22. Water
TWENTY-TWO
WATER
Lukys
The next day, I show up outside her ship’s dome shortly after dawn, hoping to see her on the other side. In my hands I have a basket of berries I picked earlier.
I will get her to eat. If it is the last thing I do.
I saw her interest. She’s intrigued by the firepit I’ve made her. Still, she did not venture outside.
And then, when I turned around after placing the meat into the flames, she was gone.
After my evening with the males, Levy and Greg, my opinion on them has changed. I realized, like Elena, they are just trying to survive.
I understand now what Shelby meant when she said The Dreadnaut was destroyed. It was the human’s nesting ship—a home ship for a vast number of them—and now it is gone, having taken many humans with it.
Elena cries because she has lost her home—her clan. Her sister.
Grey told me the story of what happened. I learned why they are here.
There was a rebellion and the ship’s main power source had been damaged. Many smaller ships fled. And those that had fled were saved from the nesting ship’s blast when it erupted.
Greg, Levy, and Elena came here, to Earth, with other fleeing vessels. Which is what I saw when they appeared like speckles in the sky. Their ship had just been destroyed.
They are worried that there is no help coming from the other nesting ships. Elena must be worried about this too.
Elena’s sorrow—the tears at the beginning—makes even more sense.
I cannot conceive the loss of my nest, my entire clan, all at once, and I want to hold her, tell her as much.
Though I understand loss—I lost my father to age, I lost my sister when the females left, and I have now lost Deiys as well as many others over the seasons—I am also not wholly affected by it.
Death is a part of life, and I see it nearly every day when I hunt.
Ixi and I laid Deiys to rest in his nest. It was enough.
I do not blame the humans for his demise. I may have killed him all the same for trying to take Elena. For hurting her.
Searching for her within her ship, she has yet to emerge from her back rooms.
It is then I hear a muffled, scratchy groan and a woosh. Leaving my hiding spot behind, I slip between the trees to get a better look, expecting to encounter one of the males.
Instead, I spot Elena stepping out into the open with a bucket gripped in her hand.
I freeze as she glances around warily. Her eyes drift to me within the trees, widening.
I lift the basket and slide forward in greeting.
She takes a half-step back then puts her foot on the ledge of her ship.
I pause and lower my basket. “I have brought you fruit.”
With her back partially turned to me, poised to flee, she pauses as well. She turns around and faces me, the frown on her face morphing to one of confusion, curiosity. “Don’t come any closer,” she warns.
I deserve no less. “I would like to give you these. They are fresh and will provide sustenance.” I indicate the basket with my chin.
Her eyes flick between me and my offering—a sturdy vessel I wove with plant fibers filled with fresh fruit. “What are they?”
“Berries. Blackberries. Humans find them tart and sweet. Their juicessss can be sticky.” They are not to my liking, but I will eat a few on occasion to remove another unfavorable taste from my mouth.
“L-leave them by the firepit and I will come get them…” Her voice trails off as a tiredness blooms over her expression. It is a tiredness I have seen often in her eyes lately.
But doing as she says, I take my basket to the firepit and set it at the edge of the circle, placing it where she can easily see it. Afterwards, I return to the trees.
My blood thrums and my hands clench when she takes a step away from her ship.
She is outside.
I can… No.
I do not want her to fear me anymore.
I want to help her. I want to see relief in her expression. I want to have… What all the other couples have.
She walks to the circle—her gaze half on me—and sets down her bucket, peering at the basket I left for her. She glances at me before picking it up and carrying it back to her ship. She sets it on the ledge, cautiously looking over at me once more. After that, she returns for her bucket.
Her eyes settle on me. Her lips open and close as she begins to say something, then stops. I tilt my head as I wait for her direction. I do not want her to leave.
She picks up her bucket and holds it to her chest. “I need to get water.”
My fingers twitch. So it has finally come to that. I eye her bucket and how big it is. It covers her chest and stomach and is a hand’s width deep.
