by Kym Dillon
“How far behind are the ships?” he asked the scout who finally caught up to him.
“Sire, they’ve all turned away. Headed west,” the dragon replied.
Arken nodded. No doubt, Feis was rallying her forces to King’s Isle to plot finishing them. He feared the dragons wouldn’t last another fight. He, himself, had jagged battle scars marring his shiny black scales. Without the Heart of the Dragon to protect him, he was as vulnerable as his warriors. He needed rest as much as any of his number.
Things had taken a turn for the worse the night they had lost the Isle of Warriors. As Arken gazed ahead at the vast ocean, his thoughts turned darkly to what had happened that night. The two disenchanted rebels had gone to Feis and told her of the safe-house. Within hours, the dragon eater’s flagging forces were at the doors to the underground city.
The dragons had barely made it out alive, becoming instant refugees. The only reason Arken had been able to save them was because Feis was marooned on the island until her reinforcements joined her. It had been a game of cat and mouse ever since.
From the Isle of Warriors, the dragons had fled to a small cluster of isolated, uninhabited islands. Arken’s warriors had rallied together and returned to battle on the offensive. They had destroyed numerous ships and countless men in the second wave. However, the magic of the high priestesses had proved too powerful to overcome entirely.
Now, as they retreated for what felt like the millionth time, Arken refused to dwell on the loss of the brave, selfless dragons who had given their lives in the cause. Yet, there was no way to ignore everything they had gone through. His stomach growled uncomfortably from days without food. The hardships were taking a toll on everyone. He heard behind him the faint whimpers of children and quiet soothing voices of elders trying to calm them.
So many horrors had been encountered—hunger, sickness and death—that all the dragons were scarred by what they had encountered. All Arken wanted was to get his dragons to safety. A comfortable place to lay their heads for the night, food in their bellies and an absence of enemies at the gate. He sighed and forged onward.
Gaova flew alongside him, stealing glances but saying little. She knew the immense weight that was on his shoulders. He didn’t think he could’ve made it without his sister’s unflagging support. But, he also knew she blamed him. He tried to pinpoint where exactly he had gone wrong. Maybe it was in thinking there was ever a chance for them to win in the first place.
Should he have followed Vyda’s suggestion and remained in his distant keep with the Heart of the Dragon? Left Gaova caged and the Isle of Warriors beset with rebels? Had he made the fatal error in falling for Daya and giving her the stone to keep the heir to the throne safe? He just didn’t know.
“There! Up ahead!’ Gaova got his attention. Arken looked where she pointed. “An outcropping of rocks in the distance. It doesn’t look like much, but at least we’ll be able to give everyone a rest. I have aches in places I didn’t know could ache.”
He chuckled. “Scout, fly ahead and report back,” he ordered. The young, swift flyer shot off, and Arken stared after him. “I hope it’s suitable. I don’t know how much more of this the elders and children can take,” he murmured to Gaova.
“They’re resilient. Many of the elders remember the Great Migration.”
“Yes, but that was a different era,” he sighed. “Basyr was able to give them hope. One last journey to a land of milk and honey where the dragon eaters were sworn to not come after them. Now, the treaty is broken, and I can promise the shifters nothing.”
“You’ve gotten us this far. No time to second-guess yourself,” Gaova cheered him.
“I just worry. We put all our faith in the prophecy of the water dragon.”
“You may have put all your faith in the dragon eaters’ fairytales,” she said gently. “But, I believe in the persistence and resiliency of our people. I told you, we’d fight to the death, and so we will.”
“I understand,” he admitted as he locked eyes with her. “But, you also have to understand. I’m talking about having faith in my son. You don’t have to believe in him. Aye, that’s your right. However, I’m willing to fight to the death for the promise he’ll live.”
With a sweep of his wings, he propelled himself ahead to meet the scout returning to report on the rocky island. “Sire, it’s nothing. Three large boulders connected by a strip of beach.”
“It’ll have to be enough,” Arken murmured.
