Royalslinger: Slinger Series Book 2

The First Sun of Seollal

Aria Love woke to the sound of Junghee’s cheerful humming and the rustle of fabric. She blinked groggily as her dreampanion stirred beside her, the dragon’s coral petals glinting in the early morning light.

“Rise and shine, sleepyheads!” Junghee trilled, holding up a dress of shimmering golden silk. “I’ve got a new hanbok design for you to try.”

Aria groaned as she let her palace maid pull her up to her feet. “Is it going to make my skin green again? I was really hoping my Shrek days were behind me.”

“It wasn’t green. It was just a subtle shade of olive. Thought it gave you a healthy pop of colour, actually.” Junghee deftly clothed Aria in the underdress called a chima, followed by the jeogori wrap top, tying the two long ribbons in a neat bow.

“Besides, this one isn’t made of frogweed. It’s dyed with sunfruit pulp.”

Junghee proceeded to explain in great detail how the heat-producing fruit allowed the outfit to warm itself, making it the ideal hanbok to wear in the winter months. “Perfect for Seollal today,” she concluded proudly. “Although, just to warn you, the sunfruit is super sticky. Like, if you got it on your hands and feet, you could probably scale an entire wall. So, uh, yeah, try not to get it too hot, or the dye will come off on your hands.”

“Riiight. From Shrek to Spider-Girl, then.”

Still, Aria had to admit how warm and cosy the hanbok felt, like a hug from the sun itself. A self-heating outfit wasn’t such a bad idea on the chilly first day of the Korean New Year. Maybe Junghee’s experimental hanbok designs had finally turned a corner.

“You must be excited to start Novice training,” Junghee said, as she folded the sheets of the floor bed and returned them to the armoire in Aria’s bedchamber. “What about you, Rio? You ready to catch some nightjoys?”

At the mention of her name, Aria’s pony-sized dragon stretched and sniffed at Junghee’s apron, her little stump of a tail trembling expectantly.

“Ooh, ooh, ooh! Has she brought me snacks, Ari-Ari?” Rio squealed at Aria through their endearment link. “Oh, please tell me she has! I do so covet snacks.”

“Rio’s asking if you’ve brought her snacks,” Aria translated.

“Come on, now. As if I’d forget.” Junghee reached into the pocket of her apron and threw the bloom dragon a hodu gwaja — a little walnut-shaped pastry filled with sweet red bean paste and nuts. The dragon inhaled it and grunted happily, giving Junghee a slobbery lick on the cheek as thanks.

“Argh, control your dragon, Novice Love!” Junghee admonished, laughing and wiping her face. “Her slobber stinks!”

“You know that snacks are Rio’s love language.”

Junghee snorted. “Like dreamslinger, like dreampanion.”

Aria did love a good snack. And Rio was, indeed, her dreampanion. Born with the dreamslinger gene, Aria was part of a minority group in the world that could travel to a different realm called the Asleep. Six months ago, as part of the Annual Royalslinger Trials, Aria had brought back a dreampanion seed from the Asleep to plant in the Awake — the normal waking world. The seed had sprouted and grown into a beautiful flower bud, unfurling to reveal a dragon whose scales were made of coral-hued petals.

That was how Aria had met Rio — her dream guide and the missing third of her soul. And when they’d passed the final Trial to gain a place in the Royal League of Dreamslingers, Aria and Rio had successfully endeared to each other, bonding them for life and making them profoundly whole. It had also afforded Aria lifetime citizenship to the Kingdom of Royal Hanguk, the little independent island nation inside Seoul, which was home to the Royal League.

So Aria had spent the winter break in the kingdom with her dad and her two best friends instead of returning to Almiro, Texas, where she’d been born and raised. And now she and her friends were about to start their second year of training to become fully fledged Fellows of the League.

“Speaking of Seollal, is it true that all the Novices will have their fortunes read by the mudang today?” Aria asked tentatively.

Junghee nodded. “It’s custom at the start of every Lunar New Year. The Royal Mudang receives a specific message from her ancestors about the Novice’s upcoming year.”

Aria bit her lip. She’d been keeping her distance from her aunt, which wasn’t too difficult since the prickly royal shaman despised Aria simply, it seemed, for the crime of being born. But it looked like they’d have to face each other today.

