Iris POV

There it stands, in all its mighty glory, trapping us under its violent and sadistic gaze. I shudder as its gold eyes, focus on each one of us, taking us in, probably as its next meal. 

What a wonderful meal we would make?

A mermaid, a human, and three Eponians.

I see its nose flaring, the horns and scales that cover its body raised to appear bigger than it already is. The heat radiating from it is so much that I feel it from this distance. A chill runs down my spine, all the way to the tip of my fins when I hear its rough and hoarse voice.

"Creatures having fun in our territory, eh?"

"Who are you?" asks a female voice and I see another one emerging from behind the tall grass. This one is copper in color but just as terrifying and gigantic.

Before I can protest, Karen walks forward towards them, looking at the giant creatures straight into their gold eyes, which very much resemble hers now. She walks and walks, out of the water and onto the land.

"Princess Katarina Silvus Floarea. Daughter of late King Etine. Heir of Eponine." she shouts. The moment the creature hears the word 'Eponine', their eyes widen. But come back to their usual size just as quickly.

"Eponians in our land....after all these centuries." rasps the male one, taking its steps forward toward us. "And to what do we owe this visit, Princesssss?" hisses the dragon.

"We weren't visiting," she replies.

"And I am free to say that you were intruding, Princess?" the female one chuckles.

"We were only swimming in this pond," says Karen, directing her hand toward us.

By this time all the guys have got out of the pond, leaving me, the midst of the waters.

"This pond is in our territory, Princess." hisses the male one.

"And what is this very unusual looking mermaid doing here?" asks the female one, her gaze fixed on me.

"She is my friend," replies Karen.

"Mermaids only exist in the seas beyond these mountains, princess. And they don't look as fascinating as her. There is no way an Eponian can be friends with a mermaid, Princess." she explains.

I swear, if I am going to be the victim of one more attack, I will lose my shit!

"Umm... You guys look dope as hell, but I just gotta get out of these waters, I show you my fins." I shout out, and the female dragon looks at me, her nose flaring. 

Did I just piss her off?

"A mermaid who can talk overwater, interesting." observes the male one. I swear Delmar is in for some shit if I come out of the quest alive. He didn't tell one thing about actual freaking mermaids.

"Kevin, my clothes, please!" I request.

"What is she?" asks the female one her eyes dangerously fixed on Karen.

"A mermaid-human hybrid," answers Karen. I smile goofily at the female dragon when she narrows her eyes at me.

"Interesting." she hisses, observing me like some new specimen for research.

"Can someone pick me up from here?" I direct the question at the boys.

Caspian quickly comes over and picks me up from the water and after a while, I am fully transformed and clothed and so are the others.

The dragons look at us, confused.

"Why have you Eponians trespassed our territory?" asks the male dragon.

"We are on our way to The Mystry Caves." declares Caspian.

"The Mystry Caves are on the north, Princess. Why are you here on The Eastern Mountains?" asks the female one. The moment I hear this, my head shoots sideways to look at Darius. He was the one who made the plan.

When I asked, he had made the plan already although usually both of us do it together. And now he led us....here?

"I am guessing we have taken the wrong route. Sorry for trespassing but we have to leave now," says Karen.

"The Prince Brothers are here with you." observes the female one.

"We have to leave now," urges Caspian.

"What makes you think that we'll let you leave. After all, Kaya's locket is still with you Eponians." says the male dragon. 

Oh god, we're stuck in here now.

"And this hybrid seems interesting too." adds the female one. 

Why am I the one being targeted by all the dangers out there?

"What do you want us to do?" asks Kevin.

"The human speaks!" the deep laugh of the male dragon echoes from the mountains.

"We will take you to Kaya. She will decide what to do with you. She will love to see Darius!" declares the female one.

Oh, screw this shit!

***********

Karen's POV

The last thing I needed was another trouble landing. How long can this quest go on? I am beyond pissed right now, because all I wanted was to get to the damn caves, find some clue to find that gem. And now we're in the midst of some dragons surrounded by mountains.

When I read the Hobbit, I was thinking of how huge Smaug would've been. And now here we are, in the midst of a whole ass clan of Dragons. And there stands their Queen, Kaya.

But she seems to be...surprised upon seeing me. 

Please tell me that she knows, I am the one from the prophecy.

"The one from The Prophecy of Erad. Well, haven't Eponians waited for you for centuries?" she asks. 

Hell yeah, they have!

"Yes!" I answer.

"What have they named you, Princess?" she asks.

"Katarina Silvus Floarea," I reply, proudly.

