*Of course I do. I’ll always need you.*
He blinked. *I didn’t realize I thought that out loud.*
She smiled at him again, sharp and beautiful behind the man whose eyes glowed with obsession. *When we’re this close, I don’t think it matters how quietly we talk.*
The kraken’s aura surrounded her. But instead of being terrified, she felt…
*Safe,* she agreed.
A voice broke through his distraction. “You honor us with your presence, o great one. I am Adrian Fairchild. I’ve scoured ancient texts and interrogated creatures lost to time in order to free you from your prison.”
Moss folded his arms. He ignored Fairchild and cocked an eyebrow at Carol. “This guy bothering you, miss?”
“He was just going to let me go, actually.” Her words rippled strangely in his head.
Fairchild frowned. “I bring a ship of sacrifices to welcome you back into the world. Starting with this woman.”
Moss’s blood ran cold. The air around him chilled as the kraken processed his words.
*He’s talking about me,*Carol said.
Moss’s fists clenched. Around him, the kraken’s power thickened, its aura coagulating until shadowy tentacles filled the air.
“You were going to throw her to the Soul-Eater?”
Fairchild took a step back, his throat bobbing as he swallowed. “Y-yes, o great one. To receive your blessing—”
“You were going tokillher.”
He would kill them all.
Fairchild’s eyes narrowed as he took in the shadow-tentacles writhing around them. Then they fixed on Moss, cold and calculating. “You’re not him.”
“Bullseye.”
Fairchild drew in a shaking breath, nostrils flared. Moss was almost impressed by his ability to resist the kraken’s terrifying power.
“You have no place interrupting us, then. Ms. Zhang has volunteered to call the greatest of our gods from his slumber. The sacrifice of her blemished animal side will lead us to a new era, one where powers are granted only to those worthy of them.”
Unease prickled in Moss’s stomach. “What are you talking about?” Silently, he added to Carol: *We’re still far away from the prison, but if they really have found a way to contact the Soul-Eater, we need to make sure they don’t get any closer. And that means I need to get you out of here, before… before I deal with this.*His thoughts curdled. All around him, the kraken’s aura pulsed with threat. *Guess I don’t need to wait around for the shadow dragons to call the kraken, after all.*
The look on her face made him go still. Her expression was frozen as he’d never seen it before.
Ice stopped Moss’s heart. He barely noticed Fairchild step forward, inspecting him with a curious expression. “I can’t quite get a read on your own other half, Mr.…? Some mutated form of squid? Cases like you are the very reason I have sought our kind’s salvation for so long. Magic is exploding all over the world—uncontrolled and unwanted. If you feel your life wouldbe better served without the burden of whatever creature youclearlyare not suited to bear…”
Moss let the other man’s voice fade away. All his attention was on Carol’s pale, still face. *Tell me he isn’t serious. You’re not considering letting the Soul-Eater take your shifter side.*
Her inner shark was the magical reflection of her soul, for god’s sake. It gave her extra strength and endurance, enhanced senses, faster healing. It was part of her heritage. He remembered the light in her eyes as she talked about her family.
She was ashamed of her sharklike appearance. He knew that, and knew how much he’d hurt her, his words reinforcing her own belief that her features made her monstrous and not more beautiful.
But would she really give up who she was to look like an ordinary human? Tobean ordinary human?
His chest tightened. None of that was the real reason that the thought of Carol sacrificing her shifter self to the Soul-Eater turned his veins to ice.
Without her shifter magic, she would no longer feel the pull of their mate bond. He would still feel the same for her as always, but as a human she would feel their fated connection as nothing more than a strong attraction—strong, but ultimately ignorable.
That was what Fairchild had offered her.
