by Lucas, Naomi
Looking out over the water, before we enter, I find no mermaids in attendance. I think that the enormous water dragon I saw yesterday may have something to do with it.
No, there’s no fanfare today for the addition of a male to the tribe. It should sadden me, but it doesn’t. Kaos has his arm around me, holding an animal hide over my head. Like a dragon wing. I smile to myself.
We follow Father into the building, and Kaos drops the wet hide to the floor—like hooks aren’t even a thing. My smile grows.
His heart burns for me.
Everything else… is just else.
My gaze lands on the women and a couple of men seated on stools around the central firepit within. No one looks at me; they’re all staring in awe at Kaos. I can’t blame them. If one of the other tribemates brought Kaos to us, I would be doing the same exact thing. Though I know my eyes would be lingering, and I’d be strained with some jealousy. Clasping my mate’s hand, I claim him in front of my people.
The claim doesn’t go unnoticed.
Pernis, my grandfather, stands from his seat and clears his throat. His white hair is short, his back is hunched from years of labor, but his body is still sinewy with muscle. A male who is and always will be strong. “So this is the male…” he says, taking in all of Kaos’s strange features and differences.
Feeling the tips of Kaos’s wings brush against me, I nod.
“And you have found him deep within the forbidden jungle, as a giant beast?” Pernis asks.
“Yes, Grandfather.”
Some of the elders cough and hum.
“How do we know he won’t turn back into one of these giant creatures?”
Kaos steps forward. Pernis straightens. “I am bonded with Issa, as is the curse the red comet placed on my kindred—we take the form of human when touched by one.”
Oled grumps. “Unbelievable. They say you were a dragon. Your kind has never graced these lands before—at least not in my lifetime. Why are you here now? Why do we hear loud roars in the wind? Should we be worried?”
“My kind has always been here, human.” Kaos directs his steely gaze onto Oled. “This lagoon falls between two alpha dragon territories, mine, which was to the south, covering much of the jungle, and another to the north, who rules the water deep. Just because you have not seen us does not mean that we are not there. I was rousing from a long sleep when Issa came upon me. Perhaps… a far too lengthy sleep.”
“Is that a threat?” Oled snaps.
Grandfather grasps Oled’s shoulder. “Don’t, old man. If he is what he says he is, he could have destroyed us long ago. He could hurt us now. And yet, he hasn’t.”
“I don’t trust it,” Oled mumbles.
“You don’t have to.”
Esteus bangs his hand on the table. “Enough. Trust will be seen.” Father turns back to Kaos and me. “Should we worry about this other dragon?”
“No, he is fixated on one thing,” Kaos mutters darkly. “And one thing only.” His hand heats against mine, making me flustered, bringing a blush to my cheeks. “He will pursue the femdragon passing through our territories to mate with her. They will have no reason to seek you out or hurt you—as long as you don’t seek them out or hurt them,” he adds. “I suggest against the latter.”
“Young man—” Pernis begins.
“I am much older than you, human,” Kaos snaps. “Much older.”
“Kaos, is it then?” my grandfather asks.
“That is my name.”
Pernis steadies himself and glances at me before leveling Kaos a steely look of his own. “You hold my granddaughter’s hand. What do you have in mind for her?”
“To mate her, breed her, and protect her and our brood until our lives end.”
I stiffen, shocked at his omission, at the dark desire in his voice. Dropping my gaze from my grandfather, a streak of excitement and embarrassment rushes through me. My blush deepens.
It grows worse as silence falls. I swallow thickly, wishing I didn’t wonder at the thoughts running through their heads.
Then my grandfather continues, mortifying me further. “Will your children be human?”
“Yes,” Kaos states so matter-of-factly my eyes jump to him.
“Would you breed with other females of our tribe?”
My heart dies at the question.
Kaos growls and bares his teeth, startling some of the elders out of their seats. “Never!”
Pernis smiles. “Good.”
