The Captain's Dragon

by Bianca D’Arc

  “I’ve been blind and foolish for a very long time. Vengeance ruled my life, and I allowed it to take me away from the most important thing. You, Livia. I left you alone too long, and for that, I can only blame myself.” He shook his head as regret filled him. “I missed most of your childhood, seeing you only occasionally. That wasn’t right. And, in my mind, you remained that small child I left behind, even though there was much evidence to the contrary. The way you stepped in to help run the fleet. The way you solve problems and found new markets for our goods. All of these things should have convinced me, long ago, that you were an adult, fully able to make your own decisions. I just didn’t want to see it.”

  Rivka reached out and took his hand under the table, offering silent support. He clutched at her kindness, taking her hand gently in his own. She was such a good woman. Too good for the likes of him, but he could not let her go. Not in this lifetime.

  “And so, I apologize to you, Livia. And to you, Sir Gowan. If Seth was here, I’d say the same to him. I was wrong.” Liam didn’t like the taste of such words in his mouth, but he knew they had to be said. “It was pointed out to me that I had long shied away from learning anything about dragons, knights, and the ways of life in their Lairs. This was, perhaps, because I didn’t want to be distracted from my own narrow vision. All I could see was my need for justice and my desire for vengeance. I’ve had it now, and I’m not sure it was all worth it in the end. I missed a lot, and I have been foolish. I see that now. It is my hope that, in time, you can forgive me.”

  There. That ought to make his feelings clear enough. He only hoped Livia would be as kind-hearted as her mother had been and forgive his foolishness. He had a lot to make up for.

  Rivka let go of Liam’s hand when, for the second time, Livia rushed around the table and threw her arms around her father. She certainly was an emotional girl, Rivka thought with an inward grin. Or maybe… Rivka sent a little tendril of her magic out to touch Livia and realized something wondrous.

  Livia was pregnant. Suddenly, a fierce dragon presence made itself known in Rivka’s mind.

  “Black dragon you may be, but if you do not retract your magic from my friend, I will have something to say about it.”

  Rivka moved the little wisp of her own magic from Livia to the dragon basking in the courtyard. A female. A pregnant female.

  “Both of you?” Rivka could hardly believe her senses. “You’re both pregnant?”

  “We are,” Genlitha confirmed with a mental huff. “Now, I will thank you to stop probing either of us magically.”

  Rivka immediately removed her magic. “My apologies, Lady Genlitha. We are going to be family, you and I, and I would not have you think less of me. I was merely wondering why Livia was so…”

  A dragonish chuckle sounded through Rivka’s mind. “Such an emotional mess, you mean? We have both been in a bit of a state since we discovered our interesting condition, just after you left for the wizard’s island. That’s why Gowan came along. One of the men has been shadowing her every move since they found out.” The dragon sounded truly amused. “Please don’t tell her father yet. It’s taken a long time for him to come around, and the others are afraid this might set him off again. Plus, Livia probably wouldn’t want to steal your thunder. The focus, right now, should be on you two and your announcement. We’ll have months to get used to our expected arrivals.”

  Rivka thought about that. She didn’t like keeping secrets from Liam, but this was in a good cause. Livia had the right to tell people—including her father—when she felt it was the right time. This was not Rivka’s secret to share.

  “I will abide by your wishes, Lady Genlitha, though I should warn you that I won’t, in general, be keeping secrets from Liam in the future. We are going to be married, and I want total honesty between us. I can’t expect it of him if I won’t give it in return.”

  Genlitha was quiet for a moment before she finally answered. “I understand. And I applaud your sensibilities. I think, if you continue on that path, you will have a truly happy life together.”

  Genlitha said no more, and Rivka was able to focus on Liam and his daughter. Livia had forgiven him tearfully. Rivka just shook her head, amused and indulgent. Pregnant females were always quite emotional. She expected that, if she ever was blessed with a child, she would be the same. And that was another thing they hadn’t discussed. Liam wasn’t an old man, though by human standards he was approaching middle age. Still, with all the magic they would be sharing, he would live much longer, now that they were joining their lives together.

