Page 121 of A Forgery of Fate

The royal city arched over a teeming garden, lush with vibrant coral reefs and a kaleidoscope of sea flora. In place of roads there were floating highways alit by coruscating nautili, and even their traffic was beautiful: luminous carriages and pods of spotted whales, young merfolk cartwheeling through mantles of hanging algae. Buildings sprouted seamlessly amid the plant life, marble houses with prismatic crystal roofs that gleamed different colors from every angle.

Most magnificent of all was the Dragon King’s palace. It hovered above the city, floating high as the mountains behind it. No matter how I craned my neck, I couldn’t get a good view. The palace was fortressed by enchanted white waterfalls and a forbidding stone gate. Not to mention, it appeared that every citizen of Jinsang had amassed at the entrance, many of them dragons. For all my time in Ai’long, I’d only met Elang and his grandfather. To see hundreds of dragons at once! I couldn’t stop staring.

“Let’s stop here,” said Elang. In his hand was a slender white vial. “Drink this. It’ll give you a tail like the merfolk, and alter your appearance so you won’t be recognized.”

There was only one vial. “Aren’t you coming?”

“I can’t.” He hesitated. “No potion in existence could make me fit in here.”

“But—”

“You’ll blend into the crowds easier without me. I won’t be far.” Elang touched my cloak, turning it plain black. “Don’t get too close to the dragons. They’ll smell that you’re—”

“Krill?”I suggested.

It wasn’t quite a smile, that twitch in his lips. But it was close enough. “I’ll take care of the patrols.” A pause. “Good luck, Tru.”

“We’ll need it,” said Shani, scooping me onto her back.

She swam low, diving into a field of seagrass as we approached Jinsang. I swallowed Elang’s potion in one gulp. The sour taste brought a pucker to my lips, but it didn’t burn like sangi.

The change was swift. A shot of cold bristled across my legs, and I kicked my heels together, feeling the sudden urge to wriggle my toes. When I looked down, I had a pale green tail and matching fins. My hair was the color of cabbage, my skin like jade.

Put me next to a stalk of seaweed, and few would be able to tell us apart. Perfect.

After my transformation, Shani shrank into a seahorse and hid in my hair. It felt like the old days in Gangsun, getting ready for the next con. Back then I’d been afraid of prefects and gangsters. In hindsight, I much preferred them to gods and dragons.

I slipped into the crowd, making my way through the droves of fish, turtles, merfolk, and dragons, all seated in hierarchal order.

Such solemn faces,I observed.Are they nervous Nazayun might have a fit and turn them all into stone?

He wouldn’t risk such a display in public,replied Shani.

What do you mean?

Dragons are supposed to be creatures of wisdom and protection, not rampant destruction. That goes against their nature; makes them lose control.Shani sounded smug.Nazayun hates losing control. His eyes turn white, and…

And what?

And sometimes,said the demon very softly,though it’s unthinkable: he makes a mistake.

The last word she whispered, so low that it vibrated in my blood. I nearly jumped when crystal bells suddenly pealed from above, loud and resounding.

The assembly was beginning. The cloudlike formation of pearls had gathered behind the palace. There, before a cascading waterfall straight out of Baba’s stories, was the Dragon King, in his full and immortal glory.

He dominated the space between two pillars, lording over the audience that had gathered. Even the pearls slowed their course in his presence, bathing Nazayun in their light.

“Faithful subjects of the Four Supreme Seas,” he declared, “beloved brothers and sisters of our great Kingdom of Dragons, today we rejoice in another season of peace. Today the miracle of Liayin’s tears returns to grace our magnificent realm. Behold, the Luminous Hour!”

Cheers clamored from every direction. The seabed shook, and puffs of sand shot up, inciting further excitement. It was all very dramatic, especially as the pearls swept in, a cluster of them even orbiting the Dragon King’s body.

Yet through the chants, the murmurs of approval, andpraises of Nazayun’s might, I sensed a different sentiment vibrating through the Dragon King’s subjects. I scanned across the fields of seagrass, to where the dragons had congregated. Here were the greatest, most magnificent creatures in all the immortal realms, and each had their head bowed against their chest, their tails folded into what seemed a deliberately painful position. The merfolk were the same, bent in a deep kowtow, and so were the whales, the mollusks, every other creature I could see. It set a chilling reminder of Nazayun’s might, and his absolute rule.

I reached for the ink and paintbrush in my pocket. A few mermaids eyed me curiously, so I set aside my sketchbook. Instead I rolled up my sleeve and drew surreptitiously on my arm under the folds of my cloak.

Frantically I took notes. I sketched the green undertones of Nazayun’s belly, the steely blue in his eyes. I captured the angle at which his whiskers wilted, and how his throat bobbed while he spoke. Faster than I’d ever worked, I was recording every feature I could, not daring to blink. While it was true that I didn’t forget a face, I wouldn’t chance losing a single detail.

Shani nudged me in the ribs.We have to go.

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