Page 76 of Claimed By the Depths

I cupped his face, running my thumb along his jaw. “But we will not allow such things to happen. Sure, the Others have proven themselves formidable opponents, but there is a reason you are the Son of Jaskor, the Child of a god capable of crafting war while leveraging chance. If we fixate on the potential outcomes, then we will overlook the small hints the Damned leave behind. The very things that could point us in the direction of the answers we seek.”

Blowing out a breath, he settled into my touch and closed his eyes. “There is no future I see without you in it, and if she takes that away. If she⁠—”

Securing my hold, I forced his attention back to meet mine, waiting for his enchanting gaze to find me. “You will not lose me, Ace. I am not going anywhere, for the richness of life that awaits us is one I want with you just as much as you crave it with me. Nothing can separate us, and I need you to believe that. To believe in me, to believe in us.”

“Gods, I do, Leilani, and that is what terrifies me most.” Alastair held my stare, emotion welling in his eyes. “I have found myself an irreplaceable treasure, and in a realm built on plundering and desolation, losing it… Losing you is not something I will survive. I’ve been through this before, and the affliction that comes alongside disconnection is a feeling I do not wish upon my gravest enemy.”

“I am not Caspian Vayne,” I muttered into the night, not with agitation but compassion. “The story you two share will always be yours, but that does not mean that our relationship will mirror the horrors that once were. Not only that, but all that occurred between the two of you was beyond your control, molded by the malevolent entities that have already robbed Wraelira of so much.” Caressing him gently, I rested my forehead against his. “I know your fear stems from all that happened, all that you believed for over a decade, but you are not a failure, love. You have not failed Caspian, and there is time—a future—for both of you.”

He nipped at his bottom lip, a single tear slipping from his waterline. “But what if, after all I’ve done to him during our discourse, he still elects to loathe me? Lani, I already lost him once in a way that fractured my soul, and now that he’s back… Now that he’s here… I can’t…”

“And you won’t have to because I can confidently say that Vayne desires the same with you.” I drew back enough to kiss him, my words falling from me near breathless between every connection. “He.” Kiss. “Still.” Kiss. “Loves.” Kiss. “You.” Kiss.

Panting, Alastair wound an arm around my waist and shifted. Pulling me against him, our chests brushed just as they had when he was inside me. With his body positioned over mine, I took my time admiring the way the moonlight framed him in its captivating glow.

Mouth gliding down my neck, his tongue brushed my pulse point. His breath followed, goosebumps chasing it as he rolled his hips into my core. “Gods, I would be lost without you.”

My fingers sank into his back, nails raking across skin to re-trace the marks I’d already left on him. With my chin tipped back, I granted him further access, savoring the way he fucked me with such passion, such desperation.

“Fuck, Alastair.”

He stated that he would be lost without me. That, if something irreversible were to happen to me, he would not survive. Little did he know that my devotion went just as deep as his, potent to the point of possession. For he had been the one to rescue me from the confines of my fate, and the light he bathed me in was one I would chase for as long as I lived.

So, as he buried himself in me again, worshipping me in a way I never envisioned I deserved, I clung to him, knowing that… if he ever let go, the depths would claim me just as they had once before.

CHAPTER 41

A Thousand Stars

CASPIAN

Acombination of light and warmth assaulted my lids, a sensation I firmly believed I would never experience again.

While the icy chill of a shadow-shrouded abyss wasn’t unfamiliar, that piercing sheen of illumination I’d found myself drawn to dissolved into nothingness. The darkness I was accustomed to became my comfort, and it hadn’t taken me long to accept my fate—one cradled by my father in the aftermath of extinction.

But somehow…

Fingers brushing over something soft, I contemplated its texture. Silk, perhaps? A blanket? Instinctively, I tested my consciousness and fisted my hand with enough pressure that my nails pierced the tense flesh of my palm. A sharp sting flared, and I savored its confirmation of my continued existence.

With a graveled groan, I adjusted myself on the plush surface beneath me. My lashes fluttered, a blurry film clouding my vision and warping my surroundings. Everything fused into a collision of color and the golden rays of dripping sunlight. Mind failing to conform with my sight, I blinked with languidity, and the haze lifted to reveal a well-kept room.

As my senses returned, the familiar scent of dried herbs, clean linen, and salt lingered in the air. Golden beams spilled through the windows to my left, washing the space in a warm glow that danced across the polished floor with each gentle sway of the ship. Nestled in front of the clear glass was a desk cluttered with open journals, anatomical sketches, and what appeared to be half-finished notes detailing treatments.

Along the walls, sturdy shelves held neatly arranged bottles and ceramic jars filled with tinctures and powders. Bundles of lavender, quassia, ammiadamon, chamomile, sage, and willow bark hung from the rafters above, left to dry before use. The heavy mortar and pestle responsible for grinding their properties down for use sat on a nearby workbench still dusted with the remnants of what, I had no clue.

Having half expected to wake up in a cell, I couldn’t stop the words from spilling with just as much confusion as I harbored. “What the fuck?”

Silence hung for a breath, interrupted by a voice I recognized—Sapphira. “You’re awake.”

I craned my head to the right to find her seated beside me. Her caramel irises greeted me first, their darker specks highlighted by her slightly disheveled bob. While a light blush dusted her cheeks, her bronze skin had lightened, signaling her unease. No longer confined by shackles or bars, there was nothing to separate us if I wished to test the viscosity of her essence, and she knew that.

“Sapphira,” I crooned, my timbre carrying a tinge of unfamiliarity. “Which god do I owe my graces to for waking up with you by my side?”

She bit her bottom lip before averting her gaze. “I thought you would’ve enjoyed company when you woke up, but it seems I may have been mistaken.”

“To what? Discuss the weather?” Huffing, I planted my palms at my sides and pushed myself upright. A sharp agony bloomed in my abdomen with the movement, but I ignored it, channeling my anguish into agitation. “We already spoke.”

“Clearly that conversation was insufficient,” she replied as she turned back toward me. “I know you stated you understood the decisions I made, just as I’m more than aware you said it to deflect.”