A Dragon's Heart (Book Three in the APK Trilogy)

Chapter 1 | The Burning Ship

COBALT

I never thought that I would see these docks again, let alone set foot on them.

I watched our welcoming party draw closer as we pulled into the Water Kingdom harbor. The Queen stood silently on the wooden decks and my eyes followed Hobbson as he disembarked as soon as we let down the plank, making his way over to her and whispering something quietly in her ear. I could imagine the pain in her eyes as she turned her head away, it was not good news.

Amaryllis appeared at my shoulder, her perfume wafting through my nostrils. I turned to her and gathered her in my arms, kissing her head and holding her tightly. Her hands stroked my back and she whispered soft words of encouragement as I tried to banish my anger.

"It will be okay, you can't give up hope."

"How will it ever be okay," I said bitterly. "How can I justify how I feel with you while my brother is dead and Circe is missing? I am so selfish."

"You are not selfish." We turned to look towards Hobbson again. "None of this was your fault, we will do our best to help and we will find her. But you cannot carry all of the weight yourself; you have to learn to let others share the burden." She cupped my cheek and kissed me softly. "That is why you have me."

I kissed her back. "You are so beautiful," I said honestly.

Nathaniel had just reached the Queen and we silently watched their reunion. I knew how the magical world felt about half-breeds and I knew that Nathaniel, as the half-blood son of Queen Evangeline, was not allowed to let anyone know of his true identity, which was why I was surprised when the Queen pulled him to her and hugged him tightly, her frail shoulders shaking.

Nathaniel too seemed stunned for a moment before he wrapped his arms around her to return her gesture. Hobbson caught my eye for a moment and his look was one of satisfaction. This was good.

The point of our return was to request more supplies, but more importantly, Hobbson and I had decided that it was time Nathaniel commanded his own ship. He had impressed me greatly in the past few weeks, a constant presence at my side, his determination to find his sister had fueled his eagerness' to learn everything he could about being a Captain. In the last couple of days especially I had felt his rising desire to become independent from my ship, a choice that I supported.

I knew Nathaniel wanted to return to his home town and that was not a wish I could grant for him while he was currently travelling with me. If he wanted to go back to the humans, he would need his own ship and his own crew. I had a feeling that Lacy and Leonardo would join him and if he covered the human ports in his search for Circe, well it was one less thing that I had to do. Nathaniel's connections in the human world would be a great asset, after all Circe had grown up there, and the Queen would be foolish not to see that.

The two pulled away from each other, Nathaniel's hands lingering on his Mothers shoulders. I could see that he was speaking urgently to her and from the look of it, she was listening. I saw her gaze flicker up to me but I had no desire to join them. I could not speak to the woman who had condemned my brother, even if she had not been the one to serve the death sentence. A blue haired man joined them then. Ambrose. Now this should be interesting.

Ambrose ran his own agenda. He was loyal to the Queen, but she did not command or control him. He was a powerful ally to have. He was with another Water Sprite woman and my brow furrowed as I struggled to place her. Had I seen her before?

"That's Katarina," Amaryllis whispered in my ear, "Ambrose's ex. She left him for Zalas, the Air Prince, it was supposed to be an arranged thing but Zalas mustn't have brought into it because it wasn't long before she came back. I heard that by then though Ambrose didn't want anything to do with her. I wonder what she is doing here now."