The kraken surrounded Macy as they swam, with Dracchus — seemingly on high alert — in the lead. Their eyes moved ceaselessly, undoubtedly scanning the water for signs of razorbacks and other predators. Macy’s attention was torn between the scenery, the sea life, and the kraken themselves.

Dracchus looked back only rarely, but Arkon and Jax seemed to glance at one another often; each time, they made strange gestures with their hands and tentacles, and a variety of colors flashed over their skin. They had an entire language without words! Dracchus took part, too, though he seemed to have comparatively little to say.

They continued away from shore. Jax had never taken Macy in this direction, and never quite so far. Gradually, they descended, and the sunlight shining through the surface grew more distorted and faint.

The seafloor around them became relatively flat and open, broken only by a few clusters of rock. Despite her kraken escort, Macy couldn’t help but feel exposed; would three be enough to fight off a razorback?

Her eyes shifted to something ahead. Light. It was diffused by the haze of distance, but there was no mistaking it — there was light on the bottom of the sea.

It grew more distinct as they neared, and the dark shape behind it slowly took form. Macy’s jaw hung agape. She’d thought the place they’d just been was a lost wonder; this surpassed anything she could have imagined.

They were swimming directly toward a huge building — several buildings — all constructed on the seafloor. White lights shone at intervals along the exterior walls, bathing the surrounding terrain in their glow. Dracchus led them to a large door and halted, turning to face the others.

The kraken ran through another series of gestures and color-changes. Even if Macy had known what it all meant, she wasn’t sure she could’ve kept up with it — they signaled with speed and ease, and had probably been doing so their entire lives.

Their communication ended. Dracchus swam off without a backward glance. Jax moved to the door and glanced at Macy, waving her over. She swam closer.

“Do you require entry?” Sam asked, startling her after such a long period of quiet.

“Umm…yes?”

Jax had been reaching for a keypad beside the doorframe; his hand halted when the keys flashed. A few moments later, the light over the door turned green, and the door slid open, revealing a chamber with another door inside.

Both Jax and Arkon stared at Macy in bewilderment. Their confused expressions lingered as the three of them entered the chamber, and the door closed behind them.

“Re-pressurization sequence initiated,” Sam said.

The water in the room drained, gently depositing Macy on her feet. The red light over the interior door switched to green.

“Pressurization complete,” said a feminine voice from somewhere overhead. “Welcome back, diver three-seven-nine.”

“Sam, release the mask,” Macy said. She pulled it off as soon as the seal was broken.

“That was…different,” Arkon said, glancing at Jax.

“The suit?” Jax asked.

Both kraken looked at Macy expectantly.

“What?” she asked, confused. “What was supposed to happen?”

“We’ve always had press the buttons outside in a certain sequence to enter,” Arkon said, “and I have never heard the computer say anything like that before.”

“Oh. Sam asked if I required entry.”

“Sam?” Arkon’s brow furrowed.

“The ghost inside her suit,” Jax replied.

“Those suits have hologram projectors integrated into them?” Arkon asked.

Jax drew back and stared at his friend. “If you knew they were called holograms, why do you always let me call them ghost?”

“Ghost is simpler. Hologram just earns a blank stare from most of the others here, so there’s little point in using the term.”

Macy smirked as Jax — now glaring at Arkon — pressed a button on the wall. The interior door slid open. The corridor beyond appeared to be constructed of metal, and the overhead lights were bright and clear, though some of the farthest flickered.

The walls and floor were covered with dried sand and crusted salt, and here and there lay pieces of withered seaweed and the empty shells of various sea creatures. Somehow, despite the mess, there was no sign of actual damage to the structure — no spots of rust or corrosion, no broken panels, no dangling wires.

Surprisingly, the air smelled fresh. She’d expected it to be stuffy, or at least smell strongly of the sea, but it was odor-free.

“I will inform the others,” Arkon said.

Jax nodded. “I’ll take her to the Mess.”

“The mess?” Macy asked as Arkon left.

“It is a large room we use for gatherings. Usually when a hunt is forming.”

