The Last Dragon of the East

Chapter 42

42

I crave destruction. With this overwhelming rage, the magic sealed away in my veins unleashes itself, erupting with such intense heat that it threatens to swallow not just me, but the whole world.

Jyn in her glorious dragon form stood taller than the most opulent buildings of the Pearl District back home. She was longer than eight carriages lined up back to front, muscles thick and posture poised. But if she was huge, then I’m massive.

I tower over the emperor and his men, nearly half the size of the adjacent mountain. My body wraps around the atrium three times, my tapered tail whipping and crushing anyone in its path. I suck in a sharp breath, a wealth of power coursing through me.

My sharp claws dig into the ground, scraping up stone and dirt and roots. My jagged rows of pointed teeth are fiercer than any blade. It’s my own scales that bewitch me the most, a deep and vibrant ruby that stands in stark contrast to the snowstorm flurrying around us. The emperor has an army of no fewer than a thousand men, but they know as well as I do that they stand no chance against the red dragon of old.

I am His Majesty, King of the Skies. My rage knows no bounds, and there will be no salvation for those who’ve crossed me.

This is who I was always meant to be. Feeling the stretch of my skin into diamond-hard scales, the shift of my fingers into deadly claws, and the whip of the wind through my crimson mane is as natural to me as breathing. An old glove, a familiar outer robe I once thought lost, a warm bed at home after years away.

I lash the end of my tail against the mountain wall, the force so mighty that it crumbles and gives way. An opening—and the only mercy I will show to those with enough sense to abandon arms and escape with their lives. It’s not long before more than half of the emperor’s men drop their weapons, tripping over one another as they flee.

“Where are you going?” the emperor howls behind a wall of his most loyal guards. “Traitors! Return at once or I will have your heads!”

I stare him down, relishing the full-fledged fear in his eyes. This is the face of a man who realizes too late that everyone must get their comeuppance. No amount of status or gold or influence can protect him now.

“Don’t just stand there!” he screams. “Kill him! Now! ”

Their attempts on my life are pitiful. I’m too great, too mighty for their pathetic weapons. With one bat of a colossal claw, I crush his men instantly. Their screams are wasted on me, drowned out by the sound of their bones being ground to dust underfoot. I pick them off by the mouthful. The lucky ones die quickly, torn to shreds between my unyielding jaws. The unlucky ones are swallowed whole, awake for their every dying second.

These fools were born and raised in a time where dragons were long thought lost. They know not the enemy they’ve made of me. Whatever luck these pitiful creatures had that saw to our initial demise is gone. Now, I will be their reckoning.

A few of them manage to nick me, stabbing at a point between my thick red scales. It’s their mistake, however, for they can’t retrieve their swords from my hide. A quick twist of my body sends them flying, their skulls crushed and their limbs twisted the wrong way. Most are dead before they even hit the ground.

Before long, I have the emperor cornered. I purposely saved him for last. The emperor has his back pressed against the mountain wall, his knees trembling. I can hear his heart railing inside his rib cage; his breathing is fast and shallow. A mighty ruler, now reduced to a quivering rabbit facing his doom. It’s his turn to know endless fear and pain. To feel hopeless.

And I will savor every moment of it. I will not rest until I have wrought on him the same pain he has caused me.

Terror has an awful stench, equal parts sour and bitter. It’s worse than curdled cow’s milk mixed with soggy day-old market meat and horse piss. And now it radiates off him in endless waves.

“H-have mercy,” Róng begs.

I fight the urge to rip his head off on hearing the word. Mercy? After everything he has done to my family? The gall of this man.

It’s time to put him in his place.

I snatch him up in my jaws, my teeth shredding through his golden silks. But I’m careful not to give him any fatal wounds—he doesn’t deserve a swift death. He screams, beating my face with his closed fists and kicking his legs out helplessly, his crown falling away.

“Please! Release me, and I will never pursue you again!”

I turn instead and carefully move toward Jyn’s body. My heart hurts as I pick her up as gently as I’m able in my claws, careful not to scratch her. I take a deep breath before looking to the sky. A new sensation—hope—brews deep within my core.

Flight comes to me as easily as breathing or walking. I launch into the air, the rest of my long body trailing behind me like a vibrant red cord. It feels good to be one with the clouds once more, surveying the lands from up above. Thousands of years ago, I blessed every one of these mountains, streams, and rolling hills. It’s a bittersweet return without Jyn.

If only my heart were not broken, I might truly enjoy it all.

Róng screams himself hoarse from my mouth, giving up only when we make it out to sea. I’m unsure where we’re headed. All I know is that something is pulling me in this direction, an internal compass. I can feel it tugging at me, leading me east—leading me home.

