The Captain's Dragon (Dragon Knights Book 15) Read online

  Dragon Knights

  THE CAPTAIN’S DRAGON

  by

  Bianca D’Arc

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Copyright © 2019 Bianca D’Arc

  All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  Captain Liam O'Dare is hunting pirates over land with a trio of unlikely allies - a sea dragon, a mysterious virkin, and a woman who is altogether too intriguing. The path they must follow is full of danger, but working together, they stand a good chance. Can they find Fisk and serve up the justice he so richly deserves? Liam and his friends will do everything in their power to make it happen.

  DEDICATION

  For my dear ol’ Dad who continues to be a source of light and joy in my life in his 94th year on this planet. I’m hoping and praying he gets to stick around for many more!

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Other Books by Bianca D’Arc

  CHAPTER ONE

  Captain Liam O’Dare stood at the helm of his ship, watching his crew do their jobs. They were in pursuit of the pirate Fisk, who had not only been responsible for the death of Liam’s wife years before, but who had resurfaced and stolen a vital page out of an ancient book. Not just any book. No, this book belonged to the last of the wizards of old, Gryffid, who had been living in seclusion these many years on his island populated by near-immortal fair folk and the gryphons he had created eons ago.

  That Gryffid had come out of hiding recently was still shocking news to everyone in the lands inhabited by men and dragons. That he had allied himself with the royal family of Draconia was another surprising move, though not altogether unexpected. The royal lines of Draconia were said to be descended from Gryffid’s former ally, the great wizard, Draneth the Wise. Draneth was long gone, yet Gryffid remained, and Draneth’s descendants were still ruling Draconia with a fair hand, from all accounts.

  Liam O’Dare had made his home on the southern coast of Draconia for many years, as he’d made his living running trade routes between the major port cities on the coast and other far-off lands. He’d spent more time at sea these past two decades, allowing his daughter to remain at home with trusted retainers as she grew into a woman. She’d gradually taken over the land side of the business, running the trade rooms and warehouses with precision. Liam was proud of Livia, so like her mother it was hard to look at her, sometimes. She’d grown into a smart, beautiful young woman.

  Just recently, though, she had befriended a dragon, of all things. Liam had not known when the blind dragon, Hrardorr, had come to the Southern Lair, that he would lead Liam’s daughter into danger and romance. She’d fallen in love with two knights—which was the way Lair marriages worked, for some reason—and gone off with the two men. One of those men partnered with Hrardorr, and the other was knight partner to Hrardorr’s mate, the dragoness, Genlitha. The men and dragons all worked together and the five of them—three humans and two dragons—now lived together as a family unit.

  From what Liam had been able to learn since Livia’s interest in the men and dragons had come to light, any offspring of either the dragon pair or the human trio would be raised with two sets of parents—one dragon and one human. The whole thing seemed damned odd to Liam, but Livia was beyond the reach of his discipline, now. She was a grown woman and had chosen to tie her future to those four beings.

  He’d never seen her happier, but he also didn’t pretend to understand it all. He’d never had many dealings with dragons or their knights. He left the business end of his trade to trusted employees on shore for the most part, while he did the sailing. He’d lost his wife. There was little left to tie him to the shore, except the daughter who looked more like her mother’s ghost with each passing year.

  He loved his daughter, but his heart had never really recovered from the loss of his wife. He wasn’t sure Livia understood, but the time to make things up to her was over, now. She had her own life with two strong men and two mighty dragons. He hoped she’d be happy and live a good, long, productive life with them up at the Lair. He thought perhaps they’d made some progress in mending fences, but he couldn’t spare any more time for family matters. The safety of the land—of all lands—was in jeopardy, and Liam had to do what he could to fix things.

  A book had been cunningly stolen from the wizard Gryffid. Not just any book. No, this was a book of high magic. An ancient book. A dangerous book. Livia and her mates and the dragons had recovered the book itself, and it had already been returned to Gryffid. All except for one page. That one damning page, which contained a spell that might shake the very foundations of the Citadel itself.

  The Citadel was a mythical place way up North where the last of the ancient wizards lay encased in ice. They had been trapped there during the last great battle of wizards when the fate of all the other races was being decided. Those that had been trapped in the Citadel were the worst of the worst. Those powerful beings saw humans, fair folk, dragons, gryphons and all the other sentient races as merely toys for their amusement. They didn’t care how many had died in the wars. They didn’t care about anything but their own power.

