes it took longer than others, but it always passed.

Kathryn withdrew the rifle and stepped around Ector to face him with head cocked and brows furrowed. “Why are you laughing?”

He rose on his tentacles to a more comfortable height and rolled his shoulders, trying to shake the lingering discomfort out of his arms. “I was just appreciating your understatement.”

She snickered. “Okay, so maybe it wasa lotintense. But hey”—she pointed at the creature—“I caught us dinner.”

Ector fixed his gaze on the scaled creature. “Have you ever eaten one of these vrigas before?”

“I have, but not often. We don’t go out looking for them, but they’re dangerous, so the hunters usually take care of these things when they get too close to The Watch.”

“And no meat is left to waste.”

Kathryn nodded. “Not as long as we can help it.”

Ector smiled; his time in The Watch had taught him that there were many differences between humans and kraken beyond the physical—but there were a great many similarities, as well, and a good number of those had been unexpected. This was another small example, one that he chose to take as proof that ultimately, their people wanted the same thing—peaceful lives of plenty.

He turned toward her and opened his mouth to speak, but stilled, his brows dropping low.

Kathryn was pale, much paler than she’d been before. Her hands were white knuckled around the rifle, which trembled in her grasp.

Frowning, he moved to her and placed his hands on either side of her neck, brushing the pads of his thumbs soothingly along her jaw. “Is it nerves or fear?”

She huffed a laugh. “Both, I think. It’s just… It’s been alongtime since I used a gun, and…” She took in a deep, shaky inhalation and slowly released it; somehow, her gaze remained solidly locked with his throughout. “I was scared I was going to miss, and that it’d hurt you. They’re poisonous. A single bite from one of them can be lethal.”

Ector slid one of his hands higher, sweeping back the loose strands of her silver hair, and stared into her bright eyes. “But it did not, and you were brave. You are a huntress at heart.”

She covered his hand with her own and rubbed her cheek against his palm, smiling. “Give me a moment for my hands to stop shaking and I’ll get the vriga dressed and ready to take back to camp.”

“Dressed? I do not understand, Kathryn.”

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