The scout took the order to the warriors and refugees behind him, and he listened as word spread through the ranks. A rumble of anxious chatter followed it. The glorious black dragon in the lead tilted his expansive wings and drifted toward the barren island that the scout had deemed nothing worth stopping for. It didn’t have to be much. A night’s rest was all he needed. His kingdom for a good night’s rest.
When they reached the location, it could hardly be termed an island. As the scout had described, there were three hefty boulders rising from the waves, a thin strip of sand forming a ring to connect them. In the center was a pale blue lagoon. There was no plant life. Nothing stirred.
“We’ll starve here,” someone whispered.
Gritting his teeth, Arken replied, “No, we won’t. We’ll get some sleep. Then, we’ll continue until we find someplace more suitable.” His suggestion was met with a chorus of protests. The crowd of shifters morphed to take up less space. Soon there were no dragons, but people. Some of them set about making the best of things. Others looked at him with waning hope.
He didn’t blame them for losing faith in him. After weeks in the air, they were all too tired to go on. It was a weariness that sank deeper than bone; it went to the soul. A few hours rest wouldn’t cure it.
Arken slipped away to mastermind a better plan. For a change, his sister left him alone. He missed Daya. He couldn’t wait to see her again. He wanted to meet his son. A leap of joy palpated in his chest at the very thought of them. Yet, close on the heels of the happy thoughts came the reminder time moved differently in her world. By the time she made the long journey back to him, she’d be changed. Older. His son wouldn’t be a babe in his arms.
Sighing, Arken dropped his head and withdrew maps from his pack. He beckoned for his generals and spread the rustling paper out on the ground in a shaft of moonlight away from civilians.
“We need better reconnaissance,” he murmured. “We need to know what islands are options. I think we’re here, but we’re running out of places to run and hide. It’s my suspicion Feis is simply regrouping on the King’s Isle. It won’t be long before she starts sweeping this region in ships again to sniff us out.”
“You want elite scouts,” someone guessed.
Arken nodded. “This isn’t a job for just another speedy flyer. It has to be someone with endurance. Someone we’re certain will get back to here by nightfall tomorrow with a thorough report.”
“Let me go,” Gaova abruptly volunteered.
“Not at all, Gaova. I’ve already lost too many people I care about this infernal war. I’m not putting you in danger like that. I’ll go,” Arken insisted.
“But, Sire, you’re the king.”
“I hadn’t forgotten. That makes it my responsibility. If it makes the lot of you feel better, I’ll take two of my best guards for added security. We’ll prepare through the night and leave at dawn. Gaova, you’ll remain in charge. If I don’t succeed…”
She clasped his forearm and shook his hand. “You don’t have a choice. Get back to us,” she whispered proudly.
A nervous child scampered toward them with a half-smile. He bobbed his head and locked eyes with Arken, his smile broadening as the king kneeled to his level. Arken chuckled and ruffled his hair. “Well, hello, young one.”
“I’m sorry to interrupt, Sire.”
“No interruption at all. What can I do for you?”
“Well…um, my friends and were playing there…” The kid pointed at the side of one of the large boulders. “
And, well, we found something that we thought you might want to see.”
“What did you find, my young scout to be?” Arken asked curiously.
Minutes later, the king and his generals were peering into the mouth of what looked like a cave. When they entered it, they discovered it wasn’t a cave but a chute. A little girl wriggled in front of them and leaned into the darkness, and Arken snatched her back.
“What do you think is down there?” she asked.
Arken put the child safely behind them and grinned at Gaova. She nodded, hearing the same thing he did—flowing water and sea birds cawing inside the Shute. An underwater cave. “There’s only one way to find out,” he said.
Arken counted his lucky stars. The refugees were safely transferred from the beach to a breathtaking underwater cave the children had discovered. Climbing down the rock wall, they descended to a deep, dry space where tall palms and lush plants grew in a narrow slice of sunlight. He didn’t think it wise to look a gift horse in the mouth, even if there was something mystical about it. It provided a safe-haven and protected against the elements.
