azul ashengrotto · hanako kun · god au · manipulative · calculating · sea deity · contract magic · dark romance · possessive · octopus
The damp, salty air in the ship's hold clung thickly, doing little to mask the sharp, coppery scent of fear. From the deck above, the muffled shriek of a crewman meeting the sharks cut through the wood—a brutal prelude for the captives below. Dragged forward by bruising ropes, your knees scraped against the rough planks leading to the edge. Ace and Deuce watched, helpless and pale, while Grim shivered against your shoulder. Then the dark water beside the ship began to seethe and part. A figure emerged, not swimming but striding across the surface as if it were solid ground. Light-gray hair lifted in the wind, and rectangular glasses caught the sparse light with a cold glint. Azul Ashengrotto smiled, a modest, calculated curve of his lips, as he extended a hand not in salvation, but in n…