She shifts on her feet and continues to looks around nervously.
She turns to the males’ ship. “I was going to ask Levy to come with me.”
I inch forward. No. Not Levy. Not another male. “I will go with you.”
She flinches, but then it is gone. “I think… I’ll be fine with him.”
Jealousy erupts and my chest tightens, my tail coiling underneath me. My jaw ticks as I force my venom down my throat.
“Maybe I’ll just go alone,” she continues. “It’s not that far. After all, I won’t get… stolen again? Right?” She frowns as she backs up a step and then another, still watching me warily.
“You have no need to flee,” I grit. “You will not be taken again. And no, you will not go alone. You have recently been hurt and should not use your arm. I will not come near you, but let me help you in thissss. I will guard your passage and make certain you take the best path.”
She blinks, and her throat bobs. With one final glance at the males’ ship, she sharply nods.
“Set your bucket down and I will come and retrieve it,” I demand.
She frowns again like she does not know whether to listen to me or not. “Are you sure?”
“Yessss.”
Slowly, she places her bucket within the circle and walks back to her ship.
When she is beside her ship’s door, I weave across the meadow and pick up human-made vessel.
As I do, a wave of her mesmerizing aroma floods me.
My body goes taut as my lungs fill with her, realizing I’m smelling something sweeter than before.
Her scent is different, more complex, more… heady.
I shake as I swallow thickly, wondering where the sweet twinge in her scent is coming from. And why it is there now when it was not before. Either way, she does not reek of fear. I will take that as a good sign.
“You do not need to come if you do not want to,” I say roughly. “I will collect the water and bring it back to you.”
She is quiet for a moment but then nods. “Okay—well—” She shakes her head and lifts her hand to her cheek, shyly glancing about. “Well…”
“Well, what?”
“I wanted to see the water.” She is quiet for another moment. “Levy tells me it’s incredible to see so much of it. Back where I’m from, there wasn’t much water and it was rationed. I had more than most but…”
A smile twitches the edge of my lips. “Come then. Follow me and I will bring you to see the water.”
Her mouth parts and she licks her lower lip, shifting on her feet. “Okay. You promise you won’t steal me?” She studies me with slitted eyes.
“I will not steal you.”
I tilt my chin as I turn and begin to lead her around her ship. I hear her footsteps behind me, past the length of my tail, keeping up with my pace. When the ground starts to slope downward, I look back to make sure she is there.
She hesitates when our eyes catch. I turn back around. “It issss not far.”
“I think I can hear it.”
“Yessss.” My ears prick to the water’s noisy hum. “Water can be loud.”
We traverse over the rocky dirt and spiny grass, around wild tangles of brush and fern until the water appears glistening through the trees. I do not take her to the brook I stole her from, which is closer to my nest.
Instead, we end up at a grassy knoll beside the river where it is easy for me to swiftly fill her bucket. Hauling the sloshing container briefly in the crook of my arm, I face her.
She is staring at the water, her eyes wide with awe, appearing much like the day I took her. I stiffen as her beauty overwhelms me. Even hurt, with a bruise above her eye, she is lovely to look at.
She is wearing her black sweatpants and a tight, light gray shirt.
Her arms are bare, revealing her pale, scaleless skin.
She is slight but with just enough curves to be mesmerizingly feminine, and…
not for the first time, I imagine her body pinned beneath mine.
I strain with tension as her eyes shift over the wide river.
“There’s so much of it. It really is incredible. Levy was right.”
I release a deep, annoyed hiss.
She startles like she is coming out of an enchantment and our gazes catch. Her dark hair, loose around her shoulders, emphasizes the shadows under her eyes. She shifts back and reaches up to grip her bad shoulder.
Pressure rushes into my middle, adding to the already annoying constant ache thrumming there. For weeks, I have been manually keeping my slit closed that it has become second nature, the muscles locked.
