by Lucas, Naomi
“Then take me!” She leaps to her feet, finally meets my eyes.
“You know I won’t.”
He won’t be in his den anyway. The naga boy always leaves when Haime is nearby. I don’t understand why, and he can’t tell me with the few words he knows. My guess is that Haime is a lot to handle, and if he doesn’t like her presence, I can’t blame him.
“Milaye!” she cries, throwing her sharpening blade to the ground. “I just want to see that he’s okay.”
“Even if I take you, he won’t be there. You know this, seashell. You’ve tried tracking him, and he has never made himself known to you. And I’m sure he would if he wanted to see you.”
“You’re so mean!”
I sag a little. “I know.”
Her chubby face reddens. “You could just force him to show himself with your dragon.”
My lips flatten. “You want me to upset him?”
“No!” Haime flings her arms out, growling. “No, don’t upset him.” She runs past me and down the path. I twist to watch her go, waiting until her little form pivots out of sight as she reaches the beach. Beside me, branches rustle.
“She’s gone,” I say. “You should go after her.”
Iskursu answers with a hiss. The branches dance again, but he slithers away. If I had to guess, he’s going to follow her until she’s safely back at Sand’s Hunters. Which is why I don’t think he actually dislikes Haime…
I have a feeling nothing will harm Haime while he’s around. Even if she didn’t have my marking to protect her, Iskursu will keep her safe. And despite her age, Haime is becoming a fierce huntress in her own right. One day she will outpace me and every female in the tribes along the Mermaid Coast.
That will be a good day.
I crane my neck and glance at the bright noon sun. The light soaks me.
After a moment, I shake my head, pick up my basket of fruit, and walk into the cave. In the past year, the entrance has been widened, the ledge has been reworked into a rockway of stairs, and torches now line the walls. And those same walls have been draped with hides and flowers that dispel bugs.
Most bugs at least.
The other exit is barred off. It’s easier to protect one cave opening than two. And in the past year, Drazak found the water source and dug us a pool at the back of the large cavern where we reside. Once I saw how easily it was for his tails to crush rocks and cleave stones, I vowed never to underestimate his strength.
I’m nowhere near as strong as him while I’m human. I can’t wait for the day he turns again, when he relearns how, and I can find out who really is the stronger dragon.
I will enjoy being the mightiest one while it lasts. My lips twitch into a smile.
I head for the central fire where he and my daughter rest. Drazak raises his finger to his lips. My daughter is asleep in the basket next to him. I set down my fruit.
My heart warms. I kneel at her side. She coos in her sleep. She has the peakings of both purple and white scales on her neck and hands. I reach into the basket and gently lift her into my arms, hide wrappings and all.
I take my daughter to our cot and lie her down beside me. She stirs but doesn’t wake. I curl myself around her.
Drazak walks over and wraps himself around me. I settle into his embrace as I gaze at my little girl.
I’ve never been happier.
Later, Drazak will chastise me about Iskursu and Haime, but for now…
For now, this is all that matters. I close my eyes and this time, I let Drazak win.
Naga
An Exclusive Short Story
1
The Hunt
Caressing the leaves between my fingers, I study their branch. A gorilla moved this way recently. By scanning the foliage, more broken twigs and ripped vines come to my attention. They tell a story. Something startled the gorilla. Something that woke it up and scared it away.
Looking at the branches above me, my mind wanders.
An eagle? No. A Titanoboa? Maybe.
I chew on my lip and sniff the air. My nostrils fill with the scents of the jungle—and a fearful gorilla. It was the gorilla’s fear that created a trail, leading me to this spot.
I smell nothing else. Which means…
My lips curve up into a smile.
Him.
Iskursu, my naga, never leaves a scent trail.
My aunt Milaye must have taught him well. For if anyone ever instructed Iskursu, it would be her. She is the only femdragon among us, the only one in all the tribes along the Mermaid Coast. No other female can transform like she can, not even me, and I’m half-dragon. My father, Zaeyr, was once a water dragon, and he ruled the gulf near my home.
