Suddenly the garden gate opened, and Raikama appeared. The snakes slithered back like a receding tide.
I was practically weeping. “Stepmother, please forgive me. I don’t know how I—”
A withering glance was all it took for her to silence me. “Leave,” she said coldly.
Never once had Raikama raised her voice at me. In shock, I nodded numbly, slid down the tree as fast as I could, and ran away.
“Ever since then, she’s hated me,” I said to Seryu with a shrug.
My nonchalance was feigned. To this day, I didn’t understand why that moment had ruined everything between my stepmother and me, and I cared more than I pretended to. But no one, not even my brothers, knew that.
“Well, you have nothing to fear,” replied Seryu, grinning. “If her snakes try to harm you, my pearl will protect you.” He tilted his head at me.We’re connected, you and I.
I could hear his voice, but his lips were still as stone. I jumped back. “How did you do that?”
“Like I said, my pearl will protect you. It links us, similar to the way you and Kiki are connected.”
“Your pearl?”
“Yes, you’d have drowned if not for the tiny piece I put in your heart. Just enough to keep you out of trouble.”
“You put a pearl in my heart!” I exclaimed.
“After you fainted. No need to sound so ungrateful—itsaved you.”
My alarm quickly subsided into curiosity. “So dragon pearls are magic.”
“Are they magic?” He scoffed. “They’re the very source of our power—magic in its purest, rawest form. Demons and enchanters covet nothing more, since they enhance their abilities.”
“Where is yours?”
“Here,” he said, pointing at his chest. “I would show you, but its brilliance would blind you.”
I mimicked his scoff to mock his ego. “Yet you chipped some off to save me?”
“I wanted to know what a pretty human girl was doing diving after a magic bird.” He cleared his throat, his thick green brows knitting in confusion as I stared at him. “Not a sight you see every day. I figured a bit of the pearl might help you to shore….Why are you staring at me like that?”
I wore a coy smile. “You just called me pretty.”
A flush instantly colored his pointed ears. “I meant I thought you were pretty for ahuman,” Seryu grumbled. “You’d be a hideous dragon.”
A warm tingle smoldered in my chest, and I inched closer to him—just to see his ears redden more. “Luckily I’m not a dragon.”
“Clearly,” said Seryu, rubbing his ears. He glared. “Which is exactly why you can’t go around telling anyone you have a piece of my pearl. It would be near impossible for anyone except meto take it from you, but enchanters are as greedy as they are resourceful….Best not to take chances while I’m away.”
“You’re going away?” I exclaimed.
“Back into the Taijin Sea. My grandfather’s court convenes in the westerly quadrant during the winter months.”
“But it isn’t winter.”
“It is for us. Dragon time runs differently than in the mortal realm. A week for me is a season for you. I should be back by your spring.”
“Spring?” I repeated. “But what about our lessons? And the cranes—you’ll miss the cranes!”
The dragon’s brow furrowed. “The cranes?”
“They visit the palace at the beginning of every winter,” I explained. “It’s tradition to greet them the first day they arrive.”
