Heart of the Deep

by Tiffany Roberts

  Chapter 11

  On his third day of searching, Dracchus finally found what he’d sought — a distinct, recognizable feature on the sea floor, a place he knew.

  Here, the coastal cliffs sloped gradually at their bases until they eventually leveled out, and the bottom was mostly exposed rock with sand and vegetation gathered in countless crevices. It was a common enough underwater seascape, but one thing made this area stand out.

  The Ring.

  It was a huge circle of sand amidst the stone. Tall, thin rocks stood at random intervals and conflicting angles around and within it, and the sand was broken by sparse clumps of vegetation. Many of the smaller stones were undoubtedly sandseekers, buried in the sand as they awaited the passage of prey overhead. Coral growths and clusters of sea creatures surrounded the ring with vibrancy and color, enhancing its contrast with the dark stone even further.

  Dracchus knew the place well; it was one of several locations where the kraken regularly hunted sandseekers, and he’d been here more times than he could count.

  His first instinct was to swim to the Facility immediately. He needed to ensure his friends were safe, and the sooner he obtained a diving suit for Larkin, the sooner he could bring her to Randall.

  The sooner he could share a den with her.

  But it had taken him nearly half a day’s swim to get here from their encampment, and it would take just as long to reach the Facility from the Ring. By the time he returned to her, he’d have been gone all day and an entire night.

  After their encounter with the vorix and her stand-off with the prixxir, he was hesitant to leave her alone for so long without a word.

  Was informing her of his intention worth losing a day to unnecessary travel time?

  Dracchus turned toward the Facility and swam, pushing himself hard. Water rushed past him, stone and sand sped by, and his hearts thumped rapidly.

  He was growing used to feeling conflicted; ever since he’d discovered Jax with Macy, Dracchus had started questioning everything he’d known. Few things were as simple as he’d once believed. But he didn’t have the luxury of prolonged consideration every time he was presented with a complicated matter. His internal conflicts couldn’t be allowed to prevent him from making necessary decisions.

  Larkin was practical. She would understand his choice.

  He kept low, gliding just above the bottom, avoiding the likeliest places for sandseekers and other predators to lurk. The seafloor was a blur, its familiar features reduced to indistinct shapes and blotches of color by his haste. His alertness was instinctual, fueled by a lifetime of experience.

  For all Dracchus’s speed, the journey felt too long. Part of his mind remained with Larkin, back on land, imagining all manner of terrifying beast stalking her through the dense jungle. Another part had shifted ahead to anticipate the worst back at the Facility — that Neo and Kronus had made a move and harmed Dracchus’s family.

  The dark shapes of the Facility’s clustered buildings were a relief when they finally came into sight, but the feeling was short-lived. He’d rarely been so aware of the passage of time, even when dealing with other urgent matters. Every moment felt essential, important, valuable, and though they passed with agonizing slowness, they seemed only increasingly inadequate in number.

  He swept his gaze across the front of the Facility as he approached. No net hung from the exterior light posts, meaning no hunt had been organized. That was as troubling as it was fortunate — it meant less chance of encountering Kronus’s followers inside the main building, but it also signaled a potential disruption to the kraken’s lives.

  Obtaining food had always been dangerous work, but the humans had presented a new threat, one beyond the understanding of most kraken — technology.

  He pressed in the button sequence at the primary entrance and entered the pressurization chamber. His preoccupation deafened him to the computer’s voice; he reacted only to the light over the interior door shifting from red to green, reaching forward to slap the button and open the entryway.

  Dracchus hauled himself through the corridors, using every available handhold to increase his speed. He passed the chamber in which he’d hidden most of the diving suits and guns after Randall had been brought to the Facility. Larkin needed a suit, and a weapon would grant her another layer of security. Ferocity alone would not save her from a razorback or a sandseeker.

  He would return to the room as he departed the Facility.

  He hurried through the tunnel into the Cabins, where Macy, Aymee, and Randall kept dens with their kraken mates and younglings.

