And in that silence, something electric passed between them.
“Oh,” Carol gasped, and took a ragged breath, as though she’d been underwater and just come up for air. “Oh. Did you—is that—”
“Yes.”
One word. That was all he could manage.
At least he’d saidYes. Notyeah.Or something equally irreverent.Yeah, nah, or—
The kraken moved inside his soul, and his throat closed over before he could say anything.
“I suppose—I mean, I guess we—” She broke off, and heat burned through him as her thoughts quested gently against his. *I guess almost dying isn’t all bad, then? I mean—sure, we still have to survive the rest of it, but—*
Despite everything, he laughed. She giggled, then tensed and whispered, “I know. I’m just… working my way up to it.” A current of fear rippled from her mind. She hid it quickly, but that one hint of it cut him sharper than any knife.
And there was something else. A lit-match spark of something crackling and bright. Another mind?
It was only the two of them here, right?
“Take a minute,” he urged her. “Whatever you’re afraid of can wait.”
“I can’t think of a single time when that’s been true.” She leaned into him with a soft sigh.
And something wriggled up from beneath her sweater and bit him on the chin.
He jerked back, swearing.
“Maggie!” Carol cried out.
Something whistled and cheeped next to Moss’s ear, and tiny claws scrabbled at his shirt buttons. His shirt? How had it survived his transformation into the kraken? You shifted, you ended up naked, and you caught shit from anyone who caught you out. That was the way it worked.
“Preep!” the something chirped, agitated and demanding, as though it could tell his thoughts were spiraling away from it.
Carol gathered the tiny biting creature into her arms. “I know—I will—but it’s dark. I don’t want to risk dropping one of them and—and…”
Her fear jittered at the edge of his mind again.
If he was wearing his shirt, then the rest of his clothes must have survived, too. How had he not noticed he was sitting in damp jeans, and not with his bare arse on the cave floor?
Because all I could think about was her.His own body wasn’t a priority. Hell. He’d deliberately pushed away as many of his physical senses as he could, to stop the kraken getting a foothold.
But if he had his clothes… his brain cranked slowly around to its conclusion.
“You need a light?” he asked. “I might be able to—here.”
He hunted through his pockets. There it was: the tinny jangle of keys. He flicked on the tiny flashlight on his keyring. The beam of light was small but bright, perfect for peering behindfurniture for whatever his octopus had lost back there trying to unscrew things that shouldn’t be unscrewed.
Whatever he’d expected it to illuminate, the sight of a tiny golden dragon made every other thought vanish.
“That’s a dragon,” he said.
“Pree peep!” the dragon declared, standing up tall on its hind legs and stretching its neck up. It clicked tiny, sharp teeth at him, and he rubbed his chin. That explained the biting.
“Yes. Her name’s Maggie. Say hello, Maggie,” Carol said, her voice tight.
Moss’s head was ringing. Nobody was meant to know dragons existed.Hewas—but nobody was meant to know that, either.
Carol’s backpack was laid out in front of her. Now that he could see it, it looked more like a photographer’s kit bag. “Okay. This is fine. I’m just—I’m just going to—” She squeezed her eyes shut. “I have to look,” she whispered to herself, and opened the bag.
