Chapter Twenty-Eight
Mao
He was losing his mind. The tossing boat really was the least of his problems, because the band was working and he didn’t feel like tossing his cookies.
Not over that. The large tentacles running over his skin so he could breathe under water, that was making him lose his shit.
Barbs. What kind of barbs were they sticking into his skin?
His cat, yep, it had gone so deep Mao was struggling to feel it.
Then with everything he was trying to process, because it was a damn lot when it turned out his mate was part kraken, a mythical, magical sea being. What did that even mean? What did it mean for them?
This changes nothing.
Markov’s kraken was one chatty bastard and this head talking, yeah, he wasn’t sure he liked it. Stop poking around in my head.
Of course. But you may want to stop projecting your thoughts so loudly.
Markov wasn’t grinning, but the kraken sure as hell was. “Sorry,” Markov muttered, as a tentacle roved up the inside leg of his shorts.
He squirmed and gritted his teeth. No way he was leaving Ekon alone in the sea with this lot regardless of how they were ‘helping’. Everything Markov said made sense, he just wasn’t sure how being here was going to fix things.
He could see himself that Ekon looked much like he had when they first met, but the idea of living with this bunch wasn’t appealing. Except, if this is what kept his mate healthy and alive, then Mao would.
Lou returned and walked to Todd holding a small wooden box with some kind of inscription on it. Tentacles disappeared and a stillness overtook the ship, even the playing children stopped.
When Todd held the box, his gaze shifted to Ekon.
“I have something for you.” He offered the box up, his eyes behind his glasses glazed with tears.
“I only had one thing that belonged to my mother, a Melo Melo pearl. It isn’t created in an oyster shell but by a sea snail.
” He flipped the lid open as Ekon took the box with trembling hands.
“This pearl is unique because of its orange to brown coloration and natural shine. It is exceptionally rare and difficult to find in nature. She blessed it with her magic when I was born.”
A tear slid down Todd’s cheek as he lifted it out of the box revealing it was attached to a thick, white metal chain. It hung in the air between them, and Mao believed even the sea and wind had gone quiet in the moment as the pearl swayed between Todd and Ekon.
“I have used my own kind of magic and embedded in links of the chain are the records you sent me. The pearl’s magic will collect the rest once we are all in the water.
The two must never be separated as they will carry the burden for you.
Don’t get me wrong, you’ll remain the keeper of all, only the burden will no longer be carried in your soul. ”
Throughout, Ekon had remained transfixed on the pearl, his own eyes glistening with tears. He didn’t protest at the enormity of the gift Todd was giving, just honored it by lowering his head so he could slip the chain around his neck.
Mao witnessed how the chain tightened of its own accord, and the pearl nestled into the base of his throat like the space was made for it. Ekon’s eyes glowed, and he moved to the railing of the boat and leapt overboard without a word.
Mao gave chase not considering his actions, and the sea erupted around him as he hit the icy water, losing his breath, but only for a moment as his head went under the enormous waves.
His lungs worked, and his chest didn’t feel any different to being on land.
Oddly spooky, yet that wasn’t what was important, it was finding Ekon who was swimming beneath him down into the dark depth.
He swam after him, only to find a tentacle wrapped around his waist propelling him faster than he could blink. His eyes adjusted to the darkness as his body shook from the cold.
A level of panic he held at bay started to creep in the deeper they went, and it was then he saw the trench below, an abyss that seemed bottomless in the pitch black he could see beyond the gaping cavern.
You have nothing to fear.
Markov’s kraken sounded confident, it was just…
His thoughts fled as the sound of singing filled his head.
The sounds of earlier were amplified now by the water.
A beautiful sea symphony drawing sea creatures to them.
In the center was Ekon, the kraken’s linked by tentacles around him and on him.
The children were there too swimming around Ekon, touching him, making him shimmer in the water like a mystical illusion.
His body danced to the beat of the singing, his arms and legs swaying in a way that would not allow a person to float, yet he was.
The trench beneath erupted with bubbles. They filled the surrounding water and a humongous kraken appeared, with a crushed ship in its tentacles. This was no shifter and the way it moved suggested it might be a little pissed off at being disturbed.
