Macy laughed and leaned over Jax, struggling against his strength despite the futility. He had her wrists trapped in his hands and a tentacle around her waist, preventing her from moving the piece of naba any closer to his mouth.

“One bite. Just one bite,” she begged.

“I will not allow you to poison me, human,” Jax said, his playful smile belied his serious tone.

“You’re part human, so I doubt a little piece is going to kill you.”

“The smell of it alone may be enough to kill me.”

“It smells sweet! If you try it, I’ll—” she lowered her head until her lips were near his ear and whispered, “—take you in my mouth again.”

The humor fled from his face, and his brow fell low. “That is cruel, to offer something I cannot decline in exchange for my life.”

Macy rubbed her bare leg along his body, feeling the push of his shaft against his slit. “Your life isn’t in danger.”

With lightning speed, he flipped her onto her back, pinning her wrists to the bed and propping himself over her. “You are worth it, either way.”

She spread her legs, welcoming him, and wiggled her eyebrows. “You know what you need to do first.”

Jax held her gaze for a long while. Finally, with a frustrated grunt, he dipped his head and moved his mouth toward the naba in her hand. His tongue slipped out and licked her finger.

“I can think of some other things you ought to do with that tongue.” She lifted her hips, rubbing against him.

“So can I,” he whispered, his breath tickling her skin, “and none of them involve eating a pla—”

There was a sudden commotion in the corridor — a raised, frantic voice echoed off the walls. Jax shifted into an upright position and twisted toward the door.

“Jax!” someone called from the hallway. It sounded like Dracchus.

Leaping off the bed, Jax positioned himself between Macy and the door. She sat up and scooted to edge, adjusted her clothing, and stood.

“Where is my youngling?” shrieked an unfortunately familiar voice. “I will kill that human if she has Melaina!”

The female kraken from the day before — Melaina’s mother — darted through the doorway, her eyes blazing. Jax blocked her path; for a moment, Macy was certain the kraken would claw him apart and advance.

“Where is Melaina?” The female stopped in front of Jax and didn’t remove her eyes from Macy.

Dracchus filled the doorway a moment later, his shoulders nearly spanning the frame.

“I haven’t seen her since yesterday,” Macy said.

“This is our den, Rhea,” Jax growled. “You cannot enter in this fashion.”

“Melaina is missing,” Rhea hissed. “Yesterday, I found her here, in your den, with your human. Where is she? Melaina!”

Macy’s stomach twisted; the same desperation had been in her parents’ voices when Sarina was swept out to sea and lost forever.

“This is foolishness, Rhea,” Dracchus said. “The youngling is not here.”

“I swear, she’s not here.” Macy held the female’s gaze.

“Liar!” Rhea launched herself at Macy.

The males reacted faster than Macy could register; Jax grabbed Rhea’s wrists, shifting to place his body directly in front of her, and Dracchus looped his arms around the female’s waist and lifted her off the floor.

“Enough of this!” Jax wrestled the thrashing female; knowing how strong he was, Macy was impressed by how much effort he exerted in stilling Rhea. “Melaina is not here, and has not been here since I returned yesterday. Macy does not have her!”

Rhea’s struggled for a moment longer then let out a pained wail. Her body went slack.

Jax looked at Dracchus. Neither of them released their hold on her.

“She has been missing all morning,” Dracchus said. “We’ve searched all the buildings and have found no sign. Rhea flew into a rage when she found out we had not searched this area, and claimed that Macy had taken Melaina.”

Jax didn’t react to Rhea’s cries. “Is everyone capable helping in the search?”

Dracchus nodded. “Even most of the females.”

“Melaina told me she liked to venture outside the facility and explore,” Macy said. “Maybe she’s out there.”

“That is where we’re going next,” said Dracchus. “I need you to lead a party, Jax. There’s been a razorback sighted nearby.”

Fear skittered along Macy’s spine. She couldn’t imagine Melaina out there, defenseless, helpless, against one of those things.

“Of course.” Jax dropped his eyes to Rhea. “We need to go now to find your youngling. You are needed in the search.”

Rhea nodded. Cautiously, Jax and Dracchus released her, keeping their wary gazes upon her. She didn’t so much as glance at Macy and was quiet as Dracchus led her into the hallway.

“I want to help,” Macy said when they were gone.

Jax shook his head. “You are not going out there.”

