A long serpentine body slips in and out of the waves, making waves pound upon the shores violently. A tail that goes on and on follows and sways behind the body, getting lost in the riotous water as much as its causing it to be that way. Sapphire-like scales cover whole sections of its body, and deep ridges ascend from its brow to crown its head in a myriad of opaline colors.
A dangerous, sharp-edged jewel of a dragon is before me, so beautiful and terrifying all at once that it could make me cry if numbing adrenaline hadn’t already taken me over first.
It lifts its head to the sky and bellows, and I’m finally able to move, stumbling back. Flinching, I cover my ears with my hands. A walloping shriek tears from its throat and two massive silver-blue wings snap from its body, shooting upward as its body rears back to rise from the waters.
Like its long tail, the dragon’s wings are so large they could destroy my entire village in one thrust. They fill the sky, the horizon, and one gust from them is strong enough to lay me flat.
My butt strikes the sandy ground as a wave careens over me. Gasping, I scramble up and backward, blinking out salty tears to the higher ground on the beach.
Making it to semi-dry land, a fallen spear washes up next to me. Grabbing it before it’s lost, I pull it close, turning back to face the dragon.
Glowing blue eyes pin me to the spot. My once thundering heart stops. The dragon’s long head is forward, pointed in my direction. And those eyes…
A soft cry of fear tears from my throat. His eyes are on me.
I’m going to die.
How did I ever think going after a dragon was a good idea?
But even as I’m thinking these things, other, more primal sensations course through me. The word fate hits me, making me shake.
I watch open-mouthed as its body lowers, its webbed toes and talons—which will soon shred me in half—dropping back below the waves. But it’s not until it rushes straight for me that I turn and run, making it a dozen feet before a hot gust of wind slams my back. My wet hair flies forward as I catch myself before I fall. Another breath, and a growl sounds in my ears.
Gripping my spear tight, I pivot to face the sea-jewel dragon and face my fate head-on.
Long, sharp, glistening teeth meet my eyes, baring at me, shielding a forked tongue behind them that swishes from side to side. Smoke bursts from between its teeth to rise into the air, flooding my nose with brimstone and ash.
He’s not more than several arm-lengths away from me, my mind reels. Why doesn’t it attack?
The dragon’s jaw snaps closed, and my gaze shifts to his bright, glowing eyes. The saliva in my mouth dries up. Small blue pupils stare daggers back at me, surrounded by brilliant blue light.
The dragon exhales another breathy gust. Its heat washes over me, and for a moment, the rain is gone from my flesh; my eyes dry up—I blink—it’s gone, and I’m drenched again.
“Go on with it!” I yell. “Kill me already!” I take a step forward.
Thunder slices the air, lightning flashes across my periphery, and somewhere far off, I hear the cracking and destruction of trees.
Yet the dragon just stares at me.
But then a thought pops into my head.
I don’t have to die.
I’ll live if I can touch it.
The rain beats down hard between us as I assess the space between us, as I wonder if I’m fast enough.
My toes curl. Suddenly, everything in me wants to touch this amazing creature, enough that it nearly hurts. My hands are twitching again.
Does he feel this too?
“Dragon,” I whisper, having no idea if he’ll hear me or even understand me. There’s so much I want to say, so much running through my mind, more sensations crashing through me than I can understand. All that comes out is, “I need you.”
Not, “Please don’t hurt me.” Not, “Make it quick.”
Not, “I don’t want to die.”
I need you.
I take another step forward.
A noise emanates from the dragon’s throat, and it’s nothing like I’ve ever heard. Ancient and thick, and it falls over me like the heat of his breaths. A whipping sound hits my ears, and his giant silver-blue wings span out to cover the sky above my head.
My lips part as I begin to raise my hand into the air between us.
And right before I close the distance, nearly touching the sapphire scales of its sharp jaw, a familiar shriek assaults me, and rage darkens my dragon’s bright eyes. Falling back with a scream, he rises, lightening his backdrop, as he swivels his head to the left.
The ground shakes, and I twist onto my hands and knees and crawl away. Another, much smaller, dragon lands; it’s black and wet and glistening. It sees me and yowls, clawing its way straight for me before its front legs even touch the ground.
Chaos erupts as I scramble to my feet, preparing to run, but the large dragon jumps onto the smaller one, pinning it down before its jowls touch my flesh. Wings, tails, claws, and limbs slash the sand near me.
I dodge and fall, zig-zagging between, trying to get away. Every time I’m about to be crushed or hit though, I’m not, and begin to realize the larger dragon is shielding me.
My feet sink into the sand and waves crawl over my flesh, as I aim for the ocean, hoping to swim away. Then—hearing it more than seeing—one of the dragons slams into the cliffside of my home.
A tail stops me and I pivot to the side, forced to back up onto the rocks, using my spear as leverage to keep me upright.
Twisting further, I thrust my spear toward the fight, toward the water dragon’s wings and its back, its tail
