Page 23 of Mad Dragon of Chaos

“You-you are under arrest for…suspected aiding and abetting known terrorists! Until the truth of the matter can be determined, we are holding you prisoner!” Hawley declared. He took a couple of steps back, bumping into the officers who had accompanied them.

Shey frowned, a knot tightening in his stomach. The fact that this asshole had lumped a very innocent Caelan in with them meant they had come to the Isle of Stone searching for an excuse to start a war. He could guess that this new chancellor had given Hawley orders to stir up trouble so that they had enough probable cause to attack. There had been no genuine hope of negotiation or calming the situation.

Megumi leaped in front of Nori as the men who’d been surrounding them on deck lifted their guns to point at them while advancing, closing the circle so they had no room to escape.

Except they seemed to have forgotten about the dragon who was circling overhead, itching for a fight because they were holding his beloved fiancé.

It was likely they’d also not considered that they stood little chance against the dragons who were in human form. This guise of soft flesh didn’t slow them down one bit.

Overhead, Drayce roared and plunged toward the ship. The cannons lifted faster than Shey thought possible and began firing on the black dragon. Drayce twisted and turned in the air as if in a graceful dance, easily dodging the incoming ballistics while bathing part of the deck in his fire.

“Appears that it’s time to go,” Nori announced.

Shey turned his head to say something to Nori. He wasn’t even sure what it was going to be now. All thought was wiped from his brain as Megumi swung around to him and said with a stiff smile, “Please forgive me, Your Highness.”

Her powerful hand grabbed his wrist. With ease, she lifted and tossed him through the air so that he was flying over the side of the ship. A scream rose to the top of his throat as nothing but water was suddenly beneath him. In a flash, dragon scales zoomed in, catching him before he could crash into the waves.

It took a few flaps of her wings and Megumi was soaring well above the battleship and moving away as Captain Hawley’s shouts to fire on them faded. Shey shoved his heart back down to where it belonged and clutched Megumi’s ridge of hard spines with trembling hands. As he positioned himself more solidly, he glanced about to see Caelan soaring on Nori while Drayce lingered long enough to coat the upper deck of the ship in flames.

The meeting had gone about as well as he’d expected. At least it had confirmed what Rayne had reported. The chancellor of the Federation of Order had declared war on his kingdom and the dragons. After today, it seemed a safe bet that Erya was also at war with the Order. His mother would not be pleased with this. He needed to return to Sirelis as soon as possible, but he didn’t want to leave the dragons in the lurch. There was also the matter of the Goddess of Nightmares’ powers still being stuck in Haru. Not to mention the mess they’d left behind in Damardor.

For the first time in his life, Shey didn’t know what to do next.

EIGHT

ADRIAN WESTERGREN

Adrian was beginning to question the wisdom of letting Haru accompany him to the beach and dock where they could see the approach of the Order’s battleship. He’d thought that by allowing Haru to watch the events from a distance, he would remain calm and not let his imagination run away with his emotions. They’d also brought along Mika and Shou to help if things didn’t work out in a peaceful manner.

Unfortunately, at their current distance from the ship, they couldn’t see much besides the fact that everyone had landed on the deck, only for Drayce to return to the skies a few minutes later.

“Do you think Caelan ordered Drayce to act as a guard from the sky?” Haru shifted from one foot to the other, lines digging deeper into his brow as he squinted at the distant ship.

“Nope.” Adrian extended one hand and pointed at the ocean. “Look at those waves. Drayce was probably getting seasick the second he landed on the deck. I bet Caelan ordered him to the skies so he wasn’t puking on the New Rosanthe sailors.”

“No way!” Tyche climbed up onto a rock on the beach as if the added height was going to improve his ability to see the events happening at such a distance. “I would never have guessed that dragons could get seasick.”

A low hum of agreement left Mika. “I would wager that most dragons get some seasickness; though it seems as if Drayce’s case is rather extreme. It’s part of the reason you don’t see any boats besides the prince’s. Dragons don’t like water.”

Adrian snorted. Haru liked hot baths just fine.

Haru shot Adrian a saucy grin as he added. “We don’t like vast bodies of water like the ocean. We will swim in rivers and lakes.” His eyes lit up, and he turned to Adrian. “There is a mountain that has caves leading to some hot springs that are quite enjoyable. We could fly up there to enjoy those waters. My people believe they are quite healing.”

There was no stopping the answering smile that tugged at the corners of Adrian’s mouth. He wanted to see those hidden hot springs, but most importantly, he wanted to see them with Haru. “Let’s wait until we get those powers out of you and laid to rest. Then you can take me on a grand tour of all your favorite places around the island.”

“What’s that?” Tyche called out, drawing their attention to where it was supposed to be.

Adrian’s gaze followed where Tyche pointed, and he spotted a tiny craft cutting through the water away from the battleship, moving toward the dock where Shey’s ship was resting. It was moving fast, bouncing off the bigger waves to crash down again. The wind picked up, sending Tyche’s long hair whipping out behind him and causing the waves to froth up even more.

“Do you think that’s an emissary come to meet with the rest of the dragon clans?” Haru inquired. He lifted a hand to his face, holding it above his eyes to shield them from the wind and sun.

Adrian’s stomach knotted as indecision surged within his chest. Would they send an emissary while Caelan and the others were still meeting with the captain? He would think the king would prefer to finish talking with the people on the ship before they dared to send someone to discuss anything with the dragons.

Yet, as they got closer, it was easier to see that this wasn’t a suited individual who looked like a government official. Soldiers carrying weapons filled the small speedboat. Adrian was about to bark out a warning when Tyche’s next words sent a chill across his skin.

“There’s a god on that boat.”

Adrian’s head whipped around in time to see Tyche clamber from the rock he was standing on. He stumbled and landed on his ass, but he still couldn’t tear his eyes off the boat.