“Anyway, I’m sure your reading will be full of good omens,” Junghee assured her, as she wrapped the long, hooded daisy cloak around Aria’s shoulders and pushed her towards the door. “Now, let’s go, or we’ll miss the sunrise. Aren’t you hitching a ride up the mountain? You better not keep the prince waiting!”

“Ari-Ari, being carried by our friends is the funnest thing in the entire wooorld!” Rio sang, as she and Aria flew up the mountain with zero effort on their part. “Oh yes, oh yes, I could do this foreverrr!”

“Honestly, I can’t argue with that!” Aria shouted against the wind, as she tightened her grip around Rio’s neck, her adrenaline buzzing. “I love flying!”

Rio had unfurled with only a stub where her long tail should’ve been. And although the Head Scholar of Spring Palace had confirmed flying was still within Rio’s capabilities, the dragon had shown no interest in acquiring that particular skill. Aria was okay with it, though. When you had two best friends who were prepared to carry you through the sky in a specially designed harness, having a flightless dragon didn’t seem like too bad a deal.

“If you love flying so much, maybe you could give it a go sometime?” Lion Lee-Hendrick, who also happened to be the Crown Prince of Royal Hanguk, yelled from Aria’s left, as he and his gold-petalled dragon carried half of Aria and Rio’s weight. His hooded daisy cloak billowed regally behind him and he panted from the effort of maintaining a firm hold on the reins.

“But then how would we get our reps in?” Tui Walker called out from Aria’s right, in her distinctive New Zealand accent. “I’ve never been in better shape, honestly. Even my arm muscles have muscles!” The tall Novice with multicoloured combat boots grinned widely as her rainbow-scaled dragon ribboned through the sky, pulling Aria and Rio along.

“You’re welcome, guys, I’m glad we can be of service!” Aria exclaimed cheerfully as Lion and Tui reached the mountain’s peak and slowed to a landing. “Anytime you need a workout, you know where to find us.”

Despite the still-dark sky, the summit was already bustling, as citizens of the Kingdom of Royal Hanguk gathered to watch the first sunrise of the Korean New Year together. The celebration marked the start of the Lunar New Year, and it would be the first time Aria would see most of her fellow Novices again after many had dispersed for the winter break.

“There’s our cohort,” Tui said, pointing to their fellow Novices, who were gathering around the four palace matrons. “Looks like almost everyone’s back in town.”

“Hey, Mason!” Aria called, as she saw her friend from Winter Palace dripping water after his morning swim with his dreampanion. Frost turtles needed regular dips to stay happy and healthy, even in the winter. “Did you enjoy Christmas and New Year’s back in the UK? We missed you around here.”

“Yeah, it was great. Glad to be back, though. Can’t beat swimming in the lagoon.” He gave one of his signature cheeky grins and started shaking his body emphatically behind Daxia Hsu’s solar phoenix, as if trying to use its flaming tail to dry his clothes. “And I know you missed my killer dance moves.”

Daxia shrieked as she and her phoenix got sprayed with water. Steam billowed off Axu’s fire tail, and Daxia scowled and pointed to her nose. “I just got this piercing! And now you’ve got it drenched with gross lagoon water.”

Rihaan Munro and his harvest tiger blew in on the wind and started copying the dance moves, causing his kilt to billow and his beret to fly off his head. Tiare Taina from the Cook Islands joined in, as did a few others. And soon, everyone was laughing — including Daxia.

Aria’s chest warmed as she looked at her friends from across the four palaces and realised how much she’d missed them all over the break. And to think it was only six months ago that she’d entered the Trials as a spy. She’d been assigned to gather information about the Royal League and its intentions to cause the next Great Outburst — a nefarious plot that ended up being totally unfounded. When Aria discovered she’d been duped into working for an extremist group of anti-slingers, she’d come clean to her friends and moved her allegiance to the League.

As if sensing Aria’s thoughts, a familiar, unwelcome figure sauntered over, having just returned from a vacation on a private island somewhere. Or so Aria had heard.

“Look who’s still here,” Jina Jeong sneered, as the Summer Palace Novice’s gaze flickered disdainfully over Aria. Her henchman, Eugene Cho-Fisher, was at her side as always, like Jina’s taller, freckled shadow. “I’m surprised they let you stay after your little stunt last year.”

