Theo stilled. A loud rushing sound filled her ears, reminiscent of space cruiser thrusters during takeoff. Her heart quickened as she glanced at the toolbox beside her. The transmitter was no longer inside, and she hadn’t even thought about it since she’d arrived in The Watch and stowed it away in their home. But that didn’t mean it didn’t exist.
And this lighthouse was the key.
This was what she had needed since she arrived on this planet. Her way off.
“It works?” she asked numbly.
“Presumably. There’s minimal structural damage, so far as I can tell.”
She stared at the toolbox. If Kane was right — and she had no doubt he was — the installation would be a simple one. Remove the current transmitter and replace it with the one she’d taken from the sub. Worst case meant she’d need to find a power adaptor or different connectors, but even that would be relatively easy given the spare parts in the Facility.
Absently, she brushed her fingertips over the engraved letters on the toolbox’s lid — M. VELENTI.
Theo knew what she needed to do.
Vasil wiped a hand over his face, brushing away the water, as he lifted his torso out of the sea and made his way onto the beach. The other kraken who’d also assisted the human fishermen’s work today — Jax, Charos, and Brexes — emerged around him. The evening sun cast the sand and cliffs in an orange-tinged, beautiful light that only seemed to exist at this time of day. It seemed fitting to return to Theo under that glow, almost as unique and captivating as her.
“You are different since claiming your mate,” Jax said.
Vasil turned his head to find Jax smiling. “Am I?”
“Always quick to notice the changes in others, but not in yourself?”
Furrowing his brow, Vasil nodded. “I am…more, with her. More myself.”
Jax looked toward the clifftop homes — toward his home. “Macy makes me feel the same way. More myself, truer to who I am.”
“You were always true to yourself, Jax.”
Chuckling, Jax shook his head. “I was always forced to choose between our people and who I am. Now I understand that there was no choice to be made — I am myself, and that is of benefit to our people. It does not mean I swim against the kraken.”
“And I…” Vasil released a sharp breath through his nostrils. “I did everything I could to be what our people expected. To work toward good for all of us. I gave everything of myself until I had nothing left. Theo was what I needed to finally understand the error of that, to finally learn that I must act not only for others, but for myself, too. I suppose I might have learned that from you much sooner. Taking for myself from time to time does not mean taking from our people.”
“Even the keenest-eyed amongst us cannot see all, Vasil,” Jax said as they climbed the rocky path leading to the dwellings. “But you still see more than most. You are of great value to our people — kraken and human both.”
Macy awaited her mate at the top of the path. Jax’s smile widened when their eyes met. She crossed the distance separating them and leapt into his arms, wrapping her arms and legs around him as he caught her. She grinned, pressing a swift kiss to his lips.
Vasil’s eyes dipped to her rounded stomach, in which another youngling grew. It was a sight that had been rare among the kraken in the past, but the humans had made it more common; they had given the kraken hope. There was a future for their people. Theo had explained to him that she was on birth control, a concept still foreign to him, but she’d also said it was temporary. He couldn’t wait until his mate was carrying their child.
Macy’s cheeks were flushed when she pulled away from Jax. “Hi, Vasil.”
Vasil nodded. “Hello, Macy.”
She turned her attention back to her mate. “Rhea and Randall took the kids into town.” She brushed her fingers along the back of Jax’s neck. “There was going to be music and dancing tonight. They…should be gone a while.”
Jax’s brow rose slowly, somehow tugging the corners of his mouth even higher along with it. “Rest well, Vasil. Until tomorrow,” he said without looking away from Macy. He moved quickly toward their home, carrying his giggling mate the entire way.
Vasil watched them for a few moments; seeing Jax and Macy together only made him ache for Theo more. He did not regret doing his duty to provide for his people, but he missed his mate throughout the days, and his want for her company often made the hours drag.
He hurried along the path to his own dwelling, anticipation speeding his hearts; was she there yet? He’d beaten her home on a few days — the repairs she was performing for the townsfolk were not always quick or simple, and Theo was dedicated to finishing each task she undertook to her own satisfaction. According to Arkon, Theo’s standards were high, and that made Vasil even prouder of her than he already was.
