54. The Reflection

“The dragon queen is dead,” one of Ula’s siren boys reported as he bowed.

“Finally, some good news,” Ula said unconcernedly without stopping what she was doing, “she deserved it, being killed by her own beloved husband. I say Eros should’ve done it earlier. I was fed up with that dreadful woman. I’d have done it myself if I could get out of the water.” She removed a large pile of random objects and put them aside, then continued to dig deep into her storage. “Help me take these away, boy.”

Ula had been rummaging through the gigantic storage room in her underwater palace since she became aware of the terrible news—Leila had experienced an unexpected heat, and that arrogant prince had put his dragon spawn inside of her.

This was totally beyond any of her expectations. She thought female dragons didn’t go through heats anymore. It could be a promising sign that the Mother Dragon was awakening; it had been a while since she left to rest. Now she had a good reason to come back.

Thorn and Leila had formally violated the rules against psychical contact during a dragon heat without a mark, so the prince wouldn’t be a concern anymore. But his spawn would be suffocated in Leila’s stomach, and Leila could die. Ula had to save her.

“Found it!” Ula exclaimed, satisfied. She took out a thumbnail-sized box made of diamond. It was hidden in the corner under piles of curios. She blew the dust off, then stepped out of the room.

“How’s the moon?” She asked her maid, her voice laced with a clear concern.

“Gradually losing its power,” the maid replied to her queen, as she examined the reflection of the moon in a silver plate filled with water. She was dressed in a neat blue robe with her hair combed into a high bun. Ula joined her and looked in. With a sly smile snaking across her pale white face, she told the maid, “I’ll be back soon. No one is allowed to enter or leave the palace. I’ll see you in another world.”

The maid bowed and watched her queen go. She pressed a button on a giant conch shell. A high-pitched squeaking sound was released into the ocean above, notifying all of the sirens to guard the palace.

Walking along the chilling corridor connecting the palace to the ocean, a desperate excitement blossomed in Ula’s heart. She looked up through the wobbling wall of deep, heavy water and saw sirens swimming among fish while guarding the realm. By the looks of it, the view was undoubtedly inferior when compared with before. The colorful coral was fading into ghostly gray.

Life had been an endless struggle for the water creatures in recent years; the size of the water realm had reduced dramatically. Less rainfall led to a drought, and dried riverbeds were everywhere. Streams vaporized before people took notice. The quality of the water was also not nearly as good as it was before. Sirens couldn’t venture out on land to hunt either. If they weren’t able to enchant people to bring them back food, even more of their kind would die.

Pushing off from the tips of her toes, Ula left the cold ocean floor and launched into the ocean. The open water caused her long legs to shift into a tail, the most gorgeous tail among her kind. With each stroke against the water, her tail gleamed with blue and purple iridescence, as if electricity was coursing inside her veins. Her fins waved in a beautiful and rhythmic pattern. Her strong tail maneuvered her toward the Craggy Mountains.

--

Thorn charged out off the door. Ben followed closely behind.

“They’re at the riverbank,” Serlon explained while they ran, “I’m helping them get the crossbred girls settled in and checking them for any health problems. Then, suddenly, we heard Tuya screaming for help, so we ran over to the water.” Serlon stopped to gasp for air; he had never in his life spoken so fast. “Leila was lying on the ground, with blood streaming out from her stomach. I came back to the inn and fetched my herbs to see if I could stop the bleeding…”

Thorn’s head was pounding. “What do you suppose it was?” He tried to calm himself down.

“I can’t be sure,” Serlon shook his head in great dismay, choosing his words carefully, “shockingly… it looked like a miscarriage.”

“How so?” Thorn asked. The word *miscarriage* was sharp enough to cut his insides.

“I’m not sure there’s anything living inside her stomach,” Serlon added, “But I could be wrong.”

With lightning speed, they arrived to find Leila collapsed on the ground. Thorn rushed over to Leila.

She was lying on a pile of autumnal leaves, blood from between her legs trickling into the nearby water. Tuya knelt beside her, helping her wipe off sweat from her forehead.

“Leila, I’m here,” Thorn said earnestly as he held Leila in his arms. Her face was pale white due to a large loss of blood.

“Thorn…” Leila parted her lips, but barely a whisper escaped. She was too weak to say anything.

“What happened?” Thorn turned to Tuya.

“My lady said she couldn’t fall asleep and asked me to walk along the river with her,” Tuya said calmly as she pointed to the creek, “On our way here, she asked me if I could see the dust in the water. She said it was everywhere in the river, deep into the western mountains.”

Thorn lift his eyes to the pool of still water as if he was trying to snatch the devil out from it.