“I want to help find her, Jax.”

Macy pictured Melaina’s sweet little smile and large, curious eyes. How could she do nothing? How could she sit by and allow another innocent life to be taken by the ocean?

“Even with your suit, you cannot move as quickly as a kraken, and I will not risk another attack from a razorback.” He closed the distance between them and placed his hands on her shoulders. “It is best for you to remain here.”

“I don’t want to be useless, Jax. I can help.”

“You are not useless, Macy. But I cannot allow you to come.”

“If I were kraken, you wouldn’t deny me.”

“Human or kraken, I would do anything to keep you safe.”

Macy pressed her lips together. She took a deep breath and released it slowly. “You mated with Rhea, didn’t you?”

His jaw muscles bulged. “Yes. Briefly.”

She dropped her gaze and pushed aside the flare of jealousy that had erupted inside. It was in the past. “Could…Melaina be yours?”

“No. Melaina had already been birthed when I mated with Rhea.”

Hearing that eased some of her tension. “Okay.”

Jax leaned down and kissed her forehead. “I must go. I will return as soon as I can.”

Macy brushed her hand over his arm, nodded, and watched him leave. She counted the seconds; how long would it take for him to gather with the others and exit the building?

When she was sure he wouldn’t come back, she ran across the room and to the dresser. She tugged off her clothes, opened the bottom drawer, and hurriedly donned her PDS.

Jax would be furious when he found out, but that wasn’t important. All that mattered was finding Melaina. Macy wasn’t as fast or maneuverable as the kraken, but she had something none of them possessed — Sam.

Once her mask was sealed, she strapped on her gun and her knife, making sure they were within easy reach. She left the cabins and made her way toward the exit cautiously, checking around every corner before she proceeded, but saw no one. Still, she couldn’t stop glancing over her shoulder as the pressurization chamber drained.

She entered the chamber. The door slid shut behind her, and she drummed her fingers on the gun holster while the room filled.

“Re-pressurization sequence initiated,” Sam said. The light over the exit door turned green, and it opened.

Macy swam out and stilled. The endless, lonely sea surrounded her, and her breath was suddenly short. Those old, familiar feels rushed back and coiled around her heart. Every time she’d been in the water, Jax was by her side, anchoring her with his presence.

Now she was alone.

“Irregular respiration detected. Do you require assistance?”

She closed her eyes and forced herself to take several slow, deep breaths.

No, not alone. She had Sam. And Melaina needed her.

She reopened her eyes. “Sam, do you have…heat vision, or something like it? Something that will make living creatures stand out?”

“Thermal and infrared vision are limited in the water, but living creatures can be detected through a combination of—”

“I don’t need the details, Sam. Just…turn that on, please?”

“Scanning for living creatures now.”

For a moment, her vision was unchanged, and then a soft, barely perceptible wave of light spread outward from her location. As it advanced, spots of brightness appeared. It took her a moment to realize what they were — sea creatures. Fish swam amongst the rocks, and little, many-legged creatures scuttled along the bottom, their forms highlighted by the mask.

“Sam, can you show me only creatures the size of a human toddler and larger?”

“Filtering.”

Most of the highlighted shapes vanished.

One problem down. On to the next.

Where had Melaina gone?

Several small arrows hovered on the left side of her vision; Macy turned her head to see a group of kraken, their bodies highlighted by the mask, swimming in the distance. If they saw her, they’d likely send her back inside. Worse, her violation of the kraken’s terms would provide individuals like Kronus with reason to renew their efforts against her.

She swam away from the Facility, glancing behind only once. She could feel the distance between her and the door growing.

Her heart pounded, but she kept her breath even.

I can do this.

The seafloor was increasingly rocky and uneven as Macy proceeded. She swept her gaze from side to side; large fish drifted near the bottom, and whenever one of them moved out of her field of view, a little marker appeared on the edge of the mask. Sam was detecting creatures all around, whether she was looking at them or not.

She looked back again. The Facility was little more than a hint of light in the distant gloom, and no kraken had followed her. Macy took another calming breath. She’d be fine; the building was back there, somewhere, and Sam probably knew the way…

Jax will find me.

She swam farther, banking to the right. Melaina wouldn’t have gone too far. The girl was young, but she was intelligent.

More markers appeared on her left; she turned toward them and stopped when she saw something slide from between two rocks. A tentacle! A hand followed, and then a head.

