Hunter of the Tide
The Kraken #3
Tiffany Roberts
Contents
Hunter of the Tide
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Author’s Note
Also by Tiffany Roberts
About the Author
Hunter of the Tide
The Kraken Book #3
Tiffany Roberts
Copyright © 2018 by Tiffany Freund and Robert Freund Jr.
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be used or reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form by any means, including scanning, photocopying, uploading, and distribution of this book via any other electronic means without the permission of the author and is illegal, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, contact the publishers at the address below.
Tiffany Roberts
[email protected]
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or people, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Cover by Cameron Kamenicky and Naomi Lucas
Edited by Cissell Ink
Created with Vellum
Chapter 1
361 Years After Landing
Rhea swam ahead of the search party, pulling Melaina along beside her. Her fingers flexed on the youngling’s wrist, and it took all her willpower to keep from squeezing tighter. Embarrassment and anger blazed at the surface, but those emotions weren’t what had her hearts pounding in a hollow chest, those weren’t what made her throat feel tight and her limbs tremble. Fear and helplessness dominated Rhea.
I might have lost her.
This wasn’t the first time Melaina had disappeared, or the second or third. Rhea was fast losing numbers to count her daughter’s expeditions. It didn’t seem to matter how often or vehemently Rhea explained to the child the many dangers of the sea — Melaina wouldn’t be deterred. How many times could they go through this before it ended in tragedy?
Rhea turned her head to look at her daughter.
Melaina struggled to keep up with the pace set by her mother and was being dragged more than she was swimming. She held a sealed container against her chest with her free arm, undoubtedly holding some new treasure the girl had found — a pretty rock, or a shell, or a broken chunk of coral. Besides Melaina’s gray eyes, the youngling shared her mother’s looks — the same gray skin, the same delicate facial features, even a similar build, all presented in miniature — but seemed to have nothing of Rhea’s temperament.
Though he was not Melaina’s sire, the girl was much more like Jax, whose restless nature had earned him the name the Wanderer.
For a moment, Melaina met Rhea’s eyes, and then looked away with discouragement and shame in her expression.
Rhea’s chest constricted with guilt. Melaina was heeding some inner calling, a voice Rhea couldn’t hear, an urge beyond her understanding, but it was too dangerous to allow the youngling to follow that call.
Rhea looked to her other side, where Dracchus swam nearby. He was the largest of the kraken, the strongest, and he’d been the one to lead the search for Melaina — this time, and many times before.
Noticing her attention, he turned his head toward her.
She signed with her free hand and altered her color to emphasize her sincerity.
Thank you.
Dracchus’s brow creased. Females did not give thanks; it was for the males to protect and provide, especially with so few females, and why would any thanks be given to a male for merely fulfilling his duty? Appreciation could be shown in other ways when warranted. Ways that had the potential — however small — to produce younglings.
But Rhea’s relief at having her daughter safe outweighed all of that, and Dracchus’s willingness to search without hesitation or complaint, despite having done so countless times, meant more than Rhea could adequately express.
Finally, Dracchus dipped his head in acknowledgment and looked forward.
Rhea let her gaze linger, sweeping it over his broad shoulders and muscular arms, past his narrow hips, and along the length of his thick tentacles. Dracchus would make an excellent mate. Once, she might have considered pursuing him.
But now…now there was another who’d caught her interest.
Rhea blew through her siphons, expelling those thoughts as the Facility came into view. The main building’s exterior lights illuminated only a small portion of its manmade walls, leaving the rest of the structure nothing more than a shadow amidst the gloom. The other buildings, connected to the first by tunnels, were dark smudges to either side.
The other kraken broke their loose formation, swimming toward their dens in the other buildings. Only Dracchus remained. He went to the keypad beside the door and entered the sequence all kraken were taught as younglings. The light over the door shifted from red to green, and the door slid open.
Rhea tugged Melaina into the pressurization chamber. And Dracchus followed.
Dracchus followed them inside, closing the door behind him. The water drained.
The transition from water to air was always slightly disorienting for Rhea. Her body grew heavier, felt bulkier, and her siphons gaped uselessly until her lungs expanded with their first breath. The sensation of floating always lingered for a time afterward, which only heightened how sluggish her limbs felt outside of water.
The light above the interior door went green.
“Pressurization normalized,” said the computer’s disembodied voice.
“Mother—” Melaina began.
“How many times must I tell you never to leave?” Rhea growled, spinning to face her daughter. Melaina flinched back. “Did you learn nothing when you were nearly killed by the razorback? When Macy nearly died to save you?” Rhea’s tentacles writhed.
Melaina ducked her head, lips turned down into a frown. Her small shoulders sagged. The human, Macy, was Jax’s mate, the female who finally eased his restlessness. Her arrival had thrown the kraken’s world into a state of change, and the devotion she and Jax showed to one another had forced Rhea to confront her own loneliness, her own desires for lasting companionship. Rhea had come to consider Macy a friend, and Melaina was extremely fond of the human.
