“See?” Yiri said proudly. “They’re teaching them.”
“Oh my god.”
He gripped my elbow to keep me from swimming back to the deck. “Be calm. You’re safe. Here. Look at this one.”
Another young ceket swam right up to him, bumping his side in an almost silly gesture, before rolling in the water and showing its paler underbelly. Something dark caught my eye, but it was out of sight again before I could discern what it was.
“Ah, come back here,” Yiri said, voice raised in excitement as he dove after the little ceket.
“Oh shit.” I held my breath as I watched him under the rippling water. Catching the youngster, he wrapped his arms and legs around it, flipping them both upside down while he grasped at the dark thing on its belly. Whatever it was, it came away in his hand, and he released the ceket. Bobbing back to the surface, he shook water out of his eyes and beckoned me closer.
“Come see, Cora.”
I swam carefully to his side as he pulled a blade seemingly out of nowhere and began to pry at the thing in his hand.
“What is it?” I tried to watch and keep an eye on the circling cekets at the same time.
“Eslu,” he said. “It’s a shellfish. They grab onto the cekets on the reef and ride with them until they decide to let go, usually in places like this where the waves aren’t as strong. Sometimes they make pearls. If I can get it to open up….” He worked at the black clam-like shell some more, and I realized he was being careful not to break it. When it finally opened up, his fingers dove in quickly, feeling around. “Yeah, there’s a pearl for you,” he grinned, wiggling it free. A second later he passed me a pale, mint green pearl as big around as my thumb, and let the eslu fall through the water.
“Wow.”
“You like it?” he asked, taking my hand and holding it up away from the sunlight (starlight, whatever) so we could see it better.
“It’s gorgeous,” I said. “I’ve never seen a pearl this big. At least not up close.”
“Della will make it into jewelry for you if you ask,” he said. “I take them to her all the time.”
“She would?”
“Of course,” he said. “You’re myAneah. She’ll be very happy if you ask her. What do you think? A necklace? A ring? I could keep diving and try to find more if you don’t like the shape.”
“No,” I said. “It’s perfect. I love it. I think a—Oh my—Mr. Darcy!!”
My cat, the little idiot, had been bread-loafing right at the edge of the deck, but now decided to test his luck against a young ceket. Tail twitching, he waited until the fish came within reach, its mouth open wide, andboopedit right on the nose with his little kitty paw. The ceket sank under the water again, usheredaway by one of the grandmothers, as Mr. Darcy drew his paw back and licked it clean. Utterly unbothered as usual, he heaved a sigh and settled back into loaf formation.
Yiri laughed, but he sounded a little nervous. “Maybe we should keep him inside next time.”
“I guess the cekets’ courtesy doesn’t extend to cats?” I asked, wide-eyed and heart racing as I made my way back to the deck so I could reassure myself that Mr. Darcy was safe.
“I have no idea,” Yiri admitted. “You’re my mate, but… Mr. Darcy is… well, it’s not like he’s my child or anything.”
I gasped, covering Mr. Darcy’s ears with my wet hands, which he did not appreciate at all. “I can’t believe you just said that where he can hear you!”
Yiri eyed Mr. Darcy, but didn’t take it back.
“It’s okay, Mr. Darcy,” I cooed. “Daddy will accept you. He just doesn’t know you well yet.”
With a snort, Yiri followed me out of the water, giving my ass a swat as he reached for a towel.
“I’m his stepfather at best,” he said under his breath.
CHAPTER 33
YIRI
“Did I apologize for her yet?”Nerus asked as Thisa let out a shrill screech of excitement, dragging my wife by the hand through a crowd of females all thrashing about, trying to get to the frontlines of a partition which separated them from the night’s entertainers. Zoddi and Xokat flanked Cora and Thisa, giving them an advantage in the crowd. The others gave our girls affronted looks, but quickly looked away again when they realized who they were with.
“Not enough,” I said, my temple already throbbing.Ibar, the concert hadn’t even started yet, and I was done. But I had to put on a good face for Cora. She was almost as excited as Thisa, and I wouldn’t ruin it for her, even if I would like to slice Qhev’in Kon into bite-sized pieces for my cekets.
