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“Of course,” he says, and then, before I even know it, we’re off again. All I can feel is him, his tentacles, and him inside me, and it’s all I need. This world he’s brought me to is so beautiful and so easy to play in.
He presses into me and out. He’s so graceful in the water. Everything that seems awkward on land becomes perfect and wonderful. All of his movements are fluid and dignified. I could just watch him having sex with me, and that would be fascinating, too.
“I love you,” he says.
“I love you, too,” I say, and the words sound so simple and so easy. The entire ocean seems to be listening, and I’m happy for them to hear it.
I’m getting close, and so is he. Maybe that’s the power of the mark. That we’re joined together. Or maybe both of us are just paying close enough attention to each other that we start to align, even without knowing it.
“You’re mine,” he whispers, and it doesn’t upset me at all. It’s simply a fact.
He bursts inside me, and in the water, it’s a totally different sensation. A second later, I come, and it feels like I’m floating in my own pleasure.
We float together, loosely wrapped up in each other. The sun shines down on us and its warmth fills both of us.
“Does this mean I’m going to have to become a sea monster and start terrorizing ships with you?” I ask. “I’ve never led any sailors to their doom with my beauty, but I feel like I could give it a shot. There’s a first for everything, right?”
“Only if you want to,” he tells me. “That’s the first rule of being a sea monster. You only destroy a ship if you really feel like destroying it.”
“That might be a problem,” I admit. “I’ve never really been too excited about drowning sailors.”
“Don’t worry. There’s more to the ocean than that.”
I laugh, partly at our silly little conversation, but also, just at being together with him in the ocean. It’s amazing to be this free.
“Do you want to go back towards the temple, or do you want to float for a little longer?” he asks.
“I want to float for just a little longer,” I answer.
Somewhere below us, something moves under the surface of the sand. I can’t tell what color or shape it is, but it’s very quick, and my eyes scan the sand for it to do anything else.
“Then that’s just what we’ll do,” he says. “Don’t worry. I’ll float with you for as long as you want to.”
And so we drift along, watching as all the many wonders of the ocean present themselves to us. Laiken knows about some of them and sometimes narrates their actions, informing me that this is their way of hunting or looking for a mate. But there are other things that even he doesn’t know, and he just watches them with me, every bit as fascinated as I am.
I feel the dull ache of the mark on my chest one more time. It will always be there. The two of us will always be together. And we will always have the ocean to share.
I can’t remember a time when I felt happier than I am floating here, with Laiken wrapped all around me.
30
LAIKEN
The water is warm today on the Yaccarres Isles. The fat yellow sun is hanging lazily above the water, rays of warm light emanating all the way down to the clear blue waters of the Yaccarres shallows. It’s been a long while since we had such a pleasant day.
Water streams out behind me as I accelerate toward the verdant coral reef in the distance. The elves don’t seem to have found this reef yet, which is a relief to me. The elves, greedy as they are, often come down to remove large chunks of coral to decorate their homes with. They are also wont to hunt the fish that populate this area, often until none are left.
Of course, hunting and pulling up coral is what I am here for, too, but I would never take enough to destroy the reef as the elves inevitably do. “Today, I plan to make my Penny happy, and if that means pulling a little coral up, then so be it,” I declare.
I’m not sure exactly what I plan to give her, but I know I’ll recognize it when I see it. As I make my way into the reef, the garish colors of the coral seem to explode in my vision. Greens, blues, and reds sing out together in harmony, demanding to be admired.
The reef also teems with other forms of life. Multi-hued schools of fish cloud the water as they go about their daily business, some eating barnacles, others hunting smaller fish. Shellfish abound as well, dragging themselves across the seabed or sitting safely within their shells.
The larger fish scatter at my approach, recognizing the presence of an apex predator. The smaller fish and shellfish don’t seem to mind me, however. A predator my size has no reason to hunt such small game. Well, not most of the time, anyway. Today, I plan to bring a mountain of shellfish home to Penny, as I know how much she loves them.
Scanning the reef with a practiced eye, I search for a worthy gift for my mate. When nothing appears, I swim a bit closer, examining the various forms of coral from close up. Suddenly, a glimmer of red light catches my eye.
I swim toward it, and immediately, I know. “This is the one,” I declare. It’s a gorgeous spiral of brilliant red coral twisted around a rock about the size of an arm. Approaching it carefully, I look for the best way to break it free without damaging it.
