Page 90 of Drown Me Gently

“Those of the Kraken people chosen by Poseidon’s will to wield his magic… do not take mates. We serve. That is our calling. That is our promise.”

Auren’s lips parted.

How had he not seen it?

How had he not put it together?

By falling in love with him…

By coming on land to save him…

By choosing Auren over Poseidon⁠—

Ulric had broken his sacred oath.

And now…

Now he was paying the price.

Auren let out a sound that didn’t belong in this world. A wail of grief, rage, despair. He curled beneath the waves, clutching his chest.

But something inside him hardened. He would not let this be the end. He surged upward, a trail of foam and fury in his wake.

No. I refuse. I won’t!

With one violent thrust of his tail, Auren shot through the water, slicing toward the surface like an arrow loosed from a bow.

He broke through the shattering waves, flinging his body to shore.

He landed hard.

Auren’s tail hit the sand with a sickening thud, the impact dazing him momentarily. Gravity laughed at him, the weight of his Mer body dragging along the beach like a dying thing. Heavy. Mired. A creature who had no business being on land.

The sand was scorching, searing into his skin. His human footprints, made only minutes before, vanished under his weight as he clawed forward. His elbows and palms scraped raw. He didn’t care. He didn’t stop. Auren dragged himself forward—up the slope, through dune grass and sun-dried kelp, back toward the place where Ulric fell.

Auren would find him.

He would drag them both back to the sea if it killed him.

“Ulric!” he cried, wasting breath he didn’t have. His voice cracked like a whip across the empty shore.

No answer.

The wind whispered. The waves crashed. But no one called back.

“Ulric!” he screamed again, throat raw, the salt from his tears stinging the open, gasping gills at his neck.

Still nothing.

Auren forced himself further inland, fingers digging trenches in the sand. His tail caught on a rock and tore open along the scales. Blood smeared the dunes in streaks as he dragged himself.

Auren didn’t care.

He didn’t care if every human on the island saw him. He didn’t care if he suffocated. He didn’t care if he died doing this.

He had to find him.

And then⁠—