Page 28

Chapter 28

Odik

“I ’m home,” I called out when I reached our small cabin.

There was nothing better than knowing that I wouldn’t return to an empty house. My mate might not be waiting, but she’d be nearby.

My weary soul needed her comfort and presence as much as she probably needed me. I hadn’t wanted to leave her earlier after what happened, but I’d seen the resolution in her eyes. She wanted to face the aftermath alone, and it was a wise idea. I couldn’t always be with her, and she needed to feel confident, not scared, when she was alone.

I’d teach her how to use a blade, however. It was incredibly rare for a male to attack a female, though not unheard of. We treasured our women; no one would dream of taking advantage of them.

Yet he had.

His father would make sure it never happened to another female again, and I wouldn’t ask him what he’d done. That was for him as the head of his family to decide.

I sighed as I heeled off my boots. Three more islanders were leaving, bringing us down to twenty-four. At this rate, we’d be living with only Madine for company. She was a sweet woman, but I hated how my clan was fading away and there wasn’t anything I could do about it.

Even the heavy rain didn’t convince those leaving to stay. It’ll dry out again, they said. But there’s still nothing left for us here.

Our hearts were here—that’s what was left. But they didn’t see it my way.

When Eleri didn’t reply, I went looking for her. I admired the sizable pile of branches she’d collected in a pile near the woods, plus the uncluttered area surrounding our home.

I also didn’t find her in the garden or near any of the barrels. The beach, then?

When I started down the stairs, I found her climbing toward me and waited for her to join me.

“You’re back,” she exclaimed, giving me a hug.

I kissed her, savoring how wonderful she felt in my arms.

“How did everyone do with the storm?” she asked, leaning back to look up at me.

“They all fared well.” I’d share about those leaving later. “How did everything go for you?”

“Very well.” Her smile came easy, and her eyes gleamed with happiness. “I battled my fears and won.”

“I’m proud of you, mate.”

She nodded pertly. “What were you up to while you were gone?”

“I cleaned up Madine’s yard, stacking the wood near her shed like you did here. There wasn’t as much in the center of the island where she lives, but she was grateful for the help.”

“Let’s have her over at our place soon. We can bring her down to the beach and build a big fire with the driftwood I collected. We’ll cook fish and listen to the waves.”

One of my favorite things to do. “That’s a great idea. I doubt Madine gets to the beach often. I can carry her down and back, and I bet if we asked, she’ll tell us stories about those who lived here long ago while we sit by the fire after our meal.”

“Tales of your past. That would be amazing.”

“We can learn so much from those who came before us.” I tapped my temple. “And Madine remembers them all.”

“Who’ll learn the stories from her to carry them forward?”

“I’ve done what I can to memorize some, but it’s one of many tasks I feel I can’t complete as well as I’d like.” It made me sad to think some stories would be lost when she passed, but hopefully, if I could lure people to the island, one of them would sit and listen to her tales until they knew them by heart. Then, the tales would continue on as they should.

“I found something exciting,” Eleri said, taking my hand and urging me down the stairs. She led me across the beach, and I marveled at what she’d gotten done. All I’d accomplished was stacking some wood, eating with Madine, and pretty much begging my clansmales not to leave the island. They reluctantly said they’d wait two days before giving me their final answer, but they’d continued packing. The sea was too rough for them to travel—for now.

“What is it?” I asked, as she led me across the beach to the point. “Is the swimming hole still there?”

She frowned at me. “It’s surrounded by rock. I doubt even the strongest storm could destroy it.”

“We can swim tomorrow if you’d like.”

She nodded. “Let’s. But for today . . .”

We walked around the point and toward the pool.

“Look.” She stopped; her arm lifted.

I stared toward the cliff. “Wow.”

“The storm must’ve eaten into the cliff. I wonder if there was a cave there long ago, and maybe a different tempest filled it in with sand and rock.”

I squeezed her hand. “Did you go inside?”

“I wanted to do that with you.” She grinned but a tiny shiver shot through her. “There could be beasts hiding inside.”

