Page 89 of Heart of the Deep

“What’s going to happen now?” Randall asked.

Vengeance. Bloodshed. A reckoning…

No. Ector’s wisdom had been sound; those things would not help Larkin and the others, not now.

“We rest,” Dracchus said, running the pad of his thumb over Larkin’s cheek, “and recover. Together. Once we are well, we will call all our people together. This treachery will not go unpunished.”

Chapter 21

In all his years, Dracchus had never seen the Mess so full. The room had always seemed spacious, even with a few dozen gathered inside, but now it felt small and cramped. His mind wanted to dismiss the number of kraken in the room as some sort of deception, as an illusion, an impossibility.

But these were his people. Not all of them, but more than had ever come to such gatherings. Even the females had come in great number, many clutching younglings — of which there were still too few.

Uncertain silence gripped them, broken only by the occasional, indecipherable murmur. Many of them knew what had happened by now — that two human females and five kraken, including three younglings, had been poisoned — but none had been told the purpose of this meeting.

Larkin moved to his side, pressing a warm hand to the small of his back. “They’re here.”

His gaze followed hers down the narrow path leading to the doorway. Kronus entered first, a telling distance between him and the kraken who once followed him. The only evidence remaining of his harpoon wound was a puckered scar.

Neo and his supporters came after, in a tight cluster, faces drawn in suspicion as they took in the crowd.

It’d been six days since the incident. Six days of worry spent at Larkin’s side as she recovered, six days of feeling powerless to help the people he cared about. That time had been broken only by a brief trip to the kitchen with Randall and Ikaros. The prixxir had shied away from the meat in the cold storage room, and Arkon’s scanner had confirmed it was all tainted. They’d disposed of it all, disposed of dozens of hours’ worth of hunting and gathering, forcing a small party of trustworthy kraken — led by Vasil and Brexes — to go catch more fish.

The afflicted had eaten little during that time. Dracchus glanced at Larkin and frowned. She tired easily and still looked paler than normal.

Despite his gentle efforts, it had taken three days for her to agree to eat anything. After she’d vomited up those bits of food, she’d gone another full day before her next attempt.

Her appetite had yet to recover — even now, when she did eat, it was in portions tiny enough to scarce satisfy a newborn.

Thankfully, the younglings had made a more complete recovery. Jace and Sarina were likely to forget the incident. Melaina, on the other hand, was old enough to remember what had happened. To remember that her own people had done this. Dracchus could only hope she’d develop the wisdom to understand that those who’d done her harm were part of a small group that did not represent all kraken.

Kronus moved to a place opposite Dracchus and stood with his head bowed, oddly calm and quiet. Neo flashed crimson as he glared at Dracchus’s companions, but it was Garon who spoke.

“Why are the humans here?”

“Because they are our people,” Ector said, the voices around them lowering as the elder kraken spoke. He was positioned in the center of the open area along the wall — Dracchus’s contingent occupied the space to his right, while Kronus and Neo’s group filled in the left. Ector was flanked by three other elder kraken, two males and a female.

“They are not kraken,” Neo growled. “They do not belong here.”

Ikaros stepped forward with a low growl, but Randall placed a hand upon the prixxir, calming him. “Stay.”

“Take your place,” Ector said to Neo calmly, waving his hand to the left. “Grievances will be presented soon.”

Dracchus locked his eyes on Neo. He concentrated on not allowing his skin to change color, on keeping his expression neutral; it was among the most difficult endeavor’s he’d ever undertaken. Rage roiled inside him like the sea thrashing during a storm.

They’d been mistaken to think Kronus was the true threat. Kronus had lost control.

Kraken gathered behind Neo; Orphus and Garon foremost, with Leda slipping in beside them. Kronus remained apart from them, alone until Aja, another female, moved to stand with him.

“What is this about, Dracchus?” a male kraken asked from the crowd.

“You have not heard?” another replied.

The female elder, Ceres, raised her arms. “All shall be told,” she called, and the crowd fell into silence. She looked at Ector.

“I have seen three generations of kraken grow to adulthood in my time,” Ector said, moving forward, “and I have taught countless males how to hunt, how to survive, and how to conduct themselves with honor. Never in all those years have I borne witness to anything so cowardly and vile as what happened six days ago.

“There are many opinions about the humans who have shared our home. I understand the wariness. We have been taught they are our enemies since before our grandsires were birthed. But the majority of us agreed that they have done nothing but good for our people.”

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