  Jax and Macy were in their den, the latter playing some sort of game with Sarina involving colored squares and little round pieces.

  Sarina sat across from her mother at the table, staring down at the game with her little tongue sticking out between her lips. Her gaze flickered up to Dracchus and fell again as she reached for one of the pieces. Her hand stopped in mid-air and she looked at him again, wide-eyed.

  “Uncle Drak!” She bumped the table as she leapt off her seat, rattling the game pieces, and darted toward him.

  The youngling jumped at Dracchus. He caught Sarina and wrapped his arms around her as she squeezed his neck, ignoring the tightness in his chest; it was likely the result of overexertion and lacking nourishment.

  “Thank God!” Macy hurried over with Jax close behind. She threw her arms around Dracchus’s waist and embraced him. “What happened to you? When the others returned, and you—”

  “He’s the strongest,” Sarina explained as though it were a given. “Nothing can stop him.”

  “Has Vasil returned?” Dracchus asked.

  “Two days ago,” Jax replied.

  “And Neo?”

  Macy frowned, and Jax’s features darkened.

  “Yesterday.” Jax encircled Macy with his arms when she stepped back from Dracchus, drawing her close. “Vasil had already given an account of what happened. Neo’s story was similar, but he was far more vocal about the cruelty of the humans on board, and the war between our people. It worked Kronus and the rest of their followers into a frenzy. They have made more threats, but there’s been no violence thus far.”

  Dracchus nodded. Having seen Neo’s state the night they escaped the ship, Dracchus’s only surprise was that the enraged kraken hadn’t yet acted on those threats. “I trust Vasil was truthful.”

  “This situation is moving beyond a point at which we can maintain our tenuous control.” Jax leaned his head down and pressed his lips to Macy’s hair.

  Dracchus had fault in that — he’d already been involved, even before Larkin, but his recent actions had likely heightened the tensions. He would not stand down. Change was difficult, uncomfortable, and taxing, but it was the only means of securing a future for the generations to come.

  “Is Arkon in his den?” Dracchus asked. “We three must speak.”

  “He and Aymee were resting while Jace naps,” Macy replied, “but I can go get them. Everyone’s going to be so happy to see you home safe!”

  “No.” Dracchus’s voice halted Macy as she was moving toward the door. She met his gaze with concern in her eyes. “No one else must know. Not until I return.”

  “Everyone was ready to go out and rescue you,” she said, “to risk themselves to save you. Now you don’t even want them to know you’re okay? And what do you mean not until you return? You’re leaving again?”

  Her words hit him with surprising strength, creating an ache in his chest. Dracchus hadn’t expected anyone to come for him, hadn’t wanted them to; all the individuals he cared about most had mates and young to look after. He was not worth putting the safety of females and younglings at risk. That they’d even consider searching for him had never crossed his mind.

  “I am going to bring the human who shot us with sleeping bullets to the Facility. She is Randall’s sister.”

  Sarina climbed along Dracchus’s arm and shoulders, seemingly oblivious to her parents’ stunned silence. />
  “Bring Arkon,” Dracchus said, “but only Arkon. I will tell you all I can before I leave, but haste is necessary.”

  Jax opened his mouth only to close it a few moments later without uttering a word. He nodded and drifted out of the room.

  Little Sarina mounted Dracchus’s shoulders, wrapping her arms around his forehead, and rested her chin on his head.

  “She’s the one you saved from Neo,” Macy finally said. “He wants to…” She looked up at her daughter and frowned.

  “He will end every human he can find, if he has his way,” Dracchus said.

  “Why are you bringing her here? The kraken are more divided now than ever, and Kronus’s group will want to harm her even more than they do the rest of us.”

  “She released us while the ship was burning. The other humans would have left us in those cages to die.”

  “Why not let her return home? People already know about the kraken, but none of them know how to find this place. Once you bring her here…that’s it, isn’t it? She can’t leave.”

  “She wants to see her brother again.”

