Page 35

That night, Elang and I left the Westerly Seas.

We told no one of our departure, and only Shani joined us, adopting her stingray shape and soaring through the water.

I rode on her back as we quietly pierced the castle wards and trailed the pearls toward Jinsang.

The seas grew rougher the farther we traveled, and more than once, we encountered Nazayun’s patrols.

Elang had prepared a drowsing potion, and whenever he could, he fired little darts at the sharks so they would sleep instead of pursuing us.

Half the time, it worked.

The other half made for a long night.

At dawn I saw the Floating Mountains.

They levitated in the sea, tall and rounded like a series of camel humps.

It mystified me, how there was nothing underneath them.

No roots, no base.

Only vast and empty sea.

Jinsang was on the other side of the mountains.

Patches of verdant seagrass started appearing among the rocks, hatting the bald mounds, and the water turned bluer by the second.

Elang took my arm as we ascended to the upper seas.

All night he had been quiet, only speaking to warn of nearby patrols or update me on our progress.

His jaw was set, and his lips were pale.

I wondered what was on his mind.

“We’ve arrived,” he said softly, once we could see an emerald green valley beyond the gray plains.

“Welcome to Jinsang.”

I smelled the sea flowers first.

They turned the water sweet, and I moistened my lips as I lifted my gaze.

I’d expected the heart of Ai’long to be dazzling, even in comparison to Nanhira.

Even then, I wasn’t prepared.

I gasped.

The royal city arched over a teeming garden, lush with vibrant coral reefs and a kaleidoscope of sea flora.

In place of roads there were floating highways alit by coruscating nautili, and even their traffic was beautiful: luminous carriages and pods of spotted whales, young merfolk cartwheeling through mantles of hanging algae.

Buildings sprouted seamlessly amid the plant life, marble houses with prismatic crystal roofs that gleamed different colors from every angle.

Most magnificent of all was the Dragon King’s palace.

It hovered above the city, floating high as the mountains behind it.

No matter how I craned my neck, I couldn’t get a good view.

The palace was fortressed by enchanted white waterfalls and a forbidding stone gate.

Not to mention, it appeared that every citizen of Jinsang had amassed at the entrance, many of them dragons.

For all my time in Ai’long, I’d only met Elang and his grandfather.

To see hundreds of dragons at once!

I couldn’t stop staring.

“Let’s stop here,” said Elang.

In his hand was a slender white vial.

“Drink this. It’ll give you a tail like the merfolk, and alter your appearance so you won’t be recognized.”

There was only one vial.

“Aren’t you coming?”

“I can’t.” He hesitated.

“No potion in existence could make me fit in here.”

“But—”

“You’ll blend into the crowds easier without me. I won’t be far.” Elang touched my cloak, turning it plain black.

“Don’t get too close to the dragons. They’ll smell that you’re—”

“Krill?” I suggested.

It wasn’t quite a smile, that twitch in his lips.

But it was close enough.

“I’ll take care of the patrols.” A pause.

“Good luck, Tru.”

“We’ll need it,” said Shani, scooping me onto her back.

She swam low, diving into a field of seagrass as we approached Jinsang.

I swallowed Elang’s potion in one gulp.

The sour taste brought a pucker to my lips, but it didn’t burn like sangi.

The change was swift.

A shot of cold bristled across my legs, and I kicked my heels together, feeling the sudden urge to wriggle my toes.

When I looked down, I had a pale green tail and matching fins.

My hair was the color of cabbage, my skin like jade.

Put me next to a stalk of seaweed, and few would be able to tell us apart.

Perfect.

After my transformation, Shani shrank into a seahorse and hid in my hair.

It felt like the old days in Gangsun, getting ready for the next con.

Back then I’d been afraid of prefects and gangsters.

In hindsight, I much preferred them to gods and dragons.

I slipped into the crowd, making my way through the droves of fish, turtles, merfolk, and dragons, all seated in hierarchal order.

Such solemn faces, I observed.

Are they nervous Nazayun might have a fit and turn them all into stone?

He wouldn’t risk such a display in public, replied Shani.

What do you mean?

Dragons are supposed to be creatures of wisdom and protection, not rampant destruction.

That goes against their nature; makes them lose control.

Shani sounded smug.

Nazayun hates losing control.

His eyes turn white, and…

And what?

And sometimes, said the demon very softly, though it’s unthinkable: he makes a mistake.

The last word she whispered, so low that it vibrated in my blood.

I nearly jumped when crystal bells suddenly pealed from above, loud and resounding.

The assembly was beginning.

The cloudlike formation of pearls had gathered behind the palace.

There, before a cascading waterfall straight out of Baba’s stories, was the Dragon King, in his full and immortal glory.

He dominated the space between two pillars, lording over the audience that had gathered.

Even the pearls slowed their course in his presence, bathing Nazayun in their light.

“Faithful subjects of the Four Supreme Seas,” he declared, “beloved brothers and sisters of our great Kingdom of Dragons, today we rejoice in another season of peace. Today the miracle of Liayin’s tears returns to grace our magnificent realm. Behold, the Luminous Hour!”