But when my mother, Aida, touched him, he turned human. Mostly human. Now my siblings and I are all mostly human as well. I have blue eyes and scales like Father—and his tail and white hair. All my other features come from Mother, her dusky skin and wavy curls, as well as her fearlessness and courage.
Though I did not inherit her pragmatism, or so I’m told. Edenth, my sister, always complains that I'm reckless, and worst of all, uncaring. “Haime,” she complains, “you’re too selfish.”
I do care. I pout. I just care about different things.
Like Iskursu.
My smile widens. Climbing the trunk of the tree, I grab hold of a branch and haul myself up, looking for signs of Iskursu’s passing. He may bathe daily to imitate the smell of the jungle, but he isn’t perfect. I’ve been hunting him all my life and know what his tracks look like.
I may be the only one who does.
He’s the only naga ever known to my tribe that isn’t primitive and vicious. His tracks aren’t like those nagas, which are as apparent as the gorilla’s. No, Iskursu’s tracks are careful and often hidden. They’d be invisible if it weren’t for…
I squint my eyes and search for the sign I’m hoping to find. Shifting up to the next branch, I part the heavy draping of vines—There!
My heart goes wild.
The branch to my right droops. Like something massive had braced upon it. It’s evidence of the one thing Iskursu can’t control: his tail.
It is huge. And by huge, I mean it has grown thick and long. It’s longer than any naga tail I’ve ever seen. Most are half or a third the length of Iskursu’s, even if they’re a big naga. But Iskursu’s goes on and on forever…
My hands clench at my sides, recalling the velvety feel of his scales under my palms. Wiping my now sweaty hands on my skirt, I jump onto the drooping branch.
I’d only felt his scales once, four years ago, long after I’d blossomed into a woman and one day, when I was bathing in the ocean after a messy hunt, Iskursu came to me.
He’d never come to me before, not unless I needed help—and he always knew when I needed help. So when I turned and found he was there watching me from the shore, I froze. I hadn’t seen him this clearly, not since we were kids.
Not since I chased after him when both of us were children. I’d followed him into a cave that became his home after his parents died. It’s the same cave where Milaye found Drazak, the one they now call home. Much of the cave crumbled when Drazak transformed into a human. I’d escaped during the chaos, but Milaye, Drazak, and Iskursu didn’t. They were trapped for days before they found freedom.
It’s still the biggest regret of my life, escaping when they didn’t.
I wish I had been trapped in the cave with them… I wish I had never run when I could. If I’d been down there, then maybe Iskursu could see me like a friend, and not just some half-human, half-dragon girl he can’t get rid of.
That was fourteen years ago, and I’ve been hunting him since. I lick my lips.
Studying the branches, I decide he’s gone up and across, towards the trees to my left. His tail has left an unusually clear path for me to follow. I climb higher and maneuver my way through the foliage to see where it leads. From branch to vine, to ledge to trunk, I track him for a time, surprised he’s being so careles
s.
It’s not like him…
Crouching, I hop to the next branch and realize it’s never been this easy to track him—ever, even when we were kids. It’s almost like he did it on purpose…
I hesitate, my eyes narrowing. Wrapping my tail around the branch I’m on, I listen to the sounds of the jungle, quieting my breaths. If he did this on purpose, then he wants me to follow him?
If that’s true, is he watching me? Waiting? But I hear nothing unexpected. I suck in my lower lip and begin searching for subtle movement.
My fingers twitch. My skin warms. His eyes are on me, I know it, even if I still don’t see him. I feel his gaze trailing over my flesh, or at least, I think I feel it. I shudder, wondering if that will shake the sensation away.
It doesn’t. Instead, my back straightens, and my nerves go on edge. He’s hunting me.
He laid a trap, and I took the bait.