  Macy frowned. “And you trust her?”

  “With my life,” he replied without hesitation.

  Macy’s eyes widened, and even Dracchus was surprised by what he’d said.

  He’d only known Larkin for a short while, but he’d come to trust her unquestioningly.

  “She will be mine,” he said.

  Macy’s mouth gaped. She shook her head and laughed, prompting laughter from Sarina. “Leave it to you to choose the greatest challenge.”

  Jax returned with Arkon a few moments later.

  “You have returned!” Arkon said, and the lingering grogginess in his eyes cleared rapidly. “You will have to tell me everything you can about these goggles the hunters used, and—” He fell silent when he noticed Macy’s incredulous expression. “What is it?”

  “You’re not going to believe this,” she replied, shifting her gaze back to Dracchus. “Dracchus picked a mate.”

  “You were correct. I do not believe it,” Arkon replied.

  Dracchus turned to face Arkon and Jax, producing another chuckle from Sarina, who clung to his head like he was a wild sea creature attempting to buck her off.

  “Come on, you,” Macy said, pulling Sarina down from Dracchus’s shoulders. The youngling put up a bit of resistance before finally relinquishing her hold.

  “What is this all about, Dracchus?” Arkon asked. “I hope you do not mind my saying, but you don’t look particularly happy to be back.”

  “It is a complicated situation, Arkon. The sort you enjoy puzzling out,” Dracchus replied.

  He told them everything, starting with the human boats. Fortunately, Arkon seemed to sense Dracchus’s urgency and refrained from asking a torrent of questions. When he was done, everyone stood in silence save Sarina; she had returned to the table, where she was moving the game pieces around, stacking them atop one another and making strange little sounds as she played.

  “What do you need?” Macy asked. “Anything we can do to help. Jax and Arkon can escort you, and—”

  “No, Macy,” Dracchus said gently. “Jax and Arkon will remain here. We cannot leave any of you vulnerable.”

  “But that’s such a long way to travel alone, Dracchus.”

  Larkin’s words rose to the forefront of his mind. We make do with what we have.

  “We will make do,” he said. “Given the current situation, none of you will go unprotected.”

  “We should tell Randall, at least. He will accompany you,” Arkon said.

  “Randall must not know until I bring her here.”

  “Do you not trust him?” Jax asked.

  “I trust them both. But I do not want to give Randall the chance to do something stupid. He is better off here, helping to defend all of you.”

  “I won’t speak a word, then,” Macy said. “But there has to be something we can do to help you, Dracchus.”

  He tilted his head back and turned it slowly, running his gaze over the walls and ceiling. “Prepare a den for us, here in the Cabins, with anything she might need to be comfortable.” He paused for a moment. “One beside Randall’s.”

  Something wrapped around his tentacle. Dracchus glanced down to see Sarina clinging to him, staring up with big eyes.

  “Are you leaving again?” she asked.

  “I must,” he replied, lifting her up. “But I will return tomorrow.”

  She pressed her forehead against his and blew out of her siphons. He did the same.

  “One day, you will be big and strong enough to accompany us, Sarina.” He flicked his gaze to Jax; the Wanderer wore a warning expression. “So long as your parents allow you to.”

  “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Macy said. “She doesn’t need to grow up any faster than she already is.”

  Jax moved forward and pried Sarina from Dracchus’s tentacle. She giggled and climbed up her father’s arm, searching for a new place to perch.

  “Go and do as you must,” Jax said, placing a hand on Dracchus’s shoulder. “We will await your return, and once she is here, we will do all we can to protect your female.”

  Dracchus nodded. Jax’s steady, deliberate gaze conveyed his understanding of all that was at stake — this went beyond a single human, beyond a single female. Supporting Dracchus in this, in protecting the human who’d been integral to the capture of three kraken, would be declared the ultimate betrayal by Kronus’s supporters.

  This would all but eliminate the chance for the kraken to resolve their disagreements peacefully.

