Page 29 of Drown Me Gently

Love?

“Auren I⁠—”

“You don’t understand what it’s like to be left behind,” he snapped. “I waited for you. I wanted you. And you vanished like I was nothing.”

Ulric felt like he was being torn in two. Everything inside him begged to reach out. To hold Auren. To apologize. To explain. But the prince wasn’t done.

“I looked to the surface because when you left, it felt like all I had left was the sun,” Auren said. “Something warm. Something that stayed.”

When Ulric finally spoke, his voice was controlled.

“I’ve seen the surface, Auren. More times than I can count. Most of the ingredients for my potions grow there. I’ve walked their shores. I’ve spoken with their traders.” His eyes locked with Auren’s. “I’ve seen what they do to the things they desire.”

Auren’s expression showed only the faintest hint of surprise before hardening again. “You’re not afraid of the human,” he said. “You’re afraid of anyone else wanting me.”

Ulric flinched. Because it wasn’t a lie, it was the deepest truth. He was afraid. Afraid of how beautiful Auren had become. Of how that fierce, fiery heart made him ache in ways magic couldn’t fix. Afraid of how badly he wanted to break every vow inked in his skin.

But he couldn’t.

So he stayed frozen. Watched Auren’s gaze fall one last time, filled with hurt and betrayal.

“If you ever cared, even a little, then you’ll leave me alone.”

He left, and this time, Ulric didn’t follow. He hovered in the water, trembling. The burning runes on his arms pulsed, stinging with a reminder of his forbidden desires. His magic was older than the kingdom. He possessed knowledge of the world above and below, and carried enough power to command storms.

But right now, none of it meant a damn thing.

“You have no idea what I’d do to keep you safe,” he whispered to the empty courtyard. “Even if it means protecting you… from me.”

How stupid could he be?

Auren dragged a palm across his face, scrubbing away the stubborn tears that clung to his lashes. His chest still heaved from the confrontation, from the sharpness in Ulric’s voice, from the sheer audacity of the Kraken to show up after everything. After the silence, after abandoning him without so much as a breath of explanation.

“I can’t believe I just did that,” he muttered.

He cracked open like a shell beneath Ulric’s feet and spilled everything. All the longing, all the fear, all the stupid hope. And for what? For Ulric to flinch away like he’d been scalded. Again.

His jaw clenched so tight it hurt. “Just pour your heart out to the one person who’ll never want it,” he whispered bitterly. “That’s smart.”

He should’ve known better. He’d told himself not to fall. Told himself Ulric was just a protector, a mentor, a stubborn wall between him and the world. But that wall had looked so warm in the bloomlight. Had looked so much like something Auren could lean on. Something he could hold onto.

His fingers rose to the silk braided into his hair. It still carried Elias’s scent. Sun-warmed linen, sea breeze over sand. Human. Auren breathed in. Elias didn’t turn away. He didn’t flinch when Auren got too close. Didn’t recoil when affection bloomed. Elias never made Auren feel like he was too much.

And Ulric? Ulric had run.

“I’m done,” Auren hissed through his teeth. “Done hurting for someone who doesn’t want me.”

The sea was dark and hushed when Auren surfaced. The wind carried the sharp scent of lantern oil and brine. The lights along The Windless were extinguished, sails slack in the evening lull, rocking side to side like a creature at rest. He moved beneath the waves, inspecting her like he always did. The hull was solid wood, treated and tarred. Cracks sealed with pitch. The ship creaked with each shift of the tide, breathing with the ocean.

No lights. No movement.

Perfect.

Auren pulled himself over the rail with a strong thrust of his tail, dragging himself silently across the damp deck, careful not to slip. The wood beneath him was warm from the day’s sun, smelling of varnish and smoke.

“You’ve come earlier than usual, my dear,” came a voice like velvet.

Auren startled—and then smiled. Elias stepped from his hiding place beneath the helm and into the moonlight. And gods, he was beautiful. All long lines and soft angles.