Jabir rose again, this time soaring higher… and higher… until the clouds swallowed them.
Jewel reached out, her fingers brushing the mist. Cool droplets clung to her skin, reviving her. She sighed. The moisture helped. She hadn’t realized how weak she was starting to feel until the clouds kissed her skin.
She didn’t tell him, though. She didn’t want it to end.
Then—the dragon’s throaty voice caressed her again.
“Hold tight.”
“Wait, why?—?”
He dove.
The world plummeted beneath them. Jewel’s scream stuck in her throat, terror and exhilaration tangling as they sliced through the air. Wind tore past her ears. The lake flashed below. Trees raced up to meet them. She had never felt so free!
Just before impact, Jabir’s wings snapped open, catching the wind with a thunderous whoosh. They skimmed just above the river’s surface, so low the tips of his claws kissed the current.
They weaved through the winding river path, dodging boulders and water sprays, the forest rising like emerald walls around them.
She couldn’t breathe.
She felt alive, exhilarated at the beauty of the world that had always seemed out of reach to her.
After what felt like forever and yet was no time at all, Jabir glided to a landing on a soft pebble beach nestled in a quiet bend of the river.
Jewel slid from his back, her knees wobbling. He caught her with his tail, guiding her to a sun-warmed rock near the water’s edge.
“I’ll build us a fire,” he said, his voice still deep and rumbly. “Are you hungry?”
She nodded, smiling shyly. “Yes.”
He grinned, winked, and turned to collect driftwood. She clapped, delighted, as he tossed the driftwood into a pile and, with a breath, ignited the pile into cheerful flames. Jewel laughed when he waggled his brows at her, blowing a playful smoke ring into the air.
“I’ll be back,” he called, and moments later returned with a fish as big as his front foot. “Do sirens eat fish?”
“Yes,” she giggled. “And seaweed. Clams. Mussels. Whatever we can find.”
“Perfect,” he said, gutting and fileting the fish with practiced ease.
Jewel waded into the river, slipping beneath the surface. The water caressed her skin, cool and healing. She scooped up freshwater clams, placing them in a woven pouch she conjured from her belt. The ache in her legs eased. The pulsing fatigue in her spine dulled.
When she surfaced, Jabir—now human again—was crouched by the fire, watching her.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
She nodded, brushing hair from her face. “Better now.”
But her heart ached.
Because this? All of this? Couldn’t last.
She’d heard the stories—every siren had. Of girls who fell in love with land-dwellers. Of joy and longing. Of promises made and hearts broken. And always… always, the siren was left behind. Or worse—she never returned at all.
Jewel looked at Jabir.
The boy who soared through the sky like it belonged to him.
The boy who made her laugh. Who looked at her like she wasn’t dangerous or wrong or something to fear.