She wasn’t far off with her suggestion. The dresalods wouldn’t leave the water as long as it churned, but within days, we’d have to watch for their next attack. Since they hated the sun, they rarely attacked during the day and only then when the water was calm. One good thing about tempests.

For now, we were safe on the beach. One day, we’d have to find a permanent solution to them, but I couldn’t imagine what that might be.

We walked closer to the cave.

“Should I wait out here?” she asked.

I scanned the sea but saw nothing of concern.

“Come with me,” I said. “I doubt there’s anything to be worried about inside the cave, and we can explore it together.”

“Maybe there’s a long-lost treasure inside.”

I grinned and tugged her against my side as we walked in that direction. “I doubt it. I’m sure you’re about to be disappointed.”

“If it’s nothing but a shallow cave, we’ll return to our home.” She shot me a sultry look. “I missed you today. We need to make up for the time we were apart.”

I loved that she craved me as much as I did her. As with all true matings like ours, it would only get better as we aged.

It was dark inside the cave, so dark, we stumbled over something lying across the sandy floor.

“Wait here,” I said. “I’ll go grab a light.”

I was back before she could miss me, though I caught her shivering in the low light when I approached. She gazed at the pool and leaped toward me when I came closer.

“Something splashed in the water,” she said.

“Sometimes fish are washed in during a storm. A bonus for us because they’re easy to catch.”

“It’s a good thing I enjoy fish.”

“Let’s check out this cave, then, shall we?” I held up the light, and we walked deeper inside. The narrow area widened, and we entered a large room with a roof a few feet higher than the top of my head. Small pools peppered the floor and—

“What’s that?” Eleri asked, pointing to big object near the back wall.

“I don’t know.”

“The sea didn’t construct them.”

She was right. Orcs must’ve. Or humans, though I didn’t believe any had ever lived on the island. “They look carved from stone.”

We stopped beside the largest structure, staring at the water rising all the way to the brim.

“It looks like a tub,” Eleri said. “Would high tide reach this area? Oh, I know the answer to that. It wouldn’t or it would’ve exposed the cave earlier.”

Water trickled along a channel spanning the right wall, and the channel was tilted just enough to keep the water moving until it dumped into the tub.

“We could bathe here,” she said, dipping her fingertip into the water. “Salty, of course, but it’s not any different from the pool.”

“But it is.” I frowned at the structures, trying to determine what they might be, while Eleri strolled around the room.

“Look,” she said, pointing at drawings on the wall. “Someone built this, and I think the markings show us what it might be.” Moving closer, she traced her fingertip from one drawing to another. “It looks like water is channeled from the sea at high tide. It flows like it’s doing now until it fills the tub.” She shot me a grin. “It’s like the plumbing I heard they have in a distant village to bring water from the river into a home. You can fill a tub or have a drink at the sink. Can you imagine?”

If only I could do something like this for my mate. Life on the island was enough of a burden without worrying about how we’d find water to bathe and drink.

Eleri leaned closer to the wall. “It looks like they filter the water as it travels from the sea. And the filter allows the refuse to drop below the channel, keeping it out of the fresher water. Why would they do something like that?” Leaving the drawings, she meandered around the cave, studying the structure while I approached the markings, wondering if I could see what she hadn’t.

“Interesting,” she said, pointing to a structure mounted above the pool. “It looks like a hood. And there’s a hole in the top. Look. They built that from metal, and it slopes downward from the hood and into a second pool. This is a very odd thing.” Tilting her head, she scanned the structure. “There’s piping beneath the second pool that . . . If I didn’t know better, I’d think it channels water someplace else, but where?” She stooped down and peered beneath the first pool. “The stone beneath the first pool has scorch marks like they lit a fire here. But why?”

A fire . . .

Something wild occurred to me, and I rushed over to confirm my suspicion.

It didn’t take long, and soon, I was shaking my head and grinning. I picked Eleri up and spun her around, my laughter bursting free. She joined in, though from the puzzlement on her face, it was clear she had no idea why I was suddenly happy.

“I think, my love, you’ve found it,” I finally said.

“Found what?”

“The desalinization device Madine once mentioned in one of her stories.”