Chapter 1

The water was iridescent blue as Kai swam closer to the surface. He could feel his body transforming, two of his tentacles becoming legs. He let them kick out behind him as he made his way up from the deep of Motham Bay, welcoming the energy of ancient kraken and human surging in equal measure through his body.

Two more tentacles transformed; arms joined his legs. Kai took long strokes, admiring the formation of his biceps and forearms, the fingers of each hand, splaying them and then flexing them, marveling at their dexterity.

If this meeting with his grandfather was about what he thought it was, Kai knew he would need them.

As he swam through the labyrinth of rocks and seagrass, small fish moved in schools around him, their scales sparkling in the dappled light that shone through rock crevices as he neared the caves. More sunlight permeated the water up here, sending it turquoise and cobalt in turn. Kai felt the urge to breathe like a human, his lungs expanding, his gills flattening and his nostrils widening.

Not yet. Not yet.

There was a sudden flash of a large, sleek creature weaving at speed through the schools of fish, and then suddenly Kai was nose to nose with a dolphin. He grimaced as it blew a raft of bubbles in his face.

“Get lost, Torqua,” Kai laughed. Torqua was the youth leader of the school of dolphins that patrolled the caves, and Kai’s oldest friend. They’d grown up together, meeting at cave ceremonies through their early years.

Torqua gave a series of clicks. “Have you been called to meet the old fella?”

“Maybe.” Kai shrugged.

“Does that mean what I think it does?” Torqua swirled around Kai, his bright eyes surveying him.

“None of your business.” Kai grinned and landed a playful punch. In return, Torqua slapped him with a flipper.

“Kai’s goin’ to compete.” He chuckled. “I feel it in my fins.”

Kai wrapped his arms around his friend’s neck and good-naturedly they tumbled, scuffing up the sand on the shallow seabed, before a voice boomed, “Get in here, boy, now.”

Fuck.

Razad was standing in the cave entrance, glaring at him. Kai quickly released Torqua. His grandfather, and the leader of their clan, stood, hands on hips, tentacles swirling around his big body. Of course, this wasn’t the time for rough and tumble, just before his meeting with Razad. Kai had let excitement get the better of him. After all these years, all the training, the healing work he’d done, to be called now was a dream come true—if he didn’t muck it up with his own exuberance. “Get lost,” he growled to Torqua. “Can’t afford to get in the shit with the old man.”

Torqua let out a volley of sharp clicks, the dolphin equivalent of a chuckle, and disappeared.

Kai bowed his head and swam toward his grandfather.

“Mi Kulpi, Ancienta. Sorry, learned one.” He addressed Razad by his official title. “Mika tetana serat brani kilka—may your tentacles stay supple and your mind clear,” he finished in medieval Kraken, prostrating himself in front of the leader of their clan.

Razad merely grunted, then out shot a barnacle-covered tentacle and suckered Kai up to meet him. Face to face.

“It is time for you to behave like an adult. Your Metan is drawing closer.”

Kai met his grandfather’s eyes steadily. His face was rugged, covered in the ravages of deep-sea living, the heavy lines of transforming from kraken to human many, many times.

One day, Kai knew he would look like this. But for now, as a kraken in his twenties, being told that his Metan was not far away— that was serious stuff. Metan meant mature krakenhood. It meant being ready to fight.

And, above all, to mate.

Did this mean that competing in the games was finally within his grasp? If so, he had attained everything he’d worked for. And finding a mate would surely follow.

Razad released him and spun around, moving into the cave, his limp more obvious in his partially human form. Gray hair hung down his back, looped with colored braid, his beard thick and matted with seaweed as was customary for an elder.

Kai swam after him, through the rock formations, until they reached the inner sanctum, the cathedral-like hole in the rock where the sunlight filtered through, shining on the very spot where Razad’s throne stood.

Kai looped two tentacles beneath him, then sat cross-legged on them and laid his hands in his lap, one on top of the other, adopting the customary pose for when a youth was with their elder.

“You called for me, Grandpa.” Now that they were alone in the inner sanctum, he could address Razad in this way.

“Yes, and no doubt you have some idea why.” The old kraken stared at him solemnly. “Grandson, you will be competing this season.”

Kai’s chest nearly burst open with joy and gratitude, but he contained his emotions, bowing his head, hiding the smile that threatened to crack his face in two.

“Thank you, Grandpa.”

The older male grunted. “Don’t let your head swell. It’s more from necessity than by choice,” he grumbled, and Kai felt his tentacles deflate beneath him. Not that Razad had ever been prone to paying compliments. “Foolish Acha getting beaten by an orc last year has forced my hand. A gods damned orc.” Razad spat sideways, little bubbles flying from his lips.

Kai kept his face dutifully serious. Acha had been champion of the Kraken Games for five seasons. But last year he’d let down his guard, become overly confident and sloppy in his execution. The orc who’d challenged him every year for the past four had learned some clever moves, and had managed to lock Acha’s tentacles around him. He hadn’t been able to hold that orc in the dungeon for more than a couple of minutes.

Acha’s defeat had been a deep humiliation for kraken kind.

Kai and the rest of the juvenile krakens had suspected Acha would not be returned this year. Not after that. But now that he’d heard it from his grandpa’s own lips, Kai’s elation was followed by a jab of uncertainty. Was he ready for this? Gods knew he’d trained hard, so hard, but he’d always been passed over because of the weakness in two of his tentacles.

And now that it was a reality, fear of failing threatened to surge through him like the icy water of the deep.

As if reading his mind, his grandfather asked sternly, “Do you believe you’re ready?”

“Yes, sir.” Kai raised his chin, set his jaw. “I have been ready for a while now.”