Cheers clamored from every direction.

The seabed shook, and puffs of sand shot up, inciting further excitement.

It was all very dramatic, especially as the pearls swept in, a cluster of them even orbiting the Dragon King’s body.

Yet through the chants, the murmurs of approval, and praises of Nazayun’s might, I sensed a different sentiment vibrating through the Dragon King’s subjects.

I scanned across the fields of seagrass, to where the dragons had congregated.

Here were the greatest, most magnificent creatures in all the immortal realms, and each had their head bowed against their chest, their tails folded into what seemed a deliberately painful position.

The merfolk were the same, bent in a deep kowtow, and so were the whales, the mollusks, every other creature I could see.

It set a chilling reminder of Nazayun’s might, and his absolute rule.

I reached for the ink and paintbrush in my pocket.

A few mermaids eyed me curiously, so I set aside my sketchbook.

Instead I rolled up my sleeve and drew surreptitiously on my arm under the folds of my cloak.

Frantically I took notes.

I sketched the green undertones of Nazayun’s belly, the steely blue in his eyes.

I captured the angle at which his whiskers wilted, and how his throat bobbed while he spoke.

Faster than I’d ever worked, I was recording every feature I could, not daring to blink.

While it was true that I didn’t forget a face, I wouldn’t chance losing a single detail.

Shani nudged me in the ribs.

We have to go.

I’m almost done.

Just one more—

We have to go.

Now.

“This Luminous Hour is a special one,” Nazayun was saying, “for we have a visitor.”

I grew very still.

Did he mean Elang—or me?

I didn’t dare turn to look.

My answer came soon enough.

A cage misted out of the waterfalls.

It was sculpted like a bell, bronze and heavy, and if I squinted, I could perceive the outline of a woman inside.

Her hair, long and flat as a sheet, obscured her face.

A dull brown tail languished behind her.

Queen Haidi!

Shani covered my mouth with her fin, stifling my gasp.

Don’t.

Tread backward.

Slowly.

The demon had shifted into her stingray form, and I let her drag me through the tall grasses.

We couldn’t go far.

Patrols had appeared, cordoning off the area.

Shani cursed.

We’ll have to go another way.

Come on.

As I followed her, Nazayun continued speaking: “Many of you will remember Ai’long’s darkest era, when merfolk and dragons were at war. A deadly period in our history, ignited by festering resentments and broken promises. I have sworn to you, it shall never again be repeated. There will be peace in Ai’long.” His whiskers turned wiry.

“And any threat to that peace, I will burn. ”

My hackles rose.

I knew where this was going.

Nazayun raised a claw.

“Today I bring forth Her Majesty, Queen Haidi of Nanhira, beloved ruler of the merfolk. She has always been a loyal subject, a voice I’ve admired and respected. An old friend, or so I thought….” He made a gravid pause.

“It’s come to my attention that Queen Haidi has secretly harbored and abetted the renegade Lord of the Westerly Seas against me. This act of perfidy, I cannot forgive.”

The cheers died, replaced by a brittle silence.

No one dared move.

Even the radiance of Liayin’s tears was muted, the pearls slowly receding from Nazayun to circle Queen Haidi.

Don’t just stand there.

Shani bit me in the wrist.

Move!

Obediently I glided backward, keeping my gaze on Haidi.

She stood before the crowd with all the pride befitting a queen of her kind, but only a fraction of the strength.

What had Nazayun done to her, to reduce her to this ?

Fight him, I mouthed silently, as though she could hear.

Shani, I whispered in my mind.

Isn’t there something wecan—

No.

The water demon wrapped her tail around my wrists so I wouldn’t swim off and ruin everything.

The best way you can help is by not dying.

Now, keep moving.

Nazayun was still speaking.

I watched the dragons in the crowd relax, their fear easing as they realized they were not the target.

Some looked amused by this turn of events.

The wiser ones, however, remained stolid.

They knew Nazayun’s mood might change at any moment; he’d turn the entire city into stone if it pleased him.

“She must pay the price,” one of the dragons in the front said.

“It is the law.”

“Yes! She must pay!”

“You know me to be a merciful god,” Nazayun went on.

“A generous king. For centuries I have kept us free from the strife that plagues the mortal world and the discord that corrodes the harmony of the heavens. And so I ask you, what have I done to deserve such treachery?

“Nothing,” Nazayun answered himself with a growl.

His whiskers tilted upward, and the outline of a pearl bulged within his chest.

Rimmed with gold, it glowed like a moon, and the silhouette of Ai’long could be seen within.

At the sight of it, the crowds grew restless, fervid support for their king mounting.

“Thus, I am left with no choice,” he went on.

“As punishment, Her Majesty the Queen of Nanhira has seen her last light of Liayin.” With a sweep of his tail, he banished Liayin’s tears into the distance.

“From this hour forth, she shall be reborn.”

It was a sound I’d never forget, the quick slash that Nazayun made across the queen’s long hair.

Haidi’s mouth rounded with pain.

