Chapter 1
one
. . .
E’kili
Sisters—
family.
Bonded not by blood,
but by the dragon and the moon.
If I’m to die, I will take out every man who conquered my home, my land … me.
The water breaks, and I burst free from the belly of the sea.
My tail bats against the raging waves. The air smells of sizzling flesh, sweat, and salt.
Above, the moon swells with the tides, spilling pale white light across Dragon Island — an island made of the bones of the last dragon, Z’ouchee Minoo.
Ancient rib bones hook around the sides and back of mountainous terrain, making it impregnable.
The way to enter is from the mouth of the island.
That mouth is sealed by a wall of teeth, erected by men who crossed the great sea only to swallow our land, our village, and our sisters.
Booms blast from the eastern wall of Dragon Island, sending ripples through frigid waters.
Smoke curls like crooked fingers reaching for stars.
Shouts ring out. Soldiers on the western end of the wall rush to reinforce the east, now under attack by my people, my sisters, forced to take to the sea over two hundred years ago.
I remember.
I remember the hunger of men. How our gold, our mana, made them salivate.
I remember the cries of my sisters when ships flooded the shores, fleets so large their sails blotted out the sun.
I warned my people of letting them onto our lands, but even so, my sisters—I was not prepared for the beasts that followed.
Once the last of our people escaped to the sea, trading our legs for tails, we swore we wouldn’t rest until justice was met. We have been at war ever since. Over centuries, our numbers have dwindled in the deep, but men are also fewer.
They, too, are dying.
For two hundred years, we have guarded the sea, ensuring no more whales of bobbing wooden bellies made it to—or away from—our island we once called home.
Until we could retake our land, we ruled the sea.
We aligned ourselves with great whales, sharks, and the creatures of the deep.
And if anyone dared to enter our waters, their flesh became our food.
I submerge my head into the waters, right up to my eyes, and scan the wall.
The last man on the south side runs to another BOOM echoing through the night.
The vibrations of the explosion stir the sea into foam and bubbles.
I sing to the waves, my song carrying to the living organisms beneath, reminding them to stay calm.
This war will be over soon. I promise they’ll be safe, and blood will no longer stain the sea floor.
Men are tricky. I adjust my eyes to the top of the bone arches, where they usually lie in wait. Nothing. The guards are few, and after many moons of watching, I know they have too few men to cover the entire wall.
I search, waiting, feeling the time tick down— the window to slip onto the island fading fast. Before I duck underneath the sea, my gaze catches the mountainous skull of Z'ouchee Minoo, their mouth open to the sky as if pleading with the moon to quench their thirst. The moon answers by plunging milky beams into the dragon’s mouth like a waterfall.
My island, once a botanical garden giving life to its people, is now a hollow ash-bone tomb.
I sink under waves so my tears can merge with the waters.
Men destroy everything they touch. Their rot seeps into the land, stripping lush, fertile soil to nothing but withering leaves and sand. No matter how much we try to prevent it, their waste even pollutes the waters, driving the native fish to seek shelter in greater oceans.
Food is limited. Seas are polluted. And Dragon Island is dying.
Tonight, we must act, or it will mean the death of us all.
I spot my sisters, Ooki and Mytu’fi. Ooki, the eldest of us, has hair so dark and silky that it blends into the water. Mytu’fi, the youngest, has round hopeful eyes, even though there’s a chance we won’t all make it home.
I give the signal that it’s safe, and we swim to our entrance.
After years of slowly chipping at the concrete and bone of the island, we have finally carved a narrow passage, enough for three to slip inside on a mission to reclaim the power that will end this war.
The Dragon’s Heart. The very heart of the last dragon, the source that gives the island its life and us our power.
It rests at the center of the island beneath the floor of the temple’s atrium, locked under stone.
Since the island is dying, we hope it has enough mana remaining to give my sisters and me the strength we need to retake our home.
Ooki halts, pointy-tipped ears aimed at the surface. She closes her eyes, tilts her head ever so slightly as if she can hear the very pulse of a man’s blood.
She might. After me, she is the next strongest.
We wait, then she gives the okay by breaking the surface. Mytu’fi and I follow.
This side of the island is the darkest and far enough from the walls that we can slip through the hole we meticulously carved over the last seven years.
“Swish, ne’” Ooki commands — swim now.
A second explosion thunders, lighting up the night, rocking the temperamental waters. I flick my tail, propelling myself behind my sisters, riding the current toward the entrance.
Once there, our tails split into legs, and the slits in our necks seal shut.
The salty taste of the sea spoils my tongue.
On land, we pull on skirts and tops buried in the sand for this night.
With urgency, we strap daggers made of sawfish teeth to our hips.
Our runes glow as soon as our feet touch the grass near the wall.
They swirl like whirlpools across our skin.
This confirms the mana found in the Dragon’s Heart is powerful enough to recognize us, to reach out to us.
Oh, how I’ve missed you.
My sisters pause, toes buried in the soil. I know they feel it too. The connection to our land, stolen from us. Rage boils in my stomach.
This is our home.
And if we fail to retrieve the Dragon’s Heart, if we die in the process, there will be no one strong enough to come after us. And then the Dragon will take the last breath, and the island will be no more.
Can men see this? Can they understand that the atrocities of war they wrought will be their destruction, too?
No.
If they could, we wouldn’t be here now. Our sisters on the east end wouldn’t be sacrificing their bodies so we can reach the Dragon’s Heart.
Ooki and Mytu’fi steady their breaths. As much as we want to revel in this moment of reunion with our land, we wipe tears and head to the hidden hole in the wall.
On the other side of this wall, men aren’t the only predators, and it will take what little mana remains in our bodies to reach the Dragon’s Heart.
We must survive.