  In the ancient days, when the race of wizards had walked the lands, there were those among them who championed the lesser races. Gryffid and Draneth the Wise had been two of many who had fought for the lives of men and fey, dragons, gryphons, and all the others. But Draneth was gone now, and Gryffid was the only wizard left free. If the Citadel was unlocked and those ancient ones poured forth, there would be no force strong enough to oppose them. Gryffid couldn’t battle all of them on his own, and the lesser races had never developed the kind of power the wizards of old had wielded.

  The sanctity of the Citadel must be preserved at all costs. Which was why Liam had gone racing off after Fisk as he escaped with that single, damning page.

  Or, at least, one of the reasons.

  O’Dare had been looking for Fisk for two decades. Liam wanted justice for the woman he’d loved and lost. He wanted Fisk to pay for killing her. In short, he wanted Fisk’s head on a pike. Nothing less would satisfy the smoldering rage and boundless sorrow that had engulfed Liam after his wife’s death.

  “Captain, there’s something in the water, following us.” Benyon, his first mate, came up to him, handing over the spyglass.

  Liam scowled and took the cylinder, extending it out to its fullest length. He held the device up to his eye and looked out over their wake to the waters beyond. They were making fast time toward the last known direction of Fisk’s ship, and Liam didn’t have any patience for diversions.

  Fisk was hard enough to follow, considering he had some kind of magic fouling his trail. It would be all Liam could do just to find his long-time enemy, again, but he would do it come hell or high water.

  Liam looked hard at the water, waiting to see what Benyon was talking about. His patience was rewarded when he caught sight of something flashing darkly just under the water’s surface. But the object was much closer than he’d expected. He only saw it because it was actually in the ship’s wake.

  Great. Just what he needed. A sea monster come to harry his ship.

  “I see it,” Liam grumbled as he handed the glass back to Benyon.

  “What do you think it is, Captain? One of them sea dragons?” the man asked.

  Liam’s eyes narrowed. Perhaps his daughter had sent one of her new friends to follow him. If so, he was going to have a few things to say about that.

  Liam strode to the back of the ship and strained to see the dark shape he’d glimpsed from above. He was much closer to the water here and able to see the wake. Sure enough, within moments, he saw the flash of scales once more.

  That wasn’t any fish.

  Liam knew that dragons and their knights communicated through their thoughts. Draconic mouths were not made to speak the words of men aloud, but they had some sort of magic that allowed them to be heard in th
eir chosen companions’ minds. Livia could do it. She’d befriended the blind dragon all on her own, meeting the men well after she’d already established a friendship with the dragon.

  Liam shook his head at the thought. Where had he failed that his daughter had taken up with two men? He’d thought she was the image of her frail, ladylike mother, but Livia had proven by her recent antics and the choices she’d made for her life that she had a wild streak… Just like her father.

  She might look sweet and delicate on the outside, but she was an O’Dare through and through. She’d even gone off to hunt pirates alongside her men—something Liam would never have allowed. Maybe it was a good thing she now had two husbands. One man wouldn’t stand a chance curtailing her high spirits and keeping her safe. Maybe two—and their two dragons—would have better luck.

  He was still shaking his head as he caught a flash of color approaching much closer. The damned thing was nearly under his ship.

  “If you can hear me…” Liam thought as hard as he could toward the shape just under the water. “You can just go back to my daughter and tell her to leave well enough alone. I don’t need a babysitter.”

  A rumbling chuckle seemed to sound through Liam’s mind, making him start. Then, the chuckle turned to words, and something was speaking directly into his mind.

  “I was not sent by your daughter, Captain. I follow you because you follow Fisk. I would assist in regaining the vital page of Gryffid’s book, if you have need of dragonish help.”

  “But you’re a sea dragon,” Liam said aloud, shocked into speaking, rather than limiting his observation to his thoughts. Luckily, there was no one near enough to hear him.

  “I am, but what has that got to do with anything?” came the voice in his mind.

  “You owe no allegiance to Draconia. As far as I know, your kind lead lives well away from the affairs of men. Why do you want to help?” Liam kept talking aloud since it seemed the dragon could hear him either way and there wasn’t anyone nearby enough to hear his side of the conversation.

  “Several reasons, but the most important being that the page in question could destabilize more than just Draconia. If the Citadel is breached, all the lands—and all the seas—will suffer. I have decided to pledge our help in preventing that from happening, if at all possible.”

  “You pledged the help of all sea dragons?” Liam paused a moment. Who was this creature that he could commit all the sea dragons to the cause?

  “It is my right as their Lord to do so, but once my brethren became aware of what that stolen spell book page meant to the safety of everyone, they really had no objection. The recent mating of one of our group to a land dragon and the discovery of Hrardorr and his mother, who was lost to us many years ago, has reminded the sea-based dragon community that there is another world above the waterline and that we can be part of it, if we wish. Many of my kind, as you put it, are curious about the land and are eager to visit Draconia and meet other dragons who prefer the land. To ensure that we can do so, we need to step up and help prevent the Citadel’s breach. It’s in everyone’s best interest.”

