Bride of the Sea Monster - Eve Langlais Page 0,19
won’t change anything.”
He walked away. And I stared. For once, the seeing remained quiet.
9
Killian Kraken: Just leave me alone.
I probably shouldn’t annoy the one person who might still be able to help me, but let’s be real. The noose around my time left as a man really put a damper on things.
Was it fair to make her love me? What if I tried and failed, but I fell in love myself? Bad enough leaving everything behind, but if I went with a broken heart…
Perhaps that was why I taunted her, first with a tentacle. Until she snapped and said something mean, giving me a reason to sulk away.
Then she’d called for me. Dumb beast that I am, I listened. I sought her out and stood so close I could have tasted that mouth.
Rather than show my weakness, I’d left.
She followed.
Entering my room, I immediately slid on a robe then sat down, whereas Sasha chose to stand.
“I want to help you,” she said.
I knew she did. I could see it in her expression, the angst. And it roused a wave of anger in me. Because I was tired of her ignoring the solution. “Do you love me?”
“Do you love me?” was her hot retort.
Inclining my head, I gave her a faint smile. “What if I said I did?”
“I’d call you a liar.”
“Why would you say that? You’re a beautiful woman with a sharp mind and wit.”
“Who’s been nothing but a bitch to you.”
“Who says I don’t like that?” Nothing wrong with an assertive woman.
“If you love me, it’s only because you think I can cure you.”
“I’m pretty sure the curse will know if I fake it.”
“Exactly.” Her lips ghosted into a smile. “And when I said help, I was talking about trying something else.”
“There is nothing left. Unless you can see something in one of the future timelines.” I arched a brow.
She scowled. “I still can’t see anything where you’re concerned.”
“It bothers you.”
“I don’t do well with surprises,” she admitted, if begrudgingly.
“Because you can see the future and usually avoid it. Fair enough, but boring.”
She frowned. “What do you mean?”
“There’s a certain excitement that comes from the unknown, of discovering. That rush that fills your body when you turn a corner and see—” I almost said “you,” almost admitted that the sight of her filled me with a strange giddiness. Sea monsters should never be giddy. “—something new.”
“There’s also fear because you don’t know what lies beyond that corner. Heartbreak when you fail to avoid the bad shit.”
“That’s known as life.”
“Are you saying I’m hiding from it, using my power to avoid life?”
“Had you known we would meet on this boat and get married, would you have come?” I asked her starkly.
It took her a moment to reply, a crease knitting her brow. “It would have depended on the outcome.”
“There are only two outcomes. We become true mates and I remain a man, or the monstrous side of me takes over.”
“I can’t force a true mating.”
“Then I guess we’ve got our choice.” Deliberately cruel, mostly because I needed her to leave. Despite having gone for a short swim, the monster pulsed in me. I didn’t want her to see.
“I’ll keep looking for another way.” She sounded genuinely troubled.
But I didn’t have time to soothe her. She needed to leave. Now. “Why don’t you go look elsewhere? I’d like to enjoy my last moments on Earth.”
The sting of it sent her fleeing, and I felt a moment’s chagrin at what I’d done. She was my only hope, and I didn’t know how to make her love me even as I was infatuated with her. Which I could probably blame on the fact that I needed her, but I liked to think had we met and not had any of this curse stuff standing between us, then we might have made a go at it.
Might have fallen in love. For real.
Fuck me, but I was getting a little too fucking sentimental. I blamed my impending doom.
Freedom!
My beast side saw it differently. As we went for a swim, it expounded all the positives of being a sea monster. They only lacked one thing.
Sasha.
Exhausted from my swim, I lay on my bed and tried to rest. Might as well while I could, since I’d not made it long this time.
A few hours only between swims. Which meant by the time the full moon rose, I’d be going for another dip. Not usually a cause for concern, except for the fact that I’d studied our route.