But there has been no sign of the femdragon or the alpha dragon from the sea, and Kaos assures me we have seen the last of them.
“Venys is a huge world, after all,” he tells me. “They will not nest near humans.”
Still, I worry for Leith, Aida, and Sand’s Hunters. And though I am forced to wait until the storm passes before I can seek them out, the weather doesn’t stop me from preparing for the journey. Keeping my hands busy is the only thing I can do, the only thing that Kaos will allow me to do—when I am not being seeded by him again and again.
And apparently, seeding is hard work for a body like his, for he’s already eaten through half my salted meats and dried fish rations.
Seems like fruit doesn’t do it for dragon men,I note.Meat does.
This task is going to wear me out.I smile.And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Settling my bone-knife aside—I’ve been sharpening the tip of an old spear—I press my hand over my belly instead. I can’t wait until the day Kaos tells me with all certainty that I’m with child. I dreamed of having a family of my own, and I can scarcely believe it’s actually possible now—though Kaos reminds me as much hourly… in a very physical way.
He’s pacing around me. And when he’s not pacing, he’s eating or touching and asking abouteverythingin my hut, testing them, using them in his hands. But he’s pacing now as the day lengthens—waiting for action—and it’s making me anxious.
And as I grow anxious, he gets even more apprehensive. Our emotions bleed into each other. I take a long breath and force myself to calm, calling for patience. Also to stop myself from rising to my feet and kissing him again.
The elders of the tribe know of his existence by now. Father promptly knocked first thing in the morning, waking us from slumber, Tulia and several of my half-sisters flanking him.
His shock—theirshock—was a thing to behold. My half-sisters argued and traded items, having placed bets on Tulia’s insanity.
“So, you’re a dragon?” Esteus, my father, asked as he eyed Kaos warily. “A male from the jungle?”
“Iwasa dragon. Not anymore. You may have heard my roar several days past, deep and terrible. I was not always human.”
“But you’re a human now…”
Kaos huffed, annoyed. “Yes.”
“And those things on your arms, what are they? Why are you green, young man?”
It was an interesting morning. I told my story again, and Kaos was bombarded with questions. Father did not understand Kaos’s existence, but by the end of the morning, he came to understand what Kaos meant to me, and that we could not be parted. That we refused to part ways. That if he were not accepted in the tribe, they would lose me… because I would not leave his side.
Father and my sisters left us knowing this.
They left to prepare our defense in the coming discussions with the elders.
At one point, Esteus came back with a gift of hide pants for Kaos, made of crocodile skin, to replace the scant covering of his netted wrap. They fit poorly, but it didn’t take me long to add strips of hide along the sides, improving the fit. Still, they only came down to mid-shin. A problem for a later time.
And still, the rain kept us from escaping, it keeps us from escaping now. I’m eager to show him the beauty of my home, the crystalline lagoon and the mermaids near us. To hunt with him. To share my life with him.
I’m also curious if Elae, Jye, and Yda returned before the storm hit. I wonder why they did not answer my singing the morning I left Sand’s Hunters.
But no, the rain and wind continue.
And the weather isn’t entirely why I’m anxious, or why Kaos is pacing, sometimes growling.
No, the elders are discussing Kaos and his inclusion into our tribe, my father heading the charge. We’re waiting to be summoned.
So when there is finally pounding on the door later that evening, we’re both on our feet in an instant—and again Kaos moves to stand in front of me. He goes to the door and opens it. A gust of rain and wind comes in.
Father stands at the entry. He’s come to collect us for the elders. “It’s time,” he says.
Kaos and I follow him to the central community hut at the shallow edge of the lagoon, it’s built over and through nearly a half-dozen trees, some of it overhanging the water. Being near the water eases life for the merfolk we consider part of our tribe.
It was built long ago but is maintained, like every building within Shell Rock, even if they’re not used. There are more huts than we need nowadays, but perhaps…we’ll fill them once again. I glance at Kaos.
The community hut is a staple in our tribe. Celebrations and meals happen here, important conversations, and it’s where the elders gather and meet messengers and travelers from other tribes. It’s round, with multiple rooms branching off of a large middle one, where stores, medical supplies, and guest cots are kept. Once, it was used daily—as a gathering place—but now it’s mostly only occupied by the elders, infrequently.
