Chapter Twenty-Seven
“The pearl,” Kai said with gravity, looking at Jenna. “Do you have it?”
Connor looked on as Jenna pulled it from her pocket and laid it on the white tablecloth. Everyone leaned in. Even in the pale moonlight, the pearl shone in its unique way, with the gold hues coming to the forefront, and the black fading away. It looked a little different every time he saw it. Was that part of its magic?
“I still can’t figure it out,” Jenna said, gesturing toward it. “Did the pearl help me stay underwater that long or was it my mermaid blood?”
“A little of both, I think,” Kai said, studying the pearl.
Then he cleared a space on the table and nodded to Tessa, who pulled out a huge leather-bound book. Connor sniffed deeply. It smelled of dried leaves. Of cobwebs. Of mystery.
“We did some research,” Kai said in a weary voice that spoke of many hours hunting down that volume.
Tessa opened the book, carefully flipped a few pages, and finally turned it around for everyone to see. Connor squinted at the ornately designed page.
The top of the page was covered in swirling, calligraphic script. The middle was full of text, and the bottom decorated with a hand-illustrated scene. The latter showed the kind of rugged, green mountains found throughout Hawaii, all drawn in a style that had to be a century or two old. A woman stood waist-deep in the ocean, cupping something in her hands while a shark fin circled around her. She seemed more sad than panicked, though. Behind her, the background was filled with details like lush slopes, waterfalls, and a thatched hut.
“Maui?” Tim murmured.
Jenna leaned over the looping calligraphy at the top. It didn’t even look like English to Connor until Jenna managed to sound it out. “Pearls of desire?” She touched the binding. “What book is this?”
Tessa gave them a peek at the cover then laid it open to that page again. “Mates, Myths, and Legends. It was written by one of the first shifters to visit Maui, way back at the end of missionary times.”
Jenna ran her finger along the text. “Nanalani, daughter of Kamohoalii, the shark king. She could only love from afar for fear of her shark side coming out. Terrified of wreaking death and destruction upon her friends the way her brother had done when he took human form, Nanalani kept herself sequestered in a cave for years. Finally, in her loneliness and sorrow, she called forth the spirit of the sea…” Jenna’s voice rose in excitement. “That’s the legend the lady at the store mentioned.”
Tessa pointed to the woman in the illustration — an island beauty with long black hair and dark eyes. “That has to be Nanalani. And look there.” She pointed.
“Pearls,” Jenna breathed.
Connor peered closer. The woman in the picture was holding a seashell filled with pearls. White pearls. Gold pearls. Black, pink, and blue, too.
Jenna read on. “Nanalani called forth the spirit of the sea and put a spell on her pearls — the pearls of desire. Her treasures allowed her to go safely forth as a woman and love a man she had admired from afar. Over the years, Nanalani had many lovers, though she never found her mate. As time went on and her lovers passed away, Nanalani threw her pearls back into the sea, one by one. ‘Now I am alone again,’ she sighed to the god of the sea. ‘I give you my pearls, not to keep, but to safeguard for another worthy lover who needs their power someday.’”
Jenna’s finger trembled as she moved it over the flowery script. She stopped for a deep breath, and her eyes locked with Connor’s. He gulped a little. Jenna might be worthy. But was he?
She read on. “And so it was that the pearls of desire — one for every kind of desire known to mankind — were lost, though legend claims they remain slumbering under the surface, waiting to be reawakened to inspire great acts of love again.”
Jenna’s cheeks turned pink when she finished with a solemn, “Wow.”
Dell whistled. “Pearls of desire? Yeah, I’ll take one.”
Tim beat Connor to elbowing the lion in the ribs.
“Mommy, what’s desire?” Joey piped up.
Cynthia turned pink. It was kind of cute, seeing her flustered for a change. “It’s like love. When you really, really love someone and want to kiss them all the time.”
Connor traded not-so-secret smiles with Jenna. Oh, they knew about desire, all right.
“Oh,” Joey muttered, utterly disappointed. “Yuck.” He went back to unrolling the maki on his plate.
“Wait a minute,” Tim said. “Remember the aquarium Draig had on the yacht? There were pearls in there.”
Connor frowned. God, he’d been so — er, distracted — lately, that he hadn’t thought of that.
Apparently, Kai had, because he nodded right away. “I checked them out. They look — and feel — like regular old pearls, but I sent them to a contact of Silas’s to make sure. I didn’t pick up on any hint of energy or power, though. Not the way I do with Jenna’s pearl.”
“Precious pearls. Magical pearls. That’s what the woman in the shop said,” Jenna recalled. “But, wow. Enough magic to help me stay underwater that long?”
Kai nodded. “Absolutely, especially when combined with your mermaid ancestry.”
“The Spirit Stones are like that,” Tessa added, fingering the emerald around her neck. “Mine made me immune to dragon fire, but only because it amplified an ability I already had thanks to my fire maiden blood. You have to have it in you in the first place.”
“Did Draig know about the pearls?” Tim asked, stroking his chin.
“He knew something,” Jenna said with a deep frown. “He said he could feel its power, but then again, so could I. I just don’t know exactly how it works.”
