Haime rests her little head on my chest and hums. It calms me. Her humming always calms me. Several minutes pass before I’m settled enough to let her go. Not even a pack of territorial apes could’ve forced me to release her sooner. She is the closest I will have to a child of my own.
But that is a pain I refuse to wallow in anymore. It’s been eight years since new males have joined my tribe, and both were mated to other, younger women: Aida and her sister, Delina. And since I was four years older than Aida, I would never be considered as a mate for a new male. But that wasn’t the case eight years ago… Dragon males bonded with the one who turns them human.
Only one human male came to us eight years ago—from Shell Rock. Leith. The elders paired him with Delina.
The other two were dragon males, and they do not abide by the law of the elders.
Zaeyr, was once a great and ancient water dragon that ruled the waters of the Mermaid Gulf. The cursed red comet flew through the sky then, bringing out a mating heat in beasts across the land. Because of that heat, Zaeyr rose from the waters and bonded with Aida through an accident—and maybe fate—on the sands below the tribe.
When she touched him to protect our tribe, he lost his immortality and became human. Well, mostly human. Zaeyr still has scales, a tail, strange eyes, and claws. His children, like Haime, inherited many of his dragon features.
The other dragon male, Kaos, mated with a female from our neighbor tribe.
Their appearance renewed hope amongst the females of Sand’s Hunters, and with that hope, many left the safety of our tribe to hunt down a dragon of their own. Myself included.
I hold in my breath thinking of that time. Like my clan-sisters, I never found a dragon of my own, and as the red comet faded from the sky, hope faded too. And so my search for a male quickly turned into rescue missions, searching for sisters who did not return. Some are still missing to this day, and recalling that time leaves a sour taste in my mouth.
We gained and lost so much.
Haime’s humming returns, and I know she perceives my sadness. I force a smile to my lips. “Shall we make our way home?” I ask her. “I can’t imagine you’d like to make camp out here during a rainstorm? There will be no fire to sit by and warm your scales.”
She gives me a face. “No! Let’s go. I want Aunt Delina’s spicy fish.”
“Promise you won’t climb any more trees?”
“I promise,” she whines.
I hand back her spear, shortened for her height. “Good. I’ll let you lead, and I’ll take point at your back.” Excitement brightens Haime’s face when I tell her this.
“Really?”
“Remember to watch out for quicksand pits, tracks, and spiderwebs,” I remind her, putting my hands on her shoulders and turning her around.
Haime grasps her spear in both hands, stepping away. “Yes, yes!” She looks at me over her shoulder. “I will get us home safely, Auntie Milly.”
My smile grows. “I know you will. Listen to the trees and the sounds of the jungle. And no running!” I yell, but she’s already skipping away. “Don’t forget to check above for snakes and cats!”
My ears ring with her laughter as she vanishes into the brush. Glancing once more at the tree, I expel the last of my worry and take off after her.
We walk for a while, and I point out tracks and plants as we go. Though we’re trying to make good time, I can’t pass up a teaching opportunity. Under my instruction, Haime forages the Lulia Moss we come across. It makes an excellent tea. I also show her an old cockatrice nest we stumble upon, the mother and chicks having long departed. Haime takes a cracked egg and stores it in her satchel to show her sister later.
The darkening sky doesn’t deter us… yet. Neither do the squawking birds that rise from the trees and fly inland, nor the ever-increasing thunder. Scanning the jungle, it comforts me to find thick tangles of vines. I know these trees like I know my ability to take down the prey that resides within them.
“Milly,” Haime calls as she steps over a log. “How close do you think we are from home?”
“Why don’t you guess?”
“I can’t tell when we’re in the jungle! Can’t we head to the shore?”
“No. I told you that the crocodiles are breeding—” A low hissing sound cuts me off. “Haime, don’t move!”
She stops, turning to me.
I hold my finger to my lips and her little eyes go wide. The hissing gets louder, as I shift my spear to my right hand and slowly pull the dagger from my belt. Haime takes a step toward me as I quietly move to her side. She gently sets down her satchel and brandishes her smaller spear.
“It’s a naga,” I tell her. Nagas roam the Forbidden Jungle and are perilous when cornered. They’re worse if they have eggs nearby, for then they set up defenses to protect themselves and their nesting grounds. But this wasn’t a nesting ground. I’m sure of it. I only hear one hiss amongst the foliage.
“Not a snake?” Haime whispers.
“Listen to the inflection. It’s deep, raspy. Snakes don’t sound like that.” The hissing is close by and getting closer, coming from a grouping of large bushes ahead of us. I motion for Haime to keep backing up until she’s behind me. The leaves rustle, and I brace for the naga’s appearance. Highly intelligent—debatably even sentient—an adult naga could sometimes be reasoned with. With an offering of meat. “If it attacks, Haime, I want you to run. Understand?”
“I can help,”
