Almost immediately, anI miss youfollowed by a heart emoji appears on my screen and my pulse flutters. I can practically feel him smiling on the other end of the screen. I shake my headat myself, but I can’t stop grinning, feeling the warmth of his message settle into me.
For an hour, I try to focus on my art, but my attention keeps drifting to the sea. I pause every few minutes to scan the water, waiting for any sign of my kraken. His absence feels wrong. By now, I usually sense him close by, a quiet presence that’s grown as familiar as my own heartbeat. But today, there’s nothing.
The reminder of my limited time here fills me with a sense of urgency to find my kraken. Grabbing my kayak, I slide it into the water, and soon, I’m paddling out of the marina, heading to the usual spots where we hang out.
I glide past rocky outcroppings along the coast, checking each of our favorite spots. I check the narrow cove lined with tall pines, a small hidden beach where waves gently lap at the shore, and even circle a small, seaweed-strewn island dotted with seabirds. By the time I reach our mooring buoy, my arms ache from the steady paddling, and a hint of exhaustion weighs on me. I scan the water’s surface, glancing into the depths, but he’s nowhere in sight. As I drift near the buoy, the water is unusually still, amplifying the quiet surrounding me. I try to shake off my worry and paddle around the mooring buoy once more before placing my oar across my lap and letting myself rest while I drift. I wait, the gentle rocking of the kayak the only movement in the vast, empty water.
Minutes pass, and just when I’m about to give up, that familiar sense ofotherripples through the water around me, just as a murky shadow passes beneath my kayak. The water stirs, rippling in wide circles as something massive moves beneath the surface. Relief floods me. Leaning over the edge of the kayak, I call out, “Kraken, there you are! I was starting to worry. We have a little extra time today – Levi’s still out working on the fishing boat.”
But there’s no immediate response, no playful brush against the kayak. Instead, it remains below me, a dark shadow. The silence stretches into what feels like an eternity. Unease creeps into my voice as I call again, “Is… is everything okay, kraken?”
When the creature finally surfaces, it rises like a living mountain from the deep. I freeze, a chill prickling my skin. The posture, the darker coloration, the cold, calculating eyes – this isn’t my kraken.
The dark leviathan looms above the water’s surface, its unblinking stare pinning me in place. Every instinct screams danger as those eyes study me with calculating intelligence. My throat dry, I manage to whisper, “Hi… um… I mean no harm.”
It doesn’t react, its gaze remaining cold and unyielding. My stomach cramps with apprehension. I don’t know this kraken; I don’t know if it even understands my words. My thoughts flash to the scars coveringmykraken’s body, marks that came from another of its kind.
After a few more moments of tense silence, it reaches out and wraps a tentacle around my wrist. The touch isn’t sweet or gentle like my kraken’s; instead, it’s impersonal, almost clinical, as if I’m an object to be inspected. I tense, feeling the roughness of its suckers as it continues to examine me in a detached manner that borders on rudeness, pressing against me in ways that feel invasive, yet thankfully not painful.
“Stop it,” I manage, trying to sound firm but hearing the tremor in my voice. The creature continues its methodical examination, indifferent to my discomfort. Heart pounding, I reach for my oar, intending to push it back or whack it if it won’t let me go. However, the kraken plucks it from my hands with one of its other tentacles, flinging it away.
Panic rises in me as hostile energy begins to radiate from the kraken, its posture and coloring are far different from my kraken’s gentle, calming presence. I look around, realizing witha sinking feeling that I’m too far from shore to call for help. I am alone with a creature that doesn’t seem to have any intention of letting me go.
As I am looking around for help, it wraps a thick tentacle around my waist before I can react. I claw at the rubbery appendage, trying to pry it from me. The grip tightens, unyielding, and I scream, “Let me go!”
My scream bounces off the waves and fades into nothing. The vast ocean stretches empty in every direction. Terror grips me by the throat as the full weight of my situation crashes over me. I’m in danger.
CHAPTER 24
Levi
The engine finally roars to life, coughing out plumes of smoke before settling into a steady hum.
“Finally!” I shut the engine panel and wipe my greasy hands on a rag. The crew cheers, and I grin at Captain Mike. “I am so glad to be done with this finally. Let’s head home!”
Mike raises an eyebrow, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Any reason you’re in such a hurry?” he asks, his voice heavy with amusement. “I’ve heard some interesting rumors. About a certain cute tourist.”
“Rumors, huh?” My smirk mirrors his as I lean against the railing. “It can be unwise to partake in idle gossip, Captain. For example, I’ve heard that you spend a lot of your spare time at the local bookshop. I never took you for the literary type. Care to explainthatrumor?”
Mike chuckles, scratching at his beard. “How ‘bout – none of your damn business, Levi.”
“Same.” I grin, making him laugh outright. We fall into an easy silence – the kind you earn after years of emergency repairs and weather so rough you can only communicate in hand signals. Mike’s the kind of captain who’s first on deck and last to leave, who knows every bolt and bearing on his boat. I’ve never seen him lose his cool, even the time the winch seized up with a full net. He just squared his shoulders, did what needed doing, and expected us to follow suit.
Neither of us is much for spilling secrets or talking about our personal lives, but we don’t need to. Our trust has been built from years of working seamlessly together.
I decide I’ve put in enough time today. Waiting for the boat to motor back to the marina will take too long, and with Rose expecting me, I’m not in the mood for any more delays. Why take the slow route when I have a faster way? Stripping off my clothes – I get a couple of typical wolf whistles from the crew. I drop my phone and clothes into a waterproof bag I keep onboard for just such occasions, then dive off the side of the boat. I let my form expand, feeling the welcome stretch as my body morphs into its true nature. My limbs elongate into powerful tentacles, my chest broadening as I take on my kraken form. Tentacles unfurl, gills open, and the salty water fills my senses. The transformation feels like coming home, and I know I’ll make it back to shore in a fraction of the time.
I savor how the ocean currents buffer me as I head toward the marina, eager to return to Rose. Midway, I wave a tentacle at a couple of nereids swimming with a pod of dolphins nearby, but they barely notice. Instead, they dart away, cutting through the water with a frantic speed that makes my senses go on high alert.
That’s strange. Something must’ve spooked them. That usually means a predator is nearby.
Frustration flashes through me, but I turn in the direction the nereids were fleeing from. I might want to be with Rose, but I also have a duty to protect these waters.
The scent hits me as I swim, stopping me cold in the current. I try to dismiss it, but it only grows stronger, overwhelming my senses. The familiar smell strikes like a physical blow, hurling me back to the darkest day of my life – a memory branded into my soul, a wound that never closed. It should be impossible. But I know this scent. Malachar.
No, it can’t be. He would never leave the kraken stronghold. The thought alone is ridiculous. He’s as tied to that place as the stones themselves. But the evidence is unmistakable, and a wave of fury crashes inside me.
I surge forward, faster than before, driven by the boiling anger and disbelief. And then, amidst the scent of Malachar, another trace hits me – faint but unmistakable. Rose. A cold dread seizes my chest. If Malachar is here, and Rose is nearby…
