Page 89 of Echo and the Homicidal Sea Panda

“I don’t care about a legacy,” Mael roared. “The gods brought him to me.”

“You are an orca prince. You have a duty to create the next generation of orca. Do you not care about your duty?”

“A title and duty I never asked for.”

“Wait…” Echo interrupted.“Prince?”

Mael closed his eyes.

“I might be called Matriarch, but my true title is Kuini. That word means?—”

“Queen,”Echo murmured.

She lifted on brow.

“I speak some Maori.”

“A little light-haired, blue-eyed dolphin speaks Maori. I’m impressed.”

“My grandfather was Maori,” Echo replied, his voice barely above a whisper. “He taught me. I don’t use it often enough, though.”

His mother walked closer, her gaze on Echo. “Well, if he was Maori, you must know our history and how we all got here.”

“The second matriarch.”

His mother nodded. “Yes, the second matriarch. The Queen of the Southern Seas—and my direct ancestor. And Mael’s. One of his children could become the next matriarch. Children he would not have with you.”

“You never know,” Mael said. He looked down into Echo’s eyes and smiled. “We might have children one day.”

“I surely hope not,” she spat.

Mael clenched his jaw and turned his focus on his mother. “My siblings seem to be on a path to accept Echo as my mate. I had hoped you would, too.”

“They knew?”she asked, eyes wide. She sighed. “Of course they did. That’s why they wouldn’t tell me where you were. They didn’t want me to know they’d played a part in this… this…”

“If you call it an abomination one more time, you might as well exile me now,Matriarch,”Mael snapped, his heart clenching in his chest.

“No!”Echo spat. He took a step closer to Mael’s mother.“Please… don’t exile him. I might not know him well yet, but what I do know is that Mael’s family meanseverythingto him.” Echo spun to face Mael, tears shining in his eyes. He gripped Mael’s t-shirt with both hands. “Iwon’tcome between you and your family. I see how you are with your siblings and… it’s beautiful. I’m jealous of your relationships with them. I’ve never had that, so Iknowhow lonely it can be not to have it. I can’t take them away from you.I won’t.”

Mael brushed back Echo’s hair. “My future with you is as important to me.”

“It isn’t, not in the face of what you’d lose.” Echo fought a sob. “You’ll grieve their loss every day for the rest of your life… and that will bemyfault.”

Mael fought the sting of tears. “No… it wouldn’t.” He lifted his gaze and glared at his mother. “It would be because of closed minds and closed hearts.”

“Your mother’s right that I might not be able to give you a family of your own. I won’t take you away from the only one you have.”

“I don’tcareabout children,” Mael said. He captured Echo’s face in his hands. “I care aboutyou.I chooseyou.You’re my everything, Echo. I can’t stand to part from you. I ache when you’re not near me. I cannot exist without you.”

Echo’s face contorted in pain.

“We can just go,” Mael said to Echo. “We can find another pod who might accept us as we are.”

“Mael!”his mother roared.

Mael turned to glare at her. He saw pain flash in her eyes.

“You would leave, wouldn’t you?”

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