Page 89 of Hummingbird and Kraken

Declan watched Geir’s face as he watched May. His expression was poignant and also sweet. Like he’d just realized how special May was. Declan had always believed in kitten power.

Geir’s gaze shifted to Nina, then. He still had that fond, half-worried look on his face, although Declan was certain he’d never met the young bear shifter before.

Geir had saved a lot of lives tonight, but it seemed like something had been freed in him too. He looked exhausted, like they all were, but he visually checked that each of the children was nestled in the back of the van where they belonged. When he turned around he was smiling just a little.

This was not the grumpy old kraken that Declan knew, and he couldn’t wait to discover more.

Declan opened his mouth to ask, but Nina butted in. “What do you mean you earned two medals?”

He laughed, only a little giddy. “Oh, so you want to hear the heroic story of Declan the Great, who rescued the fair bear maiden by touching bugs? Listen closely…”

He wasn’t sure if he was making any sense, but he kept the children entertained until they dropped off to sleep on the long ride home.

As the night faded into day and he slipped halfway into dreams, he thought he finally understood how all of the pieces fit together. He started another story. About a beautiful boy who was also a hummingbird. His cheeks were red like wild roses and his clothing was woven with sweet herbs and ferns. He found the man who had followed the sun under the rim of the sky, where he watched carelessly as the endless ages and battles of the earth passed beneath him. Then, with sweet words, the boy brought him back to life, like Spring returning to warm the earth. Wherever he walked, flowers grew, carrying his messages of life and renewal.

The shifter who was driving gave him a few interested looks when he recognized parts of the story, but he didn’t interrupt. Declan knew it didn’t quite make sense, but it would when he painted it, he was sure.

“What did you think of my story?” he finally asked. “It’s called ‘Hummingbird and Kraken.’”

Geir turned and gave him an indulgent look. “I was waiting for the aliens.”

Chapter 32

Geir

“Geir.” A low, sweet voice cut through his sleep. “Geir!”

Geir blinked slowly awake. Declan was pressed closely to his side in a tangle of arms, legs, and tentacles. Just where he belonged.

“Geir, I need to get up.”

Geir grunted. It was too early, and Declan’s naked skin tasted too good. He needed him close.

He needed him close because… Memories from the night before filled in. The bunker full of kidnapped children. The simple rescue mission that had become an all-out battle and then a massacre. Whispers between the shifters that the kidnappers were working for some larger organization, maybe even the government.

Declan with a gun pressed to his head.

Declan, who had gotten out of the van after he promised not to. Declan, surviving everything, then sitting with the children where Geir hadn’t been able to check over every inch of his skin and hold him close until they got home.

Geir instinctively tightened his grip.

Declan giggled. “You have to let go. I need to pee.”

Geir didn’t want to let him go. His kraken and human sides both agreed. Declan should be next to him all the time. Where he was safe.

Declan gave him a gentle bite on his pec. His teeth barely scraped the skin, but the jolt woke Geir up a little further. “What was that for?”

“You trapped my hands, so I had to wake you up somehow.” Declan still sounded amused. “I really need to pee. So either you let me go, I pee in the bed, or you carry me to the bathroom.”

Geir liked the third option. He moved to do exactly that, shifting his hold until Declan was mostly horizontal and curled up in a tangle of arms and tentacles while he stood.

Then he realized what he was doing. His kraken wanted to keep Declan close, but that would probably be crossing some sort of line. Declan had, no doubt, meant it as a joke, just like peeing in the bed.

“I didn’t actually mean it,” Declan confirmed. “But if you want to carry me to the bathroom, please do.”

Good. Geir was pretty sure that this wasn’t normal. It might not even be healthy. But if Declan said it was OK, he would do it.

Things got a little cramped when they actually reached his small bathroom, and he eventually had to set Declan down for purely logistical reasons. He stood behind him, though, arms and tentacles holding him tight while he took care of his business and then washed his hands.