I’ve never been hunted before. Butterflies fill my stomach at the thought. Iskursu seemed to always know where I was, but he’s never done anything like this.
What does he want?
Four years ago, when Iskursu snuck up on me while I was bathing, I’d never been more frightened. I hadn’t heard him shifting the sandy shore as he neared, and my hearing is more than human. But there he was, the sight freezing me in the water. Naked. Without a single weapon on me.
I shake my head. I’ve recalled that day so often that every detail has been amplified in my memories. I remember the intensity of his dark stare, the way his hands clenched at his sides, and most of all, his two pricks emerging from his body. I remember the way I turned toward him, dropping my hands from my chest.
When it happened, I’d been well aware of what happened between a male and female when they rutted for some time. I had also become far too aware of my own desires… That the male in all my fantasies never changed.
It is always him.
A naga. A creature no sane female should fantasize about. A beast of the jungle, a primal monster born of a snake and human in the time when dragons still ruled Venys. Part-serpent, part-man, a being with two cocks…
That day on the beach, I discovered his desire for me was as strong as mine for him. It was then I finally understood why I spent my childhood trailing him.
He’s mine.
Mine.
I hated Aunt Milaye for years because she was close to Iskursu while I wasn’t. I never understood why until that day, realizing that I’d been jealous of her. Jealous that she could have this bond with him when I couldn’t. Jealous that she had two males in her life when so many females didn’t even have one. I knew Milaye treated Iskursu as a son, not as a lover, that her bond with him was of motherly affection… I just didn’t care.
She had what I wanted most: my male.
That day on the beach was a revelation. One I think about nightly. Over the years, I’d learned two things. First, I had to stop hating Milaye, and second, Iskursu was mine. I didn’t care that he was a different species than me, and I’d already decided that I wouldn’t care what anyone else thought about it either, especially Father.
No one was going to stop Iskursu and I from being together. Except perhaps… Iskursu.
I sigh and peer around once more. When I don’t see him hidden amongst the trees, I step onto the next branch.
If he’s hunting me, let him. It didn’t matter because now I’m hunting him back.
Four years ago, I went to Iskursu on the beach, baring my body to him. I walked to him slowly, begging under my breath that he wouldn’t flee. When he didn’t slither away, I found myself standing within arm’s reach of him. I couldn’t believe it.
He curled his emerald and ruby scaled snaketail around me, and my toes had wiggled in the sand. He came closer until the tips of his pricks brushed my stomach.
He hissed my name, his voice deep. The sound vibrated my flesh. It burrowed into my ears and reached my soul. Hearing his voice—hearing him claim my name—tightened my throat. Butterflies filled my belly. My slit ached to be claimed.
He knew my name.
“Iskursu,” I said back to him. I knew his.
His slitted yellow eyes bore into mine, and I relaxed, thinking he was finally mine. That I’d finally caught him. I was ready. So ready. Ready to leave my tribe, to follow him into the jungle. Ready to take his weight, his seed. I was ready to hunt with him as a team and not in parallel.
I had placed my palms on his chest and leaned into him, not realizing how wrong I was.
Because he picked me up by his tail, throwing me into the ocean. By the time I emerged, he was gone. I had never cursed so much in my life.
And I haven’t been the same since.
If I thought it was hard to track him before that day, it was nothing compared to tracking him when he truly didn’t want to be found. Not even Milaye was able to locate him.
He vanished.
Except he didn’t. I sensed him near me, always, but as a ghost and nothing more. I even placed myself in apparent danger, trying to lure him out, and he never did. He knew when I was faking it.
He only ever came if I truly needed him, and unfortunately, I’m a great huntress—with dragon senses—and it only happened twice. I also wasn’t stupid, never putting myself in real danger to get closer to him.
There would be no claiming between us if one of us were dead.
But this… I glance at the tree I’d jumped from and brace to leap toward the next. Iskursu would never leave such an obvious trail.
