After a few more minutes of smiling, nodding, and carefully timed "oohs" and "ahhs," Kaya finally did it.
She managed to fool the little lord into giving her a tour of the ocean.
Technically, she'd "convinced" him. Realistically? She'd outwitted him.
He swam ahead of her now, proudly flicking his tail with every word, babbling about the magnificence of his tribe, the richness of their coral estates, the elegance of their fish schools and treasure caves.
Kaya nodded absently.
But her mind? It wasn't on the scenery.
Her eyes scanned the dark blue depths around her, the jagged coral shelves beneath, the shifting currents. She wasn't sightseeing.
She was planning.
Plotting.
She wasn't afraid of fighting one shark. One she could handle. One meant a straight fight, a test of skill, a survival chance.
But a group of sharks?
Beastmen sharks?