He sent a group of men and teens to fish for dinner to go with the fibrous roots they dug from the loamy soil. When a vibrant cheer went up from the fishermen, Arken went out to observe them bringing in the haul. They had managed to claw giant, muscular tunas from the deep. The camp would eat well tonight. Arken wondered if their luck had finally turned around. It seemed like it.
By daylight, he readied two skilled guards to travel with him on the reconnaissance mission to scope out a better location. As Arken slipped from the entrance to the Shute, he quickly threw out an arm to block his companions. Their eyes followed his line of sight. Arken’s pulse accelerated and adrenaline rushed through him. There were men on the far beach. Men who shouldn’t have been there.
Arken cautiously scanned the surrounding waters for dragon eater battleships, but there were none in sight. He didn’t understand. Who were these strangers who seemed to have appeared from thin air? He signaled for his soldiers to follow him closer to them, but suddenly one of the interlopers took dragon-shape, and Arken froze.
“That’s not possible,” he hissed in shock.
All remaining dragons were with him. The last two rebels assisting Feis had even been dealt with. Yet, there were roughly fifty men shifting and taking to the sky. That’s when the king saw what had prompted the transformations.
Ships. Not on the water, but in the air! Arken’s eyes doubled in size as he yanked his guards against the stone out of sight.
“Dragon eaters,” he growled. “I can smell them! You two, get back to the refugees and alert the rest of the force! Tell the soldiers to prepare for battle. We have company.” He transformed before the words finished clearing his lips. His guards sprang into action and shot off to do his bidding as Arken processed the new situation. Feis was back, and she had dragons. She also had a flying ship.
His pleasant thoughts about a change of luck dissipated. His vast wings scooped the wind and he launched into the air with a roar. The newcomer dragons looked his way, but he charged toward them, knowing he didn’t stand a chance. There were too many of them, and he didn’t have the Heart of the Dragon to protect him any longer.
He opened his monstrous jaws to spew fire until he recognized one of them and swallowed the flames. “Flev,” he coughed. His feet pushed toward the ground as he came up short of crashing into the band of strangers.
“Your Majesty, look behind you!”
Arken turned in time to see a dragon eater ship turning a deadly canon toward him. At that precise moment, there came a sound like crashing thunder, and suddenly the ocean opened beneath the lot of them. A blue dragon majestically unfurled from the roiling waves and spread iridescent wings. His curving seafoam green horns cut through the air as he ascended fast as lightning. With a shrill scream, the dragon unleashed a geyser from its mouth.
Arken barrel-rolled away and came up on the other side of the sky, watching the ship engulfed in the blast water. It went down with a mighty splash. His eyes lifted from the destroyed ship to the water dragon weaving through the strangers attacking the rest of the dragon eater ships. Arken had never seen anything like him. He fought with fire and water, and he flew as regally as he swam.
Arken sucked in a stunned breath. “My son…” Something whooshed past his ear and snatched his attention. He spun around and faced a rash of arrows directed at the gemstone blue dragon. “No!” Arken screamed, throwing himself between the weapons and the prince.
The water dragon carried on as if unaware of the near-death experience. But, Arken was hurt. He glared at the arrow protruding from his lower leg. He clawed it free and dropped it, feeling the poison race through his system. The days of little food and rest further compounded the injury. Arken felt himself dipping lower in the sky, and he struggled to stay in flight.
Another spasm of agony arced through him. He panted, turning toward the three stones and strip of beach. But, he was too late. Arken felt himself falling. His body hit the ocean with a painful clap, and he grunted from the force. His obsidian eyes squeezed shut, and he prepared himself from the stinging water soon to fill his lungs. He couldn’t swim.
Yet, shockingly, he felt himself being tugged from the grip of the ocean. He burst to the surface with a gasp and stared into the eyes of his son.
“Who are you?” Arken coughed.
The blue dragon grinned. “They call me Soleis. You, soldier?”
