Page 19 of Entranced By the Nakken
“Breathe.”
Breathe? He tried to shout but choked. He tried again and swallowed more air—air?
“Goddess bless! Would I drown my own mate? Trust me, human.”
“I trust you.” Casey looked around. It was like looking through a foggy mirror at first, but as it cleared, he could see the river life, abundant with algae and crappie and striped bass. He took another breath in, a surreal sensation, and waved a hand in front of his face, realizing he wore a bubble as an astronaut’s helmet. “Whoa.”
“Hold. On.”Even telepathically, Tsunis didn’t like to repeat themself.
Casey held tight, grinning so hard it would hurt in the morning. Tsunis rumbled their approval, a shimmer skating down their velvet scales.
They took off down the river at a speed no boat Casey’d been on would dare. It took a while for his body to get used to water rushing at his face without wanting to choke. Not a drop touched his cheeks, though the rest of him could feel the water rushing past. Fucking weird.
When his breathing regulated, Casey laughed. He gripped the dragon’s fin-covered mane and whooped with delight, flexing his legs around the beast between them.
Eventually, the riverbed dropped, slowly at first and then more steeply. They weren’t in Lindahl anymore. Tsunis rocketed up, up, up, breaking the surface. Casey shrieked. It was like a rollercoaster, with a view of vast open waters below. Had they traveled all the way to the fucking Atlantic?
They crashed into the water, and Tsunis took a long, wide right turn.
“You’re incredible,” Casey blurted. He watched the riverbed climb into view until the vegetation tickled his toes.
“I’m yours.”
“And I’m fuckin’ yours, baby!” Casey returned the sentiment through peals of laughter as Tsunis broke the surface again, this time twisting in a death spiral on the straight shot down.
Back in familiar territory, Casey expected Tsunis to land them at their usual spot, but they joined the stream’s relaxed flow and continued past the spot Casey had spent endless hours writing. Tsunis did not stop there. The moment the riverbed dropped, they sped for a gap in the stones that appeared no wider than Casey’s shoulder span. Casey trusted Tsunis, but a scream bubbled up his chest.
At the very last moment, Tsunis fucking liquified. The mass between Casey’s knees turned into water, but no less sturdy. They shot through the crevice, the stone scraping Casey’s shoulder, but they emerged on the other side unharmed.
The narrow passageway opened into a spacious cavern so beautiful it stole Casey’s breath.
“Holy fuck.” Casey loosened his grip on the slippery strands of mane long enough to rub his eyes, replacing themwhen Tsunis hissed inside his mind. “Where are we? Is this your home world?”
A mournful sound was their response, indicating this hidden oasis was not the watery world Tsunis called home. So, this had been in Casey’s backyard the whole time.
Except it couldn’t have occurred naturally. Wide, oblong slopes of porous rock extended outward from a centralized spot. Along the sloped edges grew glittering coral reefs that provided light where there should be none. Stalagmite crystals hung from the ceiling, but this was no ordinary calcite formation. The crystals were an opalescent blue, with an inner glow all their own. If that wasn’t enough to convince Casey that this place was unnatural, the colorful, exotic fish sealed the deal.
It was breathtaking, but one anomaly kept demanding his attention. Amidst all the beauty, there was a glitch, and everything seemed to center around it. Casey squinted at the writhing mass of wrongness.
Tsunis’ liquid dragon form dissipated, transforming into the humanoid version of themself that Casey was most acquainted with. They flipped gracefully in his arms and for a split second, they allowed Casey’s hands to dig into the velvety flesh of their hips, their piercing silver stare shut off from emotion.
Then they were gone, swimming toward the very thing that was causing Casey such unrest. His brow furrowed as he followed, not half as good a swimmer, but he caught up quickly enough.
At the bottom of the cave, Casey let his feet touch the ground, surprised to find he could walk like it was a stroll in the park. Tsunis led him under roots of trees, never slipping on the moss-covered riverbed like Casey did.
Up close, it looked like dirty petroleum jelly, about two feet in diameter, eye level. The slimy substance was stained black, perpetually mixing in on itself.
He started to reach for it but closed his fist. One look at Tsunis and he knew his hands would be better use wrapped around something else. Their right arm was wrapped around their chest, their left fingernails getting a pedicure by double-lined teeth.
“This is it? The portal?” Casey rounded the thing. He took their hand from their worried teeth and kissed the knuckles.
Tsunis nodded and allowed him to unravel their tense posture. Casey encircled their waist from behind, hands clasped in front of Tsunis’ navel. He kissed the top of their head, and Tsunis tilted, falling into the crook of his shoulder.
Holding Tsunis like this made it all worth it. Everything from the teasing Casey endured as a kid when he told people he’d seen the river spirit, to the long nights studying for classes he didn’t care about, to his shame over moving back home. It had all led him here, with Tsunis’ soft scales under his palms, their silver hair gleaming in the unnatural lighting that filled the sea cave.
“I’m so sorry,” Casey murmured, breathing in their fresh scent. He swayed side to side with their hips tucked into his. “We’ll find a way.”
“And then?”