I pause. “Naga boy,” I call out tauntingly. I’d gone quite a ways, and my palms were burning from gripping bark. “What are you planning?”
I get no answer.
He’s near. Despite his silence, he’s very close to me.
I find the next branch along his trail, and a glint of light catches my eye. My mouth parts. A jewel tied up in thread hangs from a branch. An emerald so big and lustrous it overshadows the wild beauty of the jungle.
Shiny.
My heart pulses. The stone swings, and rays of light streak everywhere.
My palms slicken with sweat to grab it, horde it. I inherited more than scales from my father… His insatiable need to collect jewels—specifically sapphires and pearls—and decorate his den with them. The other dragon-men did not have this proclivity.
Only him—and all five of his children.
The emerald subtly swings from side to side once more. I brace with my tail and rub my hands together.
Now, I know I’m being baited.
I lick my lips. Preyed upon.
Jumping forward, I catch the next branch. The emerald beckons.
I want Iskursu, yes, but first—I climb up a limb, using the smaller branches to reach my target—the emerald. Grabbing the jewel, I untangle it from the thread and hold it up to a sliver of light through the canopy. Deep, glorious green dazzles me.
I’m vaguely aware that I’m not alone as I nuzzle the emerald to my cheek.
I realize what the emerald is: A gift.
For me. From my naga boy.
“Iskursu,” I whisper.
Something tightens around my waist and throws me off the tree.
2
Eshka, Iskursu, and Haime
A scream tears from me. Leaves and branches whip past, slapping my skin. The band around my middle grows tighter. The emerald slips from my hand.
I’m going to die!
I brace for an impact that never comes. With my hands over my face, my mouth opens into a breathless shriek, and I find that I’m not moving. At least not anymore.
Terrified, I peek my eyes open.
A slitted gaze stares at me. Naga eyes.
But they aren’t yellow.
They’re green.
The band holding me loosens, and I drop to the ground. That’s when I realize I’d been held by a tail. Winded and stunned, I lie there, staring up at the canopy above. Green eyes? A hiss fills my ears, bringing me back to the danger I’m in. There’s another naga.
You’re in danger!
I roll away, grabbing my dagger simultaneously. A grunt escapes me, my gaze landing on the naga—right as a net is thrown over my head. I flail and knock it away, but it closes in, knotting at my knees. Trying to stay upright, I manage a step forward—and drop my dagger.
I land hard on my knees anyway.
The net cinches and blocks my movements as I work to stand. I’m barely aware of the gravelly hissing that’s eclipsed the noises of the jungle.
“Iskursu!” I scream when something hits my legs, knocking me back onto the ground. I kick at the naga, but his tail thwarts my attacks. It strikes my stomach and knocks the wind out of me.
And it stays there, heavy and unrelenting, until all my fight is gone. “Iskursu!” I shout again.
I’m answered by my attacker instead. His tail curls around my ankles and lifts me upside-down, hanging me in the air before him.
“Human,” he rasps. His voice is rough and thick and wholly unnatural.
“Let me go!”
Something like laughter comes out of its mouth. “The nessst will be pleased.”
Swaying from side to side, I try to catch a good look at the naga who’s caught me.
Me.
I bristle.
My eyes narrow as he gloats and preens. If I wasn’t angry before, I’m furious now. Through the net, I search for his vulnerabilities.
He’s large, like Iskursu, though with a much smaller and shorter tail. He’s thinner too, and unlike Iskursu’s ruby and emerald scales, this naga has muddy green ones with veins of yellow. Not pretty at all.
His chest is bare… He wears no armor. Though he has a crude spear strapped to his back.
And…
Oh, waters!
His cocks are out and hard.
I stare in horror and tense my body away, but his hold keeps me where I am.
“Nest?” I ask with hesitance, shaking my head.
The naga’s laughter dies, and I’m dropped onto the ground. I grunt with the impact.