Page 48 of The Kraken Games

Her chest had red welts across it from the impact of his tentacles, but she’d hardly felt any of it at the time. The fight was a big blur of moving parts; all she remembered vividly was coming to with Kai’s mouth covering hers, breathing for her,withher.

Then his tentacle pushing her to the surface.

Tovictory.

Afterward, she’d just wanted to find him, ask him what the fuck had happened back there, but of course she’d had to attend her own victory celebrations. Somehow, with Marrick by her side she got through the formalities, but as soon as she could, she’d excused herself, gone to the change rooms and squeezed herself out of the tiny window. She’d searched everywhere around the empty stadium, but there was no sign of Kai. Or Shen. Or any of the kraken support team. Had they already left? Gone back to Thedaka?

Eventually she’d wandered dejectedly toward the jetty, hoping to see him there. But no. In the end all she could do wasgo home. There was only one water taxi on the docks, Wyatt and his stinky old selkie fishing boat. She disliked Wyatt intensely. He was the antithesis of his brother Noah, was often drunk on cheap ale, and was known around town as a real user. He wasn’t to be trusted, but he was the only guy who could get her home. She was too tired to walk over the bridge to the marshes. Too demoralized.

So much for the elation of winning. Huh.

And of course, Wyatt had charged her too much, the schmuck. “Congratulations, darlin’.” He’d made a pass with a flipper as she pulled out her wallet, his breath foul and heavy with alcohol. She’d paid him and hopped off the boat faster than a school of fish being chased by a shark. “Those tentacled tossers have had their day,” he called after her. “Two fucking years in a row they’ve lost. We’ll be able to get our boats into deeper waters now.”

“Never goin’ to happen,” she grunted.

He’d shrugged, grinning. “Tween humans will be happy to know one of their own won.”

That got to her. She turned and spat out, “I’m not one of them.”

Gods, the last thing she needed was to be lauded as a hero by high breeds. Her shoulders slumped with relief as she saw his battered old boat heading back toward the docks.

Alone now, in the bath, nursing her wounds, she tried to make sense of why Kai would have let her win. Did this mean he was willing to help her? Or was he just going to disappear into the ocean and renege on that?

Urghh, the situation was so confusing, her feelings for him even more so. And she hated feeling confused. Anger, sadness, loneliness, she could handle all of them. But not these mixed-up emotions she had for Kai.

She pulled herself together.

Okay Luna, plan.

The prize money. She wouldn’t accept it. She’d return the cup in exchange for a meeting with the clan’s elders. She’d renounce the win. Say she cheated. She rubbed her forehead. There were the logistics of a meeting to consider. She’d heard it said that many of their clan elders had never walked on land.

But how would she manage to talk to them down there?

Idiot. She’d had a crackbrain plan and now that it had come to fruition, she had no fucking idea how to execute it.

Suddenly all her revenge fantasies seemed nothing more than hot air, evaporating in the steam around her.

Gods, she wasn’t a winner, she was a loser. Through and through.

Edith had always called her that. Well, Edith was right, shewasa loser, a stupid dumb loser of a lost human. In fact, she’d probably end up like Edith, eating the little bony fish that floated into the marshes, barely making money from badly made shell pots. Bitter and alone.

Hah! I’m bitter and alone now. What’s the fucking difference?

With a groan, Luna sank lower in the warm water and stretched out her sore limbs. At least the claw bath she’d found on the side of the road a few years back was big enough to fully recline in. Drown her sorrows in. She couldn’t remember being in this much pain, physically or mentally, in years…

It was true what they said, wasn’t it? Be careful what you wish for.

And then, damn it, she thought of another way those kraken tentacles had wound around her, giving pleasure, not pain. And how good that had felt… so fucking good.

A prickly feeling hit the back of her throat and eyes. What, was she going to cry now? She never cried.

The sound of something brushing against the window startled her. There was only water this side of the house. Outside her bathroom, the marshes gave way to the deeper waters of the river. Marsh critters didn’t tap on the glass. They slid in, sure, when she left the window open, but they neverasked.

Tap tap.

There it was again.

Kneeling in the bath, Luna put her face to the window, cupping her hand against the glass. And screamed.

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