Melaina’s wide, frightened eyes fell on Macy. The girl shook her head frantically and pointed up.

A large marker was on the upper edge of the mask. Larger than any she’d seen so far.

Macy tilted her head back, and the air fled her lungs. The massive, highlighted creature flowing through the water overhead was an image from her nightmares.

A razorback. And it was turning toward Macy.

She swam forward, putting herself between the monster and the child.

“Go!” she screamed, and waved back toward the Facility.

Macy turned toward the razorback and waved her arms. It seemed to fixate on her; she moved away from Melaina, away from the Facility, and the beast followed.

She kicked her legs and used her hands to pull herself along the rocks on the bottom, much like Jax had done.

“Irregular vital signs detected. Do you require assistance?”

“What kind of assistance?” she asked, panting, arms already burning from exertion.

“Would you like me to send a distress signal?”

“That doesn’t do me any good now, Sam.” Macy looked behind her and her eyes widened. The razorback was gaining. “Can you track that thing’s movement?”

“Are you referring to the eighteen-meter-long sea creature behind you?”

“Yes!”

The large arrow that marked the razorback changed to bright green, and a number appeared below it — 13.6M. Within the space of a heartbeat, it dropped to 11.1M.

Macy searched the rocks ahead, but the shadows and irregularities made it difficult to determine whether any openings were large enough for her to squeeze into.

“Sam, I need a spot to hide!”

“There is a crevice straight ahead, in eight-point-five meters.” The spot was suddenly highlighted in yellow.

Gritting her teeth, she pushed onward, driven by the deafening pounding of her heart. The distance between Macy and the crevice shrank rapidly; her lead on the razorback dwindled faster.

Please! Please!

The crevice was just within reach when the water behind her shifted. Grasping the edges, she dove into the shelter.

Something powerful clamped down on her leg, and her momentum halted. Macy screamed as the pressure increased and searing pain lanced through her calf.

“PDS exterior compromised. Energy field unstable,” Sam said far too calmly. “Redirecting power to compensate.”

Macy clawed at the rock around her. For a moment, she held herself in place. When the razorback tugged, it felt as though her arms and leg would be torn from their sockets. She clenched her jaw to hold in her scream as a fresh wave of agony blasted through her.

Her hold slipped, and the razorback dragged Macy out of the crevice. Water rushed around her. The beast snapped its head to the side, swinging her, shredding the muscles of her calf.

Information and alerts appeared on the inside of the mask, and Sam was talking, but she couldn’t focus on any of it.

She reached down to take hold of her wounded leg, hoping to alleviate some of the pressure, when her fingers brushed over the knife. Clenching her thigh, she stared at the razorback through the blood misting the water. The way it was moving, she’d never reach its head with the knife.

The gun!

She drew her other leg up, knee to her chest, and struggled to get a hold of the gun. When she finally pulled it from the holster, the razorback changed the direction of its swing.

Screaming through clenched teeth, she slammed her free foot into its snout repeatedly. Her heel connected with its eye and the beast released her abruptly and swam away, snapping its head from side to side. It wheeled around.

She didn’t waste a moment; she aimed and squeezed the trigger several times in quick succession as she sank toward the bottom. The sound of the gun firing was strangely muted in the water — she felt its power, more than heard it.

The razorback twisted and thrashed as its blood clouded the water. It reared back, opening its jaws.

Macy fired until the gun was empty. Her feet touched the rocky seafloor; it was strangely comforting to have solid ground beneath her, despite the flaring pain in her leg.

As the razorback charged again, Macy released the gun and drew her knife. The beast’s movements were slower now, but seemed no less powerful.

Just before the razorback reached her, she pushed off the bottom. The razorback’s snout missed her by centimeters. Macy used her momentum to spin, swinging her arm around and slamming the knife into the beast’s eye. She held on as it flipped and tumbled through the water, grabbing hold of one of its spines with her other hand.

The beast twisted its head to the side and snapped his jaws over her injured leg and swam forward.

Macy screamed, but she didn’t let go. Tightening her grip on the knife, she tore it free and slammed it into razorback’s head again and again. She looked over her shoulder to see the large rock just before the razorback slammed her into it.

