Zak laughed. "Good on you, man. River, you got yourself a hard worker!"
I smiled. It warmed my heart to hear River's cousin say that. I'd only spent a few moments with them, but I already knew I was going to get along well with his family. They were already so warm and accepting.
The water suddenly glowed with soft, pale light. It erupted upwards and manifested in the shape of a man-like figure. The breath disappeared from my lungs. Even without hearing his name spoken out loud, I knew who he was. The dragon's head, the shark fin, and the fact that he'd literally appeared out of the water gave it away.
"Nautilus?" I murmured.
"Oh, hey Granddad," Zak said, waving.
"Hi, Gramps!" Cloud called happily.
Hearing them speak to him so causally blew my mind, but then again, they were his grandchildren. They were excused from formality even if he was an all-powerful spirit.
"Am I too late?" Nautilus asked, his dragon muzzle curled into a frown. But then he laid eyes on me and River and his posture relaxed. "Ah, good. River, are you well?"
"Yeah, I'm great, actually," River said, sounding a bit shy.
As he spoke, he put his hand on my hip and pulled me closer. I liked that he was being possessive.
"Did Animus call you to help us?" River asked.
Nautilus looked aghast at the thought. "Animus? Helping you?" He barked out a laugh that rippled the water surrounding us. "He would sooner stab you in the back."
Zak grimaced and exchanged a glance with Farley. "Uh, yeah, about that, Granddad... He's apparently not so bad?"
Nautilus stared at his grandson in disbelief.
"I know it sounds crazy, especially since me and Kamari fought him to save you," Zak went on. "But since then, he's been meeting up with some of us privately."
Kamari crossed his arms and snorted. "When you put it that way, it sounds inappropriate."
Zak groaned. "Come on, I don't mean likethat."
"Hold on a sec," Farley interjected, furrowing his small finch brow. "It's not just that Animus has spoken to some of us. It's specifically the omegas he's interested in."
I perked up at Farley's comment. "Is that right? Because Animus sought me out earlier when we were in trouble, yet he didn't appear to River at all. In fact, I think he'd been trailing me since the moment I met River."
River tilted his head. "Wait, you mean when you almost crushed me with a tree?"
"Yes," I said, nodding. "Right around the same time, I heard a mysterious voice, but he didn't show himself."
Cloud's damp feathers puffed up. "Um, I'm sorry, did you say you almost crushed my brother with a tree?"
I put up my hands. "It was an accident! Of course I wouldn't fell a tree on my fated mate on purpose."
River poked his brother. "Yeah, and it'smymeeting story. I hope that whenever you find your fated mate it's even more embarrassing than mine."
Cloud snickered. "Yeah, right. Yours is pretty bad. It's gonna be hard to top that."
Nautilus cleared his throat, drawing all of our attention again. His long whiskers whipped despite the lack of wind. "You mean to tell me," he said, voice dripping with incredulity, "that Animus, themaliciousspirit, was of assistance to you? Through the good will of his heart?"
There was that word again. Malicious. Personally, I didn't think it described Animus, or at least not during the time I'd known him. But judging from Nautilus's reaction and what I knew about Zak and Kamari's fight with him, this family clearly had a turbulent history with Animus of which I didn't know all the details.
"All due respect, sir," Farley said, addressing Nautilus. "But Animus did help me personally. And not just me. Remember when he saved Ashe and Bear from Terranus?"
The family members nodded. I didn't know what Farley was talking about. I'd have to ask River for an in-depth catch-up session later.
Cloud tilted his head. "Castor, you said Animus sought you out, right?"
