Page 56 of The Delver
“They should have shaped him like you,” she said.
With a trill, he curled his lower hand around her hip and drew her closer. She gasped, hands flying up to settle on his chest, and peered up at him with wide eyes. He wrapped his upper arms around her.
“No,” he said, voice falling low. “I was shaped only for you…and you for me, female.”
She made a small whimpering noise, keeping her eyes locked with his. Heat suffused her body, burning into him, and her cheeks darkened with it. Her fingers curled against his chest, and he felt the scratch of her blunt claws against his hide. He wanted to feel them dig deeper. Wanted them to mark him, to make her claim on him a true, physical thing.
Callie cleared her throat and patted his chest. “So, uh, where do we go from here?”
The press of his stem against his slit was a clear answer, but not one he could give to her. They needed shelter, needed rest, and he needed to put her safety before his cravings.
Reluctantly, he withdrew from her and faced the lake, searching its edges. There were a few small ledges down at the water’s level, but those were too exposed and would leave them vulnerable to any creatures dwelling in the water. They needed height and seclusion. Something that would not only provide protection from unknown beasts, but keep them out of sight from spiritstriders.
Then he spotted it—a higher ledge, which led to a grotto with glowing vegetation hanging on either side of the opening. Reaching it would require a climb, but that made it safer; once Urkot and Callie were up there, they would be out of easy reach.
“There,” he said, gesturing toward it. “We will rest there.”
Callie followed his gesture with her eyes, which rounded. She looked at him and blinked. “Up there? All the way up there? Meaning, swimming all the way across the water, which has who-knows-what lurking inside, and climbing up?”
Urkot dipped his chin. “Yes.”
He collected her glowstone and placed it, along with his own, in his pouch. There was more than enough light here to safely leave their hands free.
She peeked over the edge at the water below. “Okay… But if I feel something brush against me, I will scream. Just warning you now.”
He held up his hand and pinched his forefinger and thumb together. “Small scream, yes?”
Callie faced him with a droll look. “Big scream.”
Urkot chittered and thumped a fist against his chest. “This male will protect you from little fish.”
“You better hope little fish are all that’s in that water.”
He certainly hoped so.
Extending a foreleg, he dropped it low to dip into the lake. A chill coursed over his hide and made his fine hairs stand. The water was cold—colder than the stream they’d followed deeper into these caves.
But there was no other way forward.
Turning, Urkot grasped a rock protruding from the tunnel wall and swung himself out over the edge. The tips of his legs struck stone as he steadied himself. He climbed down slowly, until his legs were submerged, then his hindquarters, and finally, his torso. Cold penetrated straight to his bones, making him shudder.
“By the Eight,” he rasped.
He released his grip on the wall and kicked his legs, moving back from it before lifting a hand to beckon her. “Come.”
She raised an eyebrow. “If that made you shiver and swear, what’s it going to do to me?”
“Make you swim fast,” he replied, raising his mandibles.
Chuckling, Callie shook her head as she carefully sat on the edge, legs dangling. “I’m not a fast swimmer, but I guess I’ll learn.”
After drawing in a couple deep breaths, she shoved herself off. She plunged into the water, disappearing into its dark depths.
Urkot’s hearts went still. Panic roiled beneath his hide, its heat quickly overpowering the water’s chill.
As he was about to dive after her, Callie emerged with a gasp, swiftly swiping her hair from her face. “Holy fuck, it’s freezing!”
His hearts lurched back into motion, beating much too hard and much too fast.Fuckwas right.
