Page 3 of Lover from the Waves

There was a small chance he’d sired one or more of those kraken—Jax, Arkon, Rhea, Dracchus, Kronus, Vasil, or at least a dozen others of their generation—but it didn’t matter if he had. When he looked upon them, he was filled with pride of the same sort human parents sometimes displayed for their children. It was an oddly bittersweet sentiment.

For the first time in his life—which had spanned at least sixty years—Ector wasn’t sure what role he was meant to fulfill. His purpose had always been to serve his people in whatever capacity would best benefit them. But looking at them now… What more could he offer? They had ample access to food and shelter thanks to their friendship with the humans, and old, advanced technologies were slowly beginning to reemerge thanks to the work of Arkon, Theodora, and the computer, Kane, who was implanted in the human woman. The kraken were prosperous. Their survival had become much less of a struggle.

What did that mean for Ector? He’d accepted so many drastic changes over the last few years, but this latest realization felt at once subtler and more powerful than all the rest. If his people didn’t need him, what was he to do?

Those thoughts led to a question he’d never asked himself—What do Iwantto do?

That question was both liberating and terrifying.

Unbidden, his wandering gaze halted on one of the female humans in the crowd that had formed to spectate the race. Her name was Kathryn. She worked a seamstress, though she often lent a hand in the fields. He’d spoken to her briefly on a few occasions—just as he’d spoken to most of the people in town—when she’d delivered food to the fishermen and dockworkers, many of whom she was very friendly with.

She was older—though Ector was sure he was still several years her senior—and her hair was an alluring silver; even now, his fingers itched with longing to comb through those shining strands. The few lines on her face only enhanced her beauty, and the joyful light in her bright blue eyes had always drawn his attention.

What do I want?

The question seemed heavier now.

Kathryn was standing with her daughters, smiling while the younger women directed their children to their places for the relay race. The same sort of pride he felt for the kraken he’d taught was reflected in Kathryn’s face as she watched her children and their younglings.

Without meaning to, Ector moved toward her. It had been a long while since he’d pursued a female, and longer still since he’d mated, but the old kraken concept of mating wasn’t on his mind. What would it be like to have a mate the way the humans did? In the way Jax, Arkon, and all the others did? What would it be like to have lasting, meaningful companionship?

What would it be like to put an end to this nagging sense of loneliness, this deepening lack of purpose? For once in his life, he could do something not for his people but for himself.

Before he reached Kathryn, the relay began. The various legs were covered by children of increasing age, starting with a few of the smallest younglings, who endearing stumbled and crawled across the sand at the encouragement of the onlookers. Ector took a place on the fringes of the crowd to observe.

The race wove from the sand into the water and back again, over and over, as teams of kraken and humans pushed themselves in friendly competition, working together toward victory. The lead position changed repeatedly, rousing a surge of cheers from the crowed each time. Smiling, Ector cheered along with them.

In the end, it came down to the final racers—Jax, Arkon, and Vasil. All three adult kraken hit the water within a second of each other and threw themselves into a frantic race back to the point where the race had started, well over a hundred meters by human reckoning. The spectators, including the other racers, moved closer to the water’s edge to cheer on the swimmers.

Kronus awaited in the water, serving as a living marker for the finish line, with a tentacle stretched straight out to either side. Ector glanced at Kronus’s mate, Eva. The human female was standing on the beach nearby, holding their little youngling, Phoebe—who was giggling and smiling—in her arms. Ector’s hearts warmed further. Kronus had begun the journey to become the kraken he was today on his own and had made great progress in that journey despite himself, but his relationship with Eva had triggered the final bit of growth he’d needed. Ector had never seen the ochre kraken so at peace.

The swimmers were head-to-head as they neared Kronus. The crowd’s excitement only grew, as did the volume of their shouts and cheers. Ector’s smile widened. This healthy, friendly competition was only further solidifying the bonds formed between kraken and humans over the last few years. There was more work to be done, and not everyone on either side had accepted this new reality, but this would all be normal within another generation or two, and memories of kraken and humans being separate would fade.

In the last few meters of the race—barely one kraken’s body length—Vasil pulled ahead. Amidst delighted cheers, Kronus declared Vasil and his team the victors of the competition, having won by half a finger’s length of distance.

The crowd broke into smaller groups of family and friends, and the beach was soon abuzz with laughter and conversation. Ector watched as Melaina, Rhea’s youngling, rushed to Vasil—her sire—and congratulated him with a hug.

A few short years ago, Vasil and Melaina would never have known one another as father and daughter. Some of the kraken, even today, believed it was a violation of traditions that should’ve been adhered to. Though he would not deny the right of his people to keep to the old ways, Ector saw the relationship between Vasil and Melaina as nothing but a good thing. There was undeniable value in forging these bonds.

All the same, Ector couldn’t suppress a pang of loneliness that made his chest feel hollow. Not long ago, Arkon had told him there were ways to determine an individual’s parentage, but Ector had refused to pursue them. Knowing which, if any, kraken he’d sired couldn’t change anything now. They were all grown, and he’d been as much of a father to them as he could’ve been under the old ways.

But he still longed for a deeper, more meaningful relationship—he longed for the companionship of a female, for a relationship of the sort so many of the younger kraken had found with human mates.

The crowd had already largely dispersed. Many of the younglings were back at play along the beach, and most of the adults had returned to the tables. As Ector turned his head, his gaze once again fell on Kathryn. She knelt to give three of her grandchildren, Ben, Megan, and Emma, hugs before they hurried off to join their peers.

Kathryn’s daughters offered her waves and walked toward the tables. She watched them for a few moments, her lips curved into a smile, before turning to face the sea.

Ector’s gaze lingered upon her. He wasn’t blind to the appeal of humans, as alien as they looked, and there was something about Kathryn that was even more appealing than the rest. Perhaps it was that long, wavy hair of hers with its shimmering silver strands. Or maybe it was her smile, which always seemed to sparkle in her eyes. Every time he’d seen her, she’d radiated such warmth and happiness. Such kindness.

Yet he could not deny that there was something more there now, something subtle. Her stare—still directed at the sea—was wistful, bearing a hint of longing. A hint of…loneliness. It called out to him like nothing else could.

For some weeks, he’d wanted to speak to her beyond the usual peasantries he often exchanged with the other denizens of The Watch. Why hadn’t he? What had held him back? He knew Kathryn didn’t have a mate, that she’d been without a male for even longer than Ector had been without a female, so there were no claims to be disputed. And she wasbeautiful. He could only assume the human males were either blind or foolish for failing to court her.

He’d sought the attention of so many females in his younger days, had danced many dances and fought many challenges, and never once had he hesitated before now.

But this wasn’t a dance, wasn’t a challenge that would result in a physical confrontation with another male. All it needed to be—at least in that moment—was a conversation. Simple. Easy. Ector knew how to talk; he usually did far too much of it. And anyway…he wanted to know her better. Part of him already yearned to find a way to chase that lonely gleam out of her eyes forever.

Nothing to lose, you old kraken.

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