Astonished, I stare at my grandfather, his soft eyes meet mine.
“I accept you as one of us, Kaos,” he says as I gape.
Kaos’s growling stops.
“I accept you as a member of our tribe,” Father declares next.
They turn to Oled.
“I will not accept you until you prove your worth,” Oled fumes. He storms to the door and exits without a backward glance. Aida is distantly related to Oled, and yet I see their similarities. Kaos will prove his worth, I muse, relief already flooding my senses. Real, comforting relief. He will prove it in spades.
Father and Grandfather are approaching us as I look away from the door.
“Welcome to Shell Rock, dragon,” Esteus says. “Tulia!” he shouts. My half-sister stumbles into the main room from where she hid listening from behind one of the hide walls. Several more come out behind her—women of the tribe, whispering and eyeing my male.
“Yes?” she asks, smiling at me.
“Gather everyone who isn’t already… eavesdropping.” He laughs, looking to the crowd of women. “We have a celebration to prepare for!”
That evening, and through the night, we celebrated, sharing stories and endless questions. There’s more laughter assailing the air than I have heard from my people in years. Even Kaos is affected by it.
Yet my mirth grows with every second. Hope, so much hope—and love—fills me. This happiness is all I’ve ever wanted, I realize. This future for my people. They lost the last of their hope with me when Leith left, and a little bit of courage. But fate—the red comet in the sky—smiles upon me. It has returned our future.
Looking at my people, I see myself in them, sense them like I’ve never done before. Kaos meets my gaze over the fire, where he is pinned between Father and Grandfather, smoldering at me. A strange sight to see with him between my sires.
But Tulia, Nell, and my other half-sisters whisk me away before I can go to him.
They adorn me in a dress of white seashells and abalone shards. They weave shells into my hair, crown me with the colors of the ocean reefs, and drape me in netted cord jewelry. They keep going until my long hair is heavy with the gifts of the ocean and every curve of my body is emphasized by a nearly-revealing mating gown.
And when they are done—once food was cooked and drinks were prepared—they present me to him.
Kaos rises slowly to his feet, eyes glittering with awe of his own. I stare back at him mesmerized, never once imagining I’d be here, in this place, presented to a male that was all mine.
Mine, I think, as the lust in his eyes deepens, as they trail over every inch of my body, feasting.
He’s wearing several adornments too, a hide cape draped over his neck, and to my surprise… several predator bones are sewn into his long hair, holding it back from his face. I feast too.
My mouth waters.
He closes the distance and kisses me, pulling me into his arms and searing my lips with his hungry ones. It’s not how the ritual is supposed to go, but he’s not a human, not really. To me, he will always be my dragon.
My dragon.
My. Dragon.
Mine.
Our people cheer as he lifts me into his arms and carries me off into the night, his mouth still on mine. To our home. Where our journey truly begins, and the kissing never ends.
To Mate a Dragon
The human race is dying under the red comet soaring through the skies above...and with it, the sounds of dragons are in the air.
My name is Aid
a, and I was destined to lead the Sand’s Hunter tribe into a new generation—promised to mate with one of the last born males along the Mermaid Coast. But before Leith was delivered to my tribe, my younger sister came of age and the elders chose her to be his mate instead.
Then a messenger came from the north with rumors of dragons turning into virile males from a single, human touch. Fresh hope blossoms within me as I plan to reclaim my rightful place as future matriarch to my people, and with that hope, I ready my supplies to hunt down one of these dragons to make my own. To touch him, to claim him, to take his seed and honor my people with a new generation.
But a storm is on the horizon.
And with that storm, soars an alpha dragon in heat. He’s heading straight for me.
He sees me.
All my plans crumble under his dark draconian stare.
1
The Coming Storm
Laughter fills my ears.
So much laughter. I long to join in but my sorrow weighs heavy on my heart. Everyone in my tribe is joyful but me, and they know it. They ignore my hurt because it’s easier, and not wanting to be a burden, I try and ignore it too.
