Page 21 of Entranced By the Nakken (Freedom, Love, Monsters #4)

The song ended, and a new band took the stage.

Like those before, their music was no spirit song.

Surprisingly, it didn’t matter. There was an inexplicable feeling among the dancing bodies, especially within the bubble surrounding the four of them.

Sophie and Noah resembled jellyfish with how hard they banged their heads, smiling through the blur.

Casimir’s hand around Tsunis’ waist. Reminding them they belonged.

Even when their gaze wandered outside of the group, they were met with nods and raised cups.

All of it made for a euphoric sense of belonging that pounded inside Tsunis’ chest.

It was possibly the best night of Tsunis’ life.

“You okay?” Casimir asked, voice husky and low.

Tsunis realized they’d stopped moving. They gazed into Casimir’s beautiful eyes, pretty as coral with glimmering flecks of green and gold, and they couldn’t help themself. Standing on the tips of their toes, they grasped the back of their mate’s neck and dragged their lips together.

Tsunis was a great kisser now. Casimir pressed flat palms to the small of their back, and the hard bulge flexing against their belly confirmed this absolute fact.

Casimir’s tongue found easy entrance to their mouth, and they moaned. Completely forgetting to care about their surroundings, Tsunis took Casimir’s wrist and brought it to their fin.

The groan that Casimir fed them was deep and all-consuming, but Casimir barely stroked the tips of their sensitive fin before breaking the kiss.

Tsunis whimpered, but Casimir chuckled with a touch of darkness. Still holding their bodies flush, he whispered, “Don’t worry. After the show, I’ll tend to all your greedy little desires.”

Tsunis growled, wishing they didn’t like it so much when he called them greedy, but their core pulled taut and buzzed with excitement at his promise.

In a fit of impulsivity, Tsunis licked a drop of sweat that’d beaded along Casimir’s jaw. Casimir hissed, but Tsunis savored the stolen droplet, as syrupy as the sweetwater rivers of their childhood.

“You taste like home.”

A few bands later, it was time for Casimir’s band to take the stage.

After dropping the trio off backstage, Noah led Tsunis down a passage, where he said something to a security guard who laughed and nodded.

Noah smirked at Tsunis over his shoulder and motioned them to follow.

The guard squinted at Tsunis, and their heart sped up.

Would they see through their costume and know they weren’t human?

“Hmph. Cool cosplay,” the guard commented, taking the lead.

The guard escorted them to a spot directly center of the stage, in front of the metal barrier separating the crowd from the band then left without a second glance.

Tsunis stared up at the empty stage with bated breath. A sudden thump on their shoulder shocked their attention toward Noah who leaned close with a smug grin behind a fresh cup of dark brown liquid.

“Trust me!” he shouted. “This is the best spot. Right here, we’re fucking royalty, baby.”

Noah’s enthusiasm had a mirroring grin tugging at Tsunis’ lips, a swarm of pygmy moonfish fluttering in their belly.

The lights dimmed. A spotlight locked onto Anna, who instantly found Tsunis and Noah in front of the crowd and stuck out her tongue.

Blue and teal lights flashed in succession, revealing two more band members at the front of the stage. The moment it came into focus, Casimir’s gaze was trained on Tsunis.

“My eyes are up here, you filthy heathens!” Sophie shouted into the microphone. Her fierce features scanned the crowd, the straight lines of blue painted-on scales giving her a deadly presence. When she landed on Noah and Tsunis, the ferocity yielded to a saucy wink.

Noah roared, and Tsunis barely registered their own loud growl under his.

Sophie, front and center, banged her head in that endearing way that sent her colorful hair bouncing like a jellyfish.

She plucked the first chords of a song without accompaniment, the tension in the room building.

Tsunis bounced in tune as though they’d heard it as often as the song they impatiently awaited, their veins hot.

“Thank you! We are South of Misery and we’re here to save your asses!” Sophie exclaimed as the first song came to an end.

Two pure, unmistakable notes played on Casimir’s bass guitar. Unsure when their arm and Noah’s had tangled over each other’s shoulders, Tsunis jumped alongside their new friend.

The thrill evened out into an ecstatic bliss.

The crowd behind them delighted in the moody rhythm, which blended with the mellow vocals of the first verse, creating an atmosphere of love and loss, grief and gratitude.

Noah off-key voice intoned every word, as though he’d memorized it much the same as they had.

Inside their soul, Tsunis felt a crack, as the song shifted.

The subdivisions quickened while the overall tempo remained constant, Casimir’s steady control seamlessly lead the song in a new direction.

Tsunis stared up at the love of their existence and knew without a doubt, nothing would ever be the same.

Casimir’s gaze roamed over the crowd, always returning to Tsunis. Despite knowing nothing of the hardships Glacis faced, the humans surrounding them were clearly moved by the song, swaying their hips and pumping their fists at all the right moments.

Tsunis had expected to feel elation at this moment. It was there, but more than anything, all Tsunis wanted was to be alone with their mate. To burrow into the safety of his arms. To know the fighting was over.

