Page 150 of Daughter of the Dark Sea

Soldiers yelled, grabbing hold of ropes to abandon the vessel to nearby flanking ships. Her lungs burned for air, her mind screaming in a torrent of emotions. The mercenaries stumbled as a pool of water collected at her feet, spreading like thick tar. Her throat so dry, she was desperate for water.

She had a deep, buried, burningneed.

A desire.

It was all-consuming, and growing, taking over her body.

Right as she felt like she was going to combust, she was hithardwith the scent of rain clouds and steel.

“I’m coming!”

The voice returned.

“I can hear you—I’m coming.”

He was near.

“Scream for me.”

She wasn’t sure why she obeyed, but she released a raw scream—guttural, feral, and animalistic. With it, a second layer of her body escaped, hovering above her skin. A blue, rippling humanoid screaming along with her, calling out to the voice.

Calling him home.

It was as clear as day. Her water beast knew this voice intimately. It was the bridged connection between them. All at once, it sucked back into her, the scent so overpowering her eyes streamed. Slowly turning on her heel, she met the most handsome male she’d ever seen.

“Hello, Kordelia.”

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Hello, Kordelia.”

She could hear his voice out loudandinside her mind. When his lips moved, the familiar voice she’d listened to for a decade echoed.

Her sword clattered to the deck.

He was striking, dazzling, and her fingersitchedto touch him. He was the water that could quench her thirst, the air that could satiate her lungs. He was the missingpiecein her broken mind. She thrummed with desire, with an unsatisfied need she realised now Blake could never have fulfilled. He may have ignited fiery simmering in her core, but this male caused her to erupt like an inferno.

Sun rays bounced off his silver hair, and Kora’s eyes roved over his rippling muscles, contained within a leather fighting suit made of the same labradorite material as Skylar’s and Aerion’s. The sides of his head were shaved, and silver charms pierced his ears.

“You’re alive,” he sighed, beaming with joy.

His voice was likebutter. Meltingly smooth, warm, and delightful. Temptation coaxed her, and she instinctively moved towards it, intoxicated by the sound. She was distinctly aware of a growl in her throat—no, apurr.

Gods’ sake, she was purring at this male.

His smile broke into a grin at the sound, lighting up his handsome face. He didn’t approach her, remaining by the side of the railing. As she neared, his eyes came into focus, dazzlingly reflective of their surroundings. They were like crystals, and when he blinked, they turned iridescent, surrounded by dark lashes. His light brown skin was smooth, and she had the strongest urge tolickthe beads of water dripping from his skin and leathers.

“Come to me,” he lured her willingly. Her legs pushed forward without thought, and somewhere in the pits of her mind, squeaked a voice telling her to stay away.

His smile wavered, like he could hear her thoughts. “It’s okay, Kordelia.”

Her brow furrowed. That wasn’t her name. She faltered, and the male hesitated, his movements slow and obvious. Too obvious, as if he were afraid of spooking her. A soldier neared to their left, but a Galenite mercenary intercepted. In fact, a wave of mercenaries surrounded them, protecting them in a makeshift semi-circle.

“Do you know who I am?” He swallowed, his heavy gaze flickering to her throat. His face pinched at the collar.

“You’re . . . him.”

“Right,” he laughed. And gods-damned wasn’t itmagical, causing the symphony of battle to fade away. There was only the two of them, in this blessed bubble. “I’m him. Who’s him?”