I'm about to fire off another round of angel-fueled whoop-ass when I hear a scream that turns my blood to ice. I whip around just in time to see Finn, the Captain's first mate, being dragged overboard by a tentacle wrapped around his leg. The kid's face is a mask of pure terror as he claws at the deck, desperate to hold on.
"FINN!" I scream, scrambling to my feet. But it's too late. The tentacle yanks him over the side with a sickening crack, and he disappears into the churning waters below.
For a moment, I'm frozen, my heart shattering into a million pieces. Finn was just a kid, barely old enough to shave. He'd saved my life when I nearly drowned, and now...now he is gone, just like that.
Tears blur my vision as a wave of grief and rage crashes over me. This fucking Kraken is going to pay. I will make sure of it.
I focus my energy on the Faerite stone, channeling my thoughts through its ancient power."Why are you doing this?"I demand, with fury."I freed you from your prison, you ungrateful bastard. Attacking us is how you repay me?"
The Kraken's presence slithers into my mind like a cold, oily serpent, its thoughts dark and twisted."I seek retribution for the wrongs done to me,"it hisses, its voice echoing in the depths of my consciousness.
"Stop this madness!"I plead, my heart pounding in my chest."No one here has harmed you. It was Cordelia who imprisoned you, not us."
A massive tentacle lashes out with terrifying speed as if in response to her name. Time seems to slow to a crawl as I watch in horror, the appendage slamming into Lucian with the force of a battering ram. His body goes limp as he's catapulted off the ship, disappearing into the churning waters below.
The breath is ripped from my lungs as I feel Lucian's pain and confusion through our bond, the sensation so intense it brings me to my knees.
This can't be happening.
Not again. Not another friend lost to this nightmare.
My blood roars in my ears, drowning out all other sounds until a scream pierces the chaos, a sound that will haunt me for the rest of my days.
"LUCIAN!!" Seraphina's voice is raw with anguish as she clings to the ship's railing, her eyes wide with desperation. Before I can draw a breath to call out to her, she leaps over the side, plunging into the sea after her fallen mate.
"Seraphina, no!" I scream, my voice cracking with emotion. I stumble to the railing, my hands gripping the weathered wood so tightly that my knuckles turn white. The waves below are a frenzied maelstrom, the Kraken's tentacles churning the water into a deadly whirlpool.
I search for any sign of Lucian or Seraphina, my heart in my throat.
I can't lose them—not like this.
Lucian
69
Holy tentacle porn, Batman! This is not how I pictured my day going. There I was, just minding my own goddamn business when suddenly, I'm being dragged into the frigid depths of Davy Jones' locker by a Cthulhu-looking motherfucker that probably crawled out of the deepest, darkest crevice of Satan's asshole.
The salty water stings my eyes as I struggle to see through the inky blackness, bubbles obscuring my vision like I'm in a fucking jacuzzi from hell. I can feel the air being squeezed out of my lungs by the crushing pressure, my chest burning like I've swallowed a gallon of battery acid.
I try to fight against the slimy, pulsating tentacle wrapped around my body, but it's like trying to wrestle a greased-up sumo wrestler. The more I struggle, the tighter it seems to squeeze until I'm pretty sure my ribs are about to snap like fucking twigs.
As I'm being dragged deeper and deeper into the abyss, my mind starts to wander to Seraphina, my beautiful angel cake. I can picture her face, those sparkling golden eyes, and that smile that could light up the whole damn world. The thought of leaving her behind, of her being mateless and alone, is more painful than any physical torture this octopus bastard could inflict.
Will she feel the same unbearable pain ripping through her soul that I would if I lost her? Will the loss drive her to the brink of madness, turning her into a fallen angel consumed by darkness and despair? The very idea makes me want to tear this fucker limb from slimy limb.
I summon every last ounce of strength I have left, thrashing and kicking like a wild animal caught in a trap. But it's no use. My lungs are screaming for air, and my vision blurs around the edges as the icy water seeps into my bones.
I feel my consciousness slipping away. My thoughts drift back to Seraphina. I hope she knows how much I love her and how I would move heaven and earth just to seeher smile—to hear her laugh. In our brief time together, I hope to show her the true depths of my devotion and make her feel cherished and adored in every possible way.
Most of all, I hope I was able to give her a taste of the mind-blowing pleasure she deserves, to worship every inch of her body until she was a quivering, moaning mess of ecstasy. If I'm going to die, at least I'll go out knowing I rocked her world like a fucking hurricane.
Bright lights dance across my vision, growing more colorful and intense with each passing second. My body goes limp—weightless—no longer being squeezed to death—succumbing to the sea's cold embrace. I drift towards the light, and a vision of Seraphina's face appears before me, radiant and perfect and so fucking beautiful it makes my heart ache.
If this is what death looks like, then maybe it's not so bad. Because in the end, there's no sight I'd rather see than the face of the woman I love, the angel who stole my heart and made me believe in something greater than myself.
"Lucian..."Seraphina's voice echoes through my mind like a siren's song, sweet and haunting and so fucking perfect it makes my heart clench.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart,"I whisper, the words bubbling from my mind in a stream of silent regret. I know she can't hear me, but I need to say it anyway: to put my feelings into the universe like a message in a bottle."I hope you know I love you, baby girl. More than anything in this fucked-up world."