He will not harm us as long as we do not linger. Ekon must touch the ship for the magic to be freed. Mother is part of it.
It made rational sense, yet Mao didn’t want the damn thing anywhere near his mate. He fought against the tentacle, wanting to get closer to Ekon.
Jitran will not be amused if you interfere.
I’ll not be amused if he harms my mate!
As he replied, Jitran offered the crushed boat to Ekon reverently, its vast head bowed.
The second Ekon touched the wood of the hull the sea became warm.
The sea creatures looked to be having a party as they gathered and all vied to get closer to Ekon.
It was a sight that would have stolen his breath.
Then Mao was swamped with Ekon’s happiness, it filled Mao’s entire being.
It wasn’t any one thing, just what came through their bond.
Ekon shed a layer of skin, and it all collected into a ball and settled on the pearl at the base of his throat.
The moment it all disappeared into the pearl Mao felt the weight lift off Ekon, and he laughed, or he thought he did, it was hard to tell underwater.
It is done.
Thank fuck! Now can we get out of here?
Everyone seemed to be in agreement as Jitran bowed its head once more, then disappeared back down into the trench with the boat.
Getting back up, Markov seemed to want to play, and Mao found his ears popping at the speed at which he surfaced water and landed in a sodden heap on the deck.
His clothes plastered to his body. He sat up and swiped the hair out of his eyes, searching for Ekon, who appeared much more sedately over the side of the boat under his own power.
“Wasn’t that a blast!” he gushed, tugging off his wet T-shirt to reveal his toned chest. The pearl at the base of his throat looking as if attached to his skin, as did the chain when it neither moved.
“I’m not sure I’d call it that! It was an experience I wouldn’t like to repeat,” he replied, getting up and walking to Ekon, searching for any signs of harm.
Ekon’s laugh was loud and full of joy, a sound Mao loved. “Is the pearl stuck in your skin?” he asked when he wrapped his arms around Ekon’s wet waist.
“Not stuck, more positioned so that it feels like it’s part of me, yet the weight is separate from me.” His grin was all teeth. “I can feel the magic inside me now, and it's potent and very pleased with what we’ve done.”
“Potent, you say?” Mao’s grin matched Ekon’s. “Does that mean you’ve gotten all your energy back?”
“None of that until you’re off my boat!” Lou hollered from the above deck, only he was smiling.
“Yes, that can wait until after I’ve eaten. I’m starved.” Ekon shielded his eyes to look up at Lou. “Don’t suppose you have any food, do you? I’m not fussy.”
When I’ve fueled up, I’ll make good on my promise.
Are you forgetting we can hear you? Markov’s kraken cackled.
Mao turned, letting go of Ekon to point at Markov, who was dripping wet and wearing a devilish smirk. “Don’t blame me, blame my kraken.”
“He always says that to get out of trouble,” Cassius stated, laughing as he swung himself onto the deck and brought up their three girls.
“It works doesn’t it,” Markov said, winking at his mate.
“Did it work?” Riley asked shyly, clinging to Azim’s hand, Abigail holding the other, they hadn’t joined the party.
Ekon crouched in front of Riley, touching the pearl. “It did. All the lost souls are together and safe thanks to your dads and uncles.”
He reached out and ran the tip of a finger over the pearl. “No, they’re safe because you didn’t give up,” he replied with a wisdom only a child could have.
Mao choked back a sob, coughing instead, as he placed a hand on Ekon’s shoulder. “He’s right. You never gave up and I for one am grateful for that.”
Ekon rose and slipped into Mao’s embrace and nestled his face into his neck, his lips brushing his pulse.
A spark of magic leapt between them and settled in Mao’s heart.
“So am I. So am I,” Ekon murmured. My life only began when you came into it.
Now we will have time for all the adventures together.
Just no more sea ones, okay?
What about flying dragon ones? he replied, laughing hard enough his body shook.
Behave, Mao snorted. Food, then you make good on your promise.
That I can do for all eternity.
Mao liked the sound of that—a lot.