Page 68 of Crossing Between
"Mineral water," Elias explained, gliding into the pool beside me. "From a natural hot spring beneath the property. Varon had it piped up here when he built the house."
I closed my eyes, surrendering to the sensation of weightlessness. For the first time in days, the tension in my muscles began to unwind, the knots loosening as I drifted.
I felt Elias swim up behind me, his fingers brushing along my arm so lightly I might have imagined it. "You're carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders," his voice barely a whisper.
"Isn't that what Soulbinders do?" I didn't open my eyes. "Carry the weight of souls?"
"Not alone. Never alone." Elias' voice was soft but firm.
His touch was gentle as he guided me toward the shallow end of the pool. We settled on a submerged ledge, the water reaching just below my shoulders. I looked up at the glass ceiling, at the stars visible through it, and felt suddenly, overwhelmingly small.
"I'm scared, Elias," my voice barely above a whisper. "I'm scared of being consumed. By the Essencefeaster or by my own magic."
He was quiet for a moment, his presence beside me solid and reassuring. "I understand fear. More than you might think."
I turned to look at him, surprised by the vulnerability in his voice. "You do?"
He nodded, his gaze fixed on the water's surface. "I fear not being good enough. I fear losing the people I care about." His eyes met mine. "I fear failing those who depend on me."
"You don't seem afraid. You always seem so certain."
A sad smile touched his lips. "That's because I've had years to practice hiding it."
I reached out, my fingers finding his beneath the water. "You don't have tohide from me."
His hand turned, palm up, to meet mine. Our fingers intertwined, and I felt that same electric current pass between us that I'd experienced the first time we touched. The mark on my side flared with warmth.
"You're not alone in this, Zoey," his voice low and intense. "I've seen your strength. When you freed those souls at the police station, when you faced the Essencefeaster in your dreams. I believe in you."
Something in his words, in the sincerity behind them, broke through the last of my defenses. I moved closer to him, drawn by an invisible pull that I couldn't, and didn't, want to resist. Our foreheads touched, our breath mingling in the small space between us.
"Elias," his name a question and an answer all at once.
His hand came up to cup my cheek, his thumb tracing the curve of my lower lip. This time, I was the one who closed the distance, initiating the kiss that had been building between us since I'd found him at the pool's edge.
His lips were cool against mine, a contrast to the warmth of the water surrounding us. He tasted of salt and something more primal, the ocean, I realized. He tasted like the ocean.
The water rippled around us as our magic flared. My golden light met his deep blue power. The two energies danced together, intertwining like lovers in a ritual. My power responded to him, to his kraken, in a way I'd never experienced before. It was as if my magic recognized his on some fundamental level.
As our kiss deepened, I felt his control slipping. His arms, which had been holding me gently, began to shift. Tentacles emerged, wrapping around my waist and shoulders, the suction cups creating delicious points of pressure against my skin through my wet shirt.
When we finally broke apart, both breathingheavily, his eyes had changed. No longer their color, they glowed with an otherworldly yellow light. His kraken peered out at me.
"Mate," he growled, his voice deeper, rougher. "Mine."
The possessiveness in that single word should have frightened me, but instead, it sent a thrill racing down my spine. I knew it wasn't Elias speaking, not entirely. It was his kraken, the primal part of him that recognized me on an instinctual level.
Elias blinked hard, visibly wrestling back control. The tentacles around me loosened slightly, though they didn't withdraw completely.
"I'm sorry," his voice strained. "I can't. I can't hold back for long. We should cool down."
I shook my head, placing my hand against his chest where I could feel his heart racing. "Don't apologize. I want to know all of you, Elias. Including your kraken."
His eyes widened slightly. "You...what?"
"I want to meet your kraken," I spoke more firmly this time. "Properly."
He stared at me for a long moment, searching my face as if trying to determine if I was serious. Whatever he saw there must have convinced him, because he gave a small nod.