“Oh.” Now that they were here, her apprehension reared back and made itself known. Her awe at this place’s existence, at its functionality, couldn’t distract her from the uncertainty of what was to come.

Jax took her hand in his, drawing her attention to his face. “We could leave.” There was an almost pleading tone in his voice. She couldn’t imagine him getting any closer to begging than that.

Macy shook her head and squeezed his hand. As much as she feared what his people would think of her — and do to her — she needed to see this through. Not just for Jax, but for herself. She’d chosen to join his world, to become part of his life…and she’d already run away from her own home. How would she live with herself if she was responsible for his ostracization?

His chest swelled with a deep inhalation. He exhaled through his siphons and nodded. Without further word, Jax led her through the corridors, taking several turns and passing dozens of doors. There were signs on the walls in numerous places — OPERATIONS, ADMINISTRATION, LABORATORY, INFIRMARY, RECREATION — most accompanied by arrows pointing down the various hallways.

She followed Jax into a room with a faded plastic sign on the wall outside — CAFETERIA. It was spacious, the floor surprisingly clean and open. There were several folded tables standing to one side, and to the other was a counter that connected to a dark room beyond, but it was otherwise empty.

“Over here,” Jax moved to the tables and slid a few aside, opening a narrow space.

Macy stepped past Jax and entered the spot he’d cleared. With the tables — each standing half a meter taller than her — to either side and the wall behind, she felt caged-in; the feeling only worsened when he moved in front of the opening.

He must’ve seen something on her face, because he frowned down at her. “It is best they do not see you until it is time. After that, remain close.”

“Okay.”

However anxious she was, she trusted him. He wouldn’t let anything happen to her.

Voices drifted to her from the corridor. Jax looked over his shoulder before turning fully, giving her his back. His wounds were easier to spot in the light; the bleeding had stopped, but the cuts and punctures on his back were an angry red. She clasped her hands together to keep from touching him.

All she could do now was wait.

As more kraken entered the Mess, Jax forced his breathing to steady and his hearts to slow. He’d always cared about the well-being of his people, and despite his strained relationship with them, he’d never had cause to distrust them.

But the other kraken had no reason to view Macy as anything other than a threat, an enemy.

Though Macy had insisted on doing this, he’d entertained thoughts of simply grabbing her and fleeing back to the cave since they’d left the Broken Cavern. There was a chance they’d be hunted, but it was the safest option. The most likely to succeed. Here, Macy and Jax were both vulnerable. Out in the open sea, however, he was unrivaled.

Arkon arrived and maneuvered through the others to approach Jax. He wore a deep frown.

“Some have already come in from the water. Dracchus will arrive soon, I think, and I doubt he’ll wait to begin this affair,” Arkon said.

“The sooner done with, the better,” Jax muttered.

The others cast curious glances at him. Before Dracchus, Arkon, and Jax split up, they’d agreed not to tell the others the reasons for the gathering. There was no need to work the kraken into a frenzy beforehand.

“I meant what I said, earlier.” Arkon moved beside Jax and turned to face the crowd.

“I know. Thank you.”

By the time Dracchus entered, fifty or sixty kraken had gathered. They parted to allow him through. With his wounds — and Jax’s — on full display, the others wouldn’t have to guess there’d been a fight. Their only question would be who had won. Without witnesses, it was meaningless, but that wouldn’t stop them from speculating.

Jax nodded to Dracchus. He hated that they were doing this, hated that Macy was here, at the mercy of his people, but if it was to be done, this was the proper manner. He could not begrudge Dracchus that.

“What is this about?” asked Ector; he was one of the few remaining elders, a hunter who’d taught Jax and younglings of a similar age.

Dracchus positioned himself a body’s length away from Jax and faced the crowd. “I have called this gathering to present proof of Jax the Wanderer’s treachery against our people, that we all may know his true nature.” His words were measured and carefully spoken; he took a deep breath before continuing. “We have long allowed his wandering, as his skill as a hunter has brought our people great bounty, but his interest has never been with us.

“Seventeen days ago, he refused to join a hunt. He acted strange, but I could not tell what he was hiding. Today, I have discovered the truth of it, the reason that he has forsaken his people. He has chosen a human female over his own kind.”

