Page 9 of Drown Me Gently

Ulric would never have guessed Auren capable of such fastidiousness. The cave wasn’t just filled with trinkets—it was organized. Every object was carefully placed, labeled, and studied. Not a haphazard pile, but a curated collection.

While he waited, he took it all in—a veritable shrine to human detritus. The walls glimmered in the dark, filled with buckles, bridles, twisted scraps of metal and leather. And in the center, a delicate sculpture pieced together from scraps of wire and tanned hide—a horse.

Ulric had seen them many times during his trips to the surface, and he recognized the grace in their form. Auren shaped it well. Unconsciously, Ulric reached up, stroking the ear made from what looked like the tip of a human woman’s shoe.

“Never would have pegged him as an artist,” Ulric said to himself. “And a good one.”

The sound of a swishing orca’s tail announced Auren’s arrival, and Ulric quickly retreated from the sculpture, taking up a stern position at the front of the cave.

Ulric blended so well with the dark stone that the prince flinched in surprise when the shadows of his cave moved. He swung his tail in alarm. “What’re you⁠—!”

“Five minutes,” Ulric articulated dangerously. “I turned my back for five minutes, and you were already gone.”

Auren’s jaw set, and his tail twitched with irritation. “I wasn’t out long.”

“If you keep going to the surface, it’s only a matter of time before you’re spotted.”

“It’s nighttime. I was careful.”

Ulric barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

Stay calm. I’m the mentor. I can’t be the one to lose my head.

But damn it all, this sea-sprite was testing him.

“Humans can stay awake in the night, too, Auren. Surely you aren’t that foolish.”

“I’m never on deck long, can only hold my breath a couple of minutes.”

“You leave the water—!?” Ulric closed his eyes and forced himself to take a steadying breath. “Please tell me you don’t literally climb aboard human ships. All it would take is a single human with functioning eyes.”

“It’s not a big deal,” Auren said, but he wouldn’t look at Ulric as he said it. “Like I’d be so careless.”

The Kraken narrowed his eyes suspiciously, then his gaze locked on a silver fabric woven in Auren’s hair. He scented it immediately. Human silk. Not fabric made by Merkind. The scent of the oily land creatures still lingered in its threads.

Ulric let out a long-suffering sigh. “You’ve already been seen,” he said, rubbing his temple.

That earned him a glare.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Ulric leaned forward, his dark tentacles unfurling in warning. “Do not lie to me, spriteling. I can scent human all over that,” he said, jabbing towards the scarf.

Auren clutched at his braid, as if the Kraken might try to yank the silk free.

Ulric threw his hands in exasperation. “And yet you cling to that like it’s some lover’s token.” He’d meant it as a joke. But the defiant flush to Auren’s cheeks made something volatile coil in Ulric’s belly. He froze in disbelief. “You can’t be serious.”

Auren bristled. “So what if I am?”

“Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?”

“Oh, please, Ulric. Don’t start the lecture. I’m not in the mood for politics⁠—”

“This isn’t politics.” Ulric snapped, tentacles flaring in a rage, spreading around him and eating up any remaining space in the cave. “This is survival. Yours.”

Auren moved to push past him, but Ulric’s tentacles surged forward, catching him mid-stroke.

“Let me go,” Auren hissed, thrashing in his grip.