Tears welled in her eyes, crystallizing into tiny white pearls as the dark strands of her hair fell about her in lifeless whorls.

The merfolk stiffened in horror.

Their hair was a life force to them, the way blood was to humans.

And they knew, as I did, that it was only the beginning.

Her neck was the first to change.

It stretched grotesquely, growing until her head was like a kite, her neck its string.

Next was her skin, which melted from her body, the flesh beneath it gray as ash.

She bucked, writhing in pain as her arms split into two, then four, so there were eight in total.

Bile rose to my throat.

I didn’t want to watch anymore, but I couldn’t look away.

Around me, the merfolk paled.

Those closest were trembling.

The screaming stopped.

It was eerie, how abruptly it halted, like a music box clamped shut.

Haidi wasn’t moving.

She’d gone as limp as the severed locks of hair still floating around her.

“Is she dead?” The dragons speculated among themselves.

Their laughs receded.

So did the claps.

It was no fun if Haidi was dead, came the murmurs.

They hadn’t even gotten to see what she could do.

I couldn’t listen anymore.

I dragged my gaze back to Nazayun, every part of my body vibrating with hate.

His brow was lifted, his nostrils flared.

He was waiting.

Then from the silence came a wretched sob, faint and melancholy as a song.

Haidi peeled out of her stupor, her many arms hanging lank at her sides.

Her eyes were changed, charred and hollow.

The eely mass of her hair was barbed with harpoons.

I’d seen fishermen hunt whales and sharks with such weapons.

I had a bad feeling that Haidi’s was meant for hunting dragons.

With no further warning, she launched out of her cage into the crowd.

Everyone scattered, sending up thick clouds of sand from the seabed.

Under their cover, Shani and I raced into the grass, attempting to retreat.

We weren’t fast enough.

What sorcery led Haidi straight to us, I didn’t know, but she trounced Shani from behind.

Both the demon and I fell back, and Haidi rolled me onto my back, the ends of her barbed hair pressing against my cheek.

At her touch, my disguise dissolved.

My hair turned blue once more, and my fish tail split into two knobby legs.

“It’s me,” I strained.

“It’s me, Truyan. Please, Haidi. Stopthis.”

Her black eyes flickered, swirling brown for the briefest of instances, and I thought maybe, just maybe, she recognized me.

Maybe she wasn’t a monster.

But no.

She picked me up.

Her fingers were long and stiff, wrapping twice around my neck, and I heard the crunch of my muscles constricting.

Into my ear, she whispered, “I smell a traitor.”

Her hair braided itself into one thick rope, blades pointed down at my throat.

I didn’t need prescience to know what was about to happen.

Haidi’s blades dug in deeper, piercing through the collar of Elang’s cloak.

Then—

All I saw was a silvery whir, fast as a comet.

With a wet and trenchant hiss, it arced across Haidi’s back, drawing dark blue blood.

She dropped me and snarled.

Elang stood in the distance, catching his short blade as it flew back into his grasp.

My pulse spiked—what was he doing here?

“Let her go,” he warned.

His yellow eye burned.

“I won’t ask again.”

“There, there, Elangui,” said Nazayun.

“Haidi was only testing your wife’s mettle.”

The sea’s turmoil abruptly subsided, the currents goingstill.

“Our fortunes are doubled today,” the Dragon King declared.

“Long have I wished to welcome my grandson and his bride to Jinsang.” The palace gates rumbled.

“Subjects of Ai’long, this Luminous Hour is over. Begone.”

Coming out of nowhere, a raging current swept me off my feet, carrying me into the Dragon King’s palace.

Before I could catch my breath, it deposited me into a wide chamber with black marble walls.

A hundred shipwrecks floated above me, trophies of Nazayun’s conquests upon the seas and oceans in my world hanging to create an unsettling gallery.

Nazayun was waiting, his body unfurled across the empty room and his head high enough that his movements caused the dangling ships to sway.

“Welcome at last, Bride of the Westerly Seas.”

I hated how small I felt, how I instinctively shouted in order to be heard.

“Where’s Elang?”

“Not to fear, Haidi will bring him to us. You will be reunited in time.” Nazayun gestured at Shani’s fallen form, floating at his side.

“As for the demon…”

“Don’t touch her. If you hurt her, I’ll—”

“Hurt her?” The Dragon King chuffed.

“I would never hurt the last water demon of Ai’long. She is my honored guest.”

I had to be delirious.

Did he just say that Shani was his honored guest?

“That’s correct,” Nazayun said, reading my disbelief.

“Shanizhun is my guest, and she tells me you have brought a gift.”

“I bring you no gift,” I spat.

That was when Shani herself came to.

She wasn’t hurt at all.

In fact, as she swam up, she made a show of somersaulting up to Nazayun’s shoulder, perching precisely where I’d seen her perch at Elang’s side many times.

As if she knew it would sting.

“Truyan Saigas has a talent for lying, Your Eternal Majesty,” said Shanizhun.

“Fortunately, I’ve gotten to know her well.”

Shani’s gaze bore into me.

“I know her secrets, and all you need to do is ask.”