Page 32 of Mad Dragon of Chaos

They headed to the meeting room where Prince Shey was holding court, gathering information from Sirelis and issuing new orders where he could. The captain of the yacht was still arguing with him. Tyche sat curled in a chair, holding a mug of coffee, watching the back-and-forth as if it were a TV drama.

Haru’s suggestion to fly out and harry the invaders brought a new light to Shey’s expression. The captain liked this idea better than what had been discussed, but she remained far from enthusiastic. Tyche wasn’t thrilled either since he would remain on the ship, but he was willing to add his own brand of magic to help things along.

With a hard, stubborn look from Shey, the captain agreed and set off to make sure the engines were operating at full throttle.

It was late afternoon when the first of the Order’s ships came into view. They were massive, slow-moving beasts with black-and-gold flags flapping wildly in the wind. Adrian stood next to Haru, a silver dagger turning between his fingers as he pointed out the various guns on the sides of the ships and on the deck. Adrian’s astute descriptions gave Haru a good idea of what he needed to avoid while flying. Smaller bullets weren’t a problem. They bounced off his scales. Those bigger guns mounted on the deck would hurt, though. Plus, he was going to have Adrian riding with him. His human wasn’t nearly so bulletproof and had to be protected.

Shey stepped out onto the deck with them, trailed by Tyche. The God of Luck had tied his hair into a messy bun to keep it from whipping into his eyes. With Shey’s appearance came thick, gray clouds pouring across the sky, blocking out the sun. An icy wind swept down from the north, reminding Haru of home. The prince had changed clothes from his more casual garments into a formal deep blue uniform that held several shiny medals that called to Haru’s fingers. He needed to touch them, but a glance in Adrian’s direction told him that touching the medals was not a good idea.

“Are you ready?” Shey inquired.

Haru nodded. “Yes. High winds and darkness are helpful. Rain is less helpful.”

The corner of Shey’s mouth twitched. “I’ll keep that in mind. The goal is to stop the ships from cutting off our route to the port. Those warships are faster than they look. They can catch us and sink us simply by ramming. They don’t even need their guns.”

Tyche sighed heavily. “This sounds less like a good idea now,”

Haru grinned and winked at the little god. “Stop the ships from moving, and stop their guns. Easy enough.”

Adrian reached up and tugged a lock of Haru’s hair. “And no showing off. You’re going to have a passenger.”

As if Haru would do anything to risk Adrian’s life. That comment didn’t even merit a response.

Instead, he crossed to the center of the deck where there was the most open space and shifted into his true form. Relief washed over him as if a muscle he’d been holding tight was suddenly unclenched. He stretched out his wings as far as he could, reveling in the first touches of the wind as it skimmed along his body. Next, he extended his neck as far as he could, tilting his head this way and that. Okay, so maybe he also realized he had an audience of Caspagir sailors who were gawking at him, and just maybe he was showing off, but these poor people had traveled all the way to the Isle of Stone and had seen very few dragons for their trouble. Shouldn’t they at least get to marvel at the very best dragon?

Adrian strolled close and rubbed a hand under his chin, causing a low rumble to move up Haru’s throat. “You’re showing off.”

Of course, his mate knew him so well.

Haru bumped his nose against Adrian’s chest, nuzzling him to get more rubs. He soaked in any and all affection that he could get from this man.

Without another word, Adrian climbed onto his back and got settled. Adrian was a natural. He was born to be his rider. Haru moved to the bow of the ship, and with a gust of wind coaxed by Prince Shey’s magic, Haru lifted into the air. He flapped his wings, pulling higher to give him a better view of the battlefield.

Yet, with every pull of his wings higher into the air, the voices that had whispered since he’d gained Yesuntei’s powers crowded his mind. He could never make out what the voices were saying. They were fear-filled whispers that created shadows in his mind. However, each time they started, his worries and doubts spiked. What if something happened to Adrian? What if he failed his clan? Or disappointed Nori? His uncle loved him and devoted so much time to him. Haru couldn’t disappoint him.

A strong hand smoothed his neck and patted him. Just that gentle reassurance was enough to blow away the darkness and quiet the voices. Adrian was here. Adrian would never leave him. He was safe.

Haru’s control over his thoughts and emotions tightened, and he climbed into the sky.

Before leaving the ship, Shey had shown them with tiny models on a map the positioning of the Order ships, pointing out which ones Haru should focus on so they could slip through the blockade. He couldn’t understand why Shey wouldn’t let him sink all the Order’s ships and be done with it. That felt like the smarter decision, but Shey had shot down that idea.

Thunder rolled low and angry through the clouds, and the scent of rain danced on the wind. A wonderful laugh rose from Adrian above the wind, and Haru let out a roar of glee. If his mate was happy, so was he. It was even better that Adrian seemed to enjoy flying as much as Haru did. The wind picked up, carrying them as Haru banked toward the ships he could see blocking their path.

“Clouds!” Adrian shouted, the single word nearly lost to the wind, but Haru was skilled at catching the brief directions his mate called out. He was stunned that Adrian wanted to risk moving through the dark clouds, but it would help to launch a surprise attack.

Haru shifted the tilt of his wings and headed higher, disappearing into a large bank of black clouds. The wind instantly buffeted them, and rainwater coated his scales. Adrian shivered, and his grip tightened on Haru’s ridge of scales. His knees pushed into him, urging him to dive, and Haru obliged.

Twisting and pulling in his wings, Haru plunged through the clouds, tearing through the sky like a missile. He opened his mouth, and rolling billows of dragon fire poured out, covering the deck of the ship and every sailor outside. Screams rose, but the sound was lost to his roar as he pulled up at the last second and soared into the clouds. Bullets chased him, and a few of the bigger cannons fired, but nothing came close to him.

As he climbed, lightning streaked behind him, slamming into the ship he’d left in flames. Haru glanced at the ship to see that it had stopped moving. They had possibly crippled it. That was an excellent start, but there were many more to go as they crowded waters near Sirelis.

With a slight nudge from Adrian to indicate that he was ready, Haru plunged out of the clouds, hitting another ship like he had with the first one. But this time, instead of darting up for the heavens, he raced low along the water, weaving between two other ships. It was enough to draw their attention, creating an opening for a pair of Caspagir ships to attack.

Again and again, he dove and climbed. He darted and wove. Six of the Order ships were actively burning, and there was a seventh that was billowing black smoke that he hadn’t even touched. That had to be the work of the sneaky God of Luck. Lightning struck here and there while the winds churned up the waves, making it harder for the ships to maneuver.

Only when the Order’s fleet blocking their path was in chaos did Haru swing toward the prince’s yacht. The captain had turned the engines to full, and the ship was racing through the water at an impressive speed. Haru shifted course and flew alongside the yacht, pacing it, prepared to act as protection until it could reach the other Caspagir ships that were waiting to take over the job of escort.

As they passed through the blockade, with one of the first ships Haru had disabled still smoking badly, another smaller ship darted out to intercept the yacht.