Many kraken spoke at once, their words indecipherable, but their expressions clear. They looked between Dracchus and Jax with a mixture of anger and disbelief.

“There have been no humans since the uprising,” shouted Kronus over the din. The crowd quieted.

“If any of you had listened to me,” Jax said, “you would know there are humans, less than half a day’s swim away.”

“Why have they not come, then?”

“Because they are as ignorant of our existence as you are of theirs.”

“How do you know this?” Vander asked.

“Part of Dracchus’s claim is true. I have spent better than two weeks in the company of a female human.” Jax’s hearts pounded against his ribs, and his skin was ablaze, but he held his ground against the other kraken’s outbursts.

They shouted amongst themselves, arguing whether humans were even real, whether Jax’s word could be trusted. The kraken were nothing if not individuals; each had his or her own opinion on the matter and was convinced it was correct.

“Enough!” Jax yelled over their noise.

The kraken fell silent. Jax looked over his shoulder. Macy’s eyes were wide, her face pale; fear was written upon her features. “I will be right beside you, Macy.”

Twisting, he extended a hand to her.

She swallowed and took his hand, slowly stepping forward. Jax moved aside to allow her out of the nook.

The silence in the room was broken by several exhalations through siphons, and numerous kraken retreated reflexively.

“Though it was against my wishes, this human — Macy — insisted she face you. To show that she means no harm and that she is not an enemy to our people,” Jax said.

“Humans are forever enemies to our people,” Dracchus insisted.

“I’m not your enemy, Dracchus,” Macy said, then looked toward the others. “I’m not an enemy to any of you.”

“We should do to her as we did her ancestors!” one of the males shouted.

“She is not her ancestors, any more than we are ours.” Jax moved forward and stopped in front of Macy, raking his gaze over the crowd. “She has done nothing to any of us. The wrongs of the past are not hers to answer for.”

Kronus advanced. “She is human! She doesn’t belong here. Not anymore. I say we throw her out to sea and let the razorbacks have her.”

Macy’s hands fell on Jax’s back, and a tremor ran through them.

Arkon drew up on Jax’s right side.

Dracchus dragged himself into place to Jax’s left. “There is no cause to do her harm, Kronus.”

“You made these claims against the Wanderer, and now you defend his human?” Kronus’s skin darkened.

“She is not the one who has done wrong.” Dracchus folded his arms across his chest and stared at Kronus.

Jax was grateful for Dracchus’s defense of Macy, but he knew what those words meant — Jax had committed the crime. He was the one who deserved punishment.

Perhaps he did deserve it, for allowing Macy to come here.

“We cannot simply let her out,” another kraken said.

“Why not let the razorbacks have her? Kronus is right; humans have no place here.”

“She knows this place, now. What if she makes it back to her kind and leads them here?”

“I won’t speak a word about this place, or about any of you,” Macy said. “And I'm not returning to my people. My place is with Jax.”

My place is with Jax.

Those words sent a wave of warmth through Jax and nearly stopped his hearts. He would have turned and pulled Macy against him, would have crushed his mouth over hers to taste her, would have reveled in all that was her…if not for the threat posed by the other kraken.

“We cannot trust the word of a human!” Kronus snarled, moving forward, raising himself high on his tentacles. A red undertone crept into his skin.

Jax shifted to block Kronus’s view of Macy. “If you mean to challenge me, do so. But you—” he ran his gaze over the others “—none of you — will lay neither hand nor tentacle upon her.”

Kronus thrust a clawed finger at Jax. “That thing does not belong here, and if we cannot risk it telling others, it needs to be killed!”

“I will kill anyone, human or kraken, who means to harm my mate!” Jax roared. His skin flared red as he lunged forward; Kronus fell back, fear in his eyes.

The room was utterly silent. The other kraken stared at Jax, and he met each of their gazes one at a time, unwavering.

“She is mine,” he growled.

Ector dragged himself closer, past the stunned Kronus, and slowly looked from Jax to Macy. His demeanor was calm, his coloring neutral.