  Rivka would be able to have children for at least two centuries, if her Clan-mates were anything to go by. She would have to break the news to Liam and see if he was receptive. She’d like to have a few offspring, but only if he was willing. And she suspected he would be, given that he regretted missing Livia’s childhood. He could start over, now. This was his second chance. Rivka knew he wouldn’t mess up this time. He’d learned his lesson on that score, she was certain.

  After Livia and her entourage left, Liam and Rivka worked to make the house more livable. It had been shut up for weeks, and they decided to open the windows and air everything out. They scrubbed the kitchen, side by side, reminding Liam of his younger days of swabbing the decks on his first ship.

  He sent out for items they would need and brought in a few people who had worked for him before. A few young lads from the office to carry messages and run errands, a housekeeper and cook to help look after the place. He would add more staff, as necessary, until he had made his house a home in which Rivka and he could be comfortable.

  After the work of the day, they decided to have dinner at an inn then take a walk down by the water. Liam had a private dock and boathouse behind his home, and they went down there. He’d had some benches built into the dock, just so he could sit down there at sunset and watch the water. It was one of his favorite parts about his home in Dragonscove, and now, he was able to share it with Rivka.

  They were enjoying watching the sky change colors in the west when a disturbance in the water nearby captured Liam’s attention. As he watched, a dragon’s head emerged from the water.

  “Skelaroth!” Liam said the sea dragon’s name even before he realized it.

  “I regret I could not see you off when you left Gryphon Isle,” Skelaroth said into both Liam and Rivka’s minds. “There were some issues with my fellow sea dragons that needed sorting out.”

  “We figured as much,” Rivka said. “It’s good to see you again, milord.”

  “I was wondering… If it’s not too much of an imposition… If I could, from time to time, take refuge in your boatshed,” he asked, flooring Liam with the hesitant request. “I found it most comfortable, and I seem to have developed a taste for flying in the air.” The dragon sounded bemused by his own discovery. “I also have to admit, I like land food more than I thought I would, and now, a diet made up mostly of fish seems rather bland.”

  Liam didn’t even have to think about it. “You are most welcome at any time to the boatshed, the courtyard, anyplace I can offer you where you will be comfortable. I hope you don’t mind when I say that I consider you a friend, and I have missed your company. I would value any time you cared to spend here and welcome you with open arms.”

  Skelaroth’s head dipped in a way that seemed to indicate he was touched by Liam’s words. Liam had gotten so much better at interpreting dragon movements and what they meant over the past adventure. Such knowledge would come in handy when Rivka was in her dragon form, so he had better observe and learn all he could.

  “I am honored by your words of friendship, Captain. I have never really been friends with a human before. Not the way we are friends. I will call you Liam, if you don’t mind, and you should call me Skelaroth, or even just Skel, as your virkin friend does.”

  Liam sensed it was a big deal for a dragon—beings known for their love of formality—to invite him to use his name and drop the honorific. Liam bowed his head
. “It is my great honor to call you friend, Skel. I’m really glad you came back.”

  “Where is Ella, I wonder?” Skelaroth asked out of the blue.

  “She said she wanted to explore and took off early this morning,” Rivka told the dragon.

  “Then, she is staying with you?” the sea dragon asked. “I thought she would.”

  “Gryffid said she had bonded to me and would likely stay with me as long as I remained worthy of her regard,” Liam told Skelaroth with a wry expression.

  “Then, it is likely she will stay as long as you live,” Skelaroth told him with a little bow of his head.

  “I can’t say I’d mind. I like having her around,” Liam replied.

  “There is another reason I would like to continue our association, Liam,” the dragon admitted. “I believe it is a disservice to all sea dragons if I remain unaware of what goes on here on land. We’ve discussed it, and most of us feel that the time for our isolation in the sea has come to an end. Not that we’ll all be moving on land in the foreseeable future. The Island Lair is enough for now. Some of my folk who want to be more involved with people will be frequenting the Lair as it grows. But, as leader of my kind, I need to be more aware of what goes on in the wider world.”

  “I can understand that,” Liam answered.