A breeze hits my skin, and a streak of red shines down upon me as the clouds move overhead. I glimpse the comet.
Many weeks ago, the red comet appeared in the sky above, lighting the land with a faint sanguine glow. A hush had fallen across the tribe as we gazed up at it, knowing its meaning.
Change. Wild, unpredictable change. That’s what the comet means.
When it first appeared, long, long ago, even before my ancestors traveled to the Mermaid Gulf and settled down, joining with an established tribe already settled here, was the day the world twisted. Or so the stories go…
Our people didn’t realize what it would do to us until many years later. But generation after generation, our peoples’ ability to produce males diminishes evermore. Each generation is worse than the last.
This curse didn’t only strike us, but the other creatures living across Venys. Many only produce female offspring as well. We know because our cattle are predominantly female and the merfolk say they have felt it too; though because they live long lives, many of their males are still around.
Now, the red comet comes every couple of generations to plague us anew. What will it mean for us this time?
Are things going to get worse? I sigh.
I check the ties of my net instead, testing them with my fingers. The net is not as large as I would like it to be—not for the journey I have planned—but it’s the best one I have.
One thing is certain, I note, biting down on my tongue, pulling at the net. A change is in the air.
A week ago a messenger came down from the north, telling tales of a huntress finding a dragon. A dragon! A rare beast of old that my elders say they haven’t seen since they left the wastes.
And sacrificing herself, the huntress went out to lure the dragon away from her tribe’s hunting grounds. But when she went up to it—while it was slumbering—she touched the dragon’s hide, and when she did, a fateful change happened. The dragon turned into a powerful, strong, human male.
I didn’t believe it. No one in the tribe did… until the messenger said she was looking to invoke a mating pact with a tribe along the coast, for the child coming from the union of the huntress and dragon.
A rare male child, or so this dragon male proclaimed to the tribe he now lives with. Such a mating pact is a rare and special event—one that ties tribes together for generations to come.
It is not done lightly. It was then I believed.
After the messenger left, shrieking calls assaulted the land and the sky. The wails of a giant beast somewhere off in the jungle wilds bordering my home. Calls that my people have not heard since before my birth.
The calls of a dragon seeking a mate.
Perhaps… Maybe, maybe these dragons are the salvation for my people.
Which is why I’m preparing this net, planning to catch one for myself.
I have to try. If not to prove my worth to my people, to at least see for myself if this hope inside me is real. I will never forgive myself if it is, and I did nothing…
Giggles prick my ears. Looking up, I see Delina nearby in Leith’s arms. He’s kissing her neck.
A thorn of pain pierces my heart. Leith was to be my promised mate, the last male born in years on this side of the gulf. The brother of my best friend, Issa. She journeyed here not two days ago with Leith, delivering him for his mating ceremony with Delina.
My sister catches my eye.
Returning her smile takes a lot of effort, but I’m able to do it. But my lips crack under the pressure.
“Aida! Come and join us. We’re heading to the nearby springs,” Delina says, her tone heightened with pleasure. “This weather is making me sweat.”
I stop rolling the net over my arm, pushing my worries deep inside.
Delina’s curves, her long, dark hair, and her shadowed eyes of kohl are slanted with mirth. She still wears the precious gold shells from her mating dress. Leith is behind her, holding a basket of fruits, small pots, and folded cloths for drying. But it’s my little sister my eyes linger on.
I’d wear them still too if I were in her place. It’s an honor to wear the rare gold shells. She’s beautiful in them.
“I can’t.” For so many reasons. I lift my arm with the net. “We need more fish for tonight’s feast in honor of your mating,” I say. “For the energy you and Leith will need in the coming weeks,” I add thickly. It’s not exactly the truth, but it’s not a lie either.
Delina pouts. “Who will be our lookout if Leith and I rut?”