“I looked very carefully, but I saw nothing.” Tuya then suddenly teared up. “I shouldn’t have… I was curious, so I let go of her hand and tried to look for what she saw. She was standing beside the pond by herself. When I realized something was wrong, it’s already too late.”

Tuya inhaled and exhaled deeply to get ahold of herself, then continued, “She suddenly screamed in pain. She put her hands on her stomach and fell to the ground. I heard her yell, and I quickly ran towards her. Then, I saw blood flooding out from between her legs. Her whole body was writhing in pain, like there was something trying to break her bones from the inside. There was nothing I could do to help her. So I screamed for help. After a while, about the time Serlon got here, her pain seemed to have subsided. But she’s too weak to move or utter a sound.”

Thorn took off his robe and wrapped it around Leila. Soon, the edge of his robe was soaked with Leila’s blood. “Can you do something to stop her bleeding?” he asked Serlon, terribly agitated.

Serlon nodded and rushed forward. “This might be helpful.” He stretched out a strip of gauze coated with dried herbs. “This plant normally works well on wounded skin and heals it quickly. But the cause may be beyond my expertise…”

“She’ll die if she continues to bleed like this!” Thorn grated out, feeling like he was about to go mad.

“We have to try,” Ben said. His itchy back was feeling much better now, but instead, he could feel a constant, slow burn at the center of his spine.

Serlon gave Tuya the gauze, and told her to apply it on Leila’s genitals. Tuya took it, and just before she placed it, a misty voice rang out from behind her.

“Put that foul thing away at once!”

They all turned to see who was there. Then, beneath the still water, a feathery soft luminescence waved to and fro in the darkness. A beautiful woman reached her head out. Her lower body, a long tail, was waving in the water.

“Ula.” Thorn muttered, “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Well, I’m an unpredictable woman.” Ula swam forward, getting closer to the bank. “I see that you’ve tortured this poor girl quite enough.”

Thorn was in no mood to reply to her sarcastic humor. “Can you help her?”

“I can’t do anything.” Ula scanned Leila from head to toe with the utmost intrigue. “But I know who can help her. We need to take her to Slathar now. Mother Dragon is awakening.”

“Are you kidding?” Ben blurted out, “She’s bleeding out, and you’re suggesting she travel?”

Ula glanced over at Ben, her lips curling upwards. “That’s right, little wolf,” she said cooly.

*Why was everyone calling him a wolf now? Was he the last one to find out his true identity?* Leila’s sudden accident had distracted him from the issue he needed to consider. His identity crisis hit him again at full force.

“Trust me,” Ula added, “Mother Dragon might be the only one can save her. But the thing inside her stomach is definitely a goner.”

Thorn gave her a scornful look.

Ula continued, “And you need to put her in the water at once. Her body is craving it. Look!” She splashed a jet of water onto Leila, and the blood seemed to slow.

After quick consideration, Thorn lifted Leila up and waded into the pool of water beside Ula. He put Leila in the water, making sure he had a secure hold on her.

Miraculously, as her whole body soaked in, the blood slowly stopped. The color of Leila’s face returned to a healthy tone.

“How do we get to Slathar? I know dragon wings alone cannot reach it,” Thorn asked Ula.

“This.” Ula took out the thumbnail-sized box and opened it. A tiny black shell was inside. She kissed the shell and tossed it upwards into the air. Then, it grew one hundred time larger and fell to the surface of the water. The large shell vibrated quickly.

In seconds, the surface of the pond became perfectly still, like a mirror. “The reflection of the pond’s surface is Slathar. Only I have this entrance. Quickly, we don’t have much time! The Eclipse will come soon. The shell won’t be of any use without the moonlight.”

Thorn dove in to take a look beneath the water. Immediately, he breathed in air on the other side. He then said to Serlon and Tuya, “Relay my message. Go back to the capital. Your bodies can’t handle the reflected world. I’ll take Leila there by myself.”

Serlon and Tuya obeyed his order.

“And him,” Ula pointed to Ben, “the little wolf could be great help. His body will endure it just fine.”

Thorn scowled at Ula. “Alright, Ben, come with us.”

Ula blew three bubbles and each of them fell upon their heads. Then, she set off, taking the lead.

Ben got in the water, quivering, “I—I can’t really swim… but I’ll do my best to protect Leila.”

“It’s okay. The bubble will help you breathe,” Thorn said, grateful. Ben already had enough on his plate, but he was still willing to do anything for Leila. “If anything dangerous happens, get behind me.”

Ben nodded, then dove into the water.

Thorn pulled Leila in and got ready to follow Ben. “I won’t let you go. I will take you there.”

Leila whispered in his ear, “Thorn,” she grabbed Thorn’s arm tightly and tried to articulate the words clearly, “all of the golden dust went inside my stomach. It’s alive. We are having a baby.”