Page 45 of Kringle and the Kraken

“They’ll laugh me out of town, or worse, they will harm one of us.”

“Did Kristopher laugh? Did he attack you?”

“No, but I think he’s the exception to the rule.”

“Do not be so sure. Make the talismans first. Bring them to everyone in the town. When the movement for revealing ourselves is right, you will know. Trust your hearts.”

She turned back to the silverware, and I knew I’d been dismissed.

While revealing the whole sea monster community felt daunting, making talismans for the town was something actionable I could do.

Possibly.

Hopefully.

And Kris was going to help me.

There was just one part I needed to figure out, and maybe I’d oversimplified the process when I’d sort of explained it to Kris last night when he’d asked me if I was capable of getting him pregnant like some sort of alien.

I could feel the magic at the core of myself, but I had no idea how to access it or get it out of my body.

Which meant I was going to need to talk to someone who had experience with this kind of thing.

I was going to need to call my parents. I needed to figure out why they hadn’t told me the Shoals were supposed to be in Lifeboat anyway.

They had given me a lot of shit about my move, and while they loved me, and I knew they just wanted what was best for me, I hadn’t spoken to them since I’d departed Baleen. I’d spoken to my brother, Lake, and he’d given me updates on how they were doing, but I hadn’t actually made the call myself.

It was time. With Marvin’s revelations still fresh, it was past time.

After the windows at Kori’s restaurant were securely boarded up, Kris left with his brothers to work the Sunday shift at the tree farm, and I’d puttered around my apartment, loving that mysheets smelled like Kris and trying to psych myself up for the call I needed to make.

“Come on, Levi. They’re your parents. You can do this.” The silence of my apartment didn’t answer back, so I took a deep breath and pulled out my phone, my finger hovering over my father’s phone number until I closed my eyes and tapped the screen to connect the call.

My father answered on the third ring.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Dad. It’s Levi.”

“It’s about time you called. Your mother and I were trying to give you your space. I know you think we’re too old to understand, but we remember what it was like to be young and want to spread your wings.”

That was kind of a surprise. I thought they were still mad I left.

“We of course wish you would have stayed.”

And there it was.

“But we do understand.”

And now I was off-kilter again. Not a great way to start what was bound to be an embarrassing conversation.

“Uh, thanks. I appreciate that.”

“Of course.” There was a long pause before my dad asked, “So, how are you? How are things in Lifeboat? Are you finding what you were looking for?”

Leave it to my father to come at me with all the hard questions right out of the gate, but this was exactly the opening I needed to clear the air on a few things.

“Dad, did you know that when Grandfather left, the ley line magic didn’t replace him with another kraken?”

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