Cynthia wore a wistful smile. “Maybe it’s like love. The kind of power that’s hard to define.”
Connor blinked at her rare hint of emotion, then cleared his throat. “Anton said something about looking for pearls that night out by Molokai.”
Jenna sighed and picked up the pearl. She studied it, then the book. “Do you have any more books about pearls — or mermaids? I have the feeling I need a crash course on all this.”
Connor took her hand. He might not be the most well versed in shifter lore, but he’d be with her every step of the way.
Kai motioned over toward Koa Point. “We have thousands of books, so I’d say we have our research cut out for us. But the library’s open to you anytime.”
“Yours must be a Tahitian pearl,” Cynthia said, fingering her own string of white pearls. “Very rare, if it’s natural, and I’m sure it is. A symbol of wealth and prosperity.”
Connor stared. Now where did Cynthia learn that?
But Jenna just shrugged and squeezed his hand. “The only wealth that really counts is love, and I’ve got all I need.”
It was one of those I want to hug you and never let go moments, and Connor very nearly did. But Dell waved frantically, dragging his attention away.
“No, no. None of that, kids.” Dell laughed. “Can you try to get through one dinner without falling into each other’s arms? The goo-goo eyes are bad enough.”
Connor slid a hand across Jenna’s shoulders, compromising a little. If he wanted to show his mate how lucky he felt, he would, damn it. But there was a tiny note of jealousy in Dell’s voice, just a minuscule hint the lion shifter probably wasn’t even aware of. There was no need to rub in what he had and the others didn’t — especially when it came to Cynthia, who’d lost her mate. Just the thought of such a blow made him tug Jenna closer to his side.
Tim squinted at the text. “What’s this part about every kind of desire?”
Tessa tapped her lips. “I don’t know. Lust?”
Connor scowled, thinking of Draig. “Greed.”
“True love,” Cynthia said in a faraway voice. “Passion.”
“Yearning,” Chase whispered, looking out over the shadowy landscape.
“Carnal desire,” Dell said in his lustiest voice.
Cynthia made a face and clapped her hands over Joey’s ears. The boy had clearly stopped listening by then, though.
Dell grinned. “Okay, seriously. You want to know about desire? Buddhists say there are three types: kama tanha, bhava tanha, and vibhava tanha. Wanting something that feels good, wanting to become something, and wanting to get rid of something.” Everyone stared at him, but he just sighed. “I told you, everyone underestimates my brilliance.”
“Did you study Buddhism?” Jenna asked with wide eyes.
He gave an apologetic shrug. “No, but I had this girlfriend once…”
Tim rolled his eyes. “Dell has had a lot of girlfriends — once.”
Dell just gave a smug smile, and Connor shook his head. The poor guy had no idea what he was missing. Hell, before meeting Jenna, he’d had no idea what he was missing.
Kai rubbed his chin. “It’s possible the pearl — or pearls, because it sounds like there are more — can embody all types of desire. Like the Spirit Stones — it could depend on the bearer. A pearl that heightens the greed in one person could empower the passion in another.”
Jenna nodded slowly. “Maybe like this pearl. Gold and black. Opposites, but all wrapped together.”
Connor smiled faintly. He and Jenna were opposites in some ways but, yeah. They made a good pair.
“What was that last one again?” Jenna asked Dell.
“Vibhava tanha. The desire to get rid of something, like a sickness.”
“Well, I did want to get rid of Draig,” Jenna said, rolling the pearl in her hands. Then her gaze wandered to Connor, and her eyes sparkled. “And I wanted…some other things.”
He grinned. Yeah, he wanted some other things too. They’d have to move along to someplace private very soon.
“But I swear the pearl was calling to me for days before,” Jenna added, growing pensive again. “Like it wanted to be found.”
Kai nodded gravely. “That’s what concerns me. And if there are more…”
“What’s wrong with spreading the love?” Dell joked.
Connor followed Kai’s gaze as he looked across the long plantation lawn toward the ocean. Moonlight sparkled silver and white over the waves, and a frigate bird swooped over the surface, holding out its forked tail.
“Nothing wrong with some forms of desire, like love. But if the remaining pearls call to other shifters for the wrong reasons…” Kai trailed off.
Connor waited for more. What did he mean?
Kai fingered a crease in the tablecloth. “Where there’s power, there’s greed. And where there’s greed, there’s…”
He trailed off, but Tessa filled the rest in. “Moira.”
Connor took a deep breath and held Jenna’s hand tighter. He didn’t know much about Moira, but he knew she meant trouble. Apparently, Cynthia knew too, because her face fell at the mention of the name.
“You mean the same Moira who…” Jenna started, then stopped when she spotted Cynthia’s expression.
Connor tried not to stare at Cynthia. He’d seen her look strict, serious, and unamused. But he’d never seen her like this. Her fingers scratched — no, clawed — the edge of the tablecloth, and her lips drew tight. Her eyes took on a ferocious glow as she gave Kai a curt shake of the head that ended with a tilt toward Joey.
No one spoke for a moment, and Jenna looked around, confused. A feeling Connor knew all too well — that everyone is in on a secret except me sensation that made his dragon want to snort flames.