In an exquisite example of musicality, which Tsunis happened to know was inspired by Anna’s brilliance, the outro picked up the beat and seamlessly flowed into an alternative solo performed by Sophie’s rhythmic guitar.

The energy in the room heightened to a fever pitch as Sophie wound the final spell over the crowd with her raw rendition of Casimir’s lyrics.

The tears burning Tsunis’ eyes had no time to dissolve before Casimir knelt at the front of the stage.

Haloed by the spotlight, he grasped Tsunis’ low neckline and pulled them in for a consuming kiss to the sound of Sophie’s raging feminine voice.

Anna followed her impactful words with a soaring up-tempo beat that made the entire dancefloor tremble.

When the band’s ten minutes concluded, Casimir was the only member to hop off stage from the front. His hand buried into Tsunis’ hair, and Tsunis collapsed into his arms, their mouths uncaring of the audience.

“Fuck, babe,” Casimir groaned breathlessly.

“You were amazing, Nymphaiia.”

“I’ll never be able to sing again without thinking of you, and I’m so fucking glad for it. Fuck!” Casimir hissed when Tsunis chomped the faded bite mark on his left shoulder. “Are you listening?”

“I am,” Tsunis stated with as much dignity as they could muster.

“Listen close,” Casimir cooed.

“Spit it out,” Tsunis moaned, losing their cool as Casimir pinched their upper earfin with relentless pressure, their traitorous body curling in on itself.

“Get those fishnets nice and creamy for me,” Casimir’s intimate whisper was eclipsed with a darkness that demanded Tsunis’ submission. “I’m going to make you come so fucking hard, you’ll forget every lyric that isn’t my name.”

“Ohh…ummm…” Tsunis was as accustomed to taking orders as they were to giving them, though they typically preferred the latter. For Casimir, they would take it all. “Very well.”

Casimir chuckled. “Very good. I’m so proud of you.”

“Oh my fucking god!” Sophie’s voice interrupted. Casimir’s hand gave one last pinch to Tsunis’ ear before traveling to their waist. “That was fucking amazing!”

“You fucking slaughtered that stage!” Noah chimed in.

Casimir’s breath was hot on Tsunis’ crown as he kissed the top of their head and faced them both toward their friends.

“I’m so glad you could make it,” Sophie gushed, taking Tsunis’ bicep and squeezing it like they were the most familiar friends in the world. “Seriously, thank you.”

At this point, Tsunis was unsurprised at the genuine smile that stretched their features, foreign though the expression might’ve been a few moon cycles ago. “It was exhilarating. I’m proud to take part in this.”

“Don’t play,” Anna joked from the side. “Pretty sure this was all you.”

“Whatever! I practiced for weeks for this,” Sophie argued.

Tsunis watched the sisters interact with a calm sense of unity, glad they’d left the river for this. That was until Casimir squeezed their waist, reminding them of the promises to come.

They didn’t look back when his palm traveled to their upper bottom, caressing, the warmth alone enough to make their glands expand and exude, dutifully creaming their tights as he’d ordered.

“Let’s get out of here. The winners aren’t announced for a week,” Sophie said then added in a whisper to Noah, loud enough for everyone to hear. “And I think Anna is about to ditch us for the lead singer of the band before us.”

“Hey! I would never!” Anna smacked her sister distractedly, her gaze hot and heavy on the female lead of the prior performers.

“I’m ready to leave,” Casimir stated. His hand clenched on Tsunis’ right ass cheek, and their eyes fluttered.

“Yeah, we know,” Sophie snorted. “I’ll order the car.”

"See you at home!” Anna called over her shoulder, already halfway across the dance floor.

Outside waiting for their transport, Casimir’s nose nuzzled Tsunis’ neckline. While Tsunis’ body reacted against their will with a deep hum, their lips twisted in a scowl.

“Nymphaiia,” Tsunis threatened, low and menacing. They whirled around in their mate’s arms and shoved his chest. “You’ve established your intentions. Cease these advancements before you find my clutch searching for purchase in your womb before my cycle even begins.”

Casimir’s answering chuckle was equal parts infuriating and sexually frustrating.

“Oh, joke’s on you. I wish you would fucking impregnate me.” Casimir gasped when Tsunis’ hand snapped to his throat. “Oh, fuck, yes.”

It took stepping onto their tippy toes, and it only worked because their weight sent Casimir back a half-step onto the brick wall, but Tsunis growled against their mate’s temple. “Consider it already done.”

An alarm honked behind them, quickly accompanied by Sophie’s voice. “Get in, losers! Before you impregnate everyone in the fucking bar.” She rolled up the window with a fake gagging noise.

Casimir grasped Tsunis’ wrist before they removed it, then kissed their knuckles. It was one of the small movements he did often, which Tsunis was utterly smitten with.

It didn’t matter what realm they were in. Tsunis would see their mate with a rounded pouch, if only for spite.