Page 37 of The Kraken's Queen

“Not an easy sea to navigate. Rough waters and high winds. But those bastards are here, locked away in an underwater cave,” Atina says.

“Are you certain this is the location?” I pull the map closer.

My sister is silent for a beat too long before she nods. “Aye. Lost three men. I don’t lose men, Allarick. Not to the sea, at least. Never to the sea.” She whispers the last part to herself, looking off into the distance.

Next to me, Erin lets out a deep breath. “I’m so sorry for your losses, Atina.”

“Families have been told. Never want to see that kind of pain again. I learned one was expecting his first child.” Atina laughs bitterly. “It’s going to get worse before it gets better.”

I don’t want to dredge up painful memories, but there’s no other way around it. “I need you to walk me through exactly what happened.”

“Allarick, we should give her a moment. She’s clearly hurting.”

“It’s okay, lass. Their sacrifice won’t be in vain. We’ll get retribution.” Atina glowers at me, expecting me to make sure that happens. If at all possible, I will.

“It started out mostly the same as last time. We heard the sound off and on. It was low singing. Weakbecause we were still too far from it. I had the crew plug their ears and stay vigilant still. Just in case. Not even five minutes later, the singing became louder and harder to ignore. Even my seasoned crewmembers were struggling. Hell, I was struggling. It was the three new lads I picked up who didn’t make it.”

“They weren’t our people?” I ask.

“That’s the thing, Allarick. They were. But they jumped into the sea and never resurfaced. We heard them scream and then nothing. Everything, even the singing, went silent. I stayed for as long as I could, but the song was still affecting my other crew members. I had to get out. I had to. I would have lost more crew members if I didn’t.”

“Of course you had to,” Erin assures. “You had to keep your crew safe. That couldn’t have been an easy decision, but you saved the lives of the rest of your crew.”

Atina takes a long swig of her ale until nothing remains but a few drops. “Aye, but no one should have died.”

“You can’t blame yourself for that.” Even as I say the words, I know how hypocritical I sound. Every death that happens during my reign is a death that weighs heavily on my conscience. My people look to me to keep them safe, just as Atina’s crew looks to her. Every death is felt heavily.

Atina flags down a barmaid for another ale, but both Erin and I decline when asked if we want anything to drink.

“What do we do now?” Erin asks after the barmaidplaces Atina’s mug in front of her. “It sounds like the Leviathan’s song is getting stronger.”

Atina nods at Erin’s assessment. “It is. More powerful than a siren. The pull is strong and only going to get stronger.”

“How do they get more powerful?” Erin reaches out to place her hand on my thigh. I’m not sure she even realizes she’s doing it, but I cover her hand with mine, and she doesn’t pull away.

“According to lore, which is all we have to go by, they steal the energy from other living beings.”

“Like their souls?” Erin asks, horrified.

“Precisely,” Atina sighs. “They steal their souls from their bodies, leaving their victims withered and hollowed. If we allow them to become too powerful, Tetria and the rest of Mescos will fall to them and the Nephilim. My crew and I have noticed ocean creatures acting strange, too, because of the singing. We plan on investigating that. After…” Atina gestures to the drink in front of her.

The harrowing thought sobers the table. Atina’s mouth is set in a grim line, while Erin tries to convey her sympathy. Not for the first time, I question my choice to bring Erin here. To force her into a war she otherwise would have no part in. If anything ever happens to her…

No, I can’t think like that. And I can’t say I forced her when Erin signed a contract. She knew what she was getting into. Without her here, my people would surely suffer.

“May I make a suggestion for your next move?” Atina asks after a while.

I value my sister’s opinions and advice. I may not always heed it, but she’s never steered me wrong before.

“Of course. You know you always can,” I say.

Atina leans forward until both of her elbows are on the table. She looks between Erin and me before meeting my eyes. Her jaw clenches, like she doesn’t want to tell me what she knows. I stay silent, giving her time.

Atina sucks in a deep breath. “I’ve gathered information on these creatures and studied the history books Delmare found. In one of them, they show how the prison keeps the Leviathan in.”

“Well, that’s good news, isn’t it?” Erin looks between us. “If we know how to close it, then we need to do it.”

But nothing is ever that simple. If it were, Atina wouldn’t look as defeated as she does. “In good news, we sometimes find bad,” Atina says. “The prison gates are holding for now, but will weaken as the Leviathan get stronger. The gate to their prison can be sealed off, but only if it is closed by members of the royal family. In every text I’ve read, there’s always been more than one person and always blood relatives.”

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