He stood quickly. Obviously, the subject was touchy enough that Cynthia didn’t want Joey to hear, and he respected that. But Jenna was an adult, and she had to be warned about Moira, the vengeful she-dragon who had targeted the shifters of Koa Point again and again.
“Hey, Joey,” he said, standing quickly. “I almost forgot. I have a present for you.”
“For me?” The boy’s eyes went wide.
“Yep. Hang on a second.” Connor walked to the far end of the porch where he’d stashed it earlier. Throughout the time Jenna was in the hospital, she’d forced him to go for short walks — to relax and clear his mind, as if he had any chance of that with Jenna in such rough shape. But she’d insisted, so he’d gone. And one day, he’d passed a store, looked in the window, and—
“A kite? Wow, a kite!” Joey exclaimed, taking the package.
“Not just any kite. A dragon kite. Look.” Connor pointed at the diagram.
Joey scrunched up his eyes and examined it carefully. “Like a Lusitanian dragon, right?” He looked to Cynthia. “We learned about it in our dragon book.”
Connor had no idea what that was, but Cynthia nodded. Well, whatever. A kite was a kite.
“So come on. Let’s try it out.”
“Now?” Joey jumped up. “At night?”
“Best time to fly,” Connor winked, waving him down the stairs.
“Fly?” Cynthia yelped.
“The kite,” Connor said quickly. “Just the kite.” The second he and Joey got to the bottom of the stairs, he leaned in toward Joey and whispered, “Can you keep a secret?”
Joey gave him a solemn nod.
“Kite flying teaches you all about wind patterns. Gliding. Finding thermals. So when you’re old enough to shift into dragon form…”
Joey’s eyes shone. “Then I’ll really be ready.”
“Exactly. You’ll be a pro. Now let’s get this thing set up.”
He moved just far enough from the porch for the others to be able to huddle and talk — and close enough for Cynthia to be able to keep an eye on Joey. Kai, he figured, would take the lead in telling Jenna about Moira. She was betrothed to my cousin Silas a long time ago, he’d probably start with, and Connor could imagine how the rest would go. Moira had broken Silas’s heart by leaving him for the powerful dragon lord, Drax, and the ruthless couple had wreaked havoc on Silas’s shifter clan several times in recent years. Silas had finally vanquished Drax in a recent showdown among the volcanoes of the Big Island, but Moira had escaped.
What Connor didn’t know was how Cynthia had tangled with Moira. He would love to listen in, but right now, he’d give Jenna a chance to learn.
He looked up and got lost for a second in the universe above. So many stars, winking their greetings to him — even Draco, the constellation he’d never counted on for much guidance. It curled around the Little Dipper, glaring at Hercules, and beyond that, to the lurking Serpent.
Connor looked around. So much beauty in the world, but so much danger too. He put a hand on Joey’s shoulder, vowing to protect the child no matter what it took. But tonight, thank goodness, was a kinder, more peaceful night than most.
“Okay,” he said. “Tell me which way the wind is coming from.”
Joey looked around and pointed north. “There?”
Connor gave him a big thumbs-up. “Perfect. So to launch, we have to start…”
“That way!” Joey exclaimed, hopping up and down.
It was kind of cute, watching Joey run across the lawn, pulling the kite. The kind of simple fun Connor hadn’t experienced in a long time. Soon, the kite was up and flying, its long tail fluttering in the breeze. Joey bounced from foot to foot in glee. Connor stood behind him, helping control the strings.
“The wind gets funneled up the hill, with a little more coming from the right. You feel that?”
Joey nodded earnestly.
“So keep a little more tension on that side. And to turn…”
Connor had never flown a kite in the dark. He’d never flown a kite with a kid either. But it was nice. Really nice. And Joey was beside himself, laughing and beaming like he did with Dell.
“Look, Mommy! My dragon is flying!”
“That’s great, sweetheart.”
Connor watched the kite dip and sway. The tail streamed out, and though the rainbow colors of the design were hard to make out in the dark, the yellow eyes showed.
“Fly, dragon. Fly!” Joey sang out.
Connor pictured two dragons up there instead of one, and his heart sang too. Someday, he’d be able to take to the air with Jenna. And between the two of them and the others, they’d keep their home safe. For themselves, for Joey. Maybe even for their own kids someday.
He looked out over the plantation grounds, all the way out to the glittering ocean. What a view. And he was actually enjoying it for a change. He smiled and looked back at the kite, whispering into the wind.
“Fly, dragon. Fly.”
He lost sense of time and place for a while, and his mind wandered. To his father, who’d never taught him anything useful, unless it was what not to do. He thought of all the times he’d yearned for acceptance. Years of wishing to find his place on this earth.
And, wow. Now he had all that. A home. A mate. A clan.
Jenna came up behind him and slipped her arms around his waist. Apparently, the talk about Moira was over. Jenna tipped her head back and looked up at the kite against the background of that incredibly starry night.
Her chest rose and fell with a sigh. “So beautiful.”
Connor closed his eyes and covered her arms with his.
“Beautiful,” he whispered.