Page 30 of Queen Takes More
Oh shit. He’d brought me to his mother’s nest—without telling her a queen was invading her territory? I started to jerk upright but then remembered I didn’t have on any clothes. Maybe it’d be best if I stayed low.
:She’s coming.:
Great. Just great. :If I’d known we were going to see your mother, I’d at least put on a robe or something.:
For the first time, my kraken laughed. His gills fluttered gently, and water spurted from his beak, or snout. Mouth. Whatever it was.
A woman’s head popped up out of the water nearby, making me jump. She was close enough for me to feel her power sparking on my skin… but not close enough to risk getting entangled by Okeanos’ tentacles if he decided he needed a snack.
Blue hair the same color as the water hung about her face and shoulders in heavy strands almost like dreadlocks, only they flowed and fluttered about her. Scales the same pretty color dotted her throat, but she had full breasts and two arms like a woman. Something dark flashed beneath the surface of the water, a hint of glittering silver reflecting the light. Her tail swept up, breaking the surface of the water like a graceful dolphin.
“Greetings, House Isador.” Her words were drawn out, echoing as if she spoke underwater. “Welcome to House Ketea.”
Okeanos made several soft whistles that I didn’t understand, but Undina nodded and smiled at me.
“Thank you for doing what I could not.”
Anger sparked inside me. I’d seen enough of his memories to know that he’d had a fucking miserable childhood. She’d never been much of a mother to him. So what if he was a kraken. She was a fucking mermaid creature, and I was pretty sure her teeth were razor sharp and jagged, though I’d only caught a glimpse as she spoke.
I sat up, crossing my legs and shaking my wet hair back off my shoulders. So what if I was naked and sitting on top of a kraken. “He’s mine now, and he’ll never be caged or imprisoned again.”
“As I said, thank you. I couldn’t control him, even as a boy. I couldn’t spare him the burden of his heritage. I would have rather borne a queen like your mother, but it wasn’t meant to be. House Ketea will sink beneath the waves when I pass.”
Grudgingly, I nodded, but I couldn’t find it in me to feel sorry for her. Not after what she’d done to her own son. “Triskeles lives again.”
Her eyes narrowed and her lips curled, baring those brutal sword teeth. “Excellent. Your mother was right, then. I’ll tell the other Skolos queens. May we count you as an ally against the Triune?”
“Not exactly.”
Her tail slapped against the water, though her face didn’t change.
“We need all nine seats filled and we have to work together. Our goddesses need us.”
She glared at me a moment longer and then nodded just as grudgingly as I had. “You’ve felt the coming storm, then.”
“Do you know what it is?”
Her teeth flashed and she surged up out of the water like a sleek fish dancing across the water. “The Screaming Madness.”
She dived beneath the water and disappeared, presumably swimming back to her nest. Maybe I’d misunderstood her. Screaming Madness? I didn’t even know what that was. “Do you know what she meant?”
:No, my queen. I’ve never heard such a phrase.:
I sighed and looked up at the sky. The sun was setting into the ocean, leaking deep orange, pink and gold into the water as if the sun was melting. It was mesmerizing, watching the sky darken…
To the exact shades of purple and lavender of my kraken’s tentacles that were still looped around me. Holding me so carefully.
I quirked my lips, letting my eyes grow heavy and sultry. “How slowly can you shift back to your human form?”
His tentacles tightened slightly, holding me closer… as if he was afraid of losing me.:I’ve never been able to control the shift, my queen.:
“Until now.” I read his confusion in our bond and felt the tension coiling through his massive body. He was afraid I intended to ask him to do something that was impossible. One final test… that he’d ultimately fail.
He still thought his time with me would be brief. Though he was absolutely willing to try and do anything I asked.
“I want you to start shifting back to your human form so I can fuck you again. But I don’t mind your tentacles.”
He jerked beneath me, his entire body shimmying in the water. He couldn’t even form words or thoughts in our bond. He hesitated, frozen, afraid to do something wrong when he didn’t understand exactly what I wanted.
