Page 49 of Krammin’ With A Kraken

I’d left the ‘study’ session in order to get away from Ezric, and now we had to talk about him?

“Is that really why you care?” Deus asked softly.

I glared at him.

Deus shrugged. “It’s just… Well, you didn’t try to defend her. Heck, you didn’t say anything about it. You just criticized everyone and stormed away.”

Wrapping my arms around my bag, I asked the question I’d wanted to ask for some time. “Why do you hang out with him?”

Deus looked down and toed at the grass with his sneaker. His curly hair stuck out in all directions, like he’d left his dorm without brushing it, and I ignored the urge to soothe it for him.

“Ezric’s… going through some stuff.”

We started to walk, making a slow circuit of the saltwater lake. It was a cloudy day, and three mermaids skimmed just beneath the surface of the water, playing some sort of game with a sea urchin.

I shivered as a breeze toyed with the hem of my skirt and wished I would’ve worn tights. But I’d let my hormonal nonsense get the better of me.

Deus cleared his throat. “The truth is, Ezric’s been disowned.”

“Whoa.” It was all I could say.

Maybe Ezric had just been lashing out.

Maybe he’d been saying things he didn’t mean.

Deus kicked at a stone on the path. “He’s always had a difficult life at home. His family summered on the island where I grew up, and I’m one of the few paranormals he was allowed to talk to. His family has old school views of who’s a monster and who’s not. So I was pretty much his only friend until we came to Slaymore.”

Judging from the way everyone else had looked at him in the study group, Deus was likely still his only friend.

“So why’d he get disowned?” I asked.

“It’s a family tradition for him to do a hunt. Slay a monster, bring back proof, get formally accepted into the family clan, get a classic weapon, all that. And the more vicious the monster, the more prestige he will get as a slayer. Except we don’t have any monsters left. Everyone’s protected, everyone’s paranormal. Doing what his family’s always done is a crime now.”

I rolled my eyes. “Cry me a river. He’s sad because killing people has consequences now?”

“Don’t be like that. I’m not saying it’s right,” Deus said softly. He looked hurt, and I softened toward him momentarily. “He’s sad because his family put him in an impossible situation. He can’t go home until he’s completed a hunt, but he can’t hunt anything.”

Except krakens and other unprotected species.

Another shiver skated down my spine. It was another reminder of the very real need I had to represent my people.

“Well, maybe his family’s horrible and Ezric shouldn’t go home.” It seemed like the obvious answer to me.

Deus’ hand slipped into mine. “That’s exactly what I’ve been trying to get him to realize. His family is toxic, and he needs to stop trying to earn their respect. I’m hoping Slaymore will be good for him. It just takes kindness, exposure to good people, and time.”

For a while we walked together, silent.

Maybe it would take all those things to help Ezric, but that didn’t mean I had to provide them. Nor did I need to risk my safety by being around someone who still wanted to make his mommy and daddy happy… even if it meant murdering another paranormal.

And Deus could be kind without letting Ezric rant about krakens and greenteeth without challenging him. Deus had chosen not to correct Ezric in order to keep the peace. To be nice and helpful.

It might be who Amadeus was, but I didn’t need a boyfriend like that.

If I were to have a boyfriend, I needed one who’d protect the krakens as fiercely as I would. The knowledge steeled my resolve to keep Amadeus as a casual fling. I couldn’t let him get too close, or risk trusting him with my secrets.

That way, I wouldn’t have to worry about whether he’d defend me and my kind.

And he wouldn’t have to worry about standing up to his best friend and causing Ezric more hurt.

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