Page 51 of The Kraken Bride

“After everything that’s happened and everything soon to happen, I crave a moment to just… be.” The truth as well as the scheme. Wise as a dragon; harmless as a ballerina.

“And how does a dragon princess just be, hmm?”

“You’ll see,” I sang.

In minutes, we stood within an ancient coral forest of iridescent lavender, glowing aquamarine, and stunning seafoam. They stretched high, seeming to disappear inside the dome while their arms linked, creating a lattice of shade.

“This is known as the Singing Reefs,” he said, moving into a beam of golden light reflected from the dome. The air glittered, weaving reality into a dream.

“It’s so beautiful.” A steady ocean breeze slipped through countless hollow channels, creating music. Deep tones mingled with delicate whistles. I closed my eyes and swayed for a moment.

“This is your show,” Sebastian said, unable to mask his eagerness.

I kept mental notes. King Sebastian 101. He responded well to anticipation.

Pasting on my most serious expression, I grasped both his hands in mine. “Are we safe?” I asked, earnest, wanting him to know I took this part seriously.

His features turned fierce, but his touch was gentle as he traced the line of my jaw. “I have guards all around. Nothing will harm you here.”

Perfect. Exactly what I needed to hear. “So prove it. Relax.” I inched closer until only a breath separated us. “Play with me.”

His brow furrowed. “Play. A game.”

“Ja.” I ran my hands up his chest and toyed with the ends of his hair.

“It’s called Catch Me If You Can. I’ll run from you, and you’ll try to catch me.”

Interest lit his eyes. Interest and a look I would forever call The Naughty King. “The rules?”

I had him.

Welcome to my trap, King Kraken. “Each round lasts only two minutes, or until I’m caught. A point for you if you manage to brush your fingertips against any part of my body, a point for me when you don’t.” I drew my teeth over my bottom lip, loving it as he watched the action and licked his own. “Ten rounds. If there’s a tie, and there won’t be a tie, we crown the winner through a final bonus round.”

He took a moment to absorb my words, then smiled with languid satisfaction. “You truly think you can escape me?”

Triumph was heady. “Give me your best, my muffin.” I offered him my sweetest smile, knowing exactly how much he would secretly hate the endearment. Or not so secretly. “I want my victory to sting.”

The most luscious excitement tinged his features. “We start in three…two… one.”

He swiped out his arm so swiftly his limb blurred⁠—

Yet I danced away from his reach, avoiding contact. I smirked at him. “Gotta be faster than that, darling.”

He wasted no time, swiping out again. Missing again. My giggle drew a genuine, no-agenda smile from him. A smile he quickly tried to hide behind a mock affront.

“That’s how you speak to your precious, is it?” After a moment’s consideration, he unfastened his jacket with care, only to drop the garment on the ground and roll his cuffs.

Another giggle slipped free. “I’m certain you’ll soon hear worse.”

“And I will make you pay for it.” With no more warning than that, he dove for me.

But I expected the move. I expelled my smokewings and twirled out of his reach. And oh, how good it felt to fly so easily after everything that had happened. “At least try a little bit, Bastian,” I taunted, hovering just above the coral crowns.

“Very well, my treasure.” He lowered his chin, laser-focused on me. “Just remember. You requested this.”

The battle was on, a whirlwind chase filled with our laughter and my delighted squeals. We went high, and we went low. Around coral pillars. Through branching reef formations. He was fast, but I was nimble and always managed to dance out of range. Exhilaration colored everything around us.

Just before the clock zeroed out, he reached. I spun above a wall of leaves, and he caught me with a shadow tentacle, holding me suspended midair.