Page 57 of Jewel of the Sea

He collected another container from the wall. Before he moved away, the lockers caught his attention.

Encountering Dracchus in here had disrupted what little clarity of purpose Arkon possessed when he’d entered — he might’ve left without taking a diving suit for Aymee.

Placing the container on a nearby bench, he retrieved a PDS and the accompanying mask from one of the lockers. The system’s outward simplicity belied its sophistication; the relatively small piece of black material stretched to fit the wearer’s body almost perfectly, and, when paired with the mask — itself looking like a plain, curved piece of glass or plastic — protected the user from variations in pressure and temperature, in addition to filtering oxygen out of the surrounding water.

He placed the items in the container, closed it, and carried the chest to Dracchus.

“What else?” the big kraken asked.

“Fresh water. I believe there are suitable containers for that in the room attached to the Mess. And food. We’ll need to see if Macy has any she can spare for the time being.”

“Is there truly going to be this much food?” Dracchus dipped his chin toward the chest he was holding.

“Not likely,” Arkon replied, moving through the doorway and into the hall, with Dracchus just behind, “but I am certain there are other things I will need to bring.”

“She has shelter, and you are bringing food. What more could she require?”

“I don’t know. Human things.”

Dracchus grunted.

They stopped in the Mess. In the connected room — Macy called it a kitchen and used it to cook her meals — Arkon located two large plastic jugs. He rinsed them out, filled them with water from the sink, fastened their lids, and placed them in Dracchus’s container. Dracchus frowned but said nothing.

Arkon led the way to the Cabins at a rapid pace, his sense of urgency restored now that he’d obtained assistance.

Jax and Macy’s door was open when Arkon reached it. He peered around the doorframe to see Jax — the mighty hunter and explorer — near the bed, making strange, exaggerated expressions to entertain the youngling in his arms.

Arkon tapped the edge of the chest on the doorframe.

Jax looked up and smiled. “We expected to see you yesterday. Come inside, Arkon.”

Despite the invitation and the countless hours he’d spent in this room with Jax, Macy, and Sarina, Arkon always felt as though he were intruding upon a private space when he entered. He supposed it was a simple matter of his people’s ways having been ingrained in him since childhood — kraken kept to their own dens. Entering another kraken’s den was enough to spark a fight.

Arkon crossed the threshold.

Jax furrowed his brow when he looked at the chest in Arkon’s hand, and his eyes widened when Dracchus entered behind Arkon.

“My instinct says I should not ask,” Jax said.

“Is Macy in?” Arkon knew Jax wouldn’t allow her to wander far without one of the three kraken present alongside her and at least two weapons on her person, but he couldn’t stand there in silence.

“She just stepped out of the shower.” Frowning, Jax’s eyes shifted from Arkon to Dracchus and back again. Sarina wrapped her tentacles around his forearm and made little cooing sounds. She turned her large eyes to Arkon.

“Oh. Well, I suppose we will wait until she is all done.” Arkon turned and placed the container on the floor. When he rose, he moved to Jax and held the tip of a tentacle to Sarina. She latched onto it with her little fist and shook it before bringing it to her mouth “She’s getting strong.”

“Arkon…” Jax said.

There was a thump as Dracchus put down his chest, and he came up immediately behind Arkon, looking over his shoulder. Sarina turned her attention to the big kraken and smiled. She released her hold on both Arkon and her father and stretched her chubby arms toward Dracchus.

Arching a brow, Arkon moved aside. His surprise and confusion were mirrored in Jax’s face as Dracchus gently lifted Sarina and brought her close. Her tentacles wrapped around his wrists and her hands cupped his cheeks. She made more of her baby sounds and blew out of her siphons.

Dracchus mimicked her, and she smiled so broadly that she nearly tipped backward.

Jax and Arkon exchanged a perplexed look.

The bathroom door opened and Arkon’s gaze shifted to Macy as she stepped out. She paused, one foot over the threshold, before a smile brightened on her face. “Arkon!”

She approached them, casting a warm look at Dracchus and Sarina as though it wasn’t a strange sight. “It never stops surprising me how fast she’s advancing compared to a human newborn.” Her smile faded slightly. “She’s only four weeks old but she’s so alert, and she’s more responsive and mobile than a six-month-old. I feel like she’s growing too fast.”

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