Edith frowned slightly. Because he sounded nervous. And ghost pirates were usually only nervous around taxes and sea monsters. Another movement beneath the boat.
Larger this time. The water rolled strangely outward in slow circles around them and Mark went very still. Edith noticed instantly. The bounty hunter stepped toward the railing slowly, staring hard into the dark water below.
“What?” Gerald asked irritably.
Mark didn’t answer immediately. Which was probably the first smart thing he’d done all day.
The sea shifted again. Edith leaned forward slightly, peering over the edge and into the dark waters. Something massive moved beneath them. Her breath caught… and then another shape appeared briefly beneath the surface. This one was absolutely huge. Edith couldn’t help but grin.
The pirate made a strangled noise. “Oh absolutely fuckin’ not.”
Gerald finally looked annoyed enough to pay attention. “What is your problem?”
The pirate pointed shakily toward the water. “That.”
The sea around the boat darkened suddenly as shadows passed underneath. This time, Edith chuckled and relaxed, because she knew those shapes. Even if she had never seen them fully before. Why had she never thought that her friends would come for her…? Would send the guardians…
The famous Krakens of Krakens hole…
Mark looked genuinely alarmed now and that made her happier. Gerald frowned at the water, the first hint of uncertainty flickering across his face.
“Impossible,” he muttered.
Another enormous shape rolled beneath the boat. Close enough this time that the vessel lifted briefly with the displacement alone.
The pirate whimpered. Actually whimpered. “We need to turn around.”
“No,” Gerald snapped immediately.
The pirate looked ready to cry. “Mate, I’ve sailed haunted trenches and survived three siren divorces. I know bad sea energy when I feel it.”
Edith bit down hard on a laugh. It wasn’t bad sea he should be worried about. Hope surged brightly through Edith’s chest.
But Gerald kept talking. Still discussing wedding plans somehow, though faster now, irritation sharpening every word. “Once we return home, your behaviour will improve considerably…”
Edith barely heard him anymore, but Mark did. Only, he was no longer listening either. His eyes stayed fixed on the water, wide and uneasy
The boat rocked violently again. This time, hard enough for Gerald to grab the railing, and Edith laughed outright as he his gaze shot toward her. She smiled brightly.
“Oh,” she said sweetly, “I think my ride’s here.”
34
The sea welcomed him home.Cold water surged around Spencer’s massive Kraken form as he cut through the depths beside Brutas and Dave, ancient instincts roaring awake harder with every passing second.
Freedom. He had almost forgotten what freedom felt like. Above them, morning light fractured through the surface in pale ribbons while the current carried the sharp scent of storm magic, fear, and Edith.
Spencer surged forward instantly, and Brutas rumbled low beside him.
Easy, young one.
Young one. Spencer would have laughed if he currently possessed lungs. Because beside Brutas and Dave, he probablywasyoung.
The two guardians moved through the sea with terrifying ease, vast bodies gliding effortlessly through the depths while ancient magic crackled faintly across their forms.
Dave was the larger of the two. Absolutely Enormous. His massive tentacles moved lazily through the water with theconfidence of something that had never once feared another creature in the sea. Beside him, even Spencer felt small.
You’re loud,Dave observed casually through the strange instinctive communication of Kraken minds. Spencer blinked.
