“Apparently, the Kraken hunter’s gone mad!”
“I heard the witches threatened to hex someone’s organs.”
“I heard Blackbeard challenged a ghost ship to combat!”
“That one’s true!” someone yelled.
Baba Yaga smiled wider.
Chaos.
Always chaos.
And yet, somehow, Krakens Hole survived it every single time.
Because beneath the gossip and madness and pirate festivals, the town protected its own.
And Edith?
Edith was one of theirs now.
Which meant, sooner or later, the sea would answer.
32
The silenceafter Spencer admitted he was a Kraken had lasted exactly four seconds.
Then Binky had screamed, not shouted, not exclaimed he had screamed, “A THIRD ONE?!”
Bas had immediately fallen off the back of the sofa again.
Jessica stared at Spencer like she was reconsidering every life choice that had brought her to this exact moment.
And Maeve, well she looked delighted. “Oh this isexcellent,” she breathed.
Spencer, meanwhile, was beginning to understand why Edith looked permanently exhausted around these people.
“Right,” Arietta said suddenly, clapping her hands once. “Take him to the Gate.”
Spencer frowned slightly. “The what now?”
Nobody answered him. Which alsoturned out to be a recurring problem in Krakens Hole.
Twenty minutes later, Spencer found himself deep beneath the Hollow, following the witches through ancient caverns glowing softly with magic. The deeper they went, the stronger he felt it.
The pull of the sea. The ancient pressure of something old and alive woven through the stone itself. His Kraken instincts stirred hard enough to ache.
Gods, he had missed this. He hadn’t realised how much until now.
The cavern opened suddenly. And Spencer stopped dead. Merlin’s Gate.
The underground sea stretched endlessly through the cavern, glowing blue-green beneath the stone ceiling while ancient magic pulsed softly through the waters like a heartbeat.
Massive crystals lined the walls, casting shifting light across the cavern. At the centre stood a statue. Huge. Weathered by salt and time. A Kraken. Spencer stared at it instinctively.
Power radiated from the carved stone, even now. “Maximus,” Dave said quietly beside him. “My brother.”
Spencer turned. The male leaning casually near the water’s edge grinned. Dave.
