Page 51 of Keeper of All

Hey.

There is no crime looking in the candy store window when you’ve already bought your sweets, is there?

Mao’s laughter filled his head, and Ekon shrugged brazenly at enjoying the powerful shifters while still riding the high from the dragon flight.

“Not something you see every day,” a man murmured and Ekon shifted his attention to the man he hadn’t heard approach.

Slender with pretty blue eyes and blond curls, his smile was eye-catching, revealing perfect white teeth. He offered his hand as Ekon drew a blank as to who the guy was. “Lou, this is my ship,” he explained, obviously picking up on Ekon’s questioning stare.

Considering no one was hiding and the man obviously knew Markov and his mate, Ekon took his hand and shook it. The grip was firm but not too much. “Ekon, and this is my mate, Mao.” Mao nodded curtly, his eyes lingering on the hand still holding Ekon’s.

“Hey.” Lou gave a little head bob and let go. “I know these guys are used to rough water, how ‘bout you two? Do I need to give you one of my magic bracelets. I don’t do well with folks puking.”

All this was said with the same bright smile. Mao tensed and glanced out at the water which currently was like a mill pond, his eyes narrowing. “I’ll take a magic bracelet,” he muttered, a deep pink appearing under his tan when he returned his gaze to Lou.

“Great.” He slipped a hand into the back of the loose fitting, denim shorts he wore and pulled out a pale blue stretchy band with what looked like a round plastic nub sitting in the material. “Here, I’ll slip this on and place it in the right spot, and you’ll be fine and dandy then.” While he spoke softly, he slipped the band around Mao’s right wrist. “These work like a charm.”

“Let’s hope so!” Mao’s expression and his feelings suggested he didn’t believe it.

“Everybody aboard?” Lou asked, aiming that big smile at the boat full of men and children.

Alexi stepped forward, now wearing board shorts. “Yes, we’re all here. Did you get the parcel Todd brought from the plane?”

Lou was nodding before Alexi finished talking. “It’s stored in the main cabin. Do you need it now?”

“Nope, we don’t need it yet.” Alexi glanced around the large deck. “Todd, make sure your girls know not to jump overboard.” He turned to Danik. “Please watch the boys, we don’t want any mishaps.”

Markov stepped past Kelvin, who was bending to untangle Samuel from his leg, the tentacles harder to get off when the boy looked to be having fun playing with his uncle. Samuel was one of the four children Cassius and Markov had between them. Samuel, like his sister Marina, were krakens, the other triplet Selena was a shark. Riley, the older boy, was a lion shifter, his mother was dead, murdered by the same people who had taken Ekon.

Between all the Thalassa brothers, they had seven kraken children, a dragon, and a hammerhead shark, along with Riley who was from Cassius’s first marriage. Ekon could only imagine how they were all going to look in the sea when they reached their destination.

His stomach dipped, but not from the boat as the engines roared to life and they started to move. No, it was from the unknown. Of what was going to happen when they reached the trench. He’d done his best not to go with worst case scenario; it was hard now they were here. So far, he hadn’t asked about what else was in the trench because he suspected the krakens wouldn’t have taken it there if something wasn’t guarding it.

Mao was occupied with Abigail who was a dragon shifter, and was talking to him animatedly, pointing out at the sea. Ekon looked at them objectively, trying to see how Mao would look with their child—if they chose to have children. As cute as the pair looked, Ekon wasn’t ready for that. If—when—they figured out how to separate him from this burden, he wanted a damn moment to breathe and get his life back.

Noise and chaos surrounded him as he walked to the railing and leaned on it, looking back at the island as it shrank and disappeared from view. The place, what he’d seen from the air, was pretty. The large white house sat right on the beach all wood and glass and seemed like a little oasis of calm.

Ekon had more money than he knew what to do with. Maybe he should buy an island, build his own home and go off grid with Mao for a little while? The Thalassa brothers would know how to do that, he was sure.

He continued to daydream, not noticing how the sea started to swell and churn despite the sky above being a beautiful blue and cloudless, the sun high and warm. The sea breeze whipped hotly against his skin, as he shielded his eyes against the glare of the sun on the water.

“How are you doing?”

Ekon glanced sideways at Markov, the brother he’d spent the least amount of time with over the years. He considered the question and the fact Todd was on the other side of the white deck with two of his daughters clinging to him. It took a second to register his energy was good. No… it was back to normal! He aimed a wide grin at Markov. “Great. Being around y’all seems to have given me back my energy,” he answered honestly, positive Markov’s brothers had filled him in from the searching look.

“You are part of us, child,” a deep rumbly voice answered, that, yep wasn’t Markov but his kraken.

“How so?” Ekon asked, shifting to turn his back to the sun to stop squinting and get a better look at Markov.

Markov reached out and placed a palm flat against Ekon’s chest where his heart lay. He felt it, the connection, much like that of the fae, yet entirely different. His blood thrummed under the press of the hand as if seeking to reach and touch skin. “You are different, are you not?”

Ekon released a frustrated sigh. “I don’t know what you mean. It could be any one damn thing,” he huffed. “The file on me said I was a failed experiment. Is that what’s different about me, I didn’t die? The fae said I was the keeper of all, that would seem to mean I now carry the burden of all the lost souls. Is it that? Or could it be how that damn fae turned to dust then landed all over me and sank into my skin. Take your damn pick.”

Markov was actually laughing when Ekon finished his rant. Except was it Markov or his kraken, who the hell knew. It was then he noticed he’d gathered a crowd. All the Thalassa brothers were there watching and listening. The hand on his chest never moved as Markov glanced at his brothers. “Come and feel.”

“Hang on,” Mao growled, pushing through the men, and Ekon sensed he was about to get answers, and shook his head at Mao.

“It’s alright, just give us a moment.” Ekon glanced around the group of men and nodded. “Go ahead.”