Page 30 of The Kraken Bride

While my heart whispered my firebrand, my common sense dug in her heels. Careful. Once I accepted a man as my firebrand, there’d be no going back. I would give up everything, exactly as I’d claimed. And he must be willing to do the same. So. At the moment, I wasn’t ready to close that loop. I required certainty.

Sebastian’s gaze found me, and he ground to a halt. His features reset into a scowl, and he snapped his attention to Harpa. “I asked you to play nice, did I not?”

“You did, and I did,” Lady Harpa assured him, making grabby hands in his direction. “Come over here and give your sweet granny a sugar.”

The demand nearly wrenched a laugh from me. It was just so wild seeing someone coddling the mighty king of the kraken.

To my astonishment, Sebastian closed the distance and leaned down to kiss her cheek. Gentle, so gentle. “I apologize for interrupting, quote unquote, piping hot teatime, but I have need of my princess.”

I leaped to my feet, ignoring the way my princess went straight to my head like fine wine. Then I forced myself back to reality. Something involving our mission must have come up.

“Go, go,” Lady Harpa said, shooing us off. “Remember your promise to me, my boy.”

He inhaled slowly. “Don’t worry, grandmother. I’ll bring you the primordial’s head with a sugarplum stuffed in his mouth.”

Lady Harpa nodded, as if he’d merely promised her what was due.

He peered down at his gloved hand. “I live for nothing else.”

Chapter

Nine

Observe the tide before you speak.

–An Incomplete Guide to Kraken Survival

Sebastian’s scent saturated my entire being. Cool night air after summer rain, with hints of smoky amber and aged driftwood. Today, though, there was a new, headier note.

I inhaled deeply, my head fogging. Was that… spiced wine?

We sat side-by-side in the armored sedan once again, only this time we were more than strangers. We’d won a dance contest, attended a class together. Touched. Now, I knew him in ways I hadn’t before.

Neither of us had spoken since leaving Lady Harpa. Her words still circled. Sebastian will do what he must, no matter the cost.

I could have asked him about that cost now, in the quiet of the car, but he’d just shown me his hand. He lived only for Jokull’s death. That kind of man wouldn’t flinch from paying any price; his grandmother was right about that. And he’d already declined to explain the specifics. I could ask again, but he wouldn’t answer.

He was a puzzle. A man who might be mine. He’d lost his parents and defeated a monster, yet unabashedly adored his grandmother. He called me his princess but viewed love as a weakness. Drew me close while keeping the most important parts of himself locked away. And currently, his side was pressed into mine.

I tried to focus anywhere but him.

The car. Dark leather upholstery stitched with subtle silver thread.

Tinted windows sealed us off from the driver and the world beyond as the vehicle motored on with sleek grace.

I tried, and I failed, still teetering between wanting to hug the boy he’d been, nuzzle against the loving family man he was, and shake the cold-hearted legend who never kept a woman.

Reset time. Once again, I redirected my attention. Terrain whizzed by. Through the glass, I glimpsed warriors training along miles of palace land. Kraken berserkers sparring in disciplined formations, spears and tridents flashing, bodies moving with brutal precision.

A wave slammed against the dome, shaking even the vehicle, and I gripped the seat. “Jokull?”

“You do not need to fear,” Sebastian assured me. Yet tension radiated from him.

Oh, ja. The primordial approached.

“My soldiers are causing him problems, just as we discussed, and he’s… reacting.”

“Should we go and help them?” I asked, ready and willing to aid him however necessary.