Without hesitation, he opened the front door and entered their shared den.
Theo was seated at the table, looking out the window. At the sound of the door, she turned her head to face him and smiled; the expression seemed oddly strained.
“Hey,” she said softly.
Vasil’s smile faded as he closed the door with a tentacle and approached her. “What is wrong, Theo?”
She rose from her seat, the corners of her mouth dropping. She looked away from him to stare down at a strange device laid on the table. “I want you to know what this is because I feel like I’ve been hiding it from you.”
Vasil placed a hand on her arm when he reached her, his brow furrowed. He turned his gaze to the device. It was roughly cylindrical with several wires extending from one side.
“What is it?” He looked at her again. “I do not understand, Theo. What is wrong?”
She held his gaze. “When we went to that submarine, I took more than the valve.”
“Speak plainly, human. Please.”
“It’s a transmitter, Vasil.”
“A transmitter?” The term sounded familiar; he sorted through his limited knowledge of human technology, gained mostly through working alongside Arkon from time to time. But that was not what had sparked his recognition of the word. Theo had been the one to say it to Vasil, not Arkon. His voice was low when he spoke again, dragged down by the sinking feeling in his stomach. “The part you needed to contact the IDC.”
She nodded. “And today, Kane told me the lighthouse is an antenna. That it could send a signal into deep space if I connect this transmitter to it.”
Vasil couldn’t tell what the sensation building inside of him was; hot or cold, dread or anger. It came out in a rush. “No.”
“Vasil—”
He drew her into a desperate embrace, cupping the back of her head with one hand to keep her gaze locked with his. Tension stiffened his muscles as his tentacles wrapped around her legs, but he fought to keep from harming her. His every instinct screamed to hold her, to pull her close, to feel all of her at once and let her feel him.
“You cannot leave me,” he rasped. “I will not allow you to go. You… I need you, Theo. I love you.”
She settled her hands against his sides and brushed her thumbs over his skin. “Vasil, it’s okay. I’m not going anywhere.” She leaned her face closer to his, skimming the tip of her nose along his jaw. “Shh.”
The thundering of his hearts almost made it impossible to hear her, to hear his own thoughts. “So why do you have it? Why did you take it?”
Theo laid her head on his shoulder, burying her face against his neck. Her breath was warm on his skin. He held her a little tighter, a little closer.
“I don’t know, honestly. I just…did. After I took it, after we came here and I put it away, I didn’t even think about it until today while I was in the lighthouse. When Kane told me about the transmitter on that submarine, everything inside me just stopped. It’s what I needed, right? To leave. To go back to where I came from.
“But Vasil, I don’t want to go back. I’m not a fallen star. Just a woman who’s had a hard, lonely life. But you,
Vasil, you changed that. You’ve given me a home. You are my home.” She kissed his neck. “And I won’t leave you. I need you, too.”
The feelings inside him grew even more confused and tumultuous, but one was slowly overpowering the rest — love. It was a simple word for a complex emotion, so easy to say but so big, so impossibly powerful, that it could not be contained. His fingers flexed involuntarily, and his tentacles coiled a tighter before he eased his hold on her.
“Why show me?” he asked. “Why, when you could have…thrown it away, or left it hidden?”
“Because I hated the deception. It took me a while to realize that’s what it was. By hiding it, by not telling you about it, I was basically lying to you. I needed to show you, so you know — and I know — that there are no secrets between us. But I also wanted to do this.” She gently pushed away from Vasil, and he reluctantly released her.
Turning away, she crouched and opened her toolbox, which sat on the floor beside the table. She rose with something in her hand — a gun-shaped tool that reminded him a little of the heat guns from the Facility.
“I’m here to stay, Vasil,” she said, lifting the transmitter in her free hand. She set the tip of the gun against the end of the transmitter and pulled the trigger.
