When I open my eyes briefly, I see Vex over Perri’s shoulder. She’s watching us with a smile, and I gesture for her to come closer. “Thank you,” I whisper. Perri was right, she deserved to be saved. When we get back to the Traveling Market, I’ll make sure to change her programming so that she can be as free as any of us to fight for what—or whom—she loves.
Alastair’s body is vibrating, and the tentacles on his left side are writhing. They feel unsubstantial, crudely made of regrowing skin and blood. His mutations are mind-boggling.
“Are you okay?” Perri asks him, face still squished against his chest.
Alastair’s voice is deeper than usual, and he takes time to answer, as if the human part of him he’s fighting to take back control. “Yes. I’ll heal and regrow my arm.” He buries his nose in Perri’s hair.
I pull away just enough to bring my face close to his and kiss him softly. He groans and kisses me back after a heartbeat. Fuck, why did I ever resist this man? What was the point? I don’t remember.
“Excuse me,” Vex says by our side. “I think we might have a problem.”
The three of us detangle immediately, adrenaline still coursing through our bodies. Have the other cultists reached the island?
But Vex is pointing towards the ocean. At first, I don’t know what to look at, but then I see it. The inlets surrounding us are moving.
What the—?
“Holy shit,” Perri whispers.
The pale rocks move and rise from the water.
“Is that an old god?” Vex asks naively, just as what appears to be the tip of a giant gray tentacle emerges from the water.
“The Kraken,” Alastair says.
I curse. “You have to be kidding me.”
All this time, the Kraken was slumbering in the sea surrounding us. That’s why the cultists built their temple on this island and why they brought the sacrifices here. It wasn’t just for show.
“Shit, shit, shit…” Perri chants. “What do we do? He’s waking up.”
Alastair watches the old god, transfixed. “Our blood in the water must have woken him.”
The giant tentacles are the only parts of him we can see, and I shudder just thinking about his body hiding in the depths.
My mind is racing. How can we escape the island? Taking the boat might be too dangerous. I’d rather not offer ourselves on a platter for the Kraken. But staying isn’t a good idea, either. The island isn’t big enough to keep us out of reach from the old god if he goes on a rampage.
I’m spared the dilemma when theFireflyappears in the sky above us, his mirror panels reflecting the white sky. It hovers a few feet off the ground, snowflakes whipped in the air, as the door slides open.
“Get in, assholes!” Jude roars. “Hurry!” He throws a fearful glance at the giant tentacles rising from the sea behind us.
Oliver offers me a hand to pull me inside, followed by Alastair, who is too far gone to realize he’s accepting help from his mutant brother. Vex jumps on board easily, and she helps Perri up. As soon as we’re all inside theFirefly, Jude closes the door and we’re off. I let out a shaky breath as we put distance between us and the old god.
“Fuck, they messed you up alright,” Jude says, looking at Alastair’s regrowing left side. “Kinda creepy but awesome.”
I glare at him and put myself between him and my king. “Observant as ever.”
Jude laughs. “What can I say? I’m as sharp as a blade,” he jokes. “Where should we take you?”
“We left the truck along the coast south of here,” Perri says. “Can you take us there?”
“Of course. Any wounds need tending urgently?” He eyes us all.
Beyond a few scrapes, Perri and I are fine. Alastair is struggling but I doubt a first aid kit will do anything for his regrowing limb.
I shake my head. “We’re good.”
TheFireflyisn’t a passenger aircraft, but a home, and there’s nowhere to sit, so the four of us stand awkwardly behind the cockpit. There’s a large bed, a small kitchen, and what appears to be a bathroom. It must have been fancy and impersonal before Jude and Oliver made it their home, but now they have decorated it with fairy lights, garlands, and collections of tree branches, potted plants, and seashells.
