"I've got you," Johnny murmured, his mouth curved in a smile like the edge of a blade, one palm cupped to the side of Eugene's face. His touch was cold, but Eugene couldn't pull away from it.

"Let me go," he choked out. "I belong there, with the rest of them."

"No, you don't." Johnny leaned in close, their lips brushing. His teeth gleamed white, sharp and deadly like the smile of a predator. "You're mine. You said so. You belong with me."

Pressing their mouths together, he forced life back into Eugene’s flooded lungs. The humming went flat for a second and then died, like a radio being abruptly turned off. As Eugene turned his head and spat out the last of the bayou, he saw Johnny’s eyes, flat and gold like coins in the dark, glowing down at him.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Arden Powell is an author and illustrator from the Canadian East Coast. A nebulous entity, they live with a small terrier and an exorbitant number of houseplants, and have conversations with both. They write fantasy, romance, and horror, often in combination, but rarely two consecutive books in the same genre. Everything they write is queer.

They can be found on twitter @ArdenPowell, or follow their blog at ardenpowell.wordpress.com for email updates on upcoming releases and infrequent posts.