Page 2 of Entranced By the Nakken (Freedom, Love, Monsters #4)
A Clump of Sea Rubbish
Nothingness.
Agony.
Boredom.
More ever-present nothingness.
In a patch of freshwater, a clump of algae and sticks stirred with the barest hint of consciousness. Existence was a constant longing. Hunger for a feeling the clump could not recall.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
The sea rubbish roused. Hungry. So hungry.
Movements sluggish, the clump grasped for a shred of something beyond their reach. If it could remember…if it could follow the stream…could save them…
Defying evolution, the slimy clump clawed to reach the spark of consciousness. It must remember. It must be sated, then it will remember. A little further.
The taste of blood. Human blood.
Free at last, sentience blasted through them, followed quickly by a powerful burst of magic that sang through long-unused veins. The song overwhelmed them. Rendered powerless, they couldn’t stop the music from filling their spirit and overflowing, pouring from their very seams.
Tsunis was so relieved to be whole, they didn’t think twice about the contractual offering they’d consumed. They let the blood energize them, let the melody take its rightful place in their soul, then loosed it into the humid air.
Its tune was different than their usual sound. It was hopeful, full of desire, and yet strangely. . . No, it couldn’t be familiar.
A curse broke through Tsunis’ curious song. They quickly compressed the magic coursing through their clogged veins and sunk below the waters, peering out of the depths to the shore.
A human roused from slumber, their broad shoulders slumped against a tree.
Their smooth brown hair was tousled, which they made worse by running both hands through it so roughly it made Tsunis’ scalp tingle.
The human’s deep scowl drew Tsunis’ attention to their full lips, complimented by a chiseled jaw and angular nose.
By Glacia’s good grace, the human was more alluring than a syren’s trickery. Tsunis fought the intense urge to pluck them from the shore and drag them below the water. Better yet, they’d deliver the pretty lily all the way to their garden where it belonged.
The human stood but paused to gaze into the water. Tsunis froze, their heartbeat cresting to crescendo.
That was not some random human.
It was him.
Reality swept through them. Tsunis had accepted his offering. Three drops of blood, enough to save Tsunis from their primitive form—and a binding contract.