Page 45 of Drenched

I blinked, unsure if it was real. The glimmer trembled, a soft, distant glow, like a star seen through heavy fog. As we descended further, more lights joined it. They shimmered and pulsed, their glow twisting into shapes that made my skin crawl. They weren’t soft or welcoming. They were jagged, alien. Unnatural.

The ocean floor slowly revealed itself, not a city, but a chaotic, otherworldly dreamscape. Coral spires jutted up like twisted daggers, their edges gleaming with veins of bioluminescence. The light coursed through them like ghostly blood, casting eerie shadows over the sand.

The ground writhed with strange, translucent creatures, shimmering like liquid glass. They moved in eerie synchronization, their bodies catching the faint light as if they were part of the ocean itself.

A massive shadow slid past us, too many eyes blinking in unison before the creature melted back into the dark. My fingers dug into Rynar’s shoulders. Smaller beings darted through the water, skittering away. They kept their distance from him, scattering at the edges of his presence.

“They’re afraid of you,” I breathed, my voice trembling.

“They know their place,” he replied with a calm tone, but beneath it lay the cold certainty of power, the quiet menace of a predator. “As they will know yours.”

A shiver rippled through me, part fear, part something I couldn’t name. This world didn’t pretend to be kind. Its beauty and brutality were exposed, raw and undeniable. It was everything the surface tried to hide. And a part of me, the dark, hidden part, was drawn to it.

We descended to a clearing where the sand glowed faintly, each grain lit from within. He set me down with careful grace. My feet sank into the soft surface, the glow beneath my toes pulsing with life. The water was cold, biting at my skin, but his presence kept the worst of it at bay.

His tail unfurled beside me. The scales shimmered like molten silver, smooth and flawless. The wide fin at the end drifted lazily, the delicate filaments swaying with a grace that seemed almost fragile. It was a contradiction, brutal strength and delicate beauty.

I couldn’t stop myself. My hand reached out, fingers brushing against his tail. The texture sent a jolt through me, cool, sleek, impossibly smooth. Beneath the surface, muscles coiled and shifted, power barely contained. My fingertips traced the contours, following the play of light along his scales.

His tail twitched, a ripple of tension passing through it. His breath hitched, just a fraction.

“Does it frighten you?” he asked, his voice a rough whisper.

“No,” I murmured, my fingers still gliding over the ridges of his tail. “It’s beautiful.”

His eyes softened. For a moment, the vast darkness of the ocean faded, leaving just the two of us suspended in a fragile bubble of light and silence.

He turned away, his tail sweeping gracefully through the sand. Spirals and lines took shape where it passed, patterns glowing with the same light as the marks on my neck. The designs weren’t random. They were deliberate, intricate. Each line seemed to pulse, alive.

“What are you doing?” My voice was unsteady, torn between curiosity and dread.

“A declaration,” he said, his gaze fixed on the glowing patterns. “To you. For you.”

My heart thudded painfully. “What does that mean?”

“It means I am bound to you.” His voice was low, unwavering. “Not because of the ocean. Not because of fate. But because I choose you, Pearl.”

His words pressed into me, too much to ignore. My throat tightened. “Why?” I whispered. “You don’t even know me.”

His lips curved into a faint smile, tinged with sadness. “I know enough. I know your strength. Your fear. Your pain. And I know that without you, I would lose what little of myself remains.”

My breath caught. The glowing patterns beneath us pulsed in rhythm with my heartbeat, a connection I couldn’t deny.

“You’re afraid,” he said softly. “It’s natural. But fear doesn’t make you weak. It makes you alive.”

I wanted to argue, to deny everything he said, but the words tangled in my throat. I was so tired. Tired of fighting him, tired of fighting myself, tired of the endless ache that never went away. Maybe the scariest part was that I didn’t want to fight anymore.

His hand cupped my cheek, his eyes searching mine. “You are more than you know, Pearl. Let me show you.”

He leaned in, his lips brushing mine. The kiss was hesitant, his touch feather-light, waiting for me to pull away. But I didn’t. My hands slid up to his shoulders, gripping him like he was the only thing holding me together.

His tail curled around us, anchoring me in place. His other hand traced down my spine, the glowing marks on my neck flaring with warmth. The water around us shimmered brighter, the sand beneath my feet pulsing like a heartbeat.

I melted into him. The fear, the anger, the resistance, everything drained away. All that was left was the raw need to feel something, anything, that wasn’t pain.

“You’re a monster,” I whispered against his lips.

His black eyes met mine, unflinching. “Yes. But I’m your monster.”

---