Page 76 of The Kraken Games

As she walked toward Motham’s Hole in The Wall district, and he turned toward the south, Kai tried not to think of that, or the other goodbye he would have to say, a mere few days from now.

It was late afternoon as Kai sat waiting beside the hot pools, remembering when he’d met Luna here the night before their big fight. When she’d told him why she hated krakens.

He hoped that that wasn’t true now—at least for one of his species.

He heard the sound of her outboard motor, saw the boat approaching. She moored on the rocks and tied up, jumped out with a small pack on her back. Kai got to his feet and hoisted his own pack of supplies. “Shall we go?”

She hesitated. He saw her glance at the pools and a slug of desire hit him as he imagined caressing her in the warm water, his tentacles moving between her folds, the way her head would kick back, and her mouth fall open in ecstasy as she broke apart for him.

His cock hardened, and deep in his belly his mating arm stirred. Surely his body had the sense to know Luna could not be his mate?

Obviously not. Fuck his stupid hormones.

“How’d it go with the wolf journo?”

She gave an exaggerated shudder. “Their teeth were so off-putting. But I suitably groveled and humiliated myself. Said I’d played on your kind hearts, and you really did believe I was drowning when you released me. I made a big thing of how I’d lured you and seduced you for my own gain. I looked like a right shitty human.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be, I’m used to people thinking I’m scum.” Her smile was bright, too bright. “And anyway, I’ve now got what I’ve always wanted. To reunite with Tomas.”

It hung between them, unspoken, the words he longed to ask.Is that all you want?But he pinned his lips, said instead, “It’s another full day’s walk and a fair bit of wading and swimming to get there, so maybe we should get started, and eat when we put down for the night.”

She agreed, and they started off, matching their steps along the rocky coastal path. As they walked, they talked about the hearing in the High Court Cave, Luna asking him about their laws and Kai doing his best to explain them. Suddenly she asked, “So what’s it like, Thedaka?”

How did you describe it to a land-dweller. “Oh, you know, a big city. Full of kraken.”

“Yeah, I gathered that.”

“It’s beautiful— now.”

“How do you mean? Wasn’t it before?”

“When I was a kid, Thedaka was a harsh place to live. Mainly just rocky seabed and a few weeds, very few fish. We struggled to survive. The pollution and military bombardment over thecenturies had killed a lot of our sea life, and many other species left for more fertile waters. Maybe the Thedakians should have, but we’re a stubborn bunch, I guess, so we resisted the humans, hunted further afield, grew what we could amid the bleached coral. Yeah, it was grim. But then, after the Treaty—I don’t know—over a decade or so things improved. The coral started to regrow, species returned in their droves, the plants and sea grasses multiplied. We now live in a lush underwater world, with coral in abundance. Our fish stocks are plentiful, we eat well, live well…”

“Sounds like nirvana under the sea.”

“I guess it is.” So why did his hearts sink at the idea of going back there?

Quickly he changed the subject. “We’ve been walking a fair while, do you want to stop, eat, set up for the night?”

“Right. Yes, this is a good spot I guess.” She glanced around the wide slab of rocky outcrop on the edge of a curved bay.

“I’ll go grab us a fish,” Kai said.

“Okay, I’ll light us a fire.”

“Fair exchange.” He dived in and quickly caught them a couple of fish, twisting their necks swiftly to make sure they didn’t suffer and thanking the gods of the deep for providing them as sustenance. You had to respect the life you were a part of.

When he climbed back up, Luna was crouched over a small fire. Her eyes widened at his catch.

“Wow, I can’t really compete with that.” With a smirk, she rummaged around in her pack and presented him with a cob of bread and a piece of rather stale-looking cheese. “All I had left in the house.”

“You sure love a feast.”

“Food has never really been a priority for me, other than when I was building fitness to…”

“To…?”

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