Page 83 of Jewel of the Sea

Danger. Danger!

But his back was to her.

“Damnit!” Her gaze flicked back up to the boat as it continued its course.

It was likely nothing — just a fishing boat from The Watch, perhaps with Macy’s father on board. But she couldn’t see any nets or fishing lines trailing in the water behind it.

“Your heart rate has accelerated,” Sam said, startling her. “Do you require assistance?”

“No. Nothing you can help with, Sam.” Aymee searched for Arkon again, tapping her foot on the ground in indecision. He’d told her to stay put, but what if they needed to leave? What if there were hunters on that boat, searching for them? Arkon still hadn’t looked her way.

She needed to reposition herself to catch his attention.

Aymee stepped off the rock and walked across the sand, careful to avoid the small, swaying plants. She glanced up and finally caught Arkon’s gaze when the ground beneath her moved.

His eyes widened, and his skin flared yellow.

Danger!

The sand under Aymee burst upward, and something huge rose out of it. She tumbled backward, only for the thing to slam into her and send her spinning, annihilating her sense of direction. Fear spiked through her. A cloud of sand obscured the water all around, offering only a glimpse of the beast that had emerged.

The small of her back came down on the edge of the rock formation. Pain arced along her spine. The surrounding water moved in a torrent, and Sam said something, but she couldn’t understand his words over her own rasping breaths. Aymee scrambled away, shoving herself along the bottom, as the creature charged.

It was fully in her view for only a moment, but that was long enough for it to be forever burned into her memory. Wide mandibles extended to either side of its mouth, likely acting as funnels to direct food toward the rows of razor-sharp teeth at the middle, and thick, paddle-like fins pumped along its belly. The hump on its hard-shelled top resembled the surrounding rocks. Its small, black eyes — six of them arranged over the toothy part of its mouth — were directed at her.

In a surge of motion, Arkon slammed into the creature’s belly. His momentum threw off its course, and it spun aside, thrashing to right itself. Aymee’s breath caught in her throat.

Sam’s voice seemed to contain a hint of alarm, but she still couldn’t decipher his words; all her attention was on the struggle before her, leaving room for nothing else.

Arkon latched onto the beast — which was at least as long as him and almost twice as wide — wrapped his tentacles around it, and jabbed its belly repeatedly with his claws. It bucked and kicked its fins to dislodge the kraken, but Arkon didn’t relent. His tentacles coiled tighter. Cracks appeared in the beast’s shell.

Blood clouded the water, mingling with the still-settling sand.

Don’t let him be hurt!

The creature came down on its back, slamming into the rock hard enough for Aymee to feel the vibration of its impact. She scrabbled away, heart in her throat. She couldn’t take her eyes off Arkon.

Bending, the creature waved its mandibles to catch hold of Arkon. He brought both his hands down on its chin, burying his claws in the soft flesh of its underside. More blood flowed as he forced its head down into the rock. Keeping it pinned with one arm, he drew the other back and struck, over and over.

The beast’s frantic thrashing kicked up more sand, impeding Aymee’s vision for a moment.

When the cloud cleared, the creature was still, and Arkon’s siphons flared. There were several wounds on his torso and arms from which trickles of blood drifted into the water. He turned his head, met Aymee’s eyes, and suddenly released the beast, rushing to her.

Arkon grasped her upper arms and ran his eyes over her. Then he drew her into a tight embrace. His tentacles slid around her, and the two of them sank to the bottom, but he didn’t let go.

“Do you require assistance?” Sam asked, his voice finally breaking through as her panic eased. “Would you like me to send a distress signal?”

“I’m fine.” Aymee wrapped her arms around Arkon, holding him just as tightly. She waited until her heart settled and her trembling subsided before she guided Arkon to lean back.

“I’m okay, Arkon.” He couldn’t hear her, but she hoped he’d understand. She placed a hand on his jaw and stroked his cheek. His eyes were dilated, possessing a fearful gleam. Red mist drifted through the water between them. Aymee frowned, dropping her gaze to the various wounds on his chest, shoulders, and arms.

She didn’t know as much about the ocean as Macy, but Aymee knew blood attracted predators. “We need to go, Arkon.” She motioned to his wounds.

He glanced down and frowned but didn’t seem concerned. His hold on her didn’t relent.

“Arkon.” He didn’t look up, so she cupped his face and directed his eyes back to her. “We need to go. It’s too dangerous, and you need to get those taken care of.” To illustrate her point, she gestured to his injuries, then back to the creature he’d just killed, and finally in the direction of the base.

Turning his head, he looked over his shoulder at the beast. When he looked back to Aymee, he drew her against him, tentacles guiding her legs up and around his waist.

---