Page 17 of Drown Me Gently

The Kraken moved. A tentacle snapped forward and curled tight around the joint of his tail fin, yanking hard. Auren yelped as he was dragged backward through the water, limbs flailing for balance. Another tentacle caught him mid-waist, spinning him like a hooked fish. He twisted, trying to right himself—but Ulric darted forward, his human half now fully engaged.

Their chests collided, and Auren found himself pressed up against hard muscle and cool, ink-marked skin. Their hands caught mid-strike, forearms straining as each pushed against the other in a sudden test of strength. Ulric’s grip was iron. His arms barely budged, while Auren’s muscles flexed and corded in resistance, trying to gain leverage.

The heat of it surprised him—not just the friction, but the closeness. The press of their bodies. The sheer, solid presence of Ulric in front of him. Tattoos flashing along Ulric’s arms, pulsing with power beneath Auren’s fingers.

“Who’s old now, you little shit?” Ulric barked, laughter curling in his voice.

They wrestled—if it could even be called that. Auren kicked and shoved, his arms braced against Ulric’s shoulders, his palms digging into solid muscle. But Ulric didn’t budge. Not really.

He shifted with him, letting Auren think he was making progress, letting him struggle just enough to believe it was a fair fight. But Ulric’s core held fast, unmoved. His tentacles coiled and adjusted with lazy precision, keeping Auren right where he wanted him.

And Auren realized, with a startled jolt of awareness, that Ulric was letting him fight. Letting him grapple and work out some of his pent-up stress.

Because it was abundantly clear that if he wanted to, Ulric could end this in a heartbeat.

He could break me.

The thought should’ve unsettled him. But it didn’t. Instead, it sent a jolt of electricity down his spine, raising his awareness all the way down to his tailfin.

Auren was panting when Ulric finally let go. The release was sudden—like a line cut from a net—and Auren drifted back, chest heaving, hair partially fallen from his braid and sweeping across his face. His gills flared wide, straining to catch the current.

Ulric winced, and there was a flash of magic along the runes on his arms, but the Kraken shook it off, amusement still dancing in his eyes. “That’s what you get for running your mouth,” he said with a huff.

Auren didn’t answer right away. He was still catching his breath. Still trying to ignore the phantom press of Ulric’s hands on his arms, his waist, his back. Still trying to quiet the voice in his head that whispered he could’ve broken me. And didn’t.

For a moment… Ulric hadn’t felt like his mentor. Or his jailor.

He’d felt like a man.

Auren’s gaze slid away. Anywhere but that smirking mouth. He needed to gather his thoughts. Get himself under control.

He spotted a pair of seal pups tumbling through a curtain of kelp, squeaking and nipping at each other. It gave him enough distance to pull his frazzled mind back together. To summon up that familiar bite and bickering in their usual cadence.

“Yeah, well, I bet this rock is younger than you⁠—”

He turned to throw the insult, but stopped short.

Ulric was right there.

So close that their noses nearly touched. So close Auren felt the pressure of the Kraken’s words before they were even spoken.

“What was that?” Ulric whispered, voice low. Ragged.

The current stirred between them, brushing against Auren’s lips like a kiss not quite given. His breath hitched. His mind spun in a panic. Why was Ulric talking like that? Why was he so close? Why wasn’t Auren moving away?

“I—I don’t remember,” he whispered back, because it was the only truth he had left.

This close, and in the glowing light of the algae bloom, Auren saw the Kraken like he’d never seen him before.

Ulric’s skin was burnished bronze, smooth and defined. The tattoos etched across his arms and chest glowed in the bloom light, pulsing with the magic that lived in his bones. His beard framed a sharp, grim mouth that for once wasn’t twisted in disapproval. Dark hair drifted around his face, framing obsidian eyes that missed nothing.

And Auren’s heart stuttered.

Oh no.

Ulric was beautiful.

No—not beautiful.