Page 68 of The Kraken's Queen

Although Atina isn’t in the main room when I walk in, my harp is. I stop dead in my tracks, frowning at the beautiful instrument. I told Iris I didn’t want to see it, but clearly my maid had other ideas for me. Delmare must have helped her carry it in here, and both left before I woke up. Not even Delmare and Iris want to be around the negative energy I possess.

Sighing, I stalk close to the harp, dropping down on the couch. My fingers graze the smooth body of the instrument. I’m sure they brought it here to cheer me up or have me play to calm everyone else, but I don’t particularly feel in the mood for music.

I’m about to get up to get myself a glass of water when the door opens. I expect Atina or Iris to walkthrough the door, encouraging me to get out. I’m already exhausted just thinking about making rounds again. Two people peek around the door of my cabin, but neither is Atina or Iris.

Despite myself, I jump back.

“Sorry! We didn’t mean to scare you,” a woman with red hair says.

“We were told you might still be asleep,” the other black-haired woman says.

There’s something vaguely familiar about both of these women. They aren’t from Tetria; that much is obvious from their clothes. The red-haired woman is wearing an emerald-green dress that doesn't look like any fabric I’ve ever seen before. It’s like it’s made from lizard scales.

The other woman’s outfit is much more mundane and familiar. Tight black pants and a long-sleeved red blouse. Her black hair is braided back, showing off a tattoo on her neck. At least it looks like a tattoo, but I can’t make out what the design is.

Both women enter the cabin, and realization dawns. I’ve seen these women before, heard stories from Sister Tammy about them.

“You’re from Grym Hollow.” My mind is having a hard time seeing two women from my hometown in this magical land.

The red-haired woman laughs. “We are. I’m Rose, and this is Hettie. We made the same deal as you did with The Guardian. He’s not the most forthcoming.”

The other woman—Hettie—scoffs. “It’s easier to talk to a brick wall.”

My interactions with The Guardian were minimal. I don’t think we said more than a few sentences to each other. Our last interaction was him carrying my broken body out of James's house.

“What are you doing here?Whyare you here?” The last thing I expected today was to have two people from Grym Hollow show up at Atina’s door.

“Atina—apparently that’s your husband’s sister?” Hettie asks. I nod and she continues, “Well, she paid my husband and me a visit and asked me to speak to you. Rose happened to be visiting, so I brought her along. She helped me out a few weeks back, so I figured she’d be helpful in this situation.”

“I don’t understand.” Was this Atina’s attempt at helping me make friends in case I become a grieving widow? Was she already tired of putting up with me? The women before me both look strong and capable, but unless they can help me get Allarick back, I don’t think their help is necessary.

Rose steps forward, hand coming to rest on her flat stomach. “Do you mind if we sit down? These days I can barely go a few hours without feeling sick.”

Because I’m not completely rude, I nod. “Of course, take a seat.”

“Thank you,” Rose says graciously and moves to sit on the couch. She groans, holding her back as she sits.

“Are you okay? Can I get you something?” The woman clearly looks uncomfortable. She rubs her back before straightening up.

“I’ll be okay in seven more months,” she mumbles.

My brain is slow to process the words, but luckilyHettie explains Rose’s discomfort. “Rose is expecting. She and Malix wasted no time getting down to business.” She smirks.

“Didn’t you just tell me you and Rip want to start a family?” Rose teases.

“I did…do, but I’m going to let you push out the dragon baby and then consider if I’m ready to push out a wolf baby. Tallie told me Rip weighed twelve pounds. Twelve fucking pounds. I’ll never recover from that,” Hettie says, falling back on the couch dramatically.

From outside the door, there’s a low growl, and then a male voice shouts through the door, “You’ll recover just fine.”

“Ugh, fucking alpha males,” Hettie murmurs, rolling her eyes. Even as she feigns annoyance, I don’t miss the smile she tries to hide. “That’s my husband, Rip. Ignore him; I’m trying to.”

“At least your husband isn’t flying above head, scaring anyone who tries to get too close to the cabin.” Rose laughs but then sobers up quickly, like she remembered why she’s here. “Anyway, we didn’t come here to talk about my pregnancy or our husbands. We are here to talk about yours.”

Both women look at me as my brow lifts in confusion. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand.” Perhaps it’s my brain fog, or maybe it’s my annoyance at being caught off guard that keeps me from understanding.

“Can you tell us what’s happening?” Rose asks. “Atina told us a little, but we would like to hear it from you.”

I sigh, deciding to humor Rose and Hettie. It’s notlike I have anything better to do, plus both women are from Grym Hollow. If anyone can help me and understand what I’m going through, it’s them. I tell them about Allarick and the home he brought me to. About the Leviathan, which they seemed really interested in, and then finally about the last day we were together. How Allarick pushed me away and how I ended up in this cabin.

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