Page 53 of Drenched

He didn’t answer immediately, his gaze fixed on the darkness ahead. “The Abyss,” he said at last. “Those are the voices of the ones he claims.”

The words sent a chill through me. The whispers grew louder, wrapping around my thoughts like tendrils. They felt familiar, like memories I couldn’t quite grasp. But before I could dwell on them, Rynar pulled me closer, his tail flicking powerfully as he guided us away from the voices.

The darkness began to thin, soft glimmers of light breaking through like the first hints of dawn. Shapes emerged, elegant structures rising from the ocean floor. Towers spiraled upward, their tips vanishing into the gloom above. Arches stretched between them, draped in shimmering strands of coral and algae. The entire structure glowed faintly, a cold, otherworldly beauty that left me breathless.

“What is this place?” I asked, my voice trembling.

Rynar’s gaze softened as he turned to me. “A place I built for you.”

The words knocked the air from my lungs. “For me?”

He nodded, his black eyes shimmering faintly. “From the moment I saw you, I knew you belonged here. With me.”

His words pressed down on me, as heavy and suffocating as a storm. “Rynar, I... I don’t understand.”

“You will,” he said simply. His claws brushed against my cheek, gentle and deliberate. “In time, you will see what I see.”

I stared at him, my thoughts spinning. The whispers still echoed faintly in my mind, a reminder of the darkness that surrounded us. But Rynar’s gaze held steady, his presence grounding me in a way I didn’t want to admit.

“Let’s go back,” I said finally, as everything pressed down on me. “Please.”

He hesitated, his claws lingering on my arm. But he nodded, his tail flicking as he turned us back toward the surface. The glow of the castle faded into the shadows, but its presence lingered, a promise I couldn’t ignore.

Chapter Twenty

I sat at the edge of the glowing pool, my knees pulled to my chest, staring at the faint ripples that disturbed the surface. The bioluminescent light shimmered gently, but it did nothing to soothe the storm inside me.

A week had passed since Rynar had shown me his sanctuary. Since he had asked me to be part of his world. His black eyes, those endless voids, had looked at me like I was everything he desired. Like I was the only thing that mattered in his vast, unknowable dominion.

I hadn’t answered him. I didn’t know how.

The ocean, both beautiful and terrible, called to me. Its wonders, its secrets, they had shaped me since childhood. But beneath that beauty, there was always something darker. Something ancient. Something everlasting. My friends were proof of that. Kim’s determination, Jamie’s warmth, Trevor’s quiet strength, all gone. Taken by this place.

Taken by him.

Or were they?

Rynar’s denials circled through my mind, tangled with half-truths and unspoken admissions. He claimed the Abyss hadtaken them. That it was beyond his control. But the doubt gnawed at me. My fingers traced idle patterns in the water, my heart heavy with unanswered questions.

And yet, I stayed.

I hated myself for it. Hated the way his voice could calm the chaos in my mind. Hated the way his touch could anchor me. But the ocean’s pull was stronger. Vast. Endless. Irresistible.

I inhaled slowly, the salty air cold against my lungs.

I need to see more.

The thought solidified into a decision. If I was going to survive this, if I was going to understand what had happened to my friends, I needed to know the truth. All of it. Even the parts Rynar wanted to keep hidden.

My gaze drifted to the ocean’s entrance, where shadows swam in the distance. I remembered the whispers I had heard, the one Rynar said were of the ones claimed by the Abyss. Those whispers were lingering in my mind like a splinter I couldn’t remove.

I needed answers. If the Abyss was keeping souls. I needed to know if my friends were there too?

I stood, my knees weak, my resolve harder than steel. I tucked the blade, sharp and cold, into the folds of my seaweed-woven clothing. Its weight was reassuring against my thigh. A reminder that I wasn’t helpless.

With a final glance at the cavern, I stepped into the water.

The cold welcomed me, familiar now. I sank beneath the surface, my body moving instinctively. The marks on my neckpulsed in rhythm with the currents, guiding me through the liquid dark. The glow of the pool faded behind me as I swam deeper, the world narrowing to the press of water and the sound of my own heartbeat.

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