Page 17 of For the Ghastly and Beautiful

“Do you?” She side-eyes me and my attitude. “I know who you’re meant to be.”

I scoff, knowing I sound exactly like her son. “Oh? Who told you?”

“Jade did.” She laughs lightly, tugging me closer to the ocean. “We’re going to see her now.”

“But what do you mean by that?” I whine. “How did Jade tell you? Because I didn’t tell her.”

The queen rolls her amber eyes at my dramatics. “Jade smelled your blood in the water. She knew who you were the moment you breached the surface of the ocean.”

“That makes very little sense, Isolde.” I lean my head back, staring at the thinning canopy as if it holds all the answers I seek. “Like, that makes the least amount of sense out of anything I’ve seen or heard since I’ve been here.”

“Does it need to make sense?” She nudges me with her elbow, humor brightening her face. “I don’t understand everything about krakens. Do you?”

“No,” I mumble. “But I was studying marine biology on Earth, so maybe I can start.”

“When you figure Jade and the babe out, let me know.”

“The mini kraken?”

As we step out of the forest, Isolde waves her hand toward the water’s edge. Ecaeris struggles to pry the tiny sea creature away from his body. Tentacles leech onto his skin, wrapping around his arms in a death grip.

“I suspect this little one is a gift for you, the same way Spiran left Jade for me. She’s a feisty thing who keeps escaping the ocean to play in the fountains in the village.”

As Ecaeris fights the mass of indigo limbs, he strides into the water. She climbs further up his body, aggressive clicking sounds ricocheting off the twin boulders. I chuckle at the scene, and Isolde pushes me forward.

“Get in the water, Ada.”

“I’ll pass,” I grumble. “Maybe I’ll dip my feet in, but I don’t think I’m ready to explore the open ocean today.”

“I know what you mean,” Isolde comments as we watch her son. “I think the little one would act better for you, though. She needs to spend time in the ocean or she won’t grow.”

Ecaeris is so gentle that I’m struck with a sense of awe, wondering if I’ve ever truly seen him. I mean, he’s marvelous to look at… as long as he keeps his mouth shut. But this is a different side to the Mongrel prince I’ve grown to know.

“She needs a name, too,” Isolde states as an afterthought. “I’m not sure what to call her. She doesn’t speak to me.”

“Indigo,” I whisper, hearing the word echo in my mind.

The miniature kraken stills in Ecaeris’s arms, then wiggles out of his grasp, splashing into the shallow water. She races toward the shoreline, a tangle of tentacles tripping over each other in her haste.

I traipse through the sand, meeting her before she can leave the water. Her clicks grow louder, reminding me of dolphins… Only her frequency is different. She has a deeper tone, though she’s just as energetic.

“Of course, she runs to you,” Ecaeris mutters, glaring at Indigo. “Can you get her into the deeper water, Ada? She needs to eat.”

I nod absently as I take in his appearance. The Mongrel Prince is soaked, salt water dripping from his near-black hair. His chest is bare, and the tops of his shoulders have a slight pink tint to them. He’s as muscular as Connak, though he’s a few inches taller than the hunter and not as scarred.

“You look like you’ve done more swimming than the sea creatures,” I tease.

He ruffles his hair, a hint of a smile playing across his lip. “Jade was over-eager to play. I’m lucky she gave me time to take my boots off.”

Jade’s glowing green eyes pop above the surface of the water, and Indigo’s clicking noises speed up.

“I’ve tried to take the little one out, but she fights me until she gets away. We’ve been at it for hours.” His admission is soft, and it explains his sunburn.

“Let’s go swimming, Indigo,” I whisper to the baby kraken. “I won’t let the mongrel get you.”

He scoffs. “Once she starts eating, I won’t be able to do more than lift the tip of her tentacle.”

“That fast, huh?” I’m not even shocked.