Page 42 of Drenched

I thought of my graduate research. Male puffers sculpting sand patterns to attract mates. Wrasses offering stones to potential partners. Damselfish tending algae gardens to impress. Was this the same?

No. It couldn’t be. He wasn’t human.

But the similarities made my skin crawl.

Each gift lay just within reach. His black eyes tracked me, unblinking, patient. Was I supposed to respond? The uncertainty twisted my stomach into knots.

I pushed the thought away. It was ridiculous.

And yet, I kept the gifts. A shard of coral that glinted like bone, hidden in the corner of my workstation. Out of sight, but never out of mind.

Today was different.

The pearls waited for me.

They were arranged with careful precision, shimmering softly in the algae’s glow. Perfect spheres, smooth and warm to the touch. Not ordinary pearls but black pearls. These seemed alive, humming with a faint energy.

I picked one up, cautious. It felt heavier than I expected. The glow spread over my fingers, cold and warm at once.

“You like them,” Rynar said.

I startled, clutching the pearl to my chest. He stood just beyond the pool, his black eyes locked onto mine.

“What is this?” My voice shook.

“A gift,” he said. “From the depths.”

His words felt like both an answer and a challenge. The pearl’s warmth seeped into my skin, its faint pulse matching something I couldn’t name.

“For what?” I asked, my fingers tightening around it.

He tilted his head slightly. “You work tirelessly. You endure. It is only right you are rewarded.”

The words struck deep, touching a place I’d rather ignore. My chest tightened.

“I didn’t ask for this,” I whispered.

“You don’t need to,” he purred. “The ocean sees what you cannot. It gives freely.”

I wanted to throw the pearls back. To tell him I needed nothing from him or his cursed ocean. But my fingers wouldn’t let go.

“Thank you,” I muttered.

A faint smile curved his lips, and for just a moment, the darkness in his eyes softened. Deep down, I hated how those three words made my chest feel tighter, how they made something inside me waver.

Carefully, I placed the pearls on the workstation and turned back to the algae, ignoring the way his presence loomed behind me like a shadow I couldn’t escape.

I couldn’t focus. No matter how hard I tried, my hands trembled too much. The algae paste kept slipping through my fingers like it had a mind of its own.

Rynar stood silently nearby, his black eyes fixed on me, tracking my every move. He was getting into my personal space, and it was too much. He was too much.

“Why are you like this?” I muttered, grinding the algae harder than I should have. My hands ached, raw from hours of work, but I didn’t stop. “Always watching. Always waiting.”

“You interest me,” he said. “I want to understand.”

“Understand?” I snapped, slamming the pestle into the bowl. “Dragging me into this nightmare is your idea of curiosity?”

He didn’t flinch. His black eyes stayed locked on mine, steady and unreadable. “The depths aren’t a nightmare, Pearl. Youonly see them that way because you’re afraid. But there’s beauty here, if you’re willing to see it.”

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