  “We can serve as a conduit to you of the important events on land, if that is your wish,” Rivka put in. “As you know, I am Jinn. Liam will be brought into the Brotherhood when we wed, and he has his own extensive network of trade ships that bring news from all over. It will be a formidable network when combined. I think we would all welcome an alliance of sorts with you for the sharing of information so we can avoid trouble like the kind Fisk caused.”

  “That is exactly what I was hoping to hear,” Skelaroth said, sounding eminently pleased.

  “I think, given the scope of what we’re bringing together here, we should probably consult with Prince Nico at some point in the near future,” Rivka added. “Of course, Drake at the Lair will likely help with that.” She seemed to contemplate her words as Liam began to get an idea of the kind of network the Jinn had.

  Liam knew his own sources of information were as wide and varied as the routes over which he sent his ships. It started to dawn on him that with the addition of the sea dragons, he and Rivka would soon be at the center of a web of spies and intelligence agents unlike anything the lands had ever seen.

  Suddenly, he was looking forward to the challenge coordinating such a thing would pose. He would run his fleet, and Rivka would help him learn how to be Jinn. Between them, they would serve the crown and all people who sought to do good in the world. They could really make a difference on a large scale.

  “Please allow me to congratulate you both on your engagement,” Skelaroth said, bringing Liam’s thoughts back to the really important thing—his love for Rivka. Without which, the bright future he had just been contemplating would not exist.

  “Thank you,” Rivka said quietly, snuggling into Liam’s side. They were still seated on the bench built into his dock, Skelaroth floating in the nearby water. “As soon as we figure out where the marriage feast is going to be held, we’ll let you know. You are, of course, invited,” Rivka put in. Liam hadn’t thought that far ahead, but he really liked the idea of having Skelaroth at the celebration. After all, the big sea dragon was one of the few friends Liam had.

  “I would be honored to attend,” Skelaroth answered promptly. “And I wish you both many centuries of happiness.”

  “Centuries?” Liam couldn’t quite wrap his mind around that concept.

  “Liam,” Skelaroth’s tone was chiding. “You are marrying a dragon.”

  Amazing as that thought was, Liam couldn’t help thinking about the warm woman tucked into his side. Yes, she might also be a dragon, but she was his dragon.

  EPILOGUE

  In the far, far North, Loralie cast the bones and tried, once again, to foresee her own future. Once again, the bones told her of a dragon. Was he to be her doom, then? She had foreseen his coming for many years, but she had no indication of when he would arrive and if he would bring her freedom or her death, which was freedom of another sort, she supposed.

  She looked closer. Something was different, this time, in the way the bones had landed. It showed the dragon, yes, but also a slight indication that he was getting closer. Thanks be to the Mother of All! Finally. Finally, some movement after all these years of servitude and disgust for the way her powers were used against her wishes.

  Loralie went to sleep that night with a slightly lighter heart. Whatever was going to happen, would happen soon. She wasn’t afraid. She had long been reconciled to her own death, if that’s what it took. She just had to be certain of her child’s freedom, and then, she would go to her fate with a quiet heart.

  She slept easier, and she dreamed… For the first time in too many years to count, the sorceress dreamed of a man with dark hair. A dragon. Fire and flame. Passion and fury.

  She dreamed of a dragon…and a man…

  *

  Thanks for reading The Captain’s Dragon (Dragon Knights #15). If you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving a review.

  A complete list of all of my books, separated by series, follows the excerpt. You can also check out my website at BIANCADARC.COM. Or you can sign up for my new release list to be alerted when new books are released.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Bianca D’Arc has run a laboratory, climbed the corporate ladder in the shark-infested streets of lower Manhattan, studied and taught martial arts, and earned the right to put a whole bunch of letters after her name, but she’s always enjoyed writing more than any of her other pursuits. She grew up and still lives on Long Island, where she keeps busy with an extensive garden, several aquariums full of very demanding fish, and writing her favorite genres of paranormal, fantasy and sci-fi romance.

  Bianca loves to hear from readers and can be reached through Twitter (@BiancaDArc), Facebook (BiancaDArcAuthor) or through the various links on her website.

  Welcome to The D’Arc Side…

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