Jax swam higher above the bottom than he normally would, granting him a wider view of the area. Melaina wasn’t likely to have gone far, but if she’d changed her skin to hide, it would be incredibly difficult to spot her.

He led his party in a wide arc around the front of the Facility, slowly expanding their search area; despite the danger of attracting predators, the kraken kept their skin glowing, creating a beacon for the youngling to swim toward.

Movement to the right caught his attention. He halted and turned toward it, altering his grip on his harpoon gun, and his party fell in around him. Something was fast approaching them. Jax tensed, preparing to defend himself.

As the creature neared, its features grew clear — it was a kraken, skin pulsing with warning flashes.

Melaina!

Jax slung the harpoon over his shoulder and rushed forward to meet her. The youngling nearly collided with him. Her eyes were wide, and her skin flashed frantically. She hastily signed, but her movements were difficult to understand, made imprecise by her fear. He signaled for her to slow down.

Danger. Go help. Need help.

He scanned the water for any signs of danger, for a razorback or a sandseeker, but saw nothing.

Melaina grabbed his hand and tugged, waving for him to follow. Before he could react, she swam off, back in the direction from which she’d come.

Despite his confusion, Jax set off after her; the rush of water behind meant his party had done the same. He caught up to Melaina and sped alongside her, gaze darting between the youngling and the seafloor ahead.

His hearts skipped when he saw it; there, where distance made everything murky, loomed the shape of a huge razorback. The water surrounding it was clouded with blood.

Jax increased his pace, surpassing Melaina, and swung the harpoon gun into his hands. There was something wrong with the scene ahead; the razorback was moving, but only barely, its long tail and fins swaying gently. He’d never seen one so still.

The other kraken spread out, weapons in hand, and encircled the beast. But Jax knew there’d be no need for weapons as he came around the razorback’s front.

Its head was a mangled mess. One eyeball protruded from its socket, and the other was missing entirely. The handle of a knife jutted from its ruined skull. The spines protruding from the creature’s head had snagged on the rocks below, anchoring it in place, and its body — twisted at an odd angle — moved in with the current.

The kraken remained cautious as they closed their circle, until one of the others flashed his light and gestured toward the bottom.

The alarm on the other kraken’s face urged Jax forward. His veins filled with ice as his position afforded him a clearer view; pinned beneath the razorback’s shoulder was a figure in a black suit.

Macy turned her head toward Jax when he arrived. Her skin was pale and beaded with sweat in the glow of her mask, her features strained. She mouthed his name.

For a moment, terror froze him in place. In all their time together, through all her bouts of illness, he’d never seen her look so worn, so pained…so close to death. He shook it off and signed to the party. They rushed to the razorback, and — moving quickly but carefully — broke the spines that held it in place.

Macy squeezed her eyes shut, bared her teeth, and arched her back as the kraken shifted the creature.

Jax dropped to Macy’s side the instant the beast was free. He swept his eyes over her; they were drawn immediately to the wisps of blood flowing from her leg where her suit — and her calf beneath — had been torn to shreds.

He leaned forward and gathered her in his arms. She clung to him with surprising, desperate strength. Their eyes met; he pressed his forehead against her mask and held her gaze as he wound a tentacle around her leg to stop her bleeding.

Her scream was loud enough that he felt its vibration against the glass.

Leaving the others to tend to the razorback, Jax lifted her off the bottom. Melaina looked from Macy to Jax, her features drawn with worry and fear. The youngling swam beside him as he raced toward the Facility.

Though they hadn’t been far away, it was the longest, most difficult swim of his life; he pushed as fast as he could without jarring her, without putting any more strain on her wounded leg, without allowing more of her blood to flow. The water in the entry chamber had never drained so slowly. He wished, for a fleeting moment, that the Computer had a physical form he could rake his claws across after it spouted a cheery welcome.

“Will she be okay?” Melaina asked once the water was shallow enough to speak.

“Yes,” he said with a confidence he did not feel.

When the interior door opened, he rushed through.

“What do you need, Macy? Where do you want me to take you?”

“The infirmary,” Macy said through the mask.

“I don’t know that word. Describe the room.”

“White. Lots of tables. Beds. Red sign—” she sucked in a sharp breath through her teeth “—with two crossed lines.”

He moved as quickly as possible through the corridors, twisting his torso to ensure she didn’t bump into anything. Though he’d never heard the word she used, he knew the room she’d described, and he hit the button outside the entry with his elbow when he arrived.

