Chapter 4
Chapter
Four
Kraken never bluff.
–An Incomplete Guide to Kraken Survival
Ineed a lover.
Sebastian’s words echoed through my mind, growing louder with each new incarnation.
“Excuse me?” I finally burst out. He had not just said what I thought he’d just said.
“Do not worry, Brownie—Brona,” he corrected himself with a small smile.
But that smile didn’t last long. He opened a hidden compartment, revealing a wet bar, and poured two drinks.
“Já, I believe we’ve found your nickname.
” He offered me a glass, but I declined.
He drained both. “As for our relationship, it will be performance only. With the distinct honor of being my consort, you’ll have a reason to be at my side. ”
Shock hadn’t loosened me from its vise-grip. “But why me?” Surely scores of kraken women would line up for the chance. All better suited for the position of his fake paramour.
“You understand language in a way others do not.”
“Ah, but you don’t need a translator, remember?” I said, fighting for calm. “Try again.”
“All right. How’s this? In five days, convergence occurs. For sixty seconds, a rune that has remained dormant for centuries will awaken and speak.”
Not terrifying so far. Though a speaking rune seemed… odd? “I studied convergence before I came.” A time when the outer sea, the dome tide and the moon breathe together. “What I don’t understand is my part in it.”
“I need you there when it happens. To answer the rune’s question.”
I waited for him to elaborate. He did not. “What question?” I asked.
“One that will allow it to transfer its power to me.” His expression hardened. “Then I will become the only weapon capable of slaying the primordial.”
Whoa, whoa. His victory hinged on me having a chit-chat with a rune? Nein. Unacceptable. “What if I mishear the question? Or don’t hear it at all?” Were the images on the dome—and his skin—speaking even now?
“You will hear, and you will hear correctly,” he said, firm. “There’s nothing easier, Brona. We’ll work on it together.”
Not good enough. “How do you know I’ll hear correctly?”
A muscle flexed in his jaw. “Because you meet a specific set of criteria.”
That wasn’t good enough either. “Well? List the criteria. Some kind of prophecy? Perhaps a mythical birthmark I don’t know I have? A wild, chosen-one situation?” All the scenarios I’d read about in my novels.
The corner of his mouth quirked before his entire countenance turned wry. “You are female. Flaxen-haired. Have eyes like calm waters and dragon fire in your veins.”
That was specific. And odd. “A powerful rune is concerned about my hair and eye color?”
“Nei,” he admitted, a bit sheepish. “Those are my own preferences. What I choose for my consort, the only woman the rune will be willing to speak with.”
A flutter stirred in my stomach. Learning I fulfilled the requirements of an ancient rune would have been far less unsettling than discovering I fulfilled Sebastian’s.
“I just… I still can’t wrap my head around why you chose me for this job.
Surely there’s someone else better qualified.
” I got the bigger details, sure, but not all the smaller ins and outs.
“And why does the stone need to speak with your consort at all? Why not have a conversation with you directly?”
“It will. But only after it speaks to you.”
“Why?” I insisted.
“Ask it.”
Did he not know why I had to go first? Or did he just not want to tell me?
“This is what I know beyond any doubt.” Sebastian tossed back a third drink.
Was the unflappable king... drinking to steady himself?
“Jon, the shifter king, won’t move against Jokull unless I hold the rune’s power.
No one follows a king who can’t win. But Jon needs to see me with my consort, publicly, putting skin in the game.
No consort, no truce, no fighting Jon together. ”
Wait. Logic flaw. “Jon might not know I’m a fake consort, but the rune will.”
“Why would you consider yourself fake?” He frowned as if I’d missed the most obvious detail. “You will agree to be my consort. Therefore, you will be my consort. What we do within our arrangement is up to us, no one else.”
I did not find that especially comforting.
He ran his tongue over his teeth. “We have time to prepare. The agreement with shifters buys us five days. Jon has agreed to halt his attacks until after the convergence. And to extend the truce, depending on how things go.”
“And if the rune doesn’t transfer to you?”
Sebastian’s gaze moved to the window. “Then the partnership with Jon ends.”
I followed his line of sight. The car eased along a road, a whole new world coming into view. Kraken strolled the promenade in twos and threes, lantern-light catching on their limbs, none of them looking up. A whole world that didn’t know it was already under siege.
“Majesty,” I said, gearing up to launch into a meaningful speech about all the reasons I was the worst candidate for this job. For starters, there was more to it than he’d admitted. There must be.
“Sebastian,” he corrected.
Fine. “Sebastian.” How could I say nein in a polite, non-war-causing way?
“You are the only one I want to do this, and you will not fail, Brona. You cannot. You have nothing to fear.”
I almost snapped: How dare you? I fear nothing! But it would have been a lie, and I would’ve known it, he would’ve known it, and that would have done neither of us any good.
“Before you deliver your verdict,” he said, “I’d like you to hear my terms.”
Oooh. Terms. I’d forgotten about those. Adelaide had mentioned them. Twice. Never give an answer without all the facts. I mean it, Bron. Never.
I inhaled slowly. Nodded. “Please continue.”
“I’m asking for five days of your life,” he said.
Shadows crouched over his face, giving him an almost sinister air.
