Part 29 (1/2)

Shadows swallowed his father.

After that, they were alone.

Perrin had never been aware of the pa.s.sage of time until his exile. Time did not exist in the world below, only the s.h.i.+ft in tides, or the arrival of light or dark above the mirror surface. Migrations happened, and temperatures changed, and there were seasons of storms that even his people could sense-but that was not time. That was just life.

Humans were preoccupied with the cutting of lives into discrete moments, and, out of the need to survive, Perrin had learned to be equally attentive to the ticking of a clock. Even now, back in the ocean, he found himself breaking moments, trying to calculate how long they had been in the water.

But instead of time, he relied on breaths. Jenny's breaths.

Each one precious, brief interludes at the surface of the sea, holding her close while she coughed and rubbed her nose and eyes, and dragged down great lungfuls of air. She was good at holding her breath, but doing so consistently, without pause, required endurance. And she was tired. Hurt.

On her tenth breath, their tenth stop, Perrin forced her to look at him while he studied her face. Split lip, bruise forming against her left cheek. Her eye was a little swollen, too, but he thought she would still be able to see from it after all was said and done.

”I'm going to kill him,” he whispered, suffering a grim rage that settled so deep in his bones that every movement felt tender, ready to explode.

Jenny closed her eyes, silent. The lack of fight in her scared him. Perrin cradled her close, kissing her brow and smoothing her hair from her face. He thought of the kra'a buried in the base of her skull, and it took all his strength to keep from touching it again.

The hole in his head ached.

Rik circled them tightly, golden eyes glowing. Perrin grabbed his dorsal fin, and said, ”Breathe, Jenny. One deep breath and hold on to me.”

She nodded, eyes still closed.

Down, down back into the sea. Perrin watched the shadows, listening to the song of the deep earth rise through the darkness into his heart, wondering if Jenny heard the song, as well.

Kra'a chosen. A human, chosen. A kra'a did not have to bond to just any candidate. It had a will of its own, an ability to choose the one person most compatible. Until now, that had always been a Krackeni. Out of necessity, availability.

But this kra'a had sought out Jenny. Known where she was and somehow latched itself to her.

Old memories. .h.i.t him. Years of total isolation in the darkness. Years, for the Kraken and the kra'a to become accustomed to him. Another initiation. Old rituals.

And all he'd had, in those years alone, was Jenny. Jenny, in his dreams. Part of him. Soul bonded, he realized now. Sharing s.p.a.ce with his kra'a, which had been ripped from him and given to Pelena.

She said your kra'a was calling to you, his father had told him. She could feel its dissatisfaction with her body.

That gave Perrin no comfort. Nor did it answer the question of what to do next.

Except keep you safe, he told Jenny silently, burying despair with determination.

She was small in his arms, small but strong, and the memory of her standing against his father-again, again-filled him. Filled him until even thoughts of the kra'a were forced to share s.p.a.ce in his heart.

Little girl. Grown woman. Not much had changed. She still carried a big stick.

Perrin lost track of how many times Rik brought them to the surface, but he sensed it was near dawn when they arrived at a familiar, battered fis.h.i.+ng vessel floating alone in the middle of the ocean. Golden lights burned, and a slow rock song blared, something from a James Bond movie. For Your Eyes Only, maybe. Perrin had seen that one at the homeless shelter. He hadn't watched much television once he found an apartment of his own.

Sajeev was on deck, arms wrapped around his waist, slow-dancing with himself. Eddie stood at the rail, watching the sea. He wasn't looking in their direction, but that changed when Rik let out a faint dolphin squeal. Eddie flinched, spinning around to run across the deck.

Jenny's arms tightened around Perrin's neck. Her eyes were bloodshot, and the bruise had deepened on her face. She watched the boat with an intensity that was all business.

”It's okay,” Perrin told her, letting go of Rik when they neared the side of the fis.h.i.+ng vessel. He took a moment to hold her with both hands, pressing his mouth against her ear. His palm touched the kra'a, and she shuddered. ”No place is safe, Jenny, but this one is as good as any.”

