Page 20 of The Kraken Games

He was even more determined now to crack through her shell.

“Let me try and get a conversation out of you.”

“Good luck.” But he liked the way she smirked into her drink, her mouth hitching up at one corner.

“Okay.” He huffed. “What do you do for a living?”

“Work on the docks. Packing in the warehouses.”

Kai hid his surprise. “But… aren’t you human?”

“Yep.”

“So how come you’re working in the East Quarter?”

He’d never heard of a human working on the east side of Motham. Industrial jobs would be considered beneath them. The few progressive humans who did work in Motham hung out in the commercial Hole in the Wall District, in professional roles.

She shrugged again. “Long story.”

“I sense you’re not planning to tell me.”

She made a gun firing gesture with two fingers. “You got it.”

Kai pushed his luck. “Give me the short version.”

She cast him a surprised look, then another little smirk made her cheeks bunch. Made her almost pretty. “I got stuck here as a kid. Needed money. Got a job on the docks.”

“You got stuck here. How come?”

“Mislaid my family. “

“How?”

He sensed her stiffen. She slugged back her drink before answering. “I don’t talk about what’s gone.”

“How about what’s to come?”

“Not that either. My turn. How come you’re The Chosen this year?”

Kai smothered a grin. “Why should I tell you?”

“Cos I asked.”

“After your rather mediocre performance, I’m inclined to give you one-word answers.”

She shrugged. “I’ll piece ’em together.”

He grinned. “My whole story was on the screen earlier. Were you here for it?”

“Yeah, I saw it.” She skimmed her eyes down his body and her gaze lit up his synapses. “Didn’t really believe it though.”

“Why not?”

“It was too good to be true. Life isn’t like that.”

“Mine has been.”

“Liar.”

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