Page 44 of Drenched

“You knew this would happen,” I whispered, but there was so much anger and pain in my voice. “You didn’t even warn me.”

“I told you to trust me,” he replied simply.

“You didn’t give me a choice!” I snapped, my voice rising in my head. “You just, “

“I gave you what you needed to survive,” he said, cutting me off. His voice was low, almost resigned. “You were already marked. The depths were always going to take you. The Abyss was always going to take you.”

My breath came out in short, shaky bursts. My mind spun, trying to piece together the fragments of his words. The cold air stung my lungs, but the chill inside me was worse.

“Why?” I whispered, barely more than a breath.. “Why me? What is the Abyss? What does it want from me?”

His eyes locked onto mine, endless and dark, and for a moment, I thought I saw something, something like guilt. His claws twitched, curling and uncurling at his sides. He opened his mouth, then closed it again, like he was wrestling with the words.

“The Abyss…” He paused, his jaw clenching. “It isn’t just water or darkness. It’s alive. It’s hunger, an insatiable hunger so deep it never ends. It’s the cold that crushes the light. The silence that smothers everything.” His voice dropped lower, like the words weighed him down. “It watches everything. And it chooses.”

My skin prickled, cold dread curling in my gut. “Chooses?” My voice was barely more than a whisper. “What does that mean?”

“It saw you,” he said, his black eyes locked onto mine. “It recognized something in you, strength, resilience, a will to survive.” His claws flexed, then stilled, as if he were trying to calm something restless inside him. “You’re worthy of it.”

The words hung between us, choking the air. My throat tightened, but I forced the question out, even though I was terrified of the answer. “Worthy ofwhat?”

“To join it,” he murmured. “To become part of it. The Abyss doesn’t just take, it claims those who can endure it. Those who can survive its depths.”

I swallowed, the cold in my chest spreading through my veins. My heart pounded so loud I could barely think. “You’re saying the Abyss…wantsme.”

He nodded, the glow of his skin dimming as though the truth itself was too much. “Yes.”

The reality of it pressed down on me, so heavy it was unbearable. “And you’re part of it. You knew this. You knew it wanted me.”

His gaze faltered for a moment, something raw flashing across his face. “I did,” he admitted, his voice low. “But it wasn’t justthe Abyss that wanted you. I wanted you. From the moment I felt your presence in the water, I knew.”

I felt like I was falling, my world shattering piece by piece. The pain, the betrayal, it all surged to the surface. “So, what now?” I choked out. “You just hand me over? Let it claim me?”

“No.” The word was firm, almost desperate. His claws cupped my face gently, forcing me to look at him. “I won’t let it take you.”

I wanted to believe him, but the darkness between us was too vast, too deep. My voice trembled as I whispered, “Why?”

His eyes softened, and his thumb brushed over my lips. “Because you’re mine,” he said, the words quiet and possessive. “And I’m not ready to let you go.”

A shiver ran through me, fear and something else twisting together in a knot I couldn’t unravel. He leaned in closer, his presence overwhelming, his voice a low rumble.

“Come,” he said. “I want to show you something.”

I wanted to argue, but the air caught in my throat. Or maybe it was the water, I wasn’t sure anymore. My lungs didn’t burn, though they should have. The marks on my neck throbbed again, their glow steadying, and the water moved through me as though it had always belonged there.

I hated how easy it felt.

I was descending deeper than I ever thought possible. The pressure was immense, a weight that threatened to crush me from all sides. My lungs, or whatever passed for them now, tightened, panic gnawing at the edges of my mind.

Rynar’s arms wrapped around me, his hold unwavering. His presence blocked out the suffocating force of the depths. His black eyes, endless and calm, anchored me. “Trust me,” he said, his voice a low vibration that sank into my bones.

I clung to him, my fingers digging into his shoulders. “I don’t know if I can do this,” I whispered. The darkness below us stretched endlessly, a void that promised to consume me. But when I fell into it, the fear faded.

“You can,” he murmured, his silver glow pulsing faintly. “You are stronger than you think.”

The glowing marks on my neck, arms, and every place I had cut myself pulsed with his words. A strange certainty spread through me, his belief sinking into my veins. The fear didn’t disappear, but it settled into something manageable, a quiet terror that no longer felt impossible to face.

As we sank deeper, it felt like the end of the world, like falling into an endless void.. My pulse hammered, my body stiff with fear. Then, faintly, a flicker of light appeared below us.

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