Kingdom of the Deep Read Free

whole different level, but here it seemed that Kaleth didn’t think much of him
because
he was a dogfish.
    To Gray, that was a mark against her, not Barkley.
    Kaleth swished her tail in short, irritated, strokes as she balanced on the throne. “Graynoldus, I want a shark to be the teeth of will around the Big Blue as my Aquasidor. I need to keep the peace everywhere else so my guardians can concentrate on finding and stopping Hokuu.” Kaleth scowled at Barkley and Mari before either could ask a question. “Since the path between our two seas closed, I have no way of knowing what’s happening down below with Drinnok, so I don’t know what he’s up to exactly. I do know that Hokuu fights me at every turn in the Big Blue and has tried to kill me. If whatever he’s planning comes to be, there will be blood in the water like you’ve never seen before. So, make your choice. Will you help or not? I can’t use a fin that will not fully commit to following my orders.”
    Barkley was about to open his mouth when Gray slashed his tail through the water. “I guess lounging around in the Riptide homewaters isn’t something I get to do right now,” he told his friends.
    Mari smiled a little half smile. “But you’ve done so much already, Gray.”
    â€œIt’s true,” Barkley agreed. “You deserve some rest and relaxation.”
    The Seazarein interrupted from the throne. “
Deserve
has absolutely nothing to do with it, dogfish.”
    Barkley relished ignoring Kaleth, flicking his tail at her. The megalodon leader made a rumbling noise deep in her throat but didn’t reply.
    Gray faced Kaleth and Takiza. “I’ll do it. I’ll be your Aquasidor.” This time he pronounced the word correctly, earning a nod from Kaleth. Gray glanced at Barkley and Mari. “I just don’t trust anyone else to do this. Especially if it means keeping the peace we fought so hard for.” Barkley and Mari were quiet, but they understood.
    Gray looked at Kaleth. “So. When do we start?”
    â€œAt once, of course.”

CHAPTER 2
    VELENKA HOVERED IN THE DARK, A FEW SILVERY streams of moonglow brightening the rock floor of her cell and creating pools of light. This and a few other smaller holes through the lava rock provided her with enough current to breathe. Because the blackness was so complete otherwise, it seemed as if the hazy tubes of moonlight were solid, cutting her cramped space into smaller pieces. Even when the sun rose high over the Big Blue, it remained murky in the underwater dungeon where Velenka was locked. Many would be unnerved by the gloom she was forced to endure day after day.
    Not Velenka.
    She enjoyed the dark, always had. Ever since she was young, she preferred hunting at night. When the sun set and the ocean grew dark, it was the time of the predator. And despite her predicament, Velenka was
still
a predator.
    This was all Gray’s fault, she thought, grinding her needle teeth together. Velenka’s teeth itched when she wasn’t being honest to herself and that maddening tickle was there again. After all, was her situation really Gray’s fault? Some of it, undoubtedly. Yet she had swum a current so thin no one else would be alive to tell the tale had
they
been forced to do it.
    First, when she managed to keep Goblin and his shiver from being overwhelmed by Razor Shiver. Then, trying to turn the stubborn Gray to her will and having that careen out of control. And after that, when Velenka finally took control of Riptide Shiver, Finnivus and his Black Wave armada came in and ruined everything once more. Time after time, she was forced to dip her snout to someone else more powerful!
    You
want
control but never enough to
earn
it, teased a small voice in her mind.
    Velenka silently and totally disagreed. Not true! I deserve it! No one deserves it more than me! The itching in her gums became maddening as she silently