AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Ayla ignored my question. “Did… Deus hurt you? Do I have someone to kill?”
“No, he didn’t, not really. I don’t want to talk about it—”
“I am your friend,” she hissed, cutting me off. Her eyes blazed so brightly they changed color.I didn’t even know a succubus could do that,I thought. They were mesmerizing.
“People care about you, whether you want us to or not. Being alone with your problems won’t fix them. Ugh. Are all krakens so obstinate?”
She scooted back on her bed and fished around in her bag until she found a bar of chocolate, which she tossed at me. “Isn’t this, like, why you’re all dying out? Because you’re all loners and can’t find someone to screw?”
I was too busy staring at her open-mouthed to catch the chocolate, and one corner of it hit me in the chest.
“How did you know?” I blurted.
Ayla took a long drink of hot chocolate, eyeing me over the rim. “Seta, you are so very clearly not a mermaid. You don’t do the hair flip, you don’t hang out in the lake, you don’t care about shells unless you’re trying to figure out what’s inside them, and you never spend time socializing with actual mermaids. And once when you came out of the bathroom I caught a glimpse of tentacle.”
I sat slack-jawed as she spoke. How could I have been so careless? My cuff must have been loose and because I’d been relaxed after a shower, I’d forgotten to keep a tight grip on my form.
“Look, I don’t care. You’re tidy, you clean the sink, you don’t party so much that you puke all over our room, and aside from that one time, you keep your sexy times to yourself. You’re a good roommate. And youcouldbe a good friend… if you’d let people in. We could build our own clan by supporting each other.”
Ayla knew what I was, and instead of being afraid, she’d continued to stay in the room with me. And as much as she loved gossip, she’d kept my secret.
I loved the ocean, but the Deep was horribly lonely. I’d been focused on trying to gain the tools to give myself a purpose and make myself happier once I returned to the abyss, but in doing so, I’d missed out on giving myself the chance to build a life without heartbreaking loneliness.
While I didn’t want to be forced into a loveless mating just to help repopulate my kind, my resolve to help my clan and the rest of the krakens hadn’t wavered. But did I actually need to return to the Deep to assist my people?
Who knew? Maybe it would be more beneficial if I stayed on land.
But if I were going to try to build a life outside of those I knew in the sea, I’d need to open my heart to those on land. I’d need to take a chance on friends… and maybe even give myself the chance to be open to being loved.
Determined to make up for lost time, I whispered weakly, “Thanks for the hot chocolate… and for being my friend.”
Ayla beamed, then her face grew serious. “You’re welcome. Now what’s going on? There’s heartbreak written all over your aura.”
I needed a friend. It was time I opened up to someone.
Taking a steadying breath, I tried to present the facts in an academic way, but Ayla kept butting in, asking for details about one thing or another. The more I talked about Ezric, the darker her expression grew.
“Do you think we can prove he’s out to get you? Discrimination can get a student expelled here. Life with so many different paranormals is delicate enough; for one to be openly against another species is actually dangerous.”
“The problem is, I’m officially unofficial.” I grimaced. “No one’s supposed to know I’m a kraken. Headmistress Losia said some people would react like this, so it was better to hide my true nature until I was here long enough to prove krakens could live peaceably with others without hurting them.”
“Well, hopefully that means Ezric can’t make a move against you. If everyone thought he was attacking a mermaid, he’d be expelled.”
Which meant I’d have to put up with him for another three and a half years.
Wonderful.
The floor right outside our door creaked, and both our heads snapped toward the door.
“Don’t even think about coming in,” Ayla growled, mouthing the wordAmadeusat me.
My lungs constricted, and my whole body flushed with panic. I was supposed to be tough, not caring about friends or relationships…. he couldn’t see me openly weeping and pathetic.
There was a short pause before Deus spoke from the other side of the door. “You know what? Iamthinking about coming in. And if I can’t come in, I’ll say what I have to say out here, and everyone can hear it.”
Deus sounded defiant, but his voice shook a little, as though he wasn’t used to standing up for what he wanted.
Ayla brandished her empty hot chocolate cup and whispered far too loudly. “Watch out, looks like the golden boy might be growing a spine.”