Rhea’s stomach twisted. Had she fallen so low as to use Melaina’s adoration of Macy to guilt the youngling into compliance? It hurt to see her child look so small, so defeated, but Melaina’s safety was more important than anything else. Younglings were precious among the kraken because they were so rare, and females rarer still.
But she is my daughter.
“There could be hunters out there, searching for kraken to capture,” Rhea said, softening her voice. “What would happen if they found you? You cannot keep doing this, Melaina.”
“There are many dangers in the sea,” Dracchus added, “and if we do not know where you are, we cannot protect you.”
Somehow, Melaina shrank further at the male’s gentle admonishment.
Dracchus pressed the button on the wall and the interior door opened. They exited the chamber, entering a long corridor. “I will tell the others that the youngling is safe.”
Once Dracchus had turned down another hallway, Rhea turned to her daughter, who stood beside her with head bowed.
Sighing, Rhea lowered herself, easing her tentacles and curling
them up at her sides. She brushed the backs of her fingers over Melaina’s cheek. “What did you find?”
Melaina raised her head, face lighting up. She placed her container on the floor. Before she could open the lid, something thumped inside, scooting the whole thing a hand span over the floor.
Rhea tensed. “What was that?”
“I’ll show you,” Melaina said, removing the lid.
Rhea leaned over to look inside.
A small, scaled creature stared back at her with large, dark eyes. Its paddle-like tail swished restlessly in the water filling the container, and the whiskers protruding from its snout twitched. The creature lay on the bottom with its rear legs folded beneath it, displaying puncture wounds on its hindquarters — likely the bite of a predator. Lifting a front leg, the creature extended its paw toward Rhea, stretching the webbing between its toes.
“A prixxir?” Rhea asked, looking back to Melaina. “It is a youngling.”
“He’s hurt,” Melaina said. “I couldn’t just leave it.”
Melaina reached for the creature, but Rhea caught her wrist before her fingers entered the container.
“It might bite, Melaina.”
Before the youngling could reply, voices from farther down the hall drew Rhea’s attention away. A group of females rounded a corner and approached.
“Melaina!” Thana, at the front of the group, hurried over with relief in her eyes. “Dracchus just told us you were back. I am so glad to see you safe.”
Another female, Aja, lowered herself beside Melaina. The prixxir moved suddenly, splashing water onto the floor, and Aja flinched back.
“What is that?” she demanded, eyes wide.
“A prixxir,” Melaina said. “He’s hurt.”
Thana leaned forward to look into the container. “And what are you doing with it, little one?”
“I want to help it.”
Rhea lowered her brow and tilted her head. “But you do not know how to care for the creature.”
Melaina looked down at the prixxir, crestfallen. “I could try.”
Pounding footsteps echoed along the corridor. Rhea turned toward the sound as Randall ran into the corridor from one of the intersecting halls. He skidded to an abrupt halt beneath the stares of the gathered females.
Rhea trailed her gaze over him. His cheeks and jaw were covered with a light growth of hair, and the hair atop his head was tousled. The dark blue material of his jumpsuit clung to his muscular form, hinting at the body beneath. Heat suffused her, and she gritted her teeth against a sudden wave of desire. She’d seen him without coverings when he was first brought to the Facility, and that only made her long to see him bare again. It took considerable effort to keep her skin from changing color when all she wanted to do was signal her interest to mate with him.
His bright blue eyes met hers.
He stood with his arms spread slightly to the sides, undoubtedly to make it clear that he wasn’t reaching for the holstered gun on his belt. Several kraken had voiced their discomfort with Randall carrying such weaponry, but Dracchus had insisted Randall be equipped to defend himself should the need arise.
Aja spun to face Randall and growled. “What do you want, human?”
Randall lifted his hands and displayed open palms. He didn’t move any closer, leaving several body lengths between himself and the females. “I didn’t mean to interrupt anything. I heard they found Melaina, and just wanted to make sure she was okay.”
“As you can see, she’s fine. Be gone.”
“Enough,” Rhea snapped, glaring at Aja.
Aja twisted to narrow her eyes at Rhea. “You are defending this human? Do you side with them?”
“There are no sides here,” Randall said. “We’re all just living, right? I’m not—”
Aja lunged toward Randall. “Were it up to some of us, you would not be—”
Rhea caught Aja’s arm and yanked her back, shoving her against the wall. She pinned her in place with her forearm across the other female’s chest and held the claws of her other hand at Aja’s throat. In her peripheral vision, Rhea saw Melaina carefully pick up her container and move behind Thana.
“Have you forgotten so easily that this human is under Dracchus’s protection?” Rhea asked, voice low.
