Page 33 of Jewel of the Sea

“Sounds like the same sort of justification I made when I found Macy.” Jax ran a hand over the stripes on his head. “Perhaps it is worth an attempt. It may benefit future hunts.”

“I do not understand what secrets the two of you keep,” Dracchus said, “or why you are set on doing this differently. Do youknowit will work?”

A lie would have been easy — theeasiestresponse, perhaps, and the most likely to result in the outcome Arkon wanted. But even now he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He was adept at half-truths and withholding information, but an outright lie felt wrong.

“No. I believe it will work, but I cannot say for sure.”

Nothing is certain.

Somehow, Dracchus’s frown deepened. Once, that would have given Arkon a smug sense of satisfaction, but now it only compounded his guilt.

I have always done my duty, regardless of how the others viewed me. I should feel no guilt for seeking out my own contentment, not after all this time.

“We will try your way. I will have the two of you wait on the bottom while the rest of us guide the fish into the area.”

“You do not want to participate in the kill?” Jax asked.

“It would bring me joy,” Dracchus admitted, “but you are both faster. You are more likely to make the kill and drag it clear before chaos erupts. I will not be far, in any case, and can lead the others to take down outlying targets beyond the first.”

They submerged and returned to the hunting ground. Arkon lowered himself to the rocks beside Jax, and they both took up the long, metal spears they’d brought from the facility. Changing his skin to match the stone, he watched Dracchus direct the others with a series of quick, concise signs.

The hunters rose from their waiting places, spread out in a wide formation, and swam slowly toward the reef, keeping close to the bottom. Their confusion was apparent — and Kronus’s rage undiminished — but they had accepted Dracchus’s leadership by following him after the challenge. Inquiries would be saved until they were home again.

The kraken moved like a closing net, slowly drawing their formation tighter. Startled by the approach of predators, many of the fish panicked and fled; the kraken served as a funnel, guiding the fish toward the open patch of sand.

Adjusting his hold on his weapon, Arkon thrust aside all other thought; it proved more difficult than ever before, but he could focus only on the hunt now, only on the kill. He and Jax crept closer to the edge of the rock.

The shadow of the approaching fish darted across the bottom a moment before the creatures passed overhead. The kraken kept on the fish’s flanks, holding their formation. Their weapons gleamed in the sunlight. They were too high, though, to make a killing blow — sandseekers had to be attacked from beneath.

The sound of rushing water produced by the fleeing creatures was suddenly overpowered by something deeper, something felt more than heard — the sudden displacement of a large amount of water.

A few body lengths ahead, a sandseeker leapt from the bottom. A cloud of sand rose with it, particles streaming from the crevices on its armored back. Its broad, flat belly fins paddled frantically, pushing it toward the approaching fish.

Arkon darted forward, trusting Jax was directly alongside him. He came into the shadow of the sandseeker, his vision obscured by the sand, and twisted. He was just able to see the underside of its jaw in the murk.

He thrust his spear upward.

The sandseeker thrashed as Arkon’s spear connected at the same instant Jax’s weapon plunged into its soft underside. The creature’s upward momentum shifted. It bent its broad body, angling its mouth down — mandibles spread to the sides to reveal its jagged teeth — and directed itself straight at Jax and Arkon.

Barely keeping hold of his spear, Arkon shoved himself away as the sandseeker’s mouth hit the sand, sending up another cloud in its thrashing. Arkon wrapped two tentacles around the haft of his weapon and pushed it forward, twisting the head inside the creature. Jax entered his peripheral vision, took a firmer grip on his own spear, and the two of them used the leverage of the weapons to force the sandseeker onto its back.

Its struggles were short-lived; the other kraken swarmed the beast, hitting it with more spears.

Arkon felt the thrumming movement of water again as another sandseeker emerged nearby.

Dracchus and three other kraken — Kronus among them — rushed forward as the beast leapt high, parting its mandibles to sweep a cluster of fish into its toothy maw. Before it sank, the kraken hit it from below with spears and harpoons fired from guns. Its blood mingled with the sand in a miasma of crimson and gold.

As more sandseekers erupted from the seafloor, the kraken hurriedly dragged their kills to the rocks, away from the agitated predators. They pulled their weapons free of the carcasses and bundled them with ropes to be hauled home, working quickly and without instruction.

Dracchus signaled his approval to Arkon, who nodded in acknowledgment.

Now that the hunt was successful, he wanted nothing more than to go to Aymee. There was still time.

But at this point, his sudden departure would only rouse suspicion. He wasn’t ready to have the sort of confrontations Jax had gone through with the other kraken. Impatience was no reason to cause potential future trouble for Aymee; he wanted one day to bring her among his people to tell them all with pride:She is my mate.

He’d have to wait until the kill had been returned to the Facility.

It was the longest journey of his life.

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