Razad nodded curtly. “From what I’ve seen, your training has been worthy of note, your dedication exemplary. And your performance in training heats has been impressive. Your hard work means your injuries are less of an impediment than they were, but you will need wit and cunning. Other monsters have been studying our ways. They learned Acha’s moves. And the foolish lad was too full of hubris. You will have to do things differently.”

Kai bobbed his head respectfully. “I understand, sir.”

The old kraken narrowed his eyes. “You do?”

Kai nodded again, shifting his weight on his tentacles.

“We cannot afford to lose this year. Two years in a row will challenge our supremacy. If humans see our weaknesses, they will become confident venturing into our waters.” The old kraken sighed. “Since the Treaty, the games are our only way to prove our might. Not nearly adequate, but all we have.”

Kai had only vague memories of the period before the Treaty was signed twenty years ago. In those days the kraken had controlled all the waters around Motham Bay, regularly taking down human boats before they could get anywhere near Thedaka, their underwater city. In those days, with humans living in fear of them, it had been safe to spend many hours in these caves closer to Motham City, which were kept clear of pollution by the nearby whirlpool that only kraken kind could churn.

But then the revenge attacks had started.

Kai had been injured in one such attack. A human bomb had ripped through these very caves during his school camp, killing three of his friends, and seriously damaging two of Kai’s tentacles.

The tragedy had struck fear into the people of Thedaka. Kraken armies could not compete with human missiles. If the bombs reached the sanctuary of their city, many more would be killed, and the kraken way of life decimated.

And so, the elders had signed the Treaty. Now, the occasional churning of the whirlpool near Orc Island and the games were their only public show of strength.

And even though the games were highly staged, they served their purpose. Humans kept their distance, and once again, kraken felt safe holding meetings in these caves.

“When will I have this honor, Grandpa?” Kai asked now.

The old man sighed. “They are getting the arena ready; it will happen on the full moon of next month. When the tides are right. You must go ashore within the next couple of days and mix with your adversaries, publicize yourself. A new face will hopefully stop the other species getting cocky.”

Kai gulped. That was so soon. “I will train and stay with Shen?”

“You will.”

Shen was one of Kai’s uncles, the first of the Kraken Games warriors, who now spent a quarter of the year in human form near the marshes. As was tradition for the fighter, Kai would stay there and practice the complexities of wrestling in his human form.

Kai’s mind was a whirl of emotion. This was short notice, yes, but he’d known he wouldn’t get much warning if he was chosen. Too much talk could spread to other monsters.

Up until last year, krakens had been the unrivalled winners of the games.

That was the unspoken rule. The krakens won. Period. They funded the whole shebang; the other monsters in Motham City knew how it went. That was why an orc taking the trophy had been such a shock—to everyone. And an insult. But it was more than that. A kraken losing was a bad message for humans to get wind of. Humans hated krakens still, would do anything to see them brought down.

The feeling was mutual.

Razad sighed heavily. “Go now boy. I need to get myself back into deeper waters. Half shift is terrible for my arthritis,” he grumbled, leaning back and looking tired in the light filtering through the water.

He is getting frail.

Kai’s grandfather had ruled with a tight rein, keeping ancient kraken traditions going. Too much so, some said. But once he was gone, would their clan be safe?

Kai silenced his misgivings—worrying about the future was pointless.

What he had to do was prove himself at the games this year. He vowed he would channel every cell of his being toward that end.

Bringing their meeting to a close, he prostrated himself by kneeling on the floor of the cave and putting his hands, palms together, at his chest, his tentacles now rising in the kraken salute around his head.

Razad leaned forward and placed two hands on Kai’s head, then rested his tentacles on Kai’s shoulders.

“May the Echo of the Deep be with you always.”

“Thank you for the honor, Ancienta.” Kai murmured and left.

Swimming back through the cool waters the urge to move closer to the surface was strong, to survey the city where he would soon be spending his time. He’d visited Motham for the first time last year, as one of the juveniles who showed their support to Acha. It had been an enjoyable trip,— until Acha lost.

With long strokes Kai moved up toward the light.

Almost at the surface now he noticed a shape silhouetted in the water above him. Was it Torqua again? Kai couldn’t help a smirk. Damn that dolphin, no doubt he’d been hanging around to find out, nosey-beaked critter that he was. That big tail fin had to be dolphin…. No wait, it didn’t look quite right.

As he got closer Kai saw it wasn’t a dolphin tail, or any other creature of the ocean for that matter.

Long slender limbs sparkled in the water as the creature swam. The big tail fin he’d thought he’d seen were in fact two black flippers.

Kai powered faster through the water, eager to see more, the glistening of sun sparkles obscuring his vision.

As he got close, as if sensing his presence, the creature flipped gracefully in the water to face him, their upper limbs gently flapping at their side. Hands. Fingers.

Human.

Human and… female.

Electric energy zinged down Kai’s spine.

While goggles obscured the human’s eyes, there was no mistaking the shape of her body in a tight-fitting swimsuit. The dip of her waist, the curve of her hips, the swell of her breasts.

The tingle in his spine spread into his groin.

For a moment the human and he stayed like this. Her lips blew a volley of bubbles.

As they stared at each other through the luminous water, time stood still, and all Kai could feel was the beating of his hearts.

And then, with a swift turn she was gone, and he watched her muscular legs kicking up toward the surface.

The urge to follow was so powerful, he had to tether himself down with his own tentacles.

For fucks sake, this was not the moment to bob his head above the water like a dumb turtle just to see more of her. No, he needed to await the word from Shen that he was ready for him.

But gods damn it, the pull of that human was so strong, it felt like a siren’s song.

When he finally set foot in Motham City, Kai vowed he would find her again.