Aria bristled. She knew Jina was referring to the ambush, where anti-slingers had infiltrated the kingdom in an attempt to steal an ancient relic. Even though it was Aria’s dad who’d unintentionally leaked the relic’s whereabouts, it’d only been possible because of the report Aria had written. She still felt the weight of that guilt pressing down on her shoulders. And Jina knew it.

“Back off, Jina,” Tui warned, calm but firm. “We earned our place here, just like everyone else.” Tui always reminded Aria of an ancient tree, grounded yet standing tall.

Jina scoffed, tossing her long hair over the shoulder of her sun-symbol cloak. “Please. You outsiders will never truly belong. The League was better off when it was just for us heritage kids.”

Lion took a step forward, his presence commanding despite his gentle nature. “That’s enough, Jina. If my abo-mama can welcome new recruits into the League, then you can, too.”

“Whatever.” Jina rolled her eyes, but she didn’t have a better comeback than that. Even she knew to shut her mouth when being put in her place by the Crown Prince.

Lion cleared his throat. “Speaking of which, I hope you’re coming tonight to discuss the revamp of the Trials. We’re going to make sure this year’s competition is the most open, inclusive and international it’s ever been. And I expect you to join us willingly.”

Aria felt a thrill of purpose, as Jina mumbled something indecipherable and dragged Eugene away. Having experienced the Trials firsthand, Aria and her friends had promised to challenge the old ways of the League and to help make future Trials a more fair run for all those involved. Now that the year had officially begun, they could finally start putting their plans into motion.

“Spoken like a true Crown Prince.” Aria beamed, playfully nudging Lion. “Where’s that awkward dude we met last year? Remember when you needed earmuffs to block out the world?”

Lion smiled shyly. “Might as well use the royal title for something good. The League needs some serious refreshing, that’s for sure.”

“Which reminds me, all my last leads for Zahra have dried up,” Tui said, frowning. She fiddled with a beaded bracelet on her wrist that had the word impossible on it, which Zahra had made for her. “Have you guys heard anything new?”

Aria and Lion shook their heads. Ever since their friend Zahra Amini had been unfairly cut from last year’s competition and violently severed from her harvest tiger, Aria, Tui and Lion had been looking for her. They knew she hadn’treturned to Iran, and she hadn’t taken up an apprenticeship with any of the dreamtraders in the kingdom, either. The trio had vowed to bring her back, and each wore the same impossible friendship bracelet as a reminder of their promise to Zahra.

Before Tui could respond, King Ogu made an announcement from the viewing platform on the opposite side of the summit. “Good morning, great citizens of Royal Hanguk! We are minutes away from haedoji — the glorious first sunrise of the new year. Please find a comfortable place to sit so we can start the proceedings.”

“I can’t see the king from back here,” Mason Hewett complained as citizens hurried to find the best spots near the monarch. “Is it just me, or did everyone grow taller over the winter?”

Daxia Hsu wrinkled her newly pierced nose. “Or maybe you just shrank, dude.”

Mason threw her a smug smile. “Still salty about getting wet, huh? It was only water.”

Aria nudged her dreampanion and pointed to the ground. “Rio, do you think we could help Mason out?”

“Oh, goody, do you mean we should use our seasonbilities? Oh yes, oh yes, Ari-Ari. But only if the flowers say it’s okay.”

“Of course. Only if the flowers agree.” Aria waved a hand over the patch of wildflowers at their feet and reached inside her endearment with Rio.

As the dragon began to glow, Aria asked the wildflowers if they’d be willing to move out of the way. Almost immediately, the flowers pulled themselves out of the soil and gracefully floated towards a free patch of grass, looking like a troupe of ballerinas exiting the stage.

“I’ve got this next part, Ari-Ari!” sang Rio, as she dug her four paws into the ground.

As Aria’s connection to her dragon bloomed, the soil beneath their feet started to rise, until soon a raised bed of earth had been constructed, large enough for the group of friends to sit on while getting an unobstructed view of the king.

“Thanks, guys,” Mason exclaimed. “You’ve been practising. I can tell!”

Aria beamed. Ever since the trialeers had endeared themselves to their dreampanions, they’d been able to tap into the powers of their respective Seasons. Those from Spring Palace could access affinities for poisons, soil manipulation and plant communication. And while Aria and Rio were still learning, it felt good to hear that their powers were growing every day.

