by Lucas, Naomi
Gripping clumps of golden-white sand in my fists, I lean forward, resting my brow on the back of my hands, dizzy with exhaustion, with fear.
At one point, rain began to fall, cooling my skin, drenching me completely. It hid my tears, but also my smell, and any lingering scent of dragon upon me.
Noises have chased after me, even those of courageous predators. Most have stopped, but the dragon sounds continue. They follow me still.
None are Kaos’s. He’s no longer a dragon, because of me. Rubbing my forehead against my hands, I hold in a sob.
Thunder rumbles all around, wind whips my hair away from my face, and finally, when I look up, white, riotous waves are crashing the shore, each higher and more tempestuous than the last. Wiping the rain from my eyelashes, I sit up, awed and frightened.
I’ve never seen the ocean like this before. The mouth of the river and nearby estuary are spinning with whirlpools. There’s nothing, not even a crocodile, on the beach—anywhere—and the tide is rising far higher than ever before, faster than ever before.
And most of all, the red glow of the comet is gone. The clouds are dark blue and gray, roiling like the whirlpools, and I see light flashing within them as thunder continues to boom.
Rain gets in my mouth, and I clamp my lips closed. My fear doesn’t abate even as I try and focus on my breathing.
Standing, lightning strikes the ocean in front of me, flashing through the heavy rain, and revealing more waves, so large, heading straight for the shore.
Scrambling backward, I make it to the higher jungle trees as they hit. I twist back in time to watch the beach disappear under the water.
The water reels back to hit once more.
Bracing my hand against the trunk of a tree, the lightning streaks again, and every quivering muscle in me goes tense.
I see something move through the veil of rain.
Something gigantic—a behemoth. A creature big enough to contend with Kaos’s dragon form, a beast that could go against the old dragon dead in the jungle when he was living.
Another alpha…
It flies slowly, dipping in and out of the ocean, vanishing and returning with each wave of lightning. The waves, I realize, the waves are coming from him! Its wings stretch outward, then fall back into its body—one second a sea serpent of epic proportions, the next a full-fledged dragon. I gasp, horror filling me, having never considered such a great monster dwelled deep in the waters my people cherish.
The dragon’s long head swivels in my direction, and I freeze.
Its body stops, dropping back into the water, and when the lightning flashes again, I know it’s staring directly at me.
My heart stops. My exerting pants cease. I sense my death glaring, wet and heavy, back at me.
Taking a slow step back, forcing my limbs to move against their will, I fall into the shadows of the jungle and slip behind the tree, hoping I’m still in Kaos’s territory.
Dropping to the ground, shaking uncontrollably, I curl my hands to my mouth, praying the dragon’s notice of me was only my imagination.
Go away… Please, please, go away.
Kaos’s name floods my head.
I won’t survive another dragon.
I won’t. I know I won’t.
An ear-splitting roar breaks across the air and I flinch, curling my arms around my knees and balling up. It goes on and on, louder with each second, dominating the storm, rising above the thunder, the crashing waves, and rain.
Beating my nerves to bits, it continues. I dig my nails into my scalp where I cover my ears. And when I don’t think I can take it anymore, large arms envelop me.
Starting with a squeal, my eyes open to find Kaos. His drenched body presses forward to take me deeper into his embrace.
“Kaos,” I gasp, flinging my own arms around him.
“Shhhh,” his voice slips into my ear. “He is watching. He is challenging me, waiting for me to come out from the jungle and face him.”
He pulls me to him. Holding onto him tightly, a sense of calming dread settles my heart.
I’m not alone anymore. And for some reason, that’s all that matters as the storm rages around us.
“He challenges both of us,” I whisper into Kaos’s neck, feeling my fear begin to fade and anger take hold. I raise my eyes to look at him. “You won’t face him alone.”
