“Prepare to be boarded!” DJ bellowed, jabbing his sword at Stone.
“Roo! Take the wheel! We’re pirates now!” Stone whooped, racing toward the helm.
“I am the captain!” Roo shrieked, her wild curls bouncing as she swung around a mast and jabbed her sword at both boys. “And I say… we plunder the dragons!”
Phoenix burst out laughing as DJ yelped dramatically, clutching his chest and stumbling backward.
Drago groaned from behind her. “By the stars… Ashure’s definitely corrupted my children.”
Phoenix grinned over her shoulder as Drago came to stand beside her. “They’re pretty convincing pirates.”
“Don’t encourage them,” Drago muttered, shaking his head as Stone shouted something about ‘the pirate code’ and DJ fell backward over a coil of rope. “Ashure’s brainwashed them into thinking pirates are better than dragons. My ancestors are probably rolling in their graves.”
Phoenix snorted, covering her mouth. “To be fair… King Ashure does sound like he would be a lot of fun.”
Drago gave her a long-suffering look, then sighed. “Unfortunately… you’re not wrong.”
They stood in companionable silence for a moment, watching the kids’ chaotic game while the paper birds swirled like tiny messengers caught on the wind.
Finally, Drago asked quietly, “Did you find what you were looking for… at Arkla?”
Phoenix’s throat tightened. She nodded, staring out over the horizon. “Yeah. I did. Your mom… she’s a very special woman.”
Drago nodded, gazing back toward the horizon and his home. “Yes… she is.”
She smiled faintly. “Thank you… for helping me.”
“It… took me a long time to learn to ask for help. Once I did, I discovered that it made me a stronger, better leader,” he confessed.
“That’s kind of what your mom and dad told me. I’m lucky. I have my parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, but mostly my sister and my cousins. We call ourselves the Dragonlings. Even though all of us don’t change into dragons, it fits.”
Drago smiled, straightened, and turned to study her face. “A messenger arrived early this morning. He brought word from Orion. There seems to be a little bit of trouble.”
Phoenix’s head snapped toward him, heart leaping. “What kind of trouble?”
Drago’s lips twitched. “It appears a young dragon prince from a distant world and Orion and Jenny’s two boys had a little adventure of their own… and it’s caused a bit of an uproar for the King of the Sea Serpents.”
Phoenix groaned, already rubbing her temples. “Oh no… which one?” She winced. “If it’s a dragon, it can’t be Roam. That narrows it down to Zohar, Bálint, or Jabir. Out of the three, when you say trouble… okay, it could be any of them.”
Drago chuckled, his shoulders shaking. “They didn’t give a name… but from what I gather, it can’t be too bad or Orion would be threatening war.”
Relief swept through her, and Phoenix laughed. “If it helps, we normally don’t cause any lasting damage from our antics.” She turned, her gaze softening. “Do… do you think this Orion is really upset?”
Drago smiled, his expression fond. “No. He and Jenny are used to Dolph and Juno getting into mischief.” He tipped his head toward the horizon. “That’s where we’re headed now. We should reach the Isle of the Sea Serpents by tomorrow afternoon. I look forward to meeting your friend.”
Phoenix sighed. “I just hope everyone is okay.”
“I’m sure they are,” Drago said.
Phoenix smiled, her chest lighter than it had felt in days.
“You’re a good king… and dad. You remind me a lot of my dad and uncles.”
Drago chuckled. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
They stood quietly for another breath before Phoenix exhaled and looked up at him as he watched his trio and shook his head with a rueful expression of disgust when they shouted for the release of the sea monkeys.
“Goddess help me, where were they hiding those damn things?” he groaned.
