Page 12 of Kraken the Seal

Her eyes went wide, and her jaw dropped.

“I don’t want to take my full shape,” I said, grabbing one of the tentacles in both hands and hugging it to my chest. I used to do that a lot when I was young as a way to soothe myself. “I can’t talk when I’m in my kraken form.”

“I didn’t dream it,” she whispered.

“Dream what?” I asked, cautiously optimistic by her lack of panic.

“I felt those,” she said, pointing to one of my tentacles. It waved at her with the tip, making a slight smile appear brieflyon her face. “Last night, when we were snuggling, I thought I felt extra arms around me.”

“They must’ve snuck out while I was asleep," I admitted.

She bit her lip, entirely focused on one of my waving limps. “This is real. I’m not asleep. I can touch, smell, hear, and see. This isn’t a dream.”

“It’s not,” I agreed, relieved that she seemed to be adjusting quickly. It wasn't every day that you found out mythical creatures existed.

She was silent for almost a minute before she uncurled her hands from around her legs and dropped her feet to the floor. She didn’t put the knife down.

“Can I touch one of your, um, tentacles?”

All of them wiggled with excitement except for the one I was still hugging. “They’d like that.”

I stepped closer, and she reached out her free hand to run her finger down the end of a tentacle. Another one wrapped loosely around her wrist, and a third one patted her shoulder. She wasn’t upset when the tentacles touched her and even set the knife aside so she could explore them with both hands.

“What did you mean when you saidthey’d like that? That makes it sound like they have a mind of their own.”

I let go of the one I was hugging so it could also touch her. “They kinda do. They each have tiny little brains, so I don’t have to control so many limbs at the same time. They aren’t going to be doing algebra or anything, but they can explore and grab without me individually controlling them. They mostly do what I want them to.”

“Mostly?” she asked with a chuckle. Her expression suddenly went from amused to angry. She grasped one of them in a grip that was almost painful and met my gaze.

“Did you change me into a kraken thing?”

I shook my head. “No! That’s not possible. We aren’t vampires, we can’t change someone into one of us.”

“There are vampires?” she asked, then shook her head. “No, focus,” she grumbled to herself. “If you didn’t turn me into a kraken, then what happened earlier? Why did it feel like my entire body had changed shape for a few minutes? When I tried to talk, the wrong sound came out.”

I pointed to the box on the floor. “I think that did it. It’s a cursed object. When you touched it, you changed. Could you let go? You're hurting me.”

She opened her hand as if my tentacle had burned her. “Oh, I'm sorry. I didn’t realize I was doing that.” She eyed the box lying on its side. “Did you know that piece of jewelry would turn me into a, um, what am I?”

“You turned into a seal shifter,” I said. “This probably doesn't help, but you are the most adorable harbor seal ever.”

“That explains the bark,” she said. “My question is still valid. Did you know what would happen if I touched that?”

“I didn't,” I said. “I can sense magic and curses, but I'm not able to know what they'll do. I found it during one of my dives. I planned to take it to a bruja to have it taken care of so no one would find it and get hurt, except you touched it. I’m so sorry. This is all my fault.”

I blinked rapidly, feeling so guilty that I had to fight back tears. Nina pushed a tentacle out of her way and cupped my cheek.

“Hey, I know this is crazy, but I believe you,” she murmured. “Do you think this bruja could fix me?”

Eagerness made it easier to push back the tears. “Hopefully. I'll call her.”

Nina opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted when her stomach growled loudly.

“And breakfast,” I said. “We need to feed you plenty of food to help your body recover from all that happened.”

She blushed and nodded. “It's strange, but I want pancakes and sardines.”

I chuckled and urged her to sit back down. “You're a seal shifter, that's not weird at all.”