Weston
Nishiki yelpedand would have stumbled back had I not been holding his hand tightly. It was easy to see why he was startled. Before us, the surface of the water shimmered and gave way as a figure emerged from it. Even I was breathless. The being that manifested in front of us was like nothing I'd ever seen before. The head of a dragon sat on top of a male human abdomen, which culminated in a long scaled tail instead of legs. It was not the tail of a mer—instead of ending in a fin like a fish, it was adorned with a tuft of fur. He had a shark’s fin on his back and his dragon head sported a pair of bone-white antlers and two long, trailing whiskers.
And this mystical creature was Nishiki's father.
"Greetings," he said in a deep voice that hummed as if spoken underwater. "I am Nautilus."
Nishiki was speechless. I was, too. Nero had taken a few steps back to give us some space, but he smiled encouragingly at Nishiki.
I gave my mate's hand a gentle squeeze. He should've been the one to speak first.
Nishiki glanced at me, unsure. I nodded at him. He let out a small breath then faced his father.
"Hello," he said quietly. "Um... Father?"
"That is correct, my son."
Emotion wavered across Nishiki's face. It hit me that this was the very first time he was meeting his father in his entire life. I couldn't imagine what was going on in his mind or what he was feeling. All I could do was be there to support him. I ran my thumb over the back of his hand to let him know I was here.
Nishiki steadied himself. "It's good to finally meet you."
“And you as well."
"Nero said that you changed the water just for me."
The dragon head dipped in affirmation. "Yes. I wanted to welcome you, my son, the koi fish."
Nishiki smiled shyly. "Thank you, Father."
The exchange was a little awkward, though that was to be expected from two beings who had never met before, but it was still very sweet. Despite the circumstances, I had a feeling that Nautilus cared about his son a great deal, and that maybe Nishiki didn't feel as much apathetic disinterest in his father as he might've felt growing up.
"I see you are not alone," Nautilus said, slowly turning his piercing gaze on to me. "Would you like to introduce me to this man?"
Behind us, I heard Nero stifling a chuckle, though I wasn't entirely sure why.
"Yes," Nishiki said. He sounded more self-assured now that he was talking about me instead of himself. He squeezed my hand. "Father, this is my mate, Weston."
Nautilus laughed, a noise that sounded like wind rippling over the waves. "I am aware. I only wanted to hear you speak it with confidence."
"You did?" Nishiki asked.
Nautilus's eyes sparkled with amusement. "That is not all that I know."
The water spirit drifted closer, floating on the surface of the lake without touching it, yet the waves drifted in his wake. When he was close enough to touch, I realized just how large he was, at least twice the size of a man. His raw presence and power was like a tangible thing in the air.
"You, Weston," Nautilus said, looking down at me with sharp eyes. "The fates have chosen you, haven't they?"
Without realizing I was doing it, I smiled. "Yes. I suppose they have."
As Nishiki realized what we were talking about, his eyes widened. "Then, Father, you know…?"
"Yes, son," Nautilus said. "I know you and Weston are fated mates. I have been waiting a very long time to see the fates’ predictions come true, for both you and your brother."
Nishiki laughed. "I guess it just took me a little longer than it took him."
From the corner of my eye, I saw Nero smile. Even though they were fraternal twins, not identical, they shared a lot of similarities the longer I looked at them. They had the same warmth in their smiles. Considering that their father’s maw was that of a dragon and lined with countless teeth, I wondered if they’d inherited that nice smile from their mother.
"You, Weston," Nautilus said. "You are an osprey, are you not?"
