Page 54 of The Kraken Bride

Chapter

Seventeen

How do you spot a kraken before he spots you? You don’t.

–An Incomplete Guide to Kraken Survival

Heart thundering, I stood in the entrance of a ballroom transformed. Above, the vaulted ceiling shimmered with three currents of light. One flowed in deep sapphire, like the endless outer sea. Another glowed silver-white, rising and falling in slow pulses that mimicked the dome tide. The last drifted overhead in pale moonlight.

Every few moments the colors overlapped, only for a beat, before separating again, as if rehearsing the moment when sea, tide and moon breathed as one. The air hummed with soft music.

Crystal chandeliers refracted light in the shape of little fish. Yet to me, this didn’t feel like an ocean but an open sky. If I unfurled my wings, I could soar. And in this dress? I’d be doing it in style.

The pearlescent fabric flowed in sheer, layered panels that moved even when I stood still, whispering with every breath. It bared my shoulders and collarbones, cinched at the waist and cascaded freely to the floor. Subtle threads of pearl and silver gave the illusion of clouds. I felt unbound and weightless. A little dangerous.

“Even when you cannot see me, I will be nearby,” Gunnar assured me. “Your protection is my only concern for the evening.”

The mountain of a man stood behind me, as usual. “I don’t think hiding is possible for you, Guns. You are at least a foot taller than the tallest man here.”

“Guns?” He snorted. “Expect to be surprised then. I’m that good.”

I lingered in the doorway a moment more, going over my battleplan to win Sebastian. It was absolutely diabolical, and something he’d never see coming. I intended… to be myself. That was it. If I was his firebrand, and I was, that would be more than enough.

And there he was. Ash and embers, what a magnificent male.

He stood at the room’s center, surrounded by nobles, with Lady Harpa at his side. He looked calm and controlled in black leathers cut to perfection, embroidered with deep sapphire accents that echoed the royal crest and complemented the shadow of kraken power humming just under his skin. A power barely contained, if the runes glowing beneath his clothing were any indication.

The crown was absent, as were the gloves. Whoa. No gloves in public? That was big. Huge. The hand Jokull had maimed, shown to a court that would read it as proof he could be hurt. And I had no doubt he’d done it for me. For skin-to-skin contact.

My insides softened. Authority clung to him, tailored into the rigid line of his posture, every measured movement. He listened more than he spoke, his presence drawing the room into his quiet orbit. Then, he noticed me.

His head whipped in my direction. Our gazes met, and I jolted. This man was anything but calm. Tension etched his features. Brooding over our kiss?

As he drank me in, that tension only amplified.

Good. Let him simmer in his feelings for a bit.

I blew him a kiss, and his lids slitted as if the gesture were a thrown gauntlet.

Guests noticed me and air rippled outward. Conversations stopped. Many heads turned, every eye finding me, then the king, then me again.

Finally, I glided into the room. Time to play my part as royal consort. But I didn’t go to Sebastian. Instead, I headed for the ambassadors gathered nearby.

People parted, and I passed without a hitch in my step. Everyone watched me, wondering what I’d do. Or perhaps they feared Gunnar, who kept pace directly behind—wow. No, Gunnar had vanished, as promised. He was nowhere that I could see.

By the stars. He really was that good.

Oh! There was Lady Anna. I took her hands. “I’m so glad to see you.”

Her eyes got big. “And I you. Thank you for the job. I look forward to serving you.”

“After convergence, let’s have tea.” I intended to have a life with Sebastian once our mission completed. I might as well plan for it.

“I would love that, my lady.”

We shared a smile before I flitted off. “Gentlemen,” I acknowledged when I reached the ambassadors. “The King and I are so pleased you decided to join us for this celebration.”

They did not exhibit shock; word had spread, but they did not seem pleased with my change of title.