In an instant, the end of the device was sheared off. It fell heavily to the floorboards.
“The people of Halora are my people,” she continued, cutting off another piece. “My friends.” A third piece fell to the floor. “And you, Vasil, are my family.”
The transmitter dwindled with each cut until only the loose wires remained in her hand.
“You, kraken, are my mate.” She opened her fingers and let the wires drop to the pile of sliced metal and electronics at her feet. She placed the tool on the table and stepped over the debris. “You are mine. You saved my life, and you own my heart, Vasil.”
Theo looped her arms around his neck and pulled him down into a scalding kiss, pressing her body against his. Vasil groaned and gathered her in his arms. He lifted her off her feet, turned, and carried her toward the bed.
He knew the feeling inside him now; it was hot, it was fire, but it was not born of anger. It was the heat of a fallen star, for his fallen star, and he would gladly let it consume him again and again.
Author’s Note
You guys! We can’t tell you how much it means to us that you’ve stuck with us through this journey with our kraken. We never thought this series would be this long. It hasn’t always been the easiest to write, but we have loved this world and its character regardless of the difficulties we met along the way. There are days when the words flow, but often, we work and struggle for every single word.
I feel like I say this in every author’s note I write, but this book, this one right here, was hard. Vasil has appeared through the later books in this series, but he wasn’t planned. We never thought of him as a main character, but he wriggled his way in and got a book of his own. The problem? We weren’t quite sure who Vasil was — other than Melaina’s birth father. We had to stop writing at 35,000 words into the book to figure out Vasil’s personality. He’s always been the quiet observer, but he needed to be more than that. We needed to give him life. So, after a couple days of doubt and frustration, we nailed him down and brought him to life — at least we hope so. *Crosses fingers*
And to put to rest any rumors you might have heard about this series being over — it’s not. We don’t plan to write another kraken book this year, and we can’t say when the next one will be, just that there will be another kraken book or two in the future.
What’s next from us? We’ll be writing a standalone in a sci-fi universe that we plan to use for many stories to come! The cover will be revealed soon, so keep a look out! I absolutely love it! Cameron and Naomi are absolutely amazing, and we are so thankful and honored to work with them.
We also have a couple other projects planned this year, one being a short story/novella for the Pets in Space 4 Anthology coming out October 2019, and another secret project we’re not quite ready to share more details on yet! We’re also toying with some worldbuilding and ideas for post-apocalyptic, horror, sci-fi romance. I’ve been sitting on this story idea for months, but we haven’t had a chance to get to work on it yet, so hopefully soon. So many ideas, so few hours in the day!
Anyway, we really hope you enjoyed Fallen from the Stars! Thank you again for reading our books, supporting us, and sharing our work with friends and fellow readers! It seriously means the world to us. And if you have a moment, pop on over to Amazon and leave a review. We can never have enough of those! Haha!
Also by Tiffany Roberts
THE KRAKEN
Treasure of the Abyss
Jewel of the Sea
Hunter of the Tide
Heart of the Deep
Rising from the Depths
Fallen from the Stars
STANDALONE TITLES
Claimed by an Alien Warrior
Dustwalker
His Darkest Craving
Ice Bound: Short Story
ISLE OF THE FORGOTTEN
Make Me Burn
Make Me Hunger
Make Me Whole
Make Me Yours
VALOS OF SONHADRA COLLABORATION
Tiffany Roberts - Undying
Tiffany Roberts - Unleashed
About the Author
Tiffany Roberts is the pseudonym for Tiffany and Robert Freund, a husband and wife writing duo. Tiffany was born and bred in Idaho, and Robert was a native of New York City before moving across the country to be with her. The two have always shared a passion for reading and writing, and it was their dream to combine their mighty powers to create the sorts of books they want to read. They write character driven sci-fi and fantasy romance, creating happily-ever-afters one monster or alien at a time.
Website:
https://authortiffanyroberts.wordpress.com
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorTiffanyRoberts
BookBub:
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tiffany-roberts
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Fallen from the Stars Page 29