The dragon shakes once, and the arrows fall to the ground. A growl-like laugh erupts from the dragon’s throat. His scales must be steel.
It appears you were wrong, my princess, Haemosu says in my mind.
I lower my bow, frowning. Am I wrong? Is the Blue Dragon bow only a myth?
CHAPTER 41
The dragon sucks in air and blows. Flames stream from his mouth. I tumble to the ground as the fire chases me. I can’t control it. His power is too much for me. And after watching the bow fail I don’t know where to turn next.
The rules of metamorphosis state that I must become stronger than the dragon to defeat him. But every time I’m morphed I’ve screwed it up somehow. Doubt tears through me, weakening my knees.
If I lose this time I lose everything. Komo, Marc, Grandfather, my ancestors, myself. And the curse will live on in the next generation of my family.
What is stronger than a dragon? Nothing, I think. Nothing can possibly be stronger than a dragon.
And then a new thought strikes me, and I stand up straighter, half frozen. I hold up the amulet by its chain and stare at the figure on it. It rotates slowly, its bronze glinting in the sun.
The samjoko.
Marc’s words come back to me: It is considered to be more powerful than the dragon or phoenix.
I clutch the amulet in my hand and spread out my arms, lifting my head toward the sky. I think of Mom and her steady belief in God. Of Komo saying that disbelief is the root of the impossible. Of Marc’s faith in me. I need to believe like they do. Can I?
Closing my eyes, I feel the power grow within me, stretching and pulling and twisting like fire rushing through me until it’s larger than I could ever imagine. I open my eyes.
And blink.
I am a crow, as black as midnight. A crow with three feet and glittering diamond claws. I stretch out my wings; they’re as wide as a small building.
A samjoko.
The impossibility of what I’ve just done drags at my mind and shakes my belief. My body trembles, and I feel the morph reverting back to my human self. No. I can’t let myself change back. I will myself to hold on to this image.
Haemosu roars and charges at me in his dragon state. I screech back, my voice shaking the ground, and sail up in the air. The dragon skids in his tracks and follows me into the sky. More flames shoot from his mouth. I twist and turn, lithe and strong, until I’m behind him, safe from his fire.
He swipes his long scaly tail against my wing. I’m flung through the air and smash onto the tiled roof of the palace, its clay pieces splintering and shattering as they fall to the ground. Everything blurs. My stomach slides along the roof as I plummet toward the ground. The tiles scrape my skin, and I can feel myself bleeding.
I lie on the ground, writhing, unable to get up. Have I lost already? My vision darkens, and that tingling, morphing sensation ripples through me once again. I’m shape-shifting back into a human. I try to pull myself up, try to stop the transformation, but I can’t focus.
You are hopeless against me, the dragon says.
Then another voice speaks. Rise up, Jae Hwa! Rise!
Those words snap my brain into focus. A rush of adrenaline surges through me. I can push through the pain. I will not let Haemosu win. I pump my wings and rocket up in the air, throwing myself into an aerial over his oncoming tail. He turns to fly at me.
It’s exactly what I expected him to do. Remembering the fire-breathing monster I had faced before, I twist around and ram my beak at his eye. He screeches in agony, fire flaming from his mouth. His scream is so loud, the buildings shake.
My wing has caught fire. I refuse to stop. I jam my beak into his other eye.
Haemosu flails and then drops to the ground in a heap, thrashing across the dirt. I fling myself to the ground, too, rolling across it to put out the fire on my wing. Pain shoots through me with such intensity that I can only think of the burn. But the pain gradually subsides, and by the time I’m back on my three clawed feet, it’s gone.
So this is what immortality is like, I think.
Then it hits me: if I’m healing this quickly, so must Haemosu.
His head rises; I dive at him and rip apart the scales covering his heart with my diamond talons.
Then I close my eyes and focus on my own form. My body contorts and alters. A chill sweeps over me, then a racking twist.
I’m my human self again. I stagger and fall to the ground, gagging on bile. My body shakes and my vision shifts, but I must complete the task I know now I’m destined for. I reach out and mentally command the dragon bow and an arrow to come to me. They fly into my hand. I grind my teeth together to stop my trembling. I notch in the arrow, draw the string, and aim directly where the scales have been ripped away.
At Haemosu’s heart.
I let loose.
The arrow sails through the air and sinks into the dragon’s soft skin. He cries out and crumples into a heap at my feet. In a funnel of wind, Haemosu whirls back to his human form. His body turns pukish green.
So the legend of the Blue Dragon is true.
“Kud! Help me!” Haemosu cries out, his voice echoing across the palace grounds. “You promised this time it would work. You promised.”
I glance around, wondering why he’s crying out to the Immortal of Darkness. But no one else is here, just Haemosu and me. Haemosu moans and looks at me with glazed eyes.
“How could you, Yuhwa?” he asks. “You were the one. We were destined to be together forever. It was to be our wedding day, my princess.”
He stretches out his hand toward me. It shakes with the effort. A light wind kicks up, and I look down to see I’m wearing a hanbok. The skirt is cherry red, with green and gold edging along the bottom. I reach up and touch a crown set where my hair is parted down the middle and pulled back into a bun. So this is Haemosu’s last act. Determined even in his final moments to make me his bride.
“I am not Yuhwa, and I will never be your bride,” I say, watching his body shrivel.
“So be it.” His words come out slow and shaky, and full of resentment. “But your aunt and ancestors will always be mine.”
“What did you say?” My heart begins to race because I know what he means. Komo and my ancestors are still trapped in that awful queen’s palace. Perhaps forever.
“Mine.” He grins painfully. “Always mine.”
A gargling sound emits from his throat, and his hand drops. His eyes grow wide, no longer dark but filmy white. His body stills.
I grab his tunic and shake his body. “Don’t you dare do this to me!” I yell. “Let them go. You have to let them go!”
But it’s too late. Haemosu’s skin fades to a pale white and crumbles into dust. A gust of wind sweeps past, catching up the dust, and carries it away. The dragon bracelet on my wrist breaks in half and falls to the ground. The skin underneath is chaffed and raw, but I’m free.
I sink to the ground, my red dress puffed up around me as I watch Haemosu’s ashes drift away.
I can’t believe that Haemosu has won.
Marc staggers toward me, supporting Grandfather, who is now conscious. Both their faces are ashen, and Grandfather’s eyes are wet.
“I am so proud of you, Jae Hwa,” Grandfather says. “You did what no other woman in our family history could do.”
Marc sits next to me, takes my hand, and squeezes it hard. “You did it.”
I stare at them. “Komo is in the queen’s palace, isn’t she?” When neither of them answers, I bury my head in my hands. The sobs pour out of me. It’s like Mom’s death all over again. I’m reliving it. The pain. The defeat. The emptiness.