  Chapter 12

  Larkin stared out into the dark jungle from beneath the shelter, spear resting on her lap and knife on the ground beside her. The fire cast eerie, dancing shadows on the trees around her. She should’ve been asleep, but sleep had refused to come. Her gaze darted toward every sound, moved not by fear, but anticipation.

  Dracchus hadn’t returned from his search. He’d returned before sunset on the other days, but night had fallen hours ago. She wasn’t sure what to think. What had happened?

  Had the rangers recaptured him? Had he been attacked by another predator?

  No, she wouldn’t believe any of that. She knew, wherever he was, he had a good reason for not returning. That knowledge offered no comfort.

  Dracchus was more than a means of seeing her brother again. She’d enjoyed his company over the last few days and found a kindred spirit in him. He was practical, tough, and dependable, and had no problem admitting when he didn’t know something. Though most of her jokes seemed to go over his head, he’d accepted them with endearing nonchalance. Even his stubborn streak had grown on her.

  Being around him felt natural, comfortable, liberating. She could be herself instead of the commander’s daughter. She could just be…Larkin.

  She opened her eyes, sitting up abruptly. The faint, gray light of predawn tentatively prodded the canopy. When had she fallen asleep?

  Her grogginess dissipated quickly; she’d been woken by a noise — rustling vegetation, like something large was approaching. She grabbed her spear and leapt to her feet. The fire was low, meaning it would be of little aid in scaring away most jungle creatures.

  A huge black figure emerged from the foliage, towering over her, amber eyes reflecting the faint light.

  “What the hell, kraken? Where have you been?” she demanded, lowering her spear.

  He lifted something in his hand — a black bundle — and unfolded it, removing what appeared to be a curved piece of glass from its center. He held the black fabric up, revealing some sort of suit that looked to be sized for a child.

  “Today I will bring you to see your brother,” he said.

  “Really?” she asked, eyes wide as she looked between him and the suit. “You found it?”

  “Yes.” He handed her the suit and the piece of glass and sank down next to the fire.

  She’d set aside several pieces of cooked fish for him, wrapped
in thick leaves to mask their scent. He unwrapped them and ate ravenously, scarcely allowing himself time to breathe. Had he been traveling all day yesterday and through the night?

  Larkin frowned.

  “If we leave with the dawn, we will arrive before sunset,” he said.

  “Rest, Dracchus,” she said, stepping away to study the suit. The material was strange, unlike anything she’d ever seen. A hexagonal pattern covered the black fabric, which felt far too thin to be as durable as it seemed.

  He slipped a final piece of fish into his mouth, chewing it to one side, and gestured at the remaining bundles of food. “You need to eat before we leave, female.”

  “Once you finish, I will. Eat as much as you need.”

  Dracchus shook his head. “What’s left is yours. Thank you for saving it.”

  Larkin arched a brow. “Kraken, you should know not to argue with me by now. You’ve been out all day and night while I’ve just been sitting around. Eat.”

  He stared at her with a creased brow and swallowed the bite he’d taken. Finally, after a long pause, he opened the remaining bundles and wolfed down the meat.

  “How does it work? Will it even fit?” she asked, eyes back on the suit, shifting it in her hands.

  “It will stretch when you pull it on. The circle piece is the front.”

  She held the suit up by the shoulders and turned it, locating the plastic-looking chest piece. She couldn’t deny her skepticism; the thing was way too small. But a lot of the old tech — the good stuff, anyway — was so advanced that it seemed more like magic than technology.

  Bending down, she raised a foot and pushed it into the suit.

  “You have to remove your other coverings,” Dracchus said.

  She turned her head toward him, brows drawn. “What?”

  “Macy said you have to remove your coverings,” he said, gesturing to his torso as though he had a shirt on, “or else the suit will not work properly.”

  Larkin scowled. “Of course,” she muttered. “Turn around, kraken, and no peeking.”

  He frowned and tilted his head.

  “I’m not joking,” she said.