Page 133 of Starshell

“Seems mostly whole,” Corra said, pulling me from my thoughts.

"We survived the storm. The Kraken is dead.” Zevrial said.

“We filled her in,” Sarina said.

He glanced at her. “Then we need to prepare."

Sarina frowned. "Prepare for what?"

"What comes next." He tipped his chin toward the bag.

It moved.

I froze, waiting for whatever was inside to reveal itself.

Something small, dull gray, and slimy wedged itself out of the bag. At its full height, it barely reached my ankle. Thin serpentine protrusions extended from its body, wriggling beneath it. Its head was darker than its body, corkscrewing up to a sharp tip. Two gleaming recessed eyes peered at the world, one larger than the other.

Its eyes landed on us.

Sarina scooted backwards. “What the hell is that?”

All the air fled my body.

It was a baby Kraken.

I grabbed one of the thicker fallen branches, letting out a yelp of pain from the movement. Turning the stick toward it, I readied to strike.

Squirming forward, the baby creature ignored me, using its tentacles to propel itself forward across the sand and into the woods. In a few seconds, its back was to me as it scuttled away.

We should kill it while it's young.

I raised the stick, prepared to impale it on the sharpest end.

Another baby Kraken pushed its way free of the bag. It joined its kin on their journey into the heart of the island.

“Hatchlings. Found them in the forest. Dozens, maybe hundreds, of them, playing in a lake,” Zevrial said.

I lowered the stick, watching them. Both were completely unbothered by the human still considering murdering them.

How many damn Krakens does this island have? Why haven’t we exterminated them? Where are they going?

Something nagged at me as I watched them move. The shape of their inky heads was oddly familiar.

As I stared at them, icy cold comprehension drenched me. Tiny insect legs skittered down my spine to my toes, my pulse pounding.

The shape and color of their heads was identical to that of a Starshell.