Yet, all that comes out is, “I can’t accept it, Ordus.”
He grunts, and just like that, we’re one step forward and two steps back.
24
Vasz
Sand sprays across the beach with each wag of my tail. I sigh, staring up at the big, white, forbidden coconut in the sky.
She’s so beautiful.
“Goddess?” I whisper, pausing my movements to wait for a response.
Sometimes, she talks back. By talk, I mean scream. The trees usually bend when she does, and I almost fly away. When the bright coconut in the sky is hidden behind—I don’t know what she’s behind—and it’s all wet, loud, gross, and cold, the world goes bright and the Goddess roars.
Tonight, the Sacred Coconut bathes my surroundings in black, grey, more grey, and light grey. It’s the only time I get to see her, when Cindi is getting ready to sleep and Ordus is watching her, and my stomach tells me I won’t be fed for a long, long, long time—until I wake Cindi up, usually, so I like to do that nice and early.
Chuffing, I try again. “Shark-doggopus Goddess.” My tail slaps the ground once. “I’m talking to you.”
Nothing.
“Please? I’ve been a good boy.” My ears drop, and I lower my head to my paws, swishing my tail behind me as I stare at the Sacred Coconut longingly. “Goddess, I… You may know me as a warrior, a valiant protector. I have faced many fearsome battles—as you are aware—and I return the stick to my queen every time she throws it.”
Why must everyone ignore me? I amperfect. I have never done anything wrong in my entire life.
“I ask—and I don’t ever ask of you—but I want this one thing. It’s small. Not a big ask. Easy for you to do because you’re a Goddess.” Flattery will get me far. “If you could fill this entire island with coconuts… I know,I know. Ordus would be angry, but he doesn’t worship you like I do. What matters is that I, your humble servant, am repaid for my service.”
The bushythingdrifts over the Sacred Coconut. A silent answer.
The Goddess does not think I am a good boy.
25
Ordus
It’s worse than I thought.
The last parcel of land left untouched by the Curse is nearly as small as my island. Though rich in game, it is rapidly shrinking with each passing week.
Once it’s gone, there’s no telling if the Curse can still be broken.
At this rate, we may never know. She will never agree to marry me, and I have no intention of coercing her into it.
I can either be a bad king or a bad mate. Already, I am monumentally failing at both. If it is a decision between killing the people who wish me dead or doing what’s right for the female the Goddess chose for me, I pick the latter.
I’ve been unsettled since I left Cindi alone in our den this morning. The feeling worsens when a kraken female swims out from behind a stone archway. Like the others I’ve passed on the way here, her skin is stretched over bone in a sickly hue. If she came closer, I’d be able to count every one of her ribs.
The kraken female freezes when her rounded gaze lands on me, and then she dashes away. The four other krakens I came across did much of the same, running away the moment they saw me. One dared glare at me over their shoulder as they jetted off in the opposite direction.
It enrages me every time it happens. I must suffer the cost of existence, pay the price for the blood thrumming through my veins. I have defied nature, and the consequences must be reaped.
Cindi claims I am attractive, but it cannot be true. How can she say I am not an abomination when my own kind is repulsed by the sight of me?
Her question has been replaying in my mind for the past two days. She has barely spoken since. At night, she doesn’t relax in my hold. I’m frightened this will continue as a result of my outburst.
It’s my fault. My decision to distance myself has upset her. I have to make it right. I must say something, do something, to make her look at me. Words have never been my strong suit. If I open my mouth, I will make it worse.
You are one of the most attractive men I have ever met, but you are far from poisonous.
