Page 25 of Krammin’ With A Kraken

Deus nodded encouragingly, so I kept going, pushing my shoulders back and making sure I met his eyes—which wasn’t easy.

The intensity of his piercing blue gaze felt like electricity crackling over my skin.

“Narwhals and narwhal shifters are native to the North Atlantic, with nomadic pods migrating between— Zeus on a stick, whatnow?”

Deus’s attention had flicked away from me, and a grin split his face. That was the way he looked when someone was greeting him from afar.

Great.Another freaking interruption.

I turned to find Ezric standing in the shallows of the saltwater lake. He’d stripped to his shorts despite the cool, crisp fall day. The son-of-a-Kraken-hunter was the last person I wanted to see.

Ezric ran a hand through his hair, fluffing it into short, dark spikes. His eyes raked down my figure, and I got the absurd urge to fold my arms over my chest.

I glared at him instead, wishing I had my tentacles so I could flick him over backward without breaking a sweat.

“The water’s refreshing. Come on in!” Ezric spread his arms invitingly.

“You know I don’t do water.” Deus laughed and focused his attention back in my direction. “Okay, what’s next?”

“Bro.” The grass rustled behind us as Ezric strode up. “Just to the knee. Isn’t this part of your whole plan? Besides, Alicia’s in a strapless bikini. I promise you, it’s worth getting wet for.”

“Ugh,” I muttered, flopping back onto the grass.

I hadn’t meant for Ezric to hear, but he put a hand on his hip, just above his swimming trunks. “Need something, Red?”

A break from you.“We need to finish this presentation; thanks for asking,” I growled.

“How’s yours going, Ezric?” Deus asked, flashing me a small, grateful smile at the opportunity to change the subject.

Ezric lifted a shoulder. “Fine. My partner’s in charge of the slides, and I’m in charge of the talking.”

“I haven’t seen you in class.” I used my hand to block the sun from my eyes.

“That’s because I have the afternoon periods,” Ezric replied. “I have Advanced Combat in the morning block, and it couldn’t be switched.”

Advanced combat already? Only paranormals with particular gifts got to skip elementary combat classes. I filed the information away as potentially dangerous.

There was a loud splash from the direction of the lake. I sat up just as a girl—Alicia, presumably—did a perfect backflip out of the water.

Droplets spun from her body like sparkling diamonds. It was a stunning performance that only a marine paranormal could pull off.

Alicia resurfaced, water streaming down the strong plane of her nose and her wide eyes brimming with mischief. “The water feels amazing today!”

I scratched my ribs. This was the worst kind of torture since I could practically taste the salt in the air. If I didn’t get away from this lake in the next five minutes, I was going to go crazy.

“Take a break, man. You’ve done nothing but work on this project for the whole week,” Ezric coaxed.

“Yeah, ‘cause we’re in bad shape,” Deus said.

“We’re in fine shape,” I retorted, insulted at Deus’s comment.

I’d done my fair share of the work and had double-checked all his information. I knew a good job when I saw one, and it rankled me that Deus doubted my abilities.

“See?” Ezric stretched, taking the opportunity to show off his pecs. “Even nerdy Ariel here says you’re good to go. Come on, man. Face your fears! Isn’t that what you wanted to do at Slaymore?”

Deus shifted. His eyes dropped to the ground, and his aura dimmed slightly.

I realized with a start that he was uncomfortable. How was that possible? Deus was never uncomfortable around people.

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