“Happy Seollal, dear citizens of Royal Hanguk!” King Ogu announced from the viewing platform, as the first rays of sun peeked above the horizon. “To welcome the dawn of a new lunar year, we must first pay our respects to the three ancestral deities of our kingdom.”

Aria and her friends turned their attention towards the king, as the royal shaman waved her long, colourful sleeves to reveal a giant holographic rendering of the Holy Trine.

The king gestured respectfully towards the icon of the old woman, whose eyes were gazing upwards. “First is Grandma Samshin, the Goddess of Birth. She who determines the first breath we take.”

He waved towards the old man, whose eyes were looking down. “The second is Gardener Igong, the God of Death. He who determines the final breath we take.”

He then moved towards the third and last figure on the holographic altar. “And, of course, Princess Bari, the Goddess of DeadSouls. She who guides us through the afterlife so we may all be reincarnated anew.”

King Ogu stepped in front of the altar to continue. “All three members of the Holy Trine gifted a small essence of themselves to humankind, in the form of physical relics. We know them as the Breath of Life, from Grandma Samshin; the Path of Eternity, from Princess Bari; and the Bleeding Bloom, from Gardener Igong.

“Unfortunately, this year, it is not just good blessings we ask from our patron deities, but also their forgiveness. As we are acutely aware, the Bleeding Bloom — the only ancient relic in our possession — was stolen from us last year by the freedomslingers, led by the traitor Ko Iseul.”

An angry murmur spread through the crowd, as Aria felt the burn of accusatory glares directed her way. She shrank. As if it’d been her choice to be born Ko Iseul’s daughter.

“The Bleeding Bloom holds a tiny part of the God of Death, which means it has the unmatched ability to kill anything that lives,” the king continued. “It is why the relic is sometimes referred to as the Touch of Death. Ko Iseul plans to use its power to tear down the world as we know it so that she may rebuild it in her image. We must retrieve the Bleeding Bloom at all costs and protect the world from the freedomslingers’ wrath.”

The crowd agreed loudly, fear and anger lacing their cries.

“Which is why this year all Fellows and Novices of the League will be committing themselves entirely to this singular pursuit,” the king announced. “Until we have the Bleeding Bloom back in the safety of our kingdom, all official programming — including this year’s Annual Royalslinger Trials — will be put on hold.”

Aria and Tui gaped at Lion, wondering if he’d been aware of his father’s bombshell news. But the Crown Prince merely gaped back, looking as stunned as Aria felt. This was supposed to be the year they would revamp the Trials and introduce a new, more inclusive era to the League. The year that Aria was going to start helping other vulnerable dreamslingers like she herself had been last year. Instead, thanks to her mother, they would have to spend it stealing back what was already rightfully theirs.

King Ogu stood tall and gazed up at the rapidly rising sun.

“But do not be downtrodden. We will not let a rogue faction of slingers destroy the world as we know it, for we are the Royal League of Dreamslingers. We will restore things to their rightful positions, and the Holy Trine will arm us with their strength and guidance. For we are upholders of the Just, the Wise, the Kind and the Rule. And we will not waver in the face of adversity!”

As the crowd roared in a united battle cry, Aria hung her head in shame. She had played a crucial part in bringing the League to this dark place. And now her power-hungry egomaniac of a mother was the League’s number one enemy. What did that say about Aria? And could she ever put things right?

“Oh, Ari-Ari, please don’t be sad,” Rio whimpered, as she nudged her wet snout into Aria’s side. “Your sadness is making me sad, too. And that makes me owwy ouch on the inside. I don’t like it. No, not one bit.”

Aria sniffed back her tears and pulled her dragon close, knowing she’d have to be strong for Rio. “I’m sorry. I’ll try to be brave. For the both of us.”

And Aria knew that she would. Because try as she might, it was impossible to erase her mistakes or change who she was born to. But what she could do was ensure her mother would never get her hands on the Bleeding Bloom again. By helping retrieve the Touch of Death and returning it to the safety of the kingdom, Aria could prove that her loyalties lay with the Royal League of Dreamslingers.

After all, if it wasn’t for them she would never have met her dreampanion. She would never have met Rio — the missing third of her soul, now embodied in this oversized, goofy bloom dragon’s body.

And that was something worth fighting for.