The double doors slid apart, disappearing into the wall, and he hurried inside. He laid Macy atop one of the tall, narrow beds.

“Sam, release the mask.” She turned her head to the side, letting the mask fall to the floor, and dropped her hands to grip her leg just below the knee. Jax kept his tentacle tight. “Need something to slow the bleeding. A bandage. Cloth. Anything.”

Melaina was at the side of the bed, peering over the low railing. “I am sorry.”

“It’s okay. I’m glad you’re safe,” Macy’s smile was strained as she looked at the youngling.

“Gather cloth to soak up the blood,” Jax said to Melaina. The youngling hurried to do so, and Jax shifted his attention to Macy. “You are going to be fine.”

He wasn’t certain whether his words were meant to assure her, or himself.

Melaina returned with a bundle of folded cloth in her arms.

Jax took a piece from her — it looked like the sheet from one of the beds — and tore it into a more manageable strip. He took Macy’s foot in one hand and lifted it higher. She hissed; her knuckles paled as she dug her fingers into her leg.

“Just wrap it. Quick,” she said.

Clenching his jaw, he withdrew his tentacle. Blood seeped from the wounds, spilling onto the bedding beneath and staining it. Fast as he could, he wrapped the cloth around her leg and pulled it tight. Crimson blossomed across the fabric.

Macy’s breath was ragged, and tears leaked from her eyes to mingle with the sheen of sweat on her face. Her tears didn’t stop her from curling forward, taking the ends of the cloth from Jax, and trying them together. She sagged back onto the bed once she was done, chest heaving.

Humans didn’t heal like kraken did — Jax knew that much, but it wasn’t enough to help her. Had her body already suffered more than its limit? Helplessness roared inside him, an insatiable fire devouring everything, threatening to consume him. What if he did something wrong?

What if he made it worse?

“Melaina,” Jax said. The youngling shifted her wide-eyed gaze to him. “I need you to find Arkon and send him here. You know him?”

She nodded.

“Good. Do not stray from the Facility. If you see others, pass the message on and remain inside.”

Melaina turned and hurried away.

Jax leaned over Macy and cupped her face. “Tell me what you need, Macy,” he rasped.

“Need to clean the wounds,” she said. “Disinfect them.”

“I do not know what disinfect means.”

She laughed, despite her obvious pain, and lifted a hand to his cheek. “Then look for something to seal the wounds. Might look like a small gun. Or…a needle and thread. Check the cabinets.”

Jax nodded, though his body refused, at first, to move away from her.

“Go on. I’ll be right here.” She returned her hand to her leg.

He opened the nearest cabinet and ran his eyes over its contents — dozens of bottles, glass jars, and plastic pouches and boxes. Each item had human symbols on its face, and some possessed the same crossed lines that were on the sign beside the door.

“What happened?” Arkon asked from the entry.

“We need to…disinfect her wounds,” Jax said without turning away, “and seal them. Do you know anything of this?” There was so much in this cabinet alone, and most of it looked the same apart from the symbols.

“I have seen a device in some of the holograms that appeared to be used to seal wounds.” The sound of Arkon crossing the room was pronounced in his haste. “It looked like a heat gun, but it was smaller, with a long, cylindrical protrusion at the rear.”

The two searched the cabinets frantically; Jax brushed objects aside to see behind them and opened the little boxes to pour out their contents, creating a clamor. But he found nothing like what Arkon and Macy had described.

Moving backward, he swept his gaze across the room; there had to be something, somewhere, to help her. His hearts thundered against his ribs. He’d seen a few kraken bleed out during hunts, when the severity of their injuries outpaced their ability to heal.

Time was against Macy.

Jax hurried to the long counter against the wall and searched its drawers rapidly. Most were full of tools he had no name for. One of the upper drawers was larger than the rest; he tugged it open.

It contained something familiar to him, though its scale was smaller — a charging rack, like the one where the heat guns were stored. This one had four guns docked within, each with a long protrusion extending behind its narrow grips.

Jax pulled one out and turned to Arkon. “Is this it?”

Arkon nodded, and the two moved to Macy.

What little color had remained in her face was gone now. She lay with her eyes closed, her lips caught between her teeth. The cloth on her leg was so saturated that blood slowly dripped from it.

“We found something to seal the wounds, Macy,” Jax said.

