Page 7 of Pregnant With Their Babes

Enthralled, Oz stared—bewitched. There was also a sense of intense sorrow he didn’t understand. “A shipwreck? Maybe he floated in on the tide?”

Dagr lifted his gaze and looked out upon the water’s surface. “If it was a shipwreck, we’d likely see flotsam nearby. I see none.”

“A lone swimmer who swam out too far and the tide took him?” Oz offered.

“More likely,” Dagr replied.

Again he let his eyes roam over the man… one who seemedsofamiliar, yet…

A sudden rush of lust hit Oz square in the gut.

Long, wavy copper tresses spread out around a lovely face more Fae-like in its beauty. His pale skin almost gleamed with a life that seemed to linger. Odd tattoos trailed over one arm, nothing like anything he’d seen before—as well as a shell-like mark on one shoulder. Muscles appeared tense, as if ready to move. Oz knelt at the side of the man’s long, lean body and reached for a pulse, sure there had to be one.

Alas, there was nothing.

His chest tight, he struggled to breathe. Tears burned the backs of his eyes. How could he feel such grief for the loss of a man he’d never known? Oz shook his head, trying to rid himself of the strange emotions.

Dagr knelt on the other side of the body. He lifted one small hand into his before lifting it to his lips. Dagr’s stare then went to Oz’s… and he could see the same remorse mirrored in his best friend’s eyes. Oz saw the glimmer of tears… from a man who he’d only seen cry once in twenty years.

“Did we know him?” Oz asked, his voice low. “It feels like we know him.”

“No.” Dagr let out a slow sigh. “I think we would’ve definitely remembered him.”

True.Oz took in a shuddering breath. No, they had never met this man.But I deeply sense we were meant to.

The drowning victim suddenly sputtered, and water shot from his mouth.

And it just kept coming…

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Dagr cursed inwardly at the man gasping for air—and then quickly rolled him to his side. In a torrent, water streamed from his lips onto the deck.Too much water…There was no way anyone could’ve ingested it all and survived. He shot a shocked look to Oz before returning to watch the spectacle before him.

Once clear, the man took in an extremely deep inhale. It was a magical sound to Dagr’s ears. The hoarse cry of pain that came after, not so much. Their drowning victim lifted his hands to cover his eyes, as if they pained him.

Silence—albeit the strangled breathing of the man on the deck—reigned. Oz lifted his gaze to Dagr. They held it for a moment, not needing words to share their astonishment and disbelief. The dead rose back to life before their very eyes.

A spark of something captured Dagr’s notice. A tingling to his fingers.Magic.

He narrowed his eyes, trying to determine the source.

“There, there… you’re alright,” Oz ultimately murmured as he took one of the man’s hand in his. “You’re safe… onboard my ship.”

The man didn’t respond at first. Finally he croaked.“So bright.”

Dagr frowned. Sunlight fading, darkness fell around them.

Finally the man removed his hands, but kept his eyelids narrowed.

“As I was saying… you’re safe. Onboard my ship. You can call me Captain König. That’s Commander Burgstaller.”

A pair of turquoise eyes scanned Oz’s face before refocusing to take in Dagr’s stare.

Dagr frowned, realizing he’d been mistaken. Yet the turquoise shifted…

Cerulean…

No, no… jade green.

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