“You are as much a betrayer as he is!” Aja snarled, struggling against Rhea’s hold.
Rhea caught Aja’s wrists with her tentacles, forcing the other female’s hands down to her side, and leaned more of her weight against her captive. She cocked her head. “Do you challenge me, Aja?”
Heaving through clenched teeth, Aja only glared at Rhea.
“There’s no betrayal happening here, and no need for a challenge,” Randall interjected. “I’m not here to cause trouble.”
“Be silent, human,” Rhea commanded, though gently. She didn’t remove her gaze from Aja. “Do you?”
Aja shook her head sharply.
Rhea released her and moved back.
Sagging slightly, Aja rubbed at her chest with one hand. She glanced at Randall, face tight with anger and humiliation, glared once again at Rhea, and then spun away. All the females save Thana hesitantly followed her. Randall pressed himself against the wall as they passed him; none so much as looked at him while they were near.
“Has she sided with Kronus?” Rhea asked.
Thana sighed and lifted her hands, palms up. “If she has not yet, she is likely to now. I believe Leda has been whispering in her ear.”
“These jealous females will start a fight they cannot win.”
Thana looked at Randall. “Even threat of Dracchus’s retribution will not deter some of Kronus’s supporters. Though they despise Arkon, they gladly used the wounds he suffered at the hands of the human hunters as proof that humans are our enemies.”
“I’m not trying to incite more violence,” he said, frowning. The hunters who shot Arkon had been under Randall’s command until they’d betrayed their leader. Randall still bore scars as evidence of their treachery.
“Your mere presence does that,” Thana said.
“It’s not like I asked to come here.”
“But here you are,” Rhea said. “Thana, tell the other females he is under my protection, as well. An insult to him — to any of the humans here — is an insult to me.”
Randall clenched his jaw, and a crease appeared between his eyebrows. “I can’t say I don’t appreciate the gesture, but you don’t need to welcome trouble on my behalf, Rhea.”
Rhea grinned at him. “It is no trouble.”
Randall’s gaze dipped to her mouth. Humans had mostly flat teeth, and she supposed hers were as odd to him as his were to her.
“I am glad Melaina is safe,” Thana said. She looked from Rhea to the youngling. “I will see you both soon, I hope.”
Dipping her head in a silent farewell, Thana set off down the corridor in the same direction the other females had gone.
Randall offered Thana a warm, uncertain smile as she passed. Once she was gone, he ran his hand through his hair. Rhea had been tempted many times to comb her fingers through it, too, to feel its softness against her fingertips, to feel it brush along her palm.
He walked up to her, now that no obstacles remained in his path. “Like I said, I just wanted to make sure everything was okay. I’ll leave you to it before I’m the cause of another fight.” He turned away.
“You are a hunter,” she said quickly, bringing his attention back to her.
“I was.”
“Why would you think you are one no longer?”
He shrugged. “I look around me sometimes, and my brain says everything I’m seeing — this place, your people — can’t be real. Kind of hard to figure out who or what I am when I haven’t quite reconciled everything else yet.”
“But here we are,” Rhea said, spreading her arms and tilting her head. “You were a hunter before you knew of our kind. Our existence did not affect what you were, then.”
“The foundation was already
cracked before I found out your people were real. That discovery just served as the catalyst to break everything apart.”
“But it does not change who you are here.” Rhea placed a hand on her chest with fingers spread wide, over her hearts. His eyes followed her gesture and widened slightly.
“Maybe not,” he replied, glancing down at his own chest, “but it made me realize I don’t know who I am as well as I thought I did. Again, I appreciate it, but you don’t need to worry about me. I’ll figure things out. You have your own problems to deal with.”
“Can you help him?” Melaina asked, lifting her container toward Randall.
He arched a brow, glancing from Melaina to Rhea and back again. “Him?”
“A hunter knows about creatures, yes?” Rhea asked.
Melaina approached Randall. “He’s hurt.”
Randall squatted and looked into the container. “Where did you find this? Prixxir are all over the coastlines, but I didn’t think they came out this far.”
Melaina’s guilty glance confirmed that the girl had gone even farther from the Facility than Rhea would’ve suspected. Rhea cast a disapproving glare at her daughter, who quickly averted her gaze and turned back toward Randall.
“He was hurt and alone,” Melaina said. “Can you help him, Randall?”
The prixxir placed a webbed paw on the side of the container and lifted its head, whiskers twitching.
Reaching down, Randall gently touched the creature; it let out a squeaking yelp and curled up on the bottom again. “I’ve never taken care of anything like this, Melaina. That’s… It’s not really what hunters do.”
“But like any hunter, you watch; you learn. You know their habits,” Rhea said.
His gaze shifted up to meet hers. “I’ve only dealt with these things on land. And I don’t know how serious its wounds are, or how to treat them.”
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