The coastline is now a distant dot on the horizon, long stretches of endless blue sky reflected in the salty waters below. I soar through the clouds faster and faster, chasing after some unknown target. When the island finally comes into view, I instinctively begin my descent, the warm earth welcoming me like an old friend.

It’s paradise, hidden away from the rest of the world by thick fog and rough seas. The rich bamboo forests provide the perfect amount of cover. I land near a large lake, all manner of beasts gathered around. There are fei and yayu and a number of other species drinking peacefully from the water’s edge. They move aside as I approach, but I detect no threat of danger from them.

I open my mouth and let Róng fall into the lake. He breaches the surface with a wheeze and a cough, flailing about chaotically. He thrashes like a drowning pig, weighed down by his ostentatious robes, which are now soaked through and heavy.

“What do you plan to do to me?” he rasps. “Drown me? Eat me? Whatever it is, just get it over with.”

Ignoring him, I carefully lay Jyn’s body down on a bed of soft grass before transforming back into my human form. With careful fingers, I brush her hair away from her face, now at peace in eternal sleep. Bending down, I press a tender kiss to her forehead—a farewell, as much as it is a promise.

I rise once more and turn to the emperor, wholly unimpressed when he attempts to charge me. All it takes is a step to the side and a hard strike across his cheek to send him tumbling to the ground.

Dazed, he sits up and looks around; then Róng swallows hard. Behind us, the beasts of the forest gather, watching with hungry curiosity. How many years has it been since a human wandered into their home? What a rare, lovely treat he might make.

I step forward and snatch him up by the chin, digging my nails into his pale cheeks. He whimpers when I pierce his skin, angry red beads forming at my fingertips. I allow his blood to coat my palm, and drip down my wrist.

“You will not receive the mercy of a quick death,” I say. “You killed my wife. My son. My parting gift to you is one final hunt, to commemorate the millennia you have hunted us.”

He looks over at the hungry beasts, eyes widening at the sight of their bared teeth and pronounced rib cages. “You—you would set them on me?”

“A rather fitting end, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Wait, I beg of you—”

“Go on, then,” I say, glaring at him down the length of my nose. “On your knees, boy .”

A shaky breath escapes the man as he struggles onto his hands and knees, his eyes keeping a wary watch on the forest beasts. Humiliation scorches his face, a bright crimson. Slowly, he lowers his head to the ground in a full kowtow, his entire body trembling with fear and perhaps fury. I wish I could say it’s satisfying, but I find no pleasure in the cowering of a useless rat.

“Run, then,” I tell him. “I’ll give you the courtesy of a head start.”

Róng rises onto shaky legs and stumbles back one step at a time. The beasts of the forest growl and hiss, prompting him to spin on his heel and break into a sprint. He runs deeper into the bamboo forest with a pathetic whimper.

I let out an exhausted, heavy breath. I silently count backward from ten before flinging the blood upon my hand to the forest floor. The beasts sniff at it, drool dripping from their lips. I’ve marked Róng for death.

I step out of the way, cautious of their snarling fangs, and whisper, “Eat.”

The beasts lurch forward in one giant horde, growling and barking and snarling as they track Róng’s scent. It’s not long before the sounds of the hunt fade in the distance. They will find him sooner or later, I’m sure. I won’t give him the honor of a dignified death by my own hand.

He once hunted me and Jyn like dogs, and now he will die knowing the same terror.

I set to work instead, carrying Jyn to a neighboring hillside near a large field of soft grass. Blanking my mind, I begin to dig into the soft earth with my bare hands. Sweat drips from my brow, and my knees are stained brown from the damp soil. It’s pleasantly warm, a nice reprieve from the bitter winters back home. This place has a clear view of the sunset over the ocean, surrounded by fields of blue wildflowers.

She would like it, I think, if she were here.

I bury Jyn with great care, resigned as I return her to the earth. I carefully remove her hairpin and smooth out her locks so that she may rest in comfort. Grief bears down on my shoulders, sorrow squeezes my throat tight. As I lay flowers over her resting place, I can’t stop rubbing the closed black loop around my little finger. It’s terrifying, not being able to sense her on the other end of the line. I’m missing a part of myself now that she’s gone.

I sit beside her for what feels like hours until the sun sets and the moon rises. A part of me feels guilty for the lack of tears, but despite my overwhelming sadness, they do not flow. She promised she would be back, and I have no choice now but to take her word for it.

Somewhere in the distance, perhaps on the other side of our island paradise, I hear Róng’s scream. It’s a bloodcurdling sound, desperate and raw and pitiful. It cuts short.

The deed is done. Róng and his insatiable greed are no more.

And with it, I swear I feel the ocean sigh. The wind whispers past me. My son’s soul has finally been released, free to slip back into the natural cycle of reincarnation. I pray he’ll come back to us one day, too.

“Rest, my heart,” I whisper, one hand on the gravestone I placed here for Jyn. “I’ll wait for your return.”