Page 69 of Jewel of the Sea

It was beauty he longed to share with Aymee.

After watching the logs, they’d explored the Darrow Nautical Outpost, and discovered a few useful chambers — foremost being a kitchen like the one in the Facility and a room filled with thirty-two narrow beds. They’d pushed three of the beds together to create a space large enough to lie in side by side. Aymee had slept in Arkon’s embrace and hadn’t moved away from him once during the night.

He’d slept little; he knew she’d been more troubled by Wright’s final log than she admitted.

Aymee was still sleeping when he’d awoken, though she stirred when he slipped out of bed. She’d muttered a question — more a sound than a word — and grunted her understanding when he explained he was going hunting. Sound sleep had claimed her again within seconds.

She could have come — they had the diving suit he’d brought and had located several more in one of the chambers — but Arkon wanted her to rest. The last few days had been harrowing for Aymee, and even if she hadn’t physically exerted herself, the toll on her emotions was immense. She needed time to adjust, to recover, to find her joy again.

He’d delayed only long enough to gather Captain Wright’s remains as he left, so he could bring them out to sea.

While he took in the beauty of his surroundings — he was certain Aymee could perfectly capture the unique essence of morning light in the ocean through her painting — he kept watch for both predators and prey.

Though Aymee could survive on plants alone if necessary, they both needed meat to remain strong and healthy. As Aymee’s provider and protector, he refused to allowanyof her needs to go unmet.

He drifted farther than he’d originally intended, into unfamiliar waters, and felt a small thrill at the prospect. This had been Jax’s experience for years — always pushing beyond the boundaries a little at a time, always seeking the unknown to discover it, break it, master it.

Of course, Jax himself had likely swum these waters long before, and a short hunting trip was hardly pushing any limits, but it was a taste of his friend’s normal experience. Strangely, Arkon had never shared Jax’s thirst for exploration, despite his insatiable curiosity. It had taken Aymee to open him up to new possibilities, to enable him to view the world through different eyes.

Was this what Macy had meant when she spoke about finally feeling alive after being numb for so long?

He realized suddenly that he’d been swimming for some time — long enough to notice a change in the angle of the sunlight. It may have been a quarter of an hour, perhaps twice that, but it was too far from Aymee either way. He didn’t want her alone for long, especially after she woke; the Broken Cavern’s isolating, restrictive ambience would not ease her already strained emotions.

He was about to turn around when a flash of pure blue from up ahead caught his attention. As he moved, the light did, too — it was a reflection.

Arkon pushed on. When the source finally became apparent, he halted and stared in wonder.

A portion of the coastal cliffside had collapsed. The rubble — chunks of rock in all sizes, globs of dark mud, and dead plants from the surface — lay piled at the base of the cliff. The rockslide had torn open the stone to reveal hundreds of halorium shards embedded within. More pieces were mixed into the debris.

The halorium gave off its own glow, most pronounced where it was shadowed, but rays of sunlight still caught the edges of the shards to produce blue-tinged reflections.

Arkon swam closer. He’d seen halorium on the seafloor many times, usually in small clusters, but he’d never found so much all at once. The surrounding water hummed with the halorium’s collective energy. Though it was safe to handle according to both the knowledge passed down through generations of kraken and the human records in the Facility, its power was undeniable, especially in such a concentration.

His skin tingled, and waves of energy slowly worked over his body. This material, these gem-like shards, had driven the creation of Arkon’s people. He imagined the kraken of old working here, sifting through the rubble for tiny glowing bits and prying larger pieces from the cliffside, stowing it all in shielded containers for transport.

The kraken owed everything to halorium. Because of it, theyexisted. Because of it, their home was secure and largely functional.

And, having listened to the Computer’s accounts of Halorian history, he knew halorium was the main reason for Aymee’s presence, too. Humans were not likely to have colonized the planet were it not for the discovery of halorium.

Arkon tilted his head; the sea was in constant motion, even if that motion was not always apparent. The shafts of sunlight danced with the surface’s movement, and barely perceptible impurities whirled in the current, but something else had floated through his vision.

He focused his gaze on the water between the light, and wonder overcame him.

Tiny particles drifted between the shafts of light, each emitting its own pale blue glow, too faint to perceive in the direct sun. They floated up from the halorium shards by countless thousands, as innumerable as the stars in the night sky, and were swept landward by the current in flowing, twisting streams.

Lost in his curiosity, he followed their path. The particles spread as they moved farther from their source, making them difficult to track, but they eventually led to a stretch of pale beach. Arkon lifted his head above the surface and looked toward the shore.

With the sun shining on the sand, it was impossible to tell whether the particles persisted on land — until a cresting wave cast a shadow beneath itself at the perfect angle. For an instant, points of blue light glowed in the shadow. Then they were swallowed up by the water.

I must bring Aymee here and show her this.

The thought of Aymee reminded Arkon abruptly of his reasons for coming out here. He looked skyward. Based on the position of the sun, he’d been gone at least an hour, and he hadn’t even attempted to make a catch. Heat spread over his skin — disappointment, frustration, and worry gnawed at him. He had to hurry. It wasn’t fair to leave her alone for so long.

His mind raced as he dove under, mentally sorting the easiest prey to obtain without the aid of tools.

* * *

Arkon broke the surface in the sub pen and glanced up. With the sky having mostly cleared, sunlight poured through the hole in the ceiling, overpowering the closest man-made lights, many of which had come on after the power was restored. He’d paused that morning as he left to hunt and stared at the stained, worn walls and ceiling. Somehow, despite the brightness, the pen felt more desolate now than ever before.

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