Page 32 of Lover from the Waves

“Field dressed,” she said, smile widening. “It doesn’t mean what it probably sounds like…it’s a good deal messier than that. But it’s a necessary part of the process to keep the meat from spoiling. It should only take about ten minutes.”

He dropped his other hand to wrap his arm around her waist, curled a tentacle around her calf, and drew her close. “Take all the time you need, my huntress.”

Chapter 8

Kathryn reclined against her backpack, which she’d wedged between herself and the boulder behind her keep the hard rock from digging into her back. While it hadn’t taken her long to field dress the vriga, skinning and butchering it once Ector carried it back to camp had been a lot of work. She’d had to reteach herself as she went, making it a messy, clumsy process, and now every one of Kathryn’s muscles was sore. She was exhausted, but she still felt good. She was proud of what she’d accomplished.

After seeing to Ector’s cut—which had surprisingly already started closing—Kathryn and Ector had briefly split up. He’d gone to the sea to wash while she’d taken a real bath in the stream, using the soap she’d packed. Now, her hair was clean and damp, hanging around her shoulders, and she was wearing fresh, dry clothes—a loose button-down shirt and a pair of shorts.

The soothing heat and welcoming glow of the fire chased away the chill of the deepening twilight, and the meat roasting on spits over the open flame added a delectable aroma to the briny air. Not for the first time, she appreciated her aches, her weariness; she’d earned it all today.

She hadn’t hunted since she was a teenager, and she’d nearly forgotten the simple satisfaction of enjoying a meal she’d had to catch herself—especially when she and Ector had come closer than she cared to admit to becoming the vriga’s meal instead of the other way around. Not that she doubted Ector’s skill and prowess. The kraken were immensely strong and capable, but even the smallest nick from the vriga’s venom coated fangs could’ve been enough to kill him; even a victory on his part might have ended in tragedy. The chance that he wasn’t as susceptible to the venom due to his species wasn’t one she was willing to take.

She opened her canteen and took a drink of cool water, glancing skyward. Only a hint of light remained on the horizon, the last embers of a sun that had already sunken into slumber, and the night’s first stars twinkled directly overhead. There were no clouds to be seen, and the sea was calmly singing its ceaseless lullaby. There was undeniable beauty all around her.

Kat looked at Ector, who sat beside her—not that the position kraken got into when they settled down could quite be calledsitting, but that word was close enough. His tentacles were curled up and swept to the side opposite her save for one; that lone tentacle was draped over her knee, gently brushing over her skin. She loved that simple touch—especially those whisper-like kisses from his suction cups.

The rational part of her mind still whispered that things were moving too fast between them, but she knew that such matters rarely had much to do with rationality. She and Ector were irresistibly drawn to one another. They’d been growing closer and closer each day, and today’s events had accelerated that process. Their kisses and their shared pleasure beside the stream had only been the start. And after the run-in with the vriga…

She released a slow, quiet sigh. Kat felt like she’d known Ector for her entire life, like she was closer to him than should’ve been possible. They’d shared something profound today. They’d looked into the eyes of death and come out alive—together. But…that brush with death was not something she wished to experience again.

Breckett will have a fit when he finds out.

Kathryn snickered.

Ector turned his face toward her and smiled. “Amusing thought?”

“I was just thinking about how Breckett would react if he knew what happened today.”

Ector chuckled, and his tentacle coiled briefly around her leg, giving it a gentle squeeze. “I imagine we will find out when we return.”

She grinned. “He’d never let me touch a boat again. He’d rant and go on and on about how he told me so, and how dangerous and stupid this was.”

“He was not wrong. Life itself is dangerous, but this trip…we are taking many unnecessary risks.”

Kathryn’s smile faded as she looked away from Ector to stare down at the tentacle around her leg. Tentatively, she brushed her fingers over it. His skin there was as soft and velvety as everywhere else.

“I know,” she said with a sigh.

He eased closer to Kathryn until his arm was touching hers and tipped his head to the side, resting it atop her hair. “We both knew, and yet we both came. I know why I did. Why are you here, Kathryn?”

Kat closed her eyes and allowed her body to relax into his. Without hesitation, he slipped his arm around her shoulders and tugged her against him. He put off as much heat as the fire, and tingles of pleasure pulsed from every place their bodies touched. She cuddled just a little closer to him.

Why was she here? Why had she come on this journey? What exactly was she looking for?

She opened her eyes and looked past the flickering fire, toward the sea. “Honestly? I don’t know. Validation, I guess, that I…that I am still who I used to be.” She shook her head. “No, that’s not quite right. I already knew I’m not who I used to be. I’m someone different. I just wanted to find out who that person is, find out how much she resembles the me I remember. Who I amnow.”

The pads of Ector’s fingers glided up and down her sleeve. “You are Kathryn. Who else could you be but yourself?”

Kathryn couldn’t help but smile. “I know, but…” Why was it so hard to explain? “For thirty-two years I’ve been a mother, and for most of that time, I spent my every moment caring for, teaching, worrying over, and raising my daughters. They were my life.Aremy life. As are my grandchildren. But for several years now, every morning I wake up and there’s this…emptiness. This void. There’s no laughter, no voices, just…silence. Every day, I go to work, whether mending clothes or tending crops, and then I go home to that same silence. It’s deafening at times. My girls aren’t there anymore. They’re living lives of their own with their husbands, with their children, while I…”

The fire in front of her was a wavering blur, breaking into wild shards of distorted light. Her vision cleared only when she blinked, forcing out the tears she hadn’t realized had welled in her eyes. She pressed her lips together, lifted a hand, and wiped the tears away. Ector turned his head and gently kissed her hair. That silent comfort—small, yet so powerful—was enough to urge her on.

“I just didn’t know what to do with myself anymore. Before I became a wife, a mother, a grandmother, even a seamstress, I was a hunter. That’s what I did when I was young—I went out of town with my parents and spent my days in the jungle, hunting and trapping. I chose to leave that behind when I got pregnant. I’m proud of my life, and I’m proud of my kids, and I don’t regret a single moment of it.

“But I needed to know if that’s still me. If I’m still the same woman who hunted without fear, who sailed open water. I needed to know if it was still inside me. Because living alone in that empty house, I just felt…lost. Purposeless. I could move in with either of my daughters if I wanted to, but they need to have their lives. And I…I needed to figure out if I could still have one of my own, too.”

She sniffled, curled her fingers around his tentacle, and stroked her thumb over it. “Does all that make sense? Or am I being…selfish, making my family and friends worry over something foolish?”

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