Fire flowed through Jax’s veins. He would fight any of them, all of them, without a second thought.

“Dracchus is correct,” Ector said, meeting Jax’s eyes. “The human is not at fault here, and she has not yet proven worthy of either our scorn or our punishment. But Jax the Wanderer has forsaken his duty to his people.”

Jax searched for sorrow in Ector’s expression, or anger, or disappointment — for anything. But he couldn’t read the old kraken’s face.

Ector turned to the others. “If Jax has taken her as his mate, she has a place here, like any of us. As strange as it may be, we must honor his choice in that. But she cannot leave.”

A confused combination of relief and resentment struck Jax with the nods and calls of assent from the other kraken. They were sparing her life and stealing her freedom in a single decision.

“Jax trusts this human, Ector,” Arkon said. “Should that not be enough for us? He has always served our people selflessly, despite his wanderings.”

“His judgment cannot be trusted, now that he has mated a human.” The fear in Kronus’s eyes had been overcome by disgust.

“Do we have an agreement on my terms?” Ector asked. “She stays, and is not to be harmed.”

Most everyone seemed to agree. Kronus didn’t look away from Jax, and didn’t offer an answer. Were he not already flooded with emotion, Jax would’ve been amused at himself; he’d thought Dracchus would prove the biggest obstacle.

Kronus turned and left. Several other kraken — all males — followed.

Ector twisted back to look at Jax. “She is not our enemy. Unless she leaves.”

Jax clenched his jaw, grinding his teeth together, and held any response he might have given. Ector had diffused a situation that may well have ended in bloodshed, but the cost… There had to be another way.

As Ector departed, Jax faced Macy.

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “I should have listened to you.”

Shaking his head, Jax raised his hand to cup her cheek and wrapped his tentacles around her waist to draw her close. “You are safe. That is enough, for now. We will figure out what to do, from here.”

“They’ve trapped you as much as they’ve trapped me.”

“Is it better to be alive and caged, or dead and free?” he asked. The answer should have been simple, but he realized he didn’t have one. “They’ve wronged you, Macy.”

“I did not intend for their judgment to be passed upon you, human,” Dracchus said.

“What did you expect, bringing her here?” Jax demanded. “That they would welcome her with open arms and slit me open to pay for my supposed crimes? They might have killed her, were it not for Ector.”

Dracchus frowned, studying Macy. “I want what is best for our people. Nothing more nor less than that. Our numbers are few, Wanderer, and you are needed as much as I, or Arkon.”

“I refused a single hunt, Dracchus. And you play it as the ultimate betrayal.”

“You refused a single hunt, yes,” Dracchus said through bared teeth, “but you have been missing during countless others! Your whims do not change our need for food and protection.”

“I am not responsible for all of us!” Jax released his hold on Macy and turned fully toward Dracchus. “You have ever sought to prove yourself against me, to show everyone you are better than me, and you have finally won. Does it satisfy you?”

Macy grabbed hold of Jax’s arm, tugging him back, though he didn’t budge. “Jax...”

“It gives me no satisfaction,” Dracchus shouted. “You have been gifted more so than any of us, and you waste your skills by wandering aimlessly. For what? What good does it do our people? What good does it do you? That the best of us should be so selfish brings shame upon us all!”

“What makes me better than you, Dracchus?” Jax’s hearts thundered. He clenched his fists at his sides and forced his tentacles to still; Macy’s touch was cold compared to the heat in his blood. “You lead the hunts that sustain our people. You give everything of yourself to protect them and feed them. I am no better than any of us, and my place has never been here. Is that enough to earn your hatred?”

Arkon took hold of Jax’s other arm. “There is no more reason to fight, my friend.”

“You are the one who should lead, Wanderer.” The fury was gone from Dracchus’s voice.

More than the restraining hands upon his arms, Dracchus’s tone broke through Jax’s anger. They stared at each other for a long while.

“I cannot,” Jax finally said. He dropped his gaze to Macy’s hand and clasped it in his own. Without further word to Dracchus, he led Macy out of the Mess and into her new life.