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He simply catches me every time I fall for him.
Connak rests on his knees once more, leaning back on his heels as he places me on my unsteady feet.
“Tired yet?” the Mongrel animal asks, grinning at my shaking legs like he’s proud of himself. “I can try again when we get back to the palace. You don’t look very tired, and I’d hate for you to call your other hunter. It would be such a shame to kill him in a fit of jealous rage. There are so few of us already.”
“Ha. Ha,” I deadpan, glaring at him. But it’s difficult to fake ire while he’s being sweet.
Connak holds my shorts out so I can step into them, helping me balance as my knees threaten to buckle.
“I like undressing you,” he mentions as he deftly fastens my buttons. “Dressing you is equally enjoyable, though.”
As he cinches the last jeweled button closed, twigs snap just inside the treeline. I peek around Connak but don’t immediately see anything. He quickly snatches my skirt off the sand and ties it in place.
“Do you think he’s out there?” I whisper so quietly that I’m not sure he’s heard me.
Connak’s eyes fade to black as he slowly turns around to face the direction of the sound. It only takes me a heartbeat to recognize the tension rippling through the muscles of his back.
It’s not Cotear.
“Ada,” Connak mutters, quickly lacing his pants. “Stay close to the water. Head east.”
I lay my hand between his shoulder blades before I move, images of his injuries flashing through my mind. “You’re not coming with me?”
“I’ll be right behind you.”
“Don’t lie to me, Connak.”
“I will be a few minutes behind you,” he amends. “I just want to see which direction the beast is coming from and if there’s more than one. We have fishermen coming in from the far coast in less than two weeks. We’ll need to inform them they need to dock closer to the twin boulders.”
“Okay,” I reply in a hushed breath. “I’m counting the seconds.”
I back away from him until the ocean wraps around my ankles, tugging at my skirt. He disappears into the forest, the underbrush swallowing him whole. And I start counting.
The waves calm behind me, playing a soothing rhythm that eases my anxiety. I take measured steps toward the east as my imagination conjures more images that make me want to turn around.
Connak is fine.
I just need to give him time.
Once I reach the thousands, I pause to peer at my surroundings. I haven’t been to this part of the Mongrel coast, and while it’s beautiful, it’s not enough to distract me.
I look to the cotton candy sky, but even as the dusky orange overtakes the neon pinks, it feels shallow and empty. So, I keep my eyes fixated on the treeline, scanning for movement as my count hits four-thousand. I will Connak to appear with each breath I take.
And when he does finally breach the trees ahead of me, I nearly jump out of my skin. His attention doesn’t leave the thick overgrowth, the shadows darkening the forest well before the sun has set.
“We need to go,” he says, nodding his head east. “We’ll stay on the shore for as long as we can.”
“They don’t like the water,” I recall.
“There’s a place up ahead,” he begins, warning clear in his voice, “We’ll have to cross through the spitting starflowers or cut through the forest—”
“Or go through the water,” I cut in like it’s the most obvious option. “What are spitting starflowers?”
Connak shakes his head. “The current is heavier on this side of the Mongrel shore. Even those of us with the best control can’t slow it.”
I’m not quite ready to test my control over the ocean like that. Calling orbs of salty water to my hand is one thing, but slowing a current? Maybe soon, however, I won’t put Connak’s life in jeopardy to figure it out today.
Before I can mention any of this, he takes my hand in his, lacing our fingers together as he answers my question.
