Page 56 of Jewel of the Sea

“Do you really require me to repeat everything I just told you?”

“Have you learned nothing from Jax?” Dracchus demanded. “This is foolish, Arkon. You told us the humans have hunters seeking our kind, and now you have taken one of their females?”

“I didn’ttakeher, Dracchus,” Arkon said, squeezing the container’s handles. “The situation with the hunters has...escalated, and she was no longer safe there.”

Dracchus straightened, lips parting and eyes widening. “They saw you.”

Arkon clenched his jaw. Perhaps later, he’d find amusement in how he’d not cared for Dracchus’s opinions, one way or another, a few months ago.

The air around Dracchus crackled; his frustration was palpable. “You put our people at risk, Arkon, over a human.”

The guilt that had been building within Arkon flared and twisted into anger in a flash.

“Haveyoulearned nothing from Jax?” Arkon growled. “My connection to that human is stronger than I have to any of our people, and I have done no wrong in spending time with her.”

“She is your mate, then?”

Arkon hesitated; his instinct was to replyyes, but that wasn’t true no matter how much he yearned for it. “It’s…complicated. And what difference does it make? She helped Jax escape, so has she not proven herself a friend of our kind?”

A hint of crimson pulsed over Dracchus’s skin. “The risk to our people was great enough during the situation with Macy. The danger has only increased, and you pushed on even though you were directly aware of the greater danger. We do not know the capabilities of these human hunters. What if they are able to reach our home?”

“They are but a single, small group of humans! They do not represent the entirety of their race.”

“That Macy, Jax, and Sarina are here, safe and content, should tell you I know that, Arkon.” Dracchus spoke through clenched teeth, his jaw muscles bulging. “Whether there is one of them or one hundred, they are an open threat to us. Yours is not the only blood that might cloud the water.”

Arkon snapped his mouth shut. He’d been the one who endangered their people this time. The kraken had avoided detection by humans for hundreds of years; a few more months should have been simple. All Arkon had to do was stay away until the hunters decided The Watch was a waste of their time.

But he couldn’t stay away from Aymee. Arkon refused to abandon her; even if she’d not chosen him yet, he’d chosen her.

“This needs to stop, Arkon.”

“So...you will help me transport the necessary supplies to Aymee?”

Dracchus furrowed his brow and leaned back. “What?”

“I’ll have many things to carry. The journey would be quicker with your help.”

“Did you listen to anything I said?”

Arkon held out the container to Dracchus. “Yes. And you’re correct. But that doesn’t change my decision.”

“Arkon, you—”

“I have chosen. You have a choice, as well. You can forget you saw me, and I will return to the Broken Cavern, laden with supplies for Aymee. You can tell the others that I am keeping a human and give Kronus another supposed betrayal to rail against. Or you can help me, and know that I would be immensely grateful, as little as my gratitude must be worth. Howeveryouchoose, I am returning to her.

“What’s done is done. She did not want to leave her people behind, but for now, she has. I do not wish to leave my people behind, but I will if I am forced to make a choice.”

Dracchus was silent for a long while as he scrutinized Arkon, his expression surprisingly difficult to read.

“If you consider it a matter of honor or duty, Dracchus, I will accept your challenge.”

Those words seemed to strike Dracchus deeper than anything else Arkon had said. The big kraken’s eyes flared for a moment in surprise, and he shook his head. “You have declined my challenges for years.”

“I am aware.”

“Abyss take you, Arkon,” Dracchus grumbled. He accepted the container.

Arkon turned away and released a shaky breath. He’d taken a gamble in pushing Dracchus; their exchange had been more likely to end with the two of them out in the water, facing one another down in front of a crowd. There was no time for such displays.

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