  “Forgive me, milord, I didn’t realize who you were,” Liam backtracked, knowing most dragons preferred respect and formality from humans. If this one was used to being in charge of all his brethren, it was probably best to be extra respectful. After all, if he took offense, he could easily capsize Liam’s ship or poke holes in it from below. Neither was a good idea.

  “How could you, when you can barely see me below the water?” The dragonish chuckle sounded again, in Liam’s mind. “I am Lord Skelaroth,” the dragon proclaimed after a moment.

  “And I am Captain Liam O’Dare. It is an honor to make your acquaintance, milord.”

  The sea dragon lord kept to the depths after their initial discussion. The crew would see him from time to time, but often, he was an invisible presence somewhere in the deep. Liam didn’t mind that. He was more comfortable with the dragon at a distance than up close and talking to him, at this point.

  Liam still couldn’t quite believe it. He’d actually had a conversation with a dragon. And not just a regular dragon, but one of the fabled sea dragons. And not just any sea dragon, but the leader of them all. It felt unreal, at times.

  Then again, he could still hardly believe his own daughter had taken up with two knights and their dragons and was forming a family with them all. He didn’t understand it. In fact, he preferred not to think about it. In his mind, his little Livia was still a toddler, or a shy teen. The image of her sainted mother. Perfect, and definitely not interested in boys. Much less two of them at once!

  He still felt a little ill thinking about her being married. To them both. He knew that was the way of it in Lairs. All of Draconia knew about the strange arrangements the Lair families had, but the details were thin on the ground. Mostly, the Lair families kept to themselves because the Lairs were generally situated well away from the towns. Dragons required special accommodations, and their human counterparts went to live where the dragons would be happy, not the other way around.

  Liam’s mind was drifting, which was a clear sign that he needed sleep. He sent word to Benyon to take command for a few hours, then went to bed. It was the middle of the night anyway, and most of the men were already asleep. The night watch could take care of things for a little while.

  *

  “Captain?”

  Benyon’s voice came to Liam from just outside his stateroom door. Liam had already been up for a while, but he’d postponed going on deck to consult his maps.

  “Yes, Mr. Benyon,” he replied without moving from his study of the map he was currently looking at.

  “Sir, you really need to come out here.”

  The note of panic in Benyon’s voice struck Liam as odd. He made sure he had all the weapons he habitually wore on his person and headed cautiously for the door. The sight that met his eyes as he stepped through into the sunshine made him stop short.

  There, on his quarterdeck, stood a compact black dragon with a black leather pack affixed to its back. He was no expert, but this did not look like a juvenile, though it was on the small side compared to the dragons he’d seen before. This dragon looked fully grown, just…smaller, and much less colorful than other dragons.

  Liam took in the way his men all stood back from the beast. There was a lot of fear and curiosity on his ship at the moment, and he didn’t blame them one bit. Liam strode forward to meet the dragon head on.

  “As you were, Mr. Benyon.” Liam snapped out the order, and his first officer seemed grateful for permission to get back to his station near the helm, leaving the dragon problem to his captain.

  Liam moved to face the dragon, waiting to see what would happen next. The dragon’s neck bent sinuously as its head lowered and maneuvered so that it was directly opposite Liam.

  “Can you hear me?” came a decidedly feminine voice in Liam’s mind. “Your daughter has the gift, so I’m betting you do, too. I am Rivka. Can you speak with me, Captain O’Dare?”

  “Lady Rivka, I have neither the time nor patience to play games. What are you doing on my ship?” First Lord Skelaroth and now this. Was this voyage to be plagued by dragons?

  The long neck jerked back in surprise. “You can hear me! I knew I was right about you.” The female dragon seemed genuinely pleased, then her tone changed. “There isn’t much time,” she told him. “I know you’re chasing Fisk, but he has put ashore in Tipolir. The Jinn are doing their best to keep him in their sights, but he is a tricky one, and he has some sort of magic that allows him to foul his trail. Our one advantage is that he seems to believe he went ashore undetected.”

  “But you saw him, somehow,” Liam said almost sarcastically. Was he to ask how high when this unknown dragon said jump? He thought not. His daughter was the one who had tied her fate to dragons, not him.

  “Not me. The sea dragons. They stationed themselves all along the coast and have been physically watching every dock and every port. They spotted him and passed the information through the Jinn.”

  “And you got it how?” Liam challenged her further, though he was beginning to appreciate that this lead might actually be a good one.