58. The Ring

Thorn forced his eyes open. The sharp water spear had become deformed, dissolving into the ocean water. He saw queen Amaya drop lifelessly onto the ground. King Eros was standing next to her. Eros picked up a handful of bubbling shells, buried his nose in them, and took in a big gulp of fresh air.

“Dragon King,” Ula drawled, keeping a safe distance, “I didn’t expect you'd dare come here.”

“I had to,” Eros lifted his face up from the shells, feeling better with ample air in his lungs, “I had a feeling you would make a move tonight. The streams’ mirrored surfaces only confirmed it.”

Thorn looked back to Amaya, observing the fresh cut on her throat. “How did she die?”

Eros glanced briefly at Thorn, dodging away from answering directly the question.

“Who killed her?” Thorn pushed again, fixing his gaze on Eros.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Eros snapped, suddenly annoyed, “I did! Alright?” He raised his voice. “I had to. The capital is going to be attacked by werewolves! There was no way to save it unless…” He turned to Ula, who was grinning darkly at him, “unless Mother Dragon wakes up. I did what you told me to do. I killed the person behind that dreadful event, and now, I’m offering her dead body to Mother Dragon… to give her closure for the brutal murder of Father Dragon by the wolf king.”

Ula burst into a shrill laugh, looking Eros up and down. “Amaya wasn’t the one who killed Tora and the werewolf luna!”

“But you said she was!” Eros said in disbelief.

“I never said that,” Ula remarked, “That was your own assumption.”

“She had to be the one… No one else could have done it!” Eros was becoming hysterical. “Amaya killed Tora so she could become the queen and control me…”

Ula took off her seashell locket. She popped it open and took out a ring from inside. “Look familiar?”

Eros stretched out his hand, catching the ring as it drifted through the water. It was an heirloom, passed down from the dragon ancestors… and it was his! “Why do you have this?! I… lost it long ago!”

“It’s evidence,” Ula said, “You were the one who killed the queens.”

“No You’re mistaken….” Eros’s face went pale.

“And the northern wolf isn’t the one to blame for Father Dragon’s death,” Ula added, “It was also you who murdered him.”

“What are you talking about?” Eros shouted, “You’re lying! I don’t have any memories of that!”

“Stop denying it!” Ula exclaimed, “A witness saw your face when you fled from the scene! And the ring was found beside Father Dragon’s dead body!”

“Who is this witness? I demand to speak with them!” Eros.

“She was murdered by your queen, Amaya,” Ula hissed, “She was a kind-hearted grey dragon woman who sold knit-goods near the Craggy Mountains. She happened to be selling her products to the Stormy Clan that day. When she was just about to get back on the road, she witnessed your horrible deed. She said she would never forget your face. Lucky for her, you never discovered her. Mother Dragon was devastated when she found Father Dragon dead, and too afraid to let the young princess remain in the clan. She dismissed the whole clan, and made me hide it inside a tiny black shell with witchcraft.”

“I had no choice but to take Leila from her crib, but I could already feel my power waning when Mother Dragon’s heart broke; as her guardian, I feel all pain she feels. Then, Amaya came. She tried to snatch Leila away from me. I couldn’t get out of the water to fight her. I could only give Leila to the grey dragon and divert Amaya’s attention. We agreed to meet at her farmhouse. I picked the fastest stream and arrived as soon as I could. But when I did, the grey dragon woman had already been murdered. Her body was as cold as ice. And Leila was gone.”

Eros staggered backward, narrowing in his gaze on his palm. He rubbed the glossy fire gem inlaid in the ring, remembering its familiar weight on his finger. It pulled him back into the memories of that night, a memory he’d intentionally avoided for years.

It was also a cloudless night, he remembered, and he had returned to the castle from a late night patrol outside the capital. As he was on his way back to his council chamber, something sparkled in the corner of his eye in the dark corridor. He turned to pick the object up. A tiny silver needle lay in the center of the corridor. His eyes quickly jumped to a fluttering light at the far end of the hall.

Curious, Eros marched toward it. He climbed down along the spiral staircase, all the way to an empty cell in the dungeon. Then, in the darkness, he saw Tora sat in a circle of raging fire. The luna sat across from her. The women’s bodies were intertwined, their naked skin shining like the heart of a flame. There was blood everywhere; Tora’s hands were crimson-soaked.

Eros put his hands on his head, feeling a sharp pain split across the inside of his skull. “I don’t know… I know I had a big argument with Tora when I entered the room and saw them… together. Tora not only betrayed me… she also betrayed her entire race by getting close to the luna of the North.”

“What happened then?” Thorn stepped forward, restraining his anger boiling inside, “After the argument?”

“I… I tried to drag Tora out of the fire,” Eros’s pupils dilated, “But the flames were too powerful. Only she could make a fire like that, given her black dragon blood line… She created that fiery circle to keep everyone else out. I couldn’t see what they were doing clearly, but it definitely wasn’t right… She refused to come with me and seemed like she was in a terrible hurry. But I just couldn’t bring myself to leave! I just wanted to get into the fire… to see what they were doing! Then I heard a long and painful moaning sound coming from within the flames. Tora threatened me, she told me I had to get out… otherwise the darkness would find a way to crawl into me,” Eros panted, “I was shut out and I couldn’t vent to anyone except Amaya. I went over to her place…. She was still a concubine then, and she offered me some fine wine. I remember I drank a lot. Then… Then my memory is a blue. When I woke up the next morning, I was in my bedchamber. Tora and the luna had already died. And the whole court blamed me for it.”

Ula cut in with pure hatred in her voice. “You killed them, the wine gave you the courage!” She waved her hands, forming an even sharper spear.

“No… I couldn’t possibly—!” Eros gripped his head.

“You shouldn’t have meddled with Tora’s ritual, even after she kept warning you. She was right—the darkness did find its way back to you. You became delusional the very second you trespassed in her dark fire. You weren’t yourself after that,” Ula said, “You never went to Amaya… The darkness led you to kill Father Dragon!”

“Wait… what darkness?” Thorn exclaimed, “What exactly were Tora and Luna doing in the cell?”

But Ula ignored his question again. Malice had overtaken her logical mind; her whole body was turning to a threatening red.“You are the reason for the loss of the dragon spirits and the disappearance of the entire Stormy Clan,” she shouted, “Your actions caused all of this! Mother Dragon can’t even awaken now!”

Ula raised her arm and released the water spear. It shot powerfully through the water, flying right towards the struggling Eros.

Just as Thorn was about to leap forward and push Eros away, Leila screamed. He whipped his head around to look at her. Leila was lying on the ground; a stream of her blood trailed off into the water. Ben was piling bubbling shells beside Leila as she shouted, “Come on, you can do it!”

Thorn followed Leila’s gaze. Then, he saw that a baby had just been born. *His baby!* But he immediately realized that they were deep underwater. The baby was struggling to breathe.

Both Eros and Ula turned to Leila in shock. Eros began to turn towards Leila, but still couldn’t dodge the flying spear. It penetrated his body, inches above his heart.

Thorn jumped toward his baby instantly. Ula followed. Suddenly, the ground began to shake vigorously, and a deep crevice formed between Ula and Thorn. Clusters of crystals lit up, illuminating the trench with a colorful glow. Then, they heard a deep groan, rumbling like thunder, and a pair of gigantic, molten eyes opened in the darkness.