Kamari groaned. He was still smiling, like the expression was stuck on his face. He ruffled my hair. "Wonder if it worked."
"You getting pregnant?"
He nodded. "Is it true, by the way? That Nautilus has the power to discern a pregnancy immediately?"
"Yeah. I don't know how, but he does." I wriggled my fingers. "Spirit magic. Want me to call him over right now and ask?"
Kamari snorted. "No thanks. I actually enjoy being alone with you. Shocking, I know."
I fake gasped. "I'm appalled."
Kamari dropped his gaze. "Zak," he said softly. "Do you really think I could be pregnant?"
I smiled and stroked his cheek. "I hope so."
"Me too. Now that I actually let myself imagine it, I'm really excited. I never thought..."
When he trailed off, I kissed his cheek. "Well, think it now, 'cause it's happening."
I felt a change in my body and knew my knot had deflated enough for me to pull out. I did so gently since we were both over-sensitive. I grunted, untangling myself from Kamari and watching the leftover cum trickle out of him. It was almost enough to turn me on again.
"Hey, Kamari," I asked.
"Yeah?"
"Orcas don't lay eggs, right?"
The horrified deadpan stare Kamari shot at me made me burst out laughing. "I'm justjoking.Wait, did you actually think I was serious?"
"With some people, you never know," he mumbled.
"Oh, come on, I'm not that dumb."
Kamari raised an eyebrow. "Right."
I rolled my eyes. "You love me."
Kamari went quiet for a moment and I was suddenly afraid I'd overstepped. But we were fated mates, right? Plus we'd just had sex for the purpose of conceiving. It wasn't too early to say that... was it?
But my fears were quickly dissuaded with one look into Kamari's eyes. Their dark depths were so warm, so full of emotion that it was impossible to see anythingbutlove in them.
"I do," Kamari said, then tenderly grasped my face and kissed me.
17
Kamari
We must have dozedoff after having sex because the next thing I knew, I was being woken up by an annoying familiar voice.
"...seriously, how do they stand being unconscious for so long? It's baffling."
I groaned. Mistral again. It wasn't like I didn't respect him--he was a spirit, after all--but he was excruciatingly irritating sometimes. I sat up to see the air spirit standing over us with crossed arms. Nautilus was beside him.
I almost gasped. The water spirit looked completely different. His whiskers weren't drooping, his scales no longer lacked luster--it was like he had been reborn.
I quickly roused Zak, who mumbled something affectionate but incoherent and nuzzled his face into my side. I blushed.
"Zak," I said, soft but firm. "We have company."