”Ringing endors.e.m.e.nt,” she muttered hoa.r.s.ely, which were the first words he'd heard her speak in far too long.

”I trust them,” he said, which surprised him because it was true. ”But stay away from the crazy dancing man.”

Jenny's shoulders twitched, and he kissed her cheek, burying his nose in her warmth, letting it fill him. Scent was a very different thing in the sea. Limited. Human scents, on the other hand, were rich as light-and Jenny's made him warm in places he couldn't even name, just that it was deep and secret, and his. His Jenny.

The dolphin s.h.i.+mmered with a golden glow that lit the water like a gasp of pure sun. Rik's body melted from dolphin into man: blue-gray skin s.h.i.+fting to bronze, while fins flowed into a liquid radiance that solidified into arms. Perrin did not hear bones crack, or grunts of pain. Shape-s.h.i.+fter magic.

Jenny watched in tense silence. Rik watched her, too, and was still eyeing her when his body settled into human. Perrin noted several deep bruises in his chest, along with a decidedly wicked-looking cut. He was certain some of those injuries were fresh, and not from their fight.

Rik tore his gaze from Jenny, settling a hard look on Perrin. For a moment, all of them were silent. Except for Sajeev, who was somewhere out of sight, crooning to himself. Perrin wasn't certain whether he should thank Rik or get ready for another fight. Jenny tensed against him.

”Hey,” Eddie said, his voice low, strong. He leaned over the rail and looked pointedly at Jenny. ”Ma'am, would you like to come out of the water?”

”Yes,” she said quietly, and Perrin tightened his jaw, handing her up to Eddie. The young man helped her climb the short, rusty ladder, holding her against him when her knees gave out. He murmured something that made Jenny smile and laugh weakly. Perrin stifled a rush of jealousy and s.h.i.+fted shape with a bone-cracking jolt. Rik watched him, treading water.

”You've got problems,” Rik said, and looked up at Jenny. ”Not the ones I thought you did. Hope she was worth it for the h.e.l.l you're going to bring down on us.”

Perrin had a long reach. He didn't punch Rik, but his fingers jabbed into his chest, hard. The shape-s.h.i.+fter grunted, floating backward. Anger flashed in his eyes, making them burn golden.

”Leave her alone,” Perrin told him, and grabbed the ladder. He paused midway up and looked down. ”Thank you for coming for us.”

Rik barely acknowledged him. His golden-eyed gaze was distant as he ran his hand through his wet hair.

”I didn't give you that cut,” Perrin said, still hanging from the ladder.

A grim smile touched Rik's mouth. ”I'm not welcome in these waters any more than you are. I embarra.s.sed too many of my kind. The dolphin pod that found me made that clear. They were the ones who told me where to look for you.”

”Your family?”

”Gone. South, maybe. I don't know.” A hint of despair filled his voice, but it was replaced by a hard note of bitter resolve. ”I'm not going to try to find them.”

Rik glanced at him, expression unpleasant and oddly challenging. Perrin pretended not to know what bait he was supposed to take and kept his mouth shut. Held his gaze with one of his own, opening that small dark place in his heart-letting it show in his eyes. Rik looked away.

Eddie had seated Jenny in one of the lawn chairs, and produced a towel that she was using to dry her face. Her movements were sluggish, her eyes closed. The bruises on her face stood out in sharp relief against her pale skin.

”I hope the other guy looks worse,” Eddie said gently, pus.h.i.+ng a bottle of water into her hands.

”He will,” Perrin rasped. Jenny sighed, and the young man gave him a speculative look. He wondered if Eddie thought he'd been the one to hit her, and the idea made him furious and sick. Partially because he had given the young man no reason to think otherwise. He'd gone after Rik with a hair-trigger temper.

And those marks on her arms were from his hands.

Perrin moved with extra care toward Jenny and crouched on her other side. ”Jenny, this is Eddie.”

”I know,” she said.