Page 20 of Unmoored

“I don’t understand the human part of you,” I blurted out, surprising even myself. “I always thought Talassi were sea creatures with humanoid elements, but you seem to be able to take on a true human form.”

“We are able to shift to our human forms when we are in close proximity to a body of water,” he explained. “But we can’t stay in this form for too long, or we start to deteriorate.”

“What’s the purpose of it?”

“Survival, most likely,” he said. “It gives us an advantage in seaside towns and ports like Whitethorn Bay. We can infiltrate human spaces and learn about your kind.”

I frowned, unsure what he meant by that.

“We can also procreate with humans,” he said, raising a brow.

My breath hitched, and for a split second I was overcome with terror. Wasthatwhat all this was about?! Hesaved me from drowning so he could use me as… I didn’t want to think about it, so I shrunk into myself and pulled the blanket over my body again.

“Absolutely not,” he laughed, a twinkle in his eyes as they curiously roved over my stricken face. “I would never do such a thing. But it seems you may be the byproduct of… that.”

“What?!” I exclaimed, my mind reeling.

He knelt down again, his face so close to mine that I could feel the heat radiating from his cheeks. Gentle fingers brushed against that sensitive point on my neck again, and the same burning, desperate feeling shot through my body, settling low in my core.

“What are you doing,” I gasped, wanting more of this touch but not understanding what was happening.

“You have gill marks here,” he said, flashing me his razor sharp canines as he grinned. My cheeks heated when he removed his fingers from my skin, though the need inside me didn’t dissipate as quickly as I would have liked it to.

“So, because my neck is sensitive means my parents weren’t human?” I asked, growing irritated.

“No,” he said again. “I’ve been curious about you for years, Miss Hazel Emerson. When I found you after that shipwreck, I assumed you were dead. You were far too deep in the water for a human to survive, but I was drawn to the way your hair seemed to glow.”

I looked down at my pale blonde hair, now matted with seawater.What is he talking about?

“I was only going to move your body out of the wreckage so you could sink to the bottom and enter the afterlife in peace, but when I touched you, your eyesopened and I realized you were alive. You scared the hell out of me, Hazel.”

I couldn’t help but giggle. The idea of scaring Draya, especially in his Talassi form, was quite amusing.

“At that point, I figured I’d reached you soon after the wreck, and you had somehow not drowned yet. So I took you to that island and waited for you to wake up,” he paused, as if waiting for a response.

“I remember,” I said slowly, wondering what was coming next.

“Have you ever noticed that storms seem to follow you?” He asked, narrowing his eyes.

“I suppose so,” I said. “I grew up in Whitethorn Bay where storms are common, though. And I figured my life was gloomy enough that it was fitting. Although I must admit, Ihatethunderstorms.”

“Well,” he started hesitantly. “You seem to have some… control over them.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked, shaking my head.

“When you’re distressed, storms appear,” he answered, but I was still confused. “All Talassi possess water magic. It manifests differently among each of us, but our species can control oceans, rivers, clouds, rain, storms, and sometimes even fluids found in the bodies of living beings.”

My eyes widened as I followed what he said. He was making sense, but I wasn’t sure I was ready to hear the rest. Though he didn’t seem to care, and continued with his theory.

“Aside from your inexplicable ability to survive in the ocean, your faint gill marks,andyour ability to call uponstorms, your body has completely healed from the scratches and cuts you had received prior to jumping off that jetty. Which, by the way, was an incredibly stupid idea. If I hadn’t been there to catch you, you would have been sucked under and likely impaled on the sharp rocks beneath the surface. The ocean surrounding Akala Island is not as deep as you’d think.”

“Slow down, please,” I pleaded, my head swimming.

“Why did you do it?” He asked, his voice commanding this time.

“Do what?!” I exclaimed.

“Why did you jump off that jetty?”