of town, easily discernable by the lack of shops and smaller groups of people. The majestic houses were closed tight, the doors barred, the windows shuttered, and yet I felt watched.
A city like Atlantis didn’t rely on the goodwill of others to survive. It watched at all times. Defended itself, too, judging by the soldiers I’d seen patrolling the streets. I highly doubted their curved sabers were just for decoration.
The lovely homes ended at the base of a wall with a single large arch through which I encountered one last set of stairs.
No stairs in the water. The kraken grew cocky in his taunts.
Firming my jaw, I jogged on, enjoying the burn in my thighs because at least I had legs. At the top, soldiers stood guard by the grand palace doors, their heads covered in visored helmets. The left was shaped like a shark with jagged teeth, the other some kind of fin-covered puffer fish, neither as fearsome as me in my other state.
They thought to stop me, crossing their spears, blocking my path.
“None may pass,” gurgled one of them. His appearance was not one hundred percent like the aquatic fellows who’d stolen my wife but definitely related. Through the gaps in his helmet, I could see human features hinting of fish, skin pasty despite the sun. His fingers were webbed where his hand wrapped around the haft of his weapon.
I remembered my uncle once telling me after a particularly rough day with bullies, “You’re a kraken. You could eat them for breakfast. Never show fear. Never bow.”
I gave them my most regal glare. “Tell your king that Killian Kraken is at his door.”
“We’re not hiring.”
I blinked at the guy. “I don’t think you grasp who I am. Killian. Kraken.” I emphasized the last.
Fish-faced and even fouler breathed, he leaned forward and sneered. “The king isn’t hiring sea monsters these days. Too hard to keep them fed, and they shit everywhere.”
Annoyance rose in me. “Listen here, your king sent me a message to come and see him.”
“Do you have it?”
“No, I don’t have it. Because he has it. He stole my wife!”
The guards gave each other a look, then cocked their heads as if listening. One of them nodded. “The king will see you.”
“The king damned well better see me,” I snapped as I followed the guard through the arch.
The inside of the palace, as expected, boasted opulence on a scale impressive given how often the city sank. I had to wonder what happened to the air they needed to breathe. Did a bubble form around the city to protect their less aquatically inclined citizens? Could even be that all Atlanteans could inhale water and not drown.
I didn’t really care. My only concern centered around the woman I’d come to find. My bride, who they’d intentionally stolen. Despite what the guards had said, I knew she was being used as bait to draw me.
And it’d worked. How could it not? I loved the woman.
It got easier and easier to think and believe. If only I had more time. She cared for me, I knew she did. But my curse quickened.
Perhaps my uncle would find a way to help me. More than likely, he’d located the library by now, but the question of the day was: Did it hold an answer?
The courtyard I entered didn’t boast much action. This time of day, not many were awake. The stones underfoot gleamed as if just washed. Sheer curtains blew from open windows, the sea breeze keeping the interior cool and fresh.
The massive doors of the palace were made of translucent seaweed, braided then woven and dried into an intricate panel. Sturdier than you’d expect. Also guarded by more people wearing intricate helms. They didn’t try and stop me as the doors opened in clear invitation.
Past the strange entrance, I stepped into an open-air throne room. Pillars ringed it, reaching high, their girth etched with pattern and erosion. A sense of age oozed from the place. Between the columns, I could see a curving wall ringing the entire room, set with a few doors, each guarded by more soldiers. More of them than I had tentacles for.
A fountain bubbled in the middle of the room, the raised stone lip providing a basin set into the floor. From a simple spout in the center, water shot upwards, occasionally flashing color as a fish was swept into its grip and fired into the air before splashing back down.
Fun.
The temptation to sit beside it and bat