Page 40 of Beneath the Surface

Nisha shook his head. “You’re distracting me. As I was saying, essentially the main thing to remember is not to hold your breath once under the water. Let your body do what it needs to do. Don’t fight it or panic. Remember, you won’t drown.”

Kannon bit his lip then nodded. “Right. Don’t panic. Bet that’s easier said than done. Man, this is all kinds of scary, but I’m ready. Let’s do this.”

“Don’t be nervous. I’ll be right there with you.” Nisha let go of Kannon’s hands and step back. “Give me just a second. I’m going to change to my natural form.”

Nisha stepped backward in the water, and clearing his mind, began the process that would transform him back to his preferred form. Luckily it took less time than bringing forth his human legs. Oddly enough, going from legs to tail didn’t hurt. It stung, yes. But it wasn’t anywhere as bad as bringing forth his legs.

Maybe it was the fact that everything, for lack of better description, melted together and reformed—there was no tearing. Whatever the reason was, he was grateful it took less time. As his tail formed he stretched, shaking out its length and flexing his caudal fin.

He surfaced and looked at Kannon. “Ready?”

Kannon took one last deep breath. “Ready.”

He wasn’t ready, Nisha could plainly see that, but he wasn’t going to delay this any longer. The thumping of Kannon’s heart was all Nisha could hear. He grasped Kannon’s hand and pulled him farther into the water until they could no longer touch bottom.

The best way to do this would be to grab Kannon and pull him under, and just force him to do what needed to be done… but he couldn’t. He absolutely refused to terrify Kannon again. Still holding hands, and a quick wink to boost Kannon’s courage, Nisha stopped propelling his tail.

Slowly they sank under the water. He let go of Kannon’s hands, and with a featherlight touch, eased his fingers across Kannon’s gills. Even underwater, he could see Kannon’s eyes widening. The first flickers of fear raced across his face.

Breathing underwater was such an unnatural act for his mate. Kannon would have a hard time denying his human urges even thought he was no longer fully human. But just because his brain knew it didn’t mean his body did… and that was what Kannon was fighting now.

Nisha’s sensitive hearing picked up the steadily increasing pounding of Kannon’s heart. Kannon’s eyes bulged. Instinct kicked in, and Kannon thrashed desperately as he tried to surface. Nisha knew Kannon wouldn’t drown. Problem wasKannondidn’t know that.

He was unable to believe such a feat quite yet. It broke his heart to see the fear in Kannon’s eyes. Unable to think of anything else, Nisha grabbed Kannon and kissed him. He kissed him, pouring every bit of love and promise he had into the kiss.

He trilled softly as he touched Kannon’s gills once more.Please, love. Trust me. You can do this. Just… breathe.The kiss spiraled out of control as Nisha trapped Kannon’s face with his hands. Kannon’s hair spread out as they sank father down.He’s holding his breath. Exactly what I told himnotto do.

Even though Nisha knew it was instinct, Kannon simply could not do this. Nisha thrust his tongue into Kannon’s mouth and then drew back, inviting Kannon’s to follow—to come and explore his mouth.

He trilled with joy when the first tentative brush up Kannon’s tongue.I’m sorry, love.Nisha bit him with his sharp little teeth. Kannon jerked in his arms, his body trembling. It had to sting, Nisha knew, but he needed it to.

He needed something to knock Kannon out of his flight or fight mindset. He hoped the kiss and the bite would. Then Nisha saw it… Kannon’s chest expanded and contracted.Yes!His mate just took his first breath underwater.

Kannon jerked his head back, ran his hands across his lips, then glared at Nisha. Nisha grabbed Kannon by the waist to stop their descent, his tail slowly moving back and forth. They hung suspended in the water, Kannon still glaring at him.

Letting the joy he felt spill across his face, he waited. Then he saw it. The aggravation on Kannon’s face quickly disappeared as excitement replaced it.Finally.The look of shock on Kannon’s face was priceless.

Nisha held Kannon as he watched Kannon’s gills working perfectly. His mate was breathing underwater.Now for some fun.Still holding hands, Nisha used his powerful tail to send them toward the underwater opening of the cave.

When they reached it he slowed and looked at Kannon. Hopefully his mate would understand he was taking them out of the cave and into the deep blue sea. Once they got back on land he’d have to explain to Kannon they had a way to converse—mates were able to communicate telepathically while in mer form—but it would take some time to develop.

While that was a private form of communication, merfolk had developed a range and a variety of noises to commune verbally. As with whales, they used four main types of sounds: trills, clicks, whistles, and pulsed calls. Clicks were used for identification.

When sound waves bounced off an object, it returned to a mer. A pleasant return click help differentiate between friend and predators. Aquatic life, for the most part, fell in the friendly category. Their whistles and pulsed calls were used during social activities.

Humans heard pulsed calls as squeaks, screams, and squawks. When a mer trilled, it was to offer comfort. Merfok also use their tails and fins to make loud slapping noises on the surface of the water. This was a nonverbal communicate that could be heard for below the surface miles away.

It was used as a warning sign of aggression. But for right now they were reduced to playing charades. He pointed out the cave opening, and Kannon nodded. Excellent. He couldn’t wait to see Kannon’s reaction once they left the cave.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

HOLYCOW.

As they left the underwater cave, Kannon struggled to keep up with Nisha. It wasn’t that his mate was purposely leaving him… it was more that Kannon was enthralled by everything around him and kept getting distracted.

Oh, how he wished he could communicate with Nisha right now. Questions flooded his mind. The joy of what was in front of him was almost enough to sidetrack him from the fluttering he felt at his neck. He had gills.Gills.

Maybe if he repeated that a thousand more times, it would finally sink in. He could feel their movement as water flowed across them. It was indescribable. Awe-inspiring. And freaky as hell. He glanced over at Nisha and watched as his mate’s tail slowly moved up and down as he swam.

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