faint sanguine glow. A hush had fallen across the tribe as we gazed up at it, knowing its meaning.
Change. Wild, unpredictable change. That’s what the comet means.
When it first appeared, long, long ago, even before my ancestors traveled to the Mermaid Gulf and settled down, joining with an established tribe already settled here, was the day the world twisted. Or so the stories go…
Our people didn’t realize what it would do to us until many years later. But generation after generation, our peoples’ ability to produce males diminishes evermore. Each generation is worse than the last.
This curse didn’t only strike us, but the other creatures living across Venys. Many only produce female offspring as well. We know because our cattle are predominantly female and the merfolk say they have felt it too; though because they live long lives, many of their males are still around.
Now, the red comet comes every couple of generations to plague us anew. What will it mean for us this time?
Are things going to get worse? I sigh.
I check the ties of my net instead, testing them with my fingers. The net is not as large as I would like it to be—not for the journey I have planned—but it’s the best one I have.
One thing is certain, I note, biting down on my tongue, pulling at the net. A change is in the air.
A week ago a messenger came down from the north, telling tales of a huntress finding a dragon. A dragon! A rare beast of old that my elders say they haven’t seen since they left the wastes.
And sacrificing herself, the huntress went out to lure the dragon away from her tribe’s hunting grounds. But when she went up to it—while it was slumbering—she touched the dragon’s hide, and when she did, a fateful change happened. The dragon turned into a powerful, strong, human male.
I didn’t believe it. No one in the tribe did… until the messenger said she was looking to invoke a mating pact with a tribe along the coast, for the child coming from the union of the huntress and dragon.
A rare male child, or so this dragon male proclaimed to the tribe he now lives with. Such a mating pact is a rare and special event—one that ties tribes together for generations to come.
It is not done lightly. It was then I believed.
After the messenger left, shrieking calls assaulted the land and the sky. The wails of a giant beast somewhere off in the jungle wilds bordering my home. Calls that my people have not heard since before my birth.
The calls of a dragon seeking a mate.
Perhaps… Maybe, maybe these dragons are the salvation for my people.
Which is why I’m preparing this net, planning to catch one for myself.
I have to try. If not to prove my worth to my people, to at least see for myself if this hope inside me is real. I will never forgive myself if it is, and I did nothing…
Giggles prick my ears. Looking up, I see Delina nearby in Leith’s arms. He’s kissing her neck.
A thorn of pain pierces my heart. Leith was to be my promised mate, the last male born in years on this side of the gulf. The brother of my best friend, Issa. She journeyed here not two days ago with Leith, delivering him for his mating ceremony with Delina.
My sister catches my eye.
Returning her smile takes a lot of effort, but I’m able to do it. But my lips crack under the pressure.
“Aida! Come and join us. We’re heading to the nearby springs,” Delina says, her tone heightened with pleasure. “This weather is making me sweat.”
I stop rolling the net over my arm, pushing my worries deep inside.
Delina’s curves, her long, dark hair, and her shadowed eyes of kohl are slanted with mirth. She still wears the precious gold shells from her mating dress. Leith is behind her, holding a basket of fruits, small pots, and folded cloths for drying. But it’s my little sister my eyes linger on.
I’d wear them still too if I were in her place. It’s an honor to wear the rare gold shells. She’s beautiful in them.
“I can’t.” For so many reasons. I lift my arm with the net. “We need more fish for tonight’s feast in honor of your mating,” I say. “For the energy you and Leith will need in the coming weeks,” I add thickly. It’s not exactly the truth, but it’s not a lie either.
Delina pouts. “Who will