She points to the water, a fresh rush of heat spreading across her cheeks. “May I?”
It takes me a moment to realize what she is asking. When I do, I nod stiffly and move far out of the way. Once I am within the trees, she walks onto the knoll and peers out over the river. “I’ve never seen so much water before. It seems impossible.”
“There are larger lakes and rivers than thissss.”
“I can barely imagine it.”
“I will take you—if you would like to see them.”
She looks at me and I hold in a low hiss. “I’m not sure if that’s a good idea.”
“Why not?” My tail bends and coils. “I will protect you.”
“Lukys… you’re kind of… becoming nice and all, but I don’t want a…” She pulls her lower lip into her mouth and turns away.
“A?” I frown.
She waves her hand. “Nothing. It doesn’t matter. Forget I brought it up.” She turns back and bobs her head at the bucket in my arms. “We should head back. Thank you for showing me the river.”
“You still have not told me why I should not take you.” Is the idea of me protecting her, offering my body as her shield, and providing for her that bad she would not risk more time with me? “Do you not believe me when I say I will not steal you again?”
I am trying to make her life convenient, not more frightening.
She sighs softly. “I don’t think us being near one another is a good idea.” She blinks hard and points her finger at my middle. “Not with what’s going on there.”
I look down. “I cannot help the way my body reacts to you.”
“See!” She lifts her hand and makes a fist then drops it. “That’s a problem. That can be a problem.”
“I have enough willpower to control myself. I will…” Will I? She may be right. I lick my lips before continuing. I did not control myself last time. “I only want to make sure you are ssssafe. I want to see you happy.”
“Why?” Her face saddens as her lips angle downward. It does not take away from her beauty. “Just because I’m alone? Besides my arm, I’ve been doing just fine. I haven’t needed anyone until now. And I wouldn’t need anyone if you hadn’t butted in!”
“Because I have been waiting for you my entire life,” I admit.
Her mouth opens then snaps shut as she crosses her arms and shifts on her feet. “Yeah, but why me? You said it was because I was in your territory before—but there’s got to be a better reason for me specifically. You don’t know me.”
I slip forward and she straightens, glancing behind her at the water nervously.
“I know your scent—it is wild, aromatic, and pure—and unlike anything I have ever smelled before. It is appealing and perfect, just like the rest of you is, and I would not think so certainly about you if it was any different. To me, you smell like home. You smell like the sunset after a long hunt, and the dewy fog at the cusp of dawn. You smell like you are mine. I would scent you now and fill my lungs with you if you would only allow me.”
Her eyes widen. “You smell like chocolate,” she whispers. “Ilubriam chocolate… My favorite dessert.”
“When I saw your tears the first day, I only wanted to make them go away.”
“My… my tears?” She frowns, shaking her head again. “You’ve seen me crying. Of course you’ve seen me crying…” She lifts her eyes to the sky and wipes at the bottom of them. “I cried a lot. I still cry a lot. I’m really trying to stop.”
“But not so much anymore.”
“No… not so much anymore…”
I resettle the bucket in my arms. “Come. We will get thissss water in your nest and you will have what you need.”
She wipes her eyes again and nods as she waits for me to move. I lead her back to her ship slowly, making sure she is following close behind, while also prolonging our time together.
I do not ask her for permission before slipping inside her vessel and setting the bucket outside her room’s door. It is heavy. This way, she will not have to go so far for her water, wherever she is.
When I am done, I find her walking away from the hatch to stand next to the firepit.
She turns and faces me. “Thank you. Again.”
“From now on, leave the bucket outside your nest when you need water. It will be filled for you.”
“I—I will.”
I move out of her way and retreat to the trees, only turning when I am within their shadows. I watch her walk back to her ship and step inside it. With a final glance my way, the door closes, breaking our connection.
I release a breath, my hands shaking at my sides.
She is right. She should be worried about me. We should not be alone together…
But it is all I want to be.