My nostrils flare, and Delina’s mouth tightens, noticing. She knows I was to be Leith’s mate, not her, but she pretends she doesn’t—that she’s forgotten my years of training, the honors and responsibilities the elders bestowed upon me.
When I don’t give in, she sighs. “Fine. You’re no fun. Leith will protect us anyway. Right, Leith?” she asks, turning to him.
He grins and shakes his shoulders, making the spear strapped to his back wiggle. “Of course. I have the biggest spear of all, and my aim is always true… and relentless,” he answers lasciviously, eyeing my sister’s skirt, where her thighs meet beneath.
Delina laughs, shoves him, and takes the basket from his arms.
Leith brandishes a bone knife before them and grips it in his mouth, pulling his spear out next—the weapon, thankfully—and jabs it several times in the air as if he’s stabbing a jungle ape. More laughter follows, some of it from our tribemates nearby.
When Delina and Leith head off, bawdy jokes follow.
Watching them leave, the stiffness in my shoulders eases. I’m happy for my sister, but I can’t help the sorrow within me. What’s wrong with me?
Placing one hand on the net now rolled on my arm, one thought fills my head. I’m the strongest, youngest huntress in my tribe. I’ve protected my people and our lands for years, showing my worth, exceeding the elder’s expectations. I straighten.
They may have taken Leith from me, robbed me of the future I dreamed of since childhood, but I will prove to them it doesn’t matter.
I’ll find a dragon, hunt him down, touch his hide… I’ll seek my own mate to save my people from extinction.
It’s what I’ve been born to do, what I’ve trained for.
Excitement fills me.
I’ll find a mate worthy of me, of my people. My lips dare to lift into a smile.
I pivot back to the job at hand—preparing for the hunt—when I find my mother standing behind me, her face sharp with disappointment. My smile dies.
“You should’ve gone with them.”
“I have chores to complete.” I try to move past her before all my excitement fades. Before she can say more.
She grabs my arm, wringing me to face her. “And if they are hurt? Who will be to blame?”
“The tribe,” I hiss. “Anyone can guard them. Why does it h
ave to be me?”
“Aida! You are kindred! Leith is your brother now, and he brings power to our family, our bloodline. We are and always should be the first line of defense between Delina and Leith and the rest of the world. It is our duty. The tribe cares for us while we take on that responsibility!”
I jerk my arm out of my mother’s grip. “It is not the responsibility I’ve trained for.”
I know how I sound, I know… but I can’t help it. I can’t take on this responsibility yet. How much more do I have to prove?
“You are selfish, daughter. You are one of the strongest left among us. You should be honored with this new path.”
Flinching, I take a step back. And there it is, the reason I can barely make myself laugh or smile. It’s not because Leith is no longer mine—I don’t even find him all that attractive—but the discarded sensation I get every time Delina or my duties—my honor—is brought up.
“I should be honored, shouldn’t I?” I say. “But you make it hard for me to feel anything but rejection.” She opens her mouth to argue but I cut her off. “I have given my whole life for my people. I have done everything you demanded—I have become strong and capable, foregoing childhood fantasy because the elders deemed me a match for the last male born along the Mermaid Coast. And now, Delina does nothing but come of age, and she is given something I have worked so tirelessly for. With no explanation but ‘she appears more fertile, has childbearing hips.’ I should be honored, but I cannot make it happen.”
“Aida…” Mother’s face falls, and that hurts me worse than her disappointment.
“Don’t, please.” I pivot to walk away, unable to bear her any longer. “Give me more time. I need time,” I say hurriedly, heading for the lift down from the rocks to the beach.
“Aida!” she calls after me, making me wish there was an easier way to escape. “I know you are prepping supplies.”
I stop at the lift’s lever and wrench my eyes closed.
“I know your head is filled with fancies of dragons,” she says, cutting into my excitement. She walks up behind me, her hand taking mine from behind and squeezing it. “I know you’re preparing to go out and find one for yourself. Face me, daughter,” she urges.