He smiled at first, but it fell away. “I’m worried about who is coming to Tenebrae. What they want, and why Cern knew about it. He was concerned enough about our babies to come warn us.”
Salem brushed back Aurin’s golden hair from his forehead and studied his eyes. Gold and amber flecks stared back at him.
“Our babies are special,” Salem said. “With me as their father, they will be sought after and targeted. They are cursed by the same fate that I have been.” He sighed, trying to expel some of the sadness he felt. “They will always be special. They are the descendants of my father. An old god of times gone by, but still a god, nonetheless.”
Aurin’s eyes shone like golden galaxies. “We will protect them, and they will never be alone. You will be a better father than yours ever was, old god or not.”
Salem smiled, overwhelmed by the love he felt for Aurin. “Because of you,” he whispered. Then he tried to lighten the mood, needing to make Aurin smile. “And our babies have an entire consortium of uncles and an aunt, including a human, who would go to war for them. A consortium who took down a monster to save me. And Cern. He will look out for them; he already has. Our little ones just might be the best protected babies on this planet.”
Aurin’s eyes went soft, and his smile was the private kind, the one he reserved for Salem alone, but then the small chirps coming from the cannister were getting louder. “Okay, our littleimpatient ones, okay,” he said to them. Then he looked up at Salem. “We’re not the ones in charge anymore.”
“I know,” he agreed with a laugh. “Isn’t it wonderful?”
They found the perfect home,a crevice in the rocks under the dock that opened into a larger den. Aurin ushered the four of them inside like he was a mother hen with a clutch, and Salem brought in what was left of the plankton.
They devoured it, chirping happily while using their tentacles to shove the food into their mouths. What Kellan had said was true. They were growing faster than expected. Cephamorphs did excel through the growing periods faster than normal octopuses, but these little ones were exceeding that easily.
They’ll be into the benthic stage soon,Salem mused.
Yes, they’re so big already, Aurin agreed.I can hear their minds now. Thought processes and learning are more coherent as they grow, it’s so fascinating.
It really is.
And their personalities. They’re so individual! This one—He gave the biggest one’s chubby cheek a gentle tweak as he ate.He’s brave.
Salem gave the second born a gentle rub on the head.And this one is so clever.
And this one is cheeky, Aurin said, giving number three a little tickle.And this one, he said, voice softening.She’s our little princess. She’s so sweet.
Salem was so proud, so in love, he felt he might burst.We will need to give them names to match.
We will.
You are named Aurin because you are gold, Salem said.And I am Salem because I am dark.He shrugged.You named me Salem because of the black cat on a television show.
Aurin’s eyes went wide.No. I called you Salem because you brought me peace. Salem means safe and calm. He sighed.You were nameless before that, and the cat on TV made sense because the others wouldn’t question it. I didn’t want them to know what you meant to me.
For many, many years, I was nameless, Salem agreed.My father’s bastard son. The son of a trickster father and a Mimic mother who was hunted because of what she was. I was alone then, and there is no point to a name when living in anonymity and solace.
Aurin linked a tentacle with Salem’s and pulled him close.That’s why we need to give them the most perfect names.
The babies were done eating then, and they soon nuzzled into Aurin’s and Salem’s arms and settled in to sleep.
Salem let the love inside his hearts pour out of him and seep into all of them.
Aurin sighed contentedly, closing his eyes with a smile.Salem, my love, he murmured.You’ll never be alone again.
Chapter
Sixteen
CIARAN
“So, I was thinking,”Beau said, chewing on his bottom lip. He was clearly nervous, but he tried to smile. “And it’s just an idea. You can say no if you want, obviously.”
Ciaran’s interest was piqued. “What is it?”
“The old building,” he said, nodding down past the police station. “I dunno if it was a church at some stage. Like, a hundred years ago, probably. But I was thinking I could maybe do it up a bit.”
