I was moving and moving fast. I looked down and around, searching for any clue as to what was happening. Then I saw it.

A tentacle was wrapped around my left ankle, pulling me along. And the size and shape of the appendage indicated something... huge.

I was dragged through a clump of seaweed and found myself at the edge of a drop-off on the seafloor. The shifting shape of a creature writhed in the crevasse, glowing with the light of a thousand bioluminescent organisms.

It was much like a giant squid, only no squid was that size or had a mouth that opened with a toothy beak like that. The creature dragged me down to it and, with the last air in my body, I screamed.

***

I coughed and gasped against the rough, pitted surface of wet rock under my cheek. Water gushed out of my mouth and I choked on the gag that it triggered in the back of my throat.

I shifted, weakly trying to lift myself up as my abdomen heaved. My empty stomach cramped with the effort. Thin bitter streams of bile pushed up my throat into my mouth. I struggled to calm my body's reactions. Tears leaked from my eyes at the pain and helplessness.

Finally, the heaving stopped, and I laid on the grainy rock, shivering and panting. After an eternity of reaching for stability within my body, my mind began to stutter into conscious thought again. I blinked and scowled, flashes of memory skittering behind my eyes.

The storm. The boy. Falling overboard. Drifting under water. The-

"Gods!" I pushed up and immediately felt dizzy. Black fuzziness filled my head, pushing out the memory of the... What had it been?

I barely managed to stay in a half-sitting position as my head cleared. The numb black fuzz was replaced with a piercing ache, driving spikes into my temples and down my spine.

I concentrated on breathing. If I started crying, the headache would only get worse. In and out. In and out. I coughed, hacking up the last drops of water in my lungs, and then winced.

"Oh dear gods, that hurt," I muttered.

My eyes fluttered open after a moment and I saw a bronze goblet near my right shoulder. It was held by a large, muscled hand, though that didn't bother me at all. A smooth, amber liquid sloshed inside the cup, and the scent of cinnamon and honey hit my nose, making my stomach rumble with craving.

I took up the goblet and sipped as the hand - definitely masculine, I noted - retreated behind me. The liquid slid down my throat, soothing despite the mild tinge of alcohol. It was room temperature, but it felt warm in my gut compared to the cold of the cave.

I realized there was no entrance in the rock's face, and I glanced down at the water. Memories of the creature returned. I sipped the mead and considered my situation a moment longer before rolling onto my knees and turning around before sitting back down with a heavy sigh.

The man before me was at least three feet taller than I was, built like a gym rat. He had long greenish blond waves of hair that fell past his shoulders, merging with a thick beard that covered his chest.

All in all, he was more attractive than not, but he was also very much not human. His eyes glinted gray with a green sheen to them. He wore only short breeches, tattered into rags below the knees. His calves and bare feet, as well as his upper arms, were covered in a silvery-gold sheen of what seemed to be scales.

I reached up to the chain around my neck and grasped the pendants dangling there. One burned with energy as I drew on it, seeking the knowledge of all the gods and god-creatures.

"Aegir," I whispered. I swallowed hard and bowed my head briefly, forcing my voice to cooperate. "I thank you for the drink. You are renowned for your hospitality and your ale. Both are well earned."

The jötun perched on a rocky outcrop and leaned his muscular arms on his knees. "Then it is true," he rumbled in a voice like waves crashing on a rocky shore. "The Aesir have recruited a hero to act on their behalf."

I stared for a moment into his intense gaze, feeling warmth steal through my body. I blinked and glanced down at the rocky floor in front of me. I wasn't inclined to giving in to physical attraction or desire, but the draw of Aegir was that of a warm sea in summer - cool, refreshing, soothing, enveloping.

I cleared my throat. "Uh, yeah." I snuck a glance up at him, then dropped my eyes again.

The sea giant leaned back, and I could feel his eyes on me. If this was Aegir, then he was married, and his wife wasn't someone I would want to think I was trying to step on her wifely toes. Most Norse gods had what could only be described as open relationships, but that would be quite an assumption to stake my life on.

"I need you," he rumbled.

I jumped at the words, confused by what he said in the context of what I’d been thinking. "W-what?"

He laughed. "It would be more appropriate to say my wife needs you," he amended. "However, she tends to be less... um, diplomatic. So I am opening the conversation on her behalf."

I glanced around the cave. I didn't see any sign of the giantess. Nor could I determine the source of the light that seemed to infuse the entire cave. I sighed. Gods.

"Ok," I said. "Maybe you could give me a little more detail before I commit. I don't like to break my word over something as simple as making promises I don't know I can possibly keep."

"Ran is finishing up putting Cranky back to bed," he murmured.

"Cranky?"

The sea god grinned. "My little nickname for her favorite pet," he said. "The Kraken."

He turned his face to the water to my left. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the water roiling as if it had been left on the boil too long.

"My love," Aegir called. "Our guest is ready for you. But please, don't kill her before you get your information."

My head jerked from the chaotic splashing to his face. He smiled at me reassuringly as a blue-green skinned woman nearly as tall as he rose from the sea.