“In exchange for attending meetings and events at my side, wearing the clothes I provide for you, playing the part of my devoted consort, and granting the rune permission to bond with me, I’ll change my vote on inter-realm marriage.
I’ll also arrange for you to dance in every realm.
Kings owe me favors, and I will collect. ”
I sat reeling all over again. He would change his vote. The vote. The one that had sent me here in the first place, the nei that had killed my dream. And now he’d trade it back to me and let me dance for every berserker faction—for the price of pretending to date him.
How in the world did he learn about my goal to dance before all of berserkerhood? I’d told no one but my sisters, and they’d never spill.
Was there a spy in the dragon court, listening?
He wasn’t done. “I’ll also release you from your service contract the day after convergence. Your sister may replace you with anyone of her choosing.”
Buildings whizzed past us as I looked down at my hands. I’d come here for a reason, and he’d just offered me a solution on a silver shell. He’d even thrown in a sweetener. Early release if he wasn’t my firebrand. But what he asked of me was a responsibility I still wasn’t sure I wished to carry.
If I somehow failed to hear, people would get hurt. Innocent people. And I know, I know. He believed I would succeed. But how could he be so sure?
Argh. Could I really walk away without trying?
I narrowed my gaze on him. “I know you say fake is fine for the rune. But what about the shifter king? I’ve only been in your realm for a matter of hours, Sebastian. He won’t believe I fell for you. Or your people.”
The look he gave me could only be described as amused indulgence. “Everyone will believe you succumbed to me at moment one, Brona. But being in love isn’t our goal. It isn’t even on the table.”
Well, why wasn’t it on the table? I’d just watched him crouch beside a grieving woman and offer comfort.
Before that, he’d dropped everything to arrange a search for survivors.
He fought to protect his people. And by the flame, he smelled so good.
There was a slight chance I could maybe, possibly, eventually fall in love with him if I let myself.
I gripped my knees. Could he not see himself ever falling in love with me?
“I promise you this, Brona. No one will ever question my desire for you.” He looked at me then, as he’d done inside the traveling stones, when his whole body had gone taut. As if he wanted me more than he wanted his next breath. “The relationship will be fake. The desire is not.”
Oh, sweet stars. Breathe. I needed to breathe. Heat flooded my cheeks. Little choking sounds escaped.
“See?” In a blink, that amused indulgence returned, replacing his desire. “Jon will say nothing.”
He’d turned it off so swiftly. And if he turned it on around others, everyone would believe he craved me. Even me.
This was so not smart.
And I couldn’t even be mad at him. If he’d spoken true, and that desire wasn’t faked… if that was really how much he wanted me… who would doubt him?
“Say já. If you say nei, I’ll be forced to go a different route.”
Oh, he would, would he? “If there’s another pretend consort in waiting, then please go a different route.”
His eyes slitted. “Say já,” he repeated, forcing the words through half-clenched teeth. “Please. I wish to do this with you. Only you.”
That was better. But it meant I had a decision to make. Risk everything in five days or leave with nothing in three years?
At least if I did it, I’d get to spend more time with him. Learn more about this mysterious, contradictory man and what he meant–or didn’t mean–to my future. And maybe, just maybe, make sure no other woman had to grieve like I’d seen earlier tonight.
Beyond the window, more of Krakenstrond unfolded beneath a ceiling of dark water. Sand-colored buildings curved the road, gardens of waving sea grass lined the walkways.
A pair of children raced beside one of the canals while their mother called after them.
Five days.
These people had five days, or they’d end up like the family on the beach.
I sighed and gave him the only answer I could, like the brave romance heroines I loved. “I accept your bargain.” I extended my hand, ready to shake on it.
He took my hand, but he didn’t shake it. Nein, he turned it over and studied my palm. Just as my pulse spiked, he traced the pad of his thumb down the center. The caress was soft but the electric current it sparked proved devastating, and I swallowed my gasp.
He noticed, because of course he did, and gave me another of his almost smiles.
The car pulled up in front of the palace, but he didn’t release me yet. “Now that that’s settled, you can return to your room to overthink all that we’ve discussed.”
He wasn’t wrong about that. I intended to dissect everything down to the punctuation.
“Just one more thing before you go,” he added, squeezing my fingers.
I shook my head. “Nein, nein, nein. You can’t add new conditions now that we’ve reached an agreement.”
“This is a reminder of a previous condition.” His gaze held mine. “Our deal. Our secret. No exceptions. As promised, what we do will not affect the dragons in Ashmorra. You may tell your sisters nothing.”
Tilting my head, I gazed up at him. “I already gave you my word on that. The reminder is insulting.”
He blinked, surprised. “You’re right. My apologies.” His thumb found my wrist again, rousing another almost gasp. “Tomorrow you’ll move into the suite connected to mine. Then the real work begins.”
My heart blipped. “You said nothing about rooming together.” And that was what we’d be, with connecting chambers. Roommates.
Those shifting eyes softened with amusement. “What is it you think a man does with his consort, Brona?” He brought my hand to his mouth and pressed a soft kiss against my knuckles. “Be ready tomorrow morning. We introduce our budding relationship to my people and get you used to my touch.”