Page 52 of The Kraken Games

Kai couldn’t help a lip quirk. Snarky Luna was back. He’d almost been missing her.

“Look, if I admit I didn’t actually win—that you saved my sorry ass down there, humans in Tween and Twill won’t see this as a human victory. They’ll still fear Kraken kind.”

“No. They’ll think I was a pushover. And that if I allowed that to happen, other krakens have likely gone soft too.”

“No, Kai, really.” She untangled her legs and put her glass down, leaning forward eagerly. “You can work it in your favor. Your people can make an example of me. I promise I’ll grovel and say whatever I’m told to, humiliate myself totally… if…. your leaders will tell me what happened to Tomas.”

“Supposing they don’t know?”

“The kraken that attacked our boat and took Tomas were blue. Your people are the only kraken clan with blue skin. You think I haven’t researched that?”

He nodded, sipping his whisky, feeling the burn of it down his throat. The only other kraken tribe lived many nautical miles to the north of the mountain range and were a deep red. They were rarely known to frequent the waters near Motham.

No, it had to be Theradakians.

But if Luna’s dates were correct, why had his people so flagrantly flouted the Treaty? The Treaty that had been put into place because of the death of kraken kids, and his own terrible injuries. Why would they risk more bombings? Suddenly he felt confused. Let down by his own people. He slammed his glass onto the crate next to hers, then winced as one of his scarred tentacles went into spasm. As he flexed it out, to his surprise she turned and placed her hand on it, softly stroking the ridges of his scars. Sharp pain like a knife traveled into his shoulder and he groaned.

“What happened to you?”

Kai hesitated, unsure how much to tell her. “A bomb, planted by humans went off just outside the sacred caves.”

“When?”

“When I was six years old. We were at a school camp. I was lucky, several of my friends were killed.”

She didn’t answer, but he felt her gaze steady on him. “My kind did this to you?”

“Yeah, like I said, it works both ways.”

“I’m—sorry.”

“Why?” He frowned at her. “You didn’t do it.”

“But some humans did. How can you even bear to be here with me?”

“What’s the point of hating a species?”

“Is that directed at me? For what I said about kraken?”

Kai raised his brows in mock naivety. “What exactly did you say, Luna? I can’t quite remember.”

She stuck her tongue out at him. “Maybe I don’t hateallkraken,” she muttered, and even in the lamp light he thought he saw her blushing.

For a moment they were silent, both of them watching her fingertips stroke over his tentacle.

“When I touch you like this, does it hurt?”

“It’s kind of weird. Numb and painful at the same time. Sometimes it’s okay to be touched, other times it flares up. But with all the fighting this week… my nerves are super sensitive.”

“I kicked you real hard on your scars.”

“Yep. I recall.”

“What’s this feel like?” she asked, turning her hand and stroking the back of it softly along scar tissue.

“Pins and needles. Sometimes I describe it as an army of ants under the skin.” He laughed bitterly. “Not that kraken would know that. Sea lice maybe.”

“Sounds nasty.”

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