The Long Dragon fixed its golden gaze upon me. However, there is something else you must know. If you accept our pearls, we ask you to swear—as our ruler did—to never force us to act against our inclination, and to safeguard our honor and freedom. We are creatures of peace. We cannot allow our power to be harnessed for death and destruction, or our strength will wane and we will die.
Despite the cool night, sweat broke out over my skin. Horror struck me, to imagine what the emperor might have demanded from the dragons’ service, and what it would have cost them. What the dragons offered me was an immense honor and yet a terrifying burden. One I was unsure whether I was worthy to undertake or strong enough to bear.
“Venerable Dragons, could you free my mother, the Moon Goddess?” I asked in a small voice. If they could, I would not need the emperor’s pardon. I would not need the pearls. I would not need to weigh my honor against my mother’s freedom.
The Long Dragon’s amber orbs darkened. Even during our imprisonment, we had heard the tale of Chang’e and Houyi. The emperor oversees the celestial bodies in the sky, and Chang’e is bound to the moon. Her immortality is from the elixir, his gift. Hence, Chang’e is his subject and his punishment of her—while harsh—is within his right. We cannot undo the enchantment. If we attempt to release her, it would be to defy the Celestial Kingdom. An act of war. We cannot fight them as that would destroy us.
The weight of my indecision almost crushed me. I had no wish to betray the dragons, but what if my mother was threatened? Could I resist the terrible temptation to trade them for her safety? And what if the dragons perished in the emperor’s service, then? Could I live with that on my conscience?
Part of me cried out to refuse this burden, yet how could I let this chance slip by? If only there was a way to harness the dragons’ power without endangering them. If only I could keep the dragons and my mother safe. I did not know if it was possible, but there was only one way to find out.
I cupped my hands before me, bowing to them. “I will accept your pearls.”
The dragons inclined their heads. Was it disappointment that clouded their faces?
Guilt pierced me, sharp and deep. I added at once, “In return, I swear to never force you to act against your inclination, to safeguard your honor and freedom. And I will return the pearls to you.” My voice shook with the solemnity of my vow. The dragons had not asked the last of me, but deep down I knew this was right.
The night was so still, I could hear the shiver of the grass, the snap of a leaf fluttering from its twig. Finally, the Long Dragon prowled toward me. As its enormous jaws parted, its breath misted the air. Between gleaming white fangs, upon a blood-red tongue, rested a pearl of crimson flame. As it lowered its head, its tongue lifted the pearl gently onto my palm. One by one the others followed suit until four pearls glowed in my hand, each the color of the creature who had gifted it. They thrummed with power against my skin, incandescent like they had been drenched in sunlight.
Our destinies are in your hands, daughter of Chang’e and Houyi, the Long Dragon intoned gravely. Whenever you wish to summon us, hold our pearls and speak our names.
My fingers closed around the pearls, the payment the Celestial Emperor had demanded. “Thank you for your trust,” I whispered.
Thank you for your promise. The Long Dragon let out a sigh of longing. Now we wish to bathe in the cool waters of the Eastern Sea, from which we have been parted for too long. Without another word, it sprang into the air, streaking across the heavens. The Pearl and Yellow Dragon followed close behind it.
Only the Black Dragon remained, its gaze disconcertingly bright. When it spoke, its voice chimed like a bell struck hard. Daughter of Chang’e and Houyi. During my years beneath the mountain, I heard the mortals who bathed in my river speak of the greatest archer who ever lived.
“You have news of my father?” I dared not hope, yet I could not suppress the wild leap in my chest.
The Black Dragon hesitated. They spoke of his grave not far from the banks of my river. At the point where two rivers merge into one, there is a hill covered in white flowers. There, you will find his resting place.
My father . . . dead? Deep down, I had always harbored a secret hope that he was alive. Even with the short life span of a mortal, he might still be in the early winter of his life. My last lingering hope crushed, I mourned the father I had never known. As for my mother who waited for him still—this would break her heart, destroying the dream she had clung to all this time. The strength sapped from my limbs as I dropped to my knees on the dew-glazed grass, sunken in despair.