"Your friend was in need of water. And you used the one in our territory. Correct?" she asks and I nod.

"We meant no harm," I say.

"Of course, you didn't. But I am not sure of this one here," she says, her eyes fixed upon someone behind me. I turn around to find Darius.

"He is with me on this mission," I say.

"To find the Borat?" guesses Kaya and I nod. 

God, this place is so hot. Her breath is like a literal fire.

"Princess... Caspian is always welcome here...but him..." she walks over to Darius, who smirks at her. Kaya is super angry upon seeing Darius and they clearly have some history. "How dare you come into my land, scumbag?" she spits at Darius.

What the hell exactly happened between them for Kaya to be this disgusted upon seeing him? By the looks on Caspian's face, he doesn't know it either.

"Oh come on, it's not like I would purposefully venture into your wasteland!" Darius chuckles.

I'll just rip his head off now!

I am trying to get us out of here and he is only making it harder. I glare at him but he keeps staring straight at Kaya.

"You killed my betrothed... And you have the guts to step on my land!" she says in a scary but calm voice.

"Your betrothed was weak and immature, Kaya! He was a spoiled brat of a dragon!" he shouts. That one sentence makes her lose it. She roars, setting a group of plants on fire, and all of us flinch, but Darius doesn't even budge.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I yell at him but he just smirks. 

"Well, then let me give you a taste of your own medicine!" she yells and her sharp-clawed hand grabs Iris by her midsection and raises her into the air. She thrashes out in Kaya's giant claw but Kaya doesn't budge. But when I feel a sharp pain in my stomach, I look down to see that Kaya's claws have grazed my stomach and is now, bleeding a river of blood out.

"Katarina..." I hear Caspian call out, and holding me. The last thing I see is his worried baby blue eyes before I blackout.

*****

Iris's POV

"Please, you're holding me too tight!" I cry but this freaking dragon is scaring the shit out of me.

"I plan to kill you. Then why should I be worried about your comfort?" she spits, her steam like breath burning my skin.

"Please, before you kill me, at least tell me what did I do?" I beg.

She huffs, flame sparks coming out of her nose, and then harshly drops me down. Upon landing on my butt, I look around to see bones. Literal bones of various creatures lying around like dust. 

Oh god, this place is like my worst nightmares coming true.

"What relationship do you have with Darius?" she asks, harshly.

"We're...friends. He's in this mission with us." I reply.

"Why would you want to be friends with that heartless creature?" she hisses, making me flinch.

"He's not heartless. He's ...a good man. He has...always taken care of me." I say and she growls at me.

"W-What did he...do to you?" I quake.

"You heard it. He killed my betrothed. My lover. And if you are thinking that us dragons don't love, you're wrong. We love more truly than any of you two-legged creatures can ever do." she says bluntly.

"Of course, you love. Every creature is capable of love in their own ways." I say and for some reason, that seems to have caught her attention. She looks at me like I am not someone she is waiting to kill.

Sparks fly out of her nose as she exhales. "Why do you trust him, little one?" she asks.

"He has only helped us through this whole journey, Kaya. He's our friend." I say.

"He killed Tefis by stabbing his heart with a silver-coated sword. And I saw that. Do you know how much it hurts to see your mate killed?" she sneers.

"I am sorry, Kaya." I say.

"Don't trust him, little one. He is not one to trust," she says.

"Are you going to kill me?" I ask and she growls.

"I sense doubt in you, little mermaid. You doubt him. Why?"

"I don't doubt Darius. He's like a brother to me."

"Tell me the truth, little mermaid. Has he never tried to kill any of you?" she asks.

Darius is... Darius. One of the guys who trained us in weaponry and survival and stayed with Karen throughout this whole journey. He fought huge wolves and helped us survive in forests. All the extra cookies I ate were because he sneaked them for me. But what Delmar said...

"Answer me, mermaid!" she shouts and I flinch, due to the heat coming from her huge mouth. Those dagger-like teeth can easily snap me in two.

"No!" I answer. She narrows her golden eyes at me, sparks flying out of her nose every now and then as she sniffs me.

"Who is your creator?" she asks. 

How does she know that? How does she know that I am not a naturally born hybrid? Maybe hybrid doesn't bear naturally.

"Delmar," I answer.

"You're a hybrid. He has broken the laws of nature to create something so beautiful," she says admiringly but then her face turns to anger again. "Yet so naïve and foolish!" she snarls.

That's offensive!

"I trust him. He's like a brother to me." I say but she growls.

"Forget it, there is nothing I can do. You will see it soon, little mermaid." she huffs, sending a bunch of orange sparks into the air.