Kaos flashes me a look of surprise, of something else I can’t read after, but when his lip quirks up on one side, I can’t help but lean up and press my lips to it. He stills, and I fall back. His hand comes up to clutch my chin when I try to lower my face into his chest.
Green-black eyes pin me, tapering to full black as he forces me to stare at him.
“I’m sor—”
The words never finish as his mouth slams into mine.
The kiss takes me by surprise, but I fall into him and his sudden frenzy with abandon. Hot, demanding lips press into mine, and his tongue caresses and paints my lips, tasting, pushing into my mouth, before licking again. His hand slides to cup my head, holding me in place when I try for a modicum of control.
He doesn’t give it to me. I don’t think he ever will.
Opening my mouth to inhale, he rams his tongue inside me, stealing my breath as rain trickles down from the leaves above. Pulling me into his lap, I press against him, and his heat surrounds me, fills me up, pools into my mouth to flood my throat and belly. I surrender completely to him.
It doesn’t occur to me that the roars have stopped until he pulls back. Opening my eyes, I find him staring hard at me. He licks his lips, drawing my gaze to them. It feels like he’s licking me.
His breath is still inside me.
If we weren’t hiding for our lives, his stunning effect would take over. I know it. But as he pulls away, dropping his hands from my body, all the while staring hard and domineering into my eyes, a sad moan escapes me, and the breath he gave me goes with it.
I watch as he rises up and tears his gaze from mine to look out over the ocean. Wind whips his hair back. I’m transfixed.
He’s a wild forest god. A jungle warrior—primitive and mighty. The wings along his arms shoot out from his body, expanding like never before, sharpening, holding even in the monsoon winds as if they’ve gone as solid as stone.
He steps from the shadow of the tree, and I scramble to my feet. Looking past him, the water dragon is flying down the coast toward Sand’s Hunters.
Leith. Fear returns to my heart. Aida.
Stumbling past Kaos and to the mouth of the jungle river, so close that the waves crash against my shins, I realize there’s no way I can make it across the strait. Not swimming, not even in a raft. I would capsize in minutes.
I can’t race a dragon. No way to reach Sand’s Hunters before the dragon does.
Then I’m pulled and lifted off the ground. I don’t even fight; helplessness has already taken over. Kaos carries me back within the jungle and sets me down. Glimpsing his face, there’s anger in his eyes.
“One wave could sweep you off your feet! One!” he yells. Tears fill my eyes. “Why hide from a dragon only to kill yourself moments later for stupidity! I cannot lose you. Why are you crying?” His anger tapers off as his brow furrows.
“My brother, my friend,” I say. “And Sand’s Hunters tribe… they’re in the direction that dragon went.”
The rest of Kaos’s unhappiness falls away. He glances in the direction I speak of before looking back at me.
“There’s nothing I can do to warn them,” I continue, frightened for their lives.
“Zaeyr will not approach them,” he says, cupping my face. “He may not even know they are there.”
“Zaeyr? And he will! They live high up on the rocks along the coast. They won’t be missed, not by a dragon, not by that dragon.” The dragon’s stare, directly at me, still chills me to the bone. He knew I was standing on the beach. Even through rain and wind and waves, he saw me.
Kaos forces me to face him. “He won’t go near them
.”
“How can you know?”
“For the same reason I would not go near them were I still a dragon. He will not risk their touch.” He huffs. “Had you ever seen a dragon before me?” he asks, confusing me.
“No.”
One sharp brow arches. “There is a reason for that. We make our homes in the wilds of the world, for peace, but also to be away from humans. Your species may be rare, but we are rarer still. There is no reason for our kinds to come across each other.” He cants his head. “Unless someone is searching…”
I try to hope, to find comfort in his words, but I can’t, not fully. I think he sees me struggling. My tears keep coming.