“Okay. Need to take off the bandage.”

Jax wasted no time; he passed the gun into a tentacle and tore the knot apart with his claw. Macy grunted through gritted teeth, squeezing her eye shut, as he peeled off the fabric.

Arkon wiped away the freshly welling blood with another cloth. There were several jagged tears in her skin, the worst of which was as long as Jax’s finger. The shredded material of the suit lay across the wounds.

“We need to cut away the suit,” Arkon said.

Jax slipped his claws beneath the fabric and tugged up; it stretched, but did not tear. When he exerted more pressure, Macy hissed through her teeth; his knuckles were digging into her leg.

“We need to take it off,” Jax said.

He touched the plastic piece on her chest and slid his fingertips around the edges, releasing the seal along the back. Despite his care when he tilted her onto her side, Macy cried out in pain. With Arkon’s help, Jax pulled the suit down, rolling it off her arms. They lifted her lower half to pull it past her waist. She bent her uninjured leg to help remove it from the suit.

There was no way to remove the suit from her injured leg without causing pain, so Jax did it as quickly as possible. Macy writhed on the bed, limbs trembling, and clutched one of his arms. Her fingers bit into his flesh.

Once the suit was off, she eased back onto the bed, breathing heavily. Jax tossed the suit aside as Arkon draped a sheet over her torso and thighs.

Jax picked up the gun and stared at Macy’s ravaged leg. It didn’t look nearly as bad as the razorback’s head, but that counted for nothing.

“How do I use it?”

Arkon held his hand out. “I’ve seen it in use.”

Without hesitation, Jax handed the gun to Arkon. “Quickly.”

Nodding, Arkon leaned over her leg. With two fingers, he pushed one of the gashes closed. Macy whimpered. Arkon pressed the tip of the gun to her skin and pulled the trigger.

Macy’s entire body tensed, and her mouth opened in a scream that was, for several terrifying moments, silent. She thrashed, pulling her leg away, and nearly rolled off the bed.

“I thought you knew how to use it!” Jax shouted, catching Macy by her shoulders.

“I do! But…I’ve only seen it used on unconscious individuals.” Arkon grasped her ankle to hold her leg still. “It’s working. Hold her down, and I will seal her wounds as quickly as I can.”

Jax met Macy’s glistening, desperate eyes.

“I need something to bite down on,” she said.

Jax tore a piece off the sheet and twisted it into a tight bundle. She opened her mouth, and he placed it between her teeth. She bit down.

He leaned over her, repositioning his tentacles to take hold of her thighs, and pressed some of his weight atop her. “Focus on me, Macy.”

Her eyes widened for an instant before she squeezed them shut again. She writhed beneath him, and Jax increased the pressure on her limbs so she wouldn’t jar Arkon as he worked.

“On me, Macy,” he repeated, more firmly. “Listen to me. Hear me. What you did was foolish. You are luckier than you may ever know to be alive right now.”

The cloth in her mouth muffled her scream. When she was able to open her eyes, she kept them on Jax. Her gaze was filled with pain, but there was something else beneath it. Determination.

“I told you to stay here, for your own safety, and you disobeyed me,” Jax continued. “Somewhere beneath my worry is anger…but the youngling is alive because of you. You saved her life, and though you risked death, this is not your final day. You have proven yourself a hunter today, a warrior.

“My pride for you is beyond words.”

Moisture flowed from her eyes. She grasped his arms tighter, digging her blunt nails into his skin.

Arkon turned her leg and squeezed the trigger again.

Macy arched her back. Jax shifted his weight to keep her pelvis on the bed and her thighs pinned. Her pupils expanded before rolling up, displaying only whites, and she sagged, limp, onto the bed.

“Macy!”

“What happened?” Arkon asked.

Jax pressed a shaky hand to her chest, trying to ignore his pounding hearts. He closed his eyes, clenched his jaw tight enough that he risked breaking his teeth, and stilled.

Faintly, he felt the beat of her heart under his palm; it was slow and weak, but it was there. Relief eased some of his panic.

“She lost consciousness,” he replied. “Finish quickly.”

As Arkon resumed his work, Jax cupped Macy’s cheek. Her skin was cold and clammy; less than an hour before, she’d been warm, vibrant, full of life. “You will be fine, Macy,” he said, voice rumbling from his chest.