Another coughing spell rendered him incapable of speaking, and the young dragon didn’t stick around for an answer. Arken shuddered from the drenching dip. Laughter bubbled free as he watched his dragon reinforcements burst from the hidden underwater cave and join the new recruits. There was fierce fighting above him, and the dragon eaters were on the wrong side of glory.
He was so enthralled by the sight of his son feinting and parrying, blowing fire and steam, that he didn’t notice the woman descending from one of the enchanted air ships until it was too late. Arken tensed, on alert. He spread his wings and lunged forward, roaring a threat. However, there was no way he could use his firepower. Not after the short swim.
“Arken, Son of Imyr.” The dragon eater was striking in beauty and sizzled with an aura of power. Eating the casualties of war had definitely been good to her. Flaming red hair spelled to her shining armor. Her skin was no longer the color of tarnished gold, but a clear, smooth porcelain white. A dazzling smile slashed across her beautiful face.
“Feis of the Fire,” he growled. “Are you here to talk the terms of surrender? Looks like your prophecy was right, and you’ve lost this war. The water dragon has come, as foretold, to end the reign of the dragon eaters and restore our kingdom to its rightful rulers. You’re too late.” His heart swelled with pride.
Feis lifted a defiant hand toward him. “Not without taking you down with me,” she whispered coldly.
Arken cast a discreet glance up. All his men were preoccupied. He met Feis’ gaze. He had already accomplished everything he had been entrusted to do. He had protected the Heart of the Dragon until such time as it was needed. He had planted the seed of destiny and nurtured it with love. He had gotten his race of dragons to a safe place until they could be transported to somewhere more permanent. His story would be repeated in legends. If it ended here, he had still lived a good life.
“Do your worst,” he murmured resolutely.
Feis screamed in frustration and dropped her hand. “No, that’s too easy,” she said with a humorless laugh. “I don’t want to kill you. I suffered so many years, trying to get to that accursed stone. A quick death would be better than you deserve. I’ll kill her.” Feis pointed at the water dragon.
Arken shook his head. “That isn’t Daya, and if you could kill the water dragon so easily, you wouldn’t be having this conversation with me,” he replied calmly.
A calculated gleam filled her eyes. “Then, where is your lady love?”
“You’ll never find her.
She’s not here.” He stalked toward Feis. It wouldn’t take fire to end her miserable life. He could crush her. He could rip off her wicked head. “Just admit it, Feis. You’ve lost.”
“I found her before, and I’ll find her again. Only, this time she won’t have that meddling elemental who infiltrated my temple to help her. And, she won’t have you or the stone to protect her. You’re right. I’ve lost, which means I have nothing left to lose. But, you do.”
With that, the dragon eater suddenly winked out of sight. Arken stared at where she had been standing, realizing she fully intended to go after Oedaya. He hadn’t moved to take her out fast enough. Swearing, he launched into the sky in search of his son. Without Ainley or the Heart of the Dragon, Arken couldn’t travel between realms.
“It’s a good time for you to show up, Sylph,” Arken whispered in a panic. He knew if he pulled his son away now, in the heat of battle, they could lose their advantage and possibly lose the war. But, Arken had to get to Daya. “Soleis!”
“I’m busy, soldier.” The fighting blue blur blast water and steam at a falling ship, but he locked eyes with Arken. “What is it?”
“Your mother,” Arken grunted, helping him take down another ship. “She’s in danger. We have to get to her in the Sky Realm. She needs us now.”
The water dragon stopped fighting and turned his full attention to Arken. “How do you know about my mother?”
“Because I’m your father, Soleis, and she needs us.”
19
Daya stood on the front porch, staring at the road. He had left in such an innocuous way. Her son had packed his bags and walked out the door, as if he were only running an errand. The months had sped by a haze. Each day, she had waited on the porch for him, and each day, he hadn’t returned.
Kenna stepped out behind her. “It’s getting late. Don’t you think you should come in?”