“Issa, Zaeyr is in mating heat. Do you understand? Look at me!” he hisses when I drop my eyes. They go right back to him at the command. “The femdragon is calling. She is near mindless at this point. Her pheromones are everywhere, and not even this storm will clear them from the air. Zaeyr will not be thinking of puny humans. He will be searching for her, for me—but not your brethren. Once they find each other, they will go to a safe place and nest, and you will most likely never see them again. They will not want their dragonlings near humans. Do you trust me?”
Do I trust him? I search his green eyes, blinking away my tears. Trust. It’s a heavy question to ask, and one I’ve barely considered—had any time to consider. We’ve only been together for several days.
But those days feel like an eternity, like I’ve known Kaos my whole life. As if he were waiting in the jungle for me, and I was destined to find him the moment he awakened. As if that moment was ours, and no one or nothing else.
I still can’t believe I went dragon hunting, knowing nothing but a simple rumor.
The red comet makes us wild. Perhaps the comet makes us much more than that…
I think of Aida, Delina even, and the guardian huntresses of Sand’s Hunters. They’ve weathered storms, sicknesses, and ape attacks. They’ll weather this. I know it, deep inside. And if Kaos is so assured that his kind—this Zaeyr—will not attack them, then I believe him.
Sand’s Hunters have that name for a reason, and their tribe is nearly double the size of my own Shell Rock.
And they have the caves to escape to. They will go to them like they do during all bad storms. They are stocked, and well away from the shore—hidden. I know this because I’ve seen them. Shell Rock has been invited to shelter there, if we ever had need.
A breath escapes me, staring at Kaos, his calm demeanor, his overwhelming strength, his heady assurance that he tries to relay to me in his piercing gaze. And it does pierce, through my heart and soul.
I trust him. Completely.
“I trust you,” I whisper.
A smile breaks his lips, and he leans down and kisses me deeply. He sucks me more into him, feeling me with his heat again, loving him with everything I have. The first kiss was wild, but this one… this one is eternal.
He pulls away far too soon.
Licking my lips, his own move up to clean the tears from my face.
“We will go to them once the storm settles,” I say as his mouth slides over my cheeks softly.
“Yes,” he agrees. “We will go to them. I did not know you had a brother. I would like to meet your kin.”
His words warm me more than his breath ever could. My hopelessness drains by the second, and I throw my arms around him. “I would like that. He was my ward my entire life… He was my life until recently. He also needs strong male guidance, and you will be perfect.”
He huffs. “I will do what I can. But first,” he pulls away, looking around, “where is your territory? I do not like the rain nearly as much in this new body of mine,” he grumbles further. “And I want you well away from those waves.”
Grabbing his hand and nodding my head to the side, I choose to believe his words. “Come. If we are to make it before dark, we should go now.” And then I remember the rocky shore and uneven terrain ahead. “I hope you know how you use those legs of yours by now. You’ll need them,” I warn, keeping my small, teasing smile hidden from his view.
21
Home
Most of the day is behind us by the time we ascend the cliff overlooking the lagoon of my home. By following the rocky shore, we were able to take the high routes to my home. They are rarely used, unless for hunting—usually too dangerous to traverse for their uneven terrain and the predators that make their home by the water.
But the predators are scarce still, and there’s no raft for us to use—no mermaids to guide us. And even if there were, it would be impossible, and stupid to go out into the ocean during such a storm.
The worst I’ve seen in years.
Looking out over the ocean and its riotous waves below, shivers course through me, not only because of the chaotic waters but the dawning knowledge that there are huge, terrifying beasts that could be swimming just beneath. I always knew serpents, krakens, and giant sharks existed, but they rarely come near my home… and during the odd instance when something large passed through, the mermaids always warned us in advance.
Seeing my home now, below me, lower still with the large jungle trees shielding it, my heart squeezes.
Seeking out Kaos meant leaving them longer than I meant to. A strange feeling hits me, hoping my tribe—my future responsibility and pride—are okay.
They will be mourning Leith’s loss. They will be celebrating for his future too.
I glance at Kaos. What will they think of him? Will they trust him?
Will they accept him? Let me keep him as he keeps me? Or will they deny him—deny us?
The branches below shake madly, like everything else. The crystal lagoon stirs in the middle, but the waves of the ocean come nowhere near, having been blocked by the many isles and large boulders in the sea in front of me. Love fills me looking at my perfect home.
Leaving it will hurt greatly. I squeeze Kaos’s hand, so massive that mine doesn’t even wrap around. But if Leith can leave it, I can too. I will always watch them and protect them from afar. I would never abandon them.
And once again, just once, I tell myself Leith is okay. Aida is okay. If a dragon attacks Sand’s Hunters, even one such as this Zaeyr, Aida will destroy him. Knowing her, she will pull out all weapons and rush him head-first to protect her tribe.
“Down there?” he asks, directly behind me, shielding me from the wind as much as he can, pulling my thoughts away from Aida.
“Yes, I live down there.”
He growls. “How do we get down? Do you have wings I do not know of? If you kept such a thing from me…”
“No. Come, I’ll show you.” Following the cliff’s edge to a rocky inlay, reaching down where branches hide it, I reveal two thick ropes and a ladder between. It’s wet but solid. “We climb down here.”
Kaos hisses, and I hear the frustration in it even through the distant thunder. “I cannot believe your kind still exists.”
“Your kind now, dragon,” I mutter.
He pushes me aside and tests the rope. “I will go first, and you,” he fumes, looking at me, “will follow between my arms.”
“I’ve done this climb many times.”
“I do not care!” Without waiting, dropping himself over the ledge, his angry face finds mine again. Wind musses his hair all around as he grips the ropes, and I see his huge muscles bulge. “I will see you safely home, or I will die and fall to my death trying,” he announces through gritted teeth.
Holding back another smile, I turn and drop over the ledge between his arms. We begin our slow descent home. And when Kaos reaches the ground, he grabs my hips and helps me the rest of the way. Turning around, I embrace him with all my strength, not wanting this time together to end. His arms wrap around me, holding me in return.
We’re home. Finally home. And I can barely believe it. For a few minutes, holding him, pressing my face to his chest, relief floods me. The same relief that filled me when Leith walked away from me to go to Delina. The kind of relief of fina
lity, of surviving something worrying. Of coming out the other end, discovering I’m still alive.
With Kaos. This time, my relief is shared. And it makes it all the better.
When I pull away a few minutes later, after sucking in his comforting scent, I take his hand anew and lead him through the trees to the village.
It’s quiet. The windows are shuttered tight. Everyone is inside bracing the storm from their tree huts. Even the animals we keep are inside their stables. The coming of a male to a tribe is not like this, but I’m happy no one is out to greet us.
They will not believe Kaos is real. He’s mine, alone, for a little longer.
Lightning flashes in the distance, far less than before, but when the lagoon lightens up, I note how late in the day it already is. Tugging Kaos along behind me, I head for my home—suddenly excited—it’s back, deeper in the trees on the other side of the blue body of water. Approaching the tree my hut is built around, I find someone has come along and closed it up for me.
Opening the door, I lead Kaos inside, hoping he likes it. Finally in my territory, not his, for the first time.
My place is built between two trees and is round like most of the structures in Shell Rock. There’s a fire pit in the middle, old hides covering the floor, and windows throughout, currently shuttered.
It’s divided into several sections by walls spreading away from the trees in a circular pattern. My stores are in the back and to the left, while my cot and possessions are to the right. Clay vessels and baskets line the walls on built-in shelves. Trophies and shells decorate throughout, placed in patterns I admire. Hides and nets hang from the branches that are within, and there’s a ladder that leads to the roof and the higher parts of my trees, creating a vantage point where I can look out to the lagoon.
Moving to the middle, I start a fire, nervous and happy to be back within my space. But when I turn back to Kaos, I find he hasn’t moved from the door.
