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“All you do is tell me to read some more,” I rebut tightly.

There’s the tiniest hint of amusement in his eyes. “Now I’m telling you to come to me. And eat.” He drags the buns my direction.

I grimace at him and grab one, my gaze lifting to the table to find the group staring at me. Micah leans in closer. “They’re shocked at how combative you are with me.”

“What happens when people are combative with you, Micah?”

“Depends on who it is and what they did. In your case, I help you kill the crab and feed you hamburgers.” He pulls the patties my direction.

“Hey, now,” Braylon interrupts, jolted out of his silence by this statement. “I’m feeding her burgers.”

The table erupts in conversation, arguments, and laughter.

It doesn’t take much encouragement for me to prepare my burger, to include pickles and a juicy slice of tomato, nor do I even consider turning down crispy, salt-licked fries. “Okay, Braylon,” I say, lifting my burger in my hands, somehow finding a lighter side to myself. “It’s time for the test.”

His lips curve. “Bring it. I know my burgers.”

Micah bites down on his and nods. “You got my vote, Braylon. Damn, man. Always the best.”

Braylon beams, and it’s easy to see how much he hungers for Micah’s approval. It’s my turn, and I dig into my burger, the flavors exploding inside my mouth. It’s incredible. “Hmmm. Wow.” I wipe my mouth and add, “Dare I say that’s magical?”

Braylon holds up a finger. “There’s no magic used in the creation of that burger.”

Silas cackles. “He’s all serious and shit.” He straightens his spine and imitates Braylon. “There is no magic used in the creation of that burger.”

“You’re such a dick, Silas,” Braylon mutters.

I choose to ignore their sibling-like exchange and focus on Braylon. “You should have a cooking show. Maybe you can go undercover with the humans as the next Bobby Flay.”

Braylon beams while Gabriella rolls her eyes. “Do not feed that idea in his head. He’s already done a stint as a Navy SEAL. He was basically gone for ten years.”

“Right in the middle of the Kraken uprising,” Zeke adds. “Bastard.”

Braylon bristles. “I was playing hero to heroes every single day. That’s a good way to spend my time, and it was twelve years, not ten.”

“That was thirty years ago, and you still look like one of them,” Silas points out. “You just can’t let go.”

“What was the Kraken uprising?” I dare.

“Krakens are demons from the underbelly of the Earth,” Silas explains, already finishing off a burger. “They were sealed in the seventh layer of the Earth hundreds of years ago, but a higher-level demon set them free to wreak havoc on humans.”

“They possess humans,” Gabriella adds, “which then makes the humans do nasty things, like murder and mayhem.”

“They’re not gone,” Micah adds, “but we’ve lessened their numbers by a majority.”

“How did you kill them?” I ask.

“They have no physical form,” Gabriella says. “We had to send them back, which requires magic.”

“What if they’re inside a human?” I ask.

“There’s no way to kill a Kraken once they are inside the human without killing the human,” Zeke explains. “And there’s no saving the human that’s been infested. They’re already dead.”

The idea of killing a demon that looks like a human is horrifying. “Can their families tell what’s happened?”

“They’re good at pretending to be human, and those close to them just think they seem off, and not in a good way,” Micah chimes in, “which is why I hate them so much. It’s not uncommon for them to kill the human’s family.”

“How many were there?” I ask.