Monster Girl Islands 16 Chapter 1 THE LAST BOOK

“Surely you can blow harder than that, Swaer!” Holara, the purple-haired butterfly woman, said as she looked out over the stern of The Dragon Queen.

I’m using as much power as I can, the tiny wind dragon Swaer snarked back, and then he took another deep breath.

Swaer unleashed a giant gust of wind out of his mouth and straight into our sails, and I had to hold onto the wheel to keep us going straight. The Dragon Queen rocked as it lurched forward, but I was able to keep her steady as we cut through the waves of the ocean.

The body of Cartram, the freshly-liberated shadow dragon, nearly blotted out the sun as he soared in the sky above us, and Tirian and Ethala, our small fire-breather and the Sparrow Dragon, soared next to Cartram in a single, unified formation.

Our schooner ship was built particularly for speed, and with the added boost of Swaer’s wind breath, it was cutting through the sea like a giant wooden torpedo. The orc women’s ship, the carrick known as The Valtras, was about one nautical mile ahead of us, though we were quickly catching up.

That wasn’t the problem, though.

The problem was the small fleet of vessels about a mile behind us.

The orc men of Isla Gar weren’t too happy we’d taken out their only defense system, the one thing that had kept my army at bay for all this time. They were pretty pissed off and, like a cornered animal, they were going on the offensive. Thankfully, their giant warships were way less aerodynamic, and we had a pretty large head start on the fuckers.

“I don’t know why they keep following us,” Arrick said as he stood beside Holara. “They’re never gonna catch up.”

“Also, they’re walking right into a trap,” Kehlaan, the tunic-clad hedgehog boy, added. “Don’t they realize if they keep following us, they’re going to eventually run into our entire army?”

“Maybe that’s what they want,” Arrick suggested. “I could see those idiots thinking they are strong enough to take out our whole army on their own. They’ve tried it before.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Holara said. “I’m counting seven ships. That’s more than they’ve ever sent after us.”

“No way.” Arrick shook his head. “They’ve definitely sent way more than that before, right?”

“The fuck if I know,” I admitted. “I’ve lost count of how many of those assholes have tried to invade our island.”

“I say let them come!” Nadir declared from up at her position on the deck. “If it’s a fight they want, then I’m more than happy to give it to them.”

“I guess we’ll just have to up the ante, won’t we?” I said with a sly grin as I clung onto the wheel and held it steady. “Swaer?”

I can’t go any faster, if that’s what you’re asking, the wind dragon huffed. I’m about to pass out from lack of oxygen.

“Take a breather,” I said to the red, furry creature. “We’ve got enough distance that we can afford to rest for a second.”

“Can we, though?” Holara asked as her butterfly wings fluttered anxiously behind her. “Every inch closer those brutes get is too close for me.”

“I’m with her, Dad,” Arrick said with a frown. “We gotta keep going, even if that’s without Swaer’s extra boost.”

“You heard the Dragon Prince!” I called out to the rest of my crew. “Keep those sails lowered, and try to hold her steady!”

“I thought that was your job?” my first mate, Mira, teased from her spot below the mast.

“I still think we should just turn back around and slaughter these acornhoarders,” Nadir said with a hiss. “They wouldn’t stand a chance. Not with this big shadow dragon on our side.”

“Don’t get too cocky,” I warned. “They captured Cartram once before, and I’m sure they’re prepared to do it again. We need to just keep going until these bastards are out of sight.”

“But, Ben…” Holara said as she turned around and let her eyes go wide. “That doesn’t mean they’ll stop.”

“She’s right,” Kehlaan noted. “They’re basically in survival mode now since we destroyed their only defenses, and they’re not gonna stop until they find us and wipe us out completely.”

“Or worse.” Holara added.

“And Seashuna’s not going to be able to outswim them,” Arrick added. “We might be able to sail beyond their reach in our ships, but Seashuna moves pretty slowly.”

Fuck. They all had a point. Even if we kept going at this pace and made it back to Seashuna, by the time we docked our ships and instructed the living island to move, the orcs would be on us again. Not to mention, that was a major risk in and of itself. So far, the orcs weren’t even aware we were on Seashuna, and any of the poor bastards who had found us were slaughtered to keep the information safe.

Sure, we could probably just do the same thing with these poor saps and kill them the second they laid eyes on Seashuna, but that would still be a major risk. If even one of the bastards got away and made it back to Isla Gar, the Grand Gar would know exactly where to find us.

With as desperate as the orc leader probably was right now, he’d surely launch a full-on invasion. And an invasion was the last thing we needed with the new home we’d spent months building up.

The more I thought it through, the more I realized we didn’t have much of a choice but to fight.

“Swaer!” I commanded the tiny wind dragon. “Hold your breath, buddy.”

What? Swaer gasped. But if I do that, they’ll catch up to us quicker.

“I know,” I said with a nod. “I want them to catch us.”

Are-- are you sure? the wind dragon asked with a gulp. I can see how many soldiers they have on those vessels, and they outnumber us by like, a lot.

“We have four dragons,” I reminded Swaer. “And they have none. Hold your breath.”

The fuzzy dragon’s long, noodly whiskers twitched with fear as he looked down at me, but when he saw my demeanor was unchanged, he turned back to the sails and ceased with his gust of wind.

“What’s wrong, Swaer?” Batari, the leader of the Cero women, asked her bondmate. “Why’d you stop?”

I, uh… I’ll let our captain explain this one