Page 19 of Lover from the Waves

Kathryn rose, glancing around before returning her gaze to Ector. “Ector…wow.” She laughed. “I would’ve had to anchor offshore and swim if I were alone right now.”

He chuckled and leaned toward her. “I am just happy to be of use.”

“Oh, you’ve beenveryuseful.”

“If you find me blathering endlessly to be of use, I will not complain.”

Smiling, Kathryn lowered the sails and secured the lines before she bent and unfastened the ties on some of the supplies. She grabbed one of the larger packs, lifted it over the side, and held it out to Ector. “You don’t blather, Ector. I’ve enjoyed your company.”

He accepted the pack and slung it over one shoulder. “I suppose we had best get everything set up to your satisfaction while you are still enjoying my company, then.”

She turned back and was reaching for another pack when something caught her eye. Tilting her head and kneeling, she dragged the pack aside, revealing the airtight crates that had been behind it. There was small black bundle tucked between the two crates. Kat grasped the bundle and tugged it out. It immediately unfurled, and something clattered to the floor. She picked up the fallen object with an arched brow; it was a curved piece of glass with a thin, metal black frame and two slitted attachments at the bottom corners. Recognition struck Kat.

She turned the black fabric and raised it higher. It bore a faint hexagonal pattern, a round device on the chest, and another device on one of the sleeves.

It was a diving suit.

There was one of these in the museum in The Watch; such suits had been used by Halora’s early colonists. As far as Kathryn knew, there hadn’t been another like it until the kraken brought more suits to The Watch from the Facility. The functioning suits that were now available were usually reserved for specific occasions—like when humans mated to kraken needed to travel between the Facility and The Watch, or when humans accompanied the kraken on deep water hunts. They’d even been used to perform repairs on a few of the larger boats over the last year or so.

“Everything all right, Kathryn?” Ector asked.

Kat turned toward him and lifted the suit. “I didn’t think Breckett would have packed a diving suit. He thinks me being on the surface is dangerous enough, but below it?”

“Which is exactly why I did not allow Breckett to see it when I slipped it in with the other supplies,” Ector said with that mischievous light in his eyes.

Her mouth dropped open briefly before she laughed. “You sly, sly man. I won’t tell him about it if you don’t.”

He chuckled and dipped his head in a deep nod. “I never planned to.”

“You’d never hear the end of it.” She turned back toward the crates, folded the suit around the glass mask, and tucked it away. Grabbing her personal backpack, she slung it over her shoulder and stood. As she walked toward Ector, she said, “Breckett means well, though.”

Ector raised a hand to her, palm up. She placed hers atop it and used it to steady herself as she swung her legs over the side of the boat, moving herself into a sitting position.

Before she could hop down, Ector placed his hands on her hips and lifted her effortlessly. Kat sucked in a sharp breath and braced her hands on his shoulders—not that there was any need to. His hold on her was stable and sure as he gently set her on her feet in the sand.

“He does mean well,” Ector said, “but that does not mean he knows best, does it? None of us do, not really. But I would like to think that we at least know what is right most of the time.”

She smiled. “I try to tell myself that all the time when it comes to my daughters. It’s…hard letting go.”

“Yes, it certainly is.” His hands flexed around her hips, giving Kat the sense that he meant it was hard to let go ofher.

A delightful shiver rippled through her at the feel of his claws through her clothing, and that now familiar warmth blossomed on her cheeks. She had to delay this at least long enough to prepare a camp before dark…didn’t she?

“So…what made you decide to sneak the diving suit aboard?” she forced herself to ask.

His gaze dipped, trailing over her body, before he replied. “I knew you were after an adventure, and I remembered how wondrous The Watch was when I first came to it. Many of the humans who have come below with us have viewed the ocean with the same wonder. So, if you are up to it…perhaps I will show you my world during one of the coming days.”

Kathryn beamed; the thought of exploring the mysterious world beneath the waves had her brimming with excitement. Such exploration had been an impossible thing for most of her life, something she hadn’t considered even in her wildest imaginings. “Oh, Ector, I’d love that! Thank you so much!”

Ector’s smile stretched into a grin to mirror hers. “Then I am glad to have mustered enough wisdom to bring it along.”

She patted his shoulder. “A very wise decision, indeed.”

“We shall have to endeavor not to prove Breckett correct in his concerns.”

“Well…we did establish that whatever we do out here is none of his business, so I wouldn’t worry too much about it.” She smirked and stepped back, out of Ector’s hold. “Shall we set up camp before it gets dark?”

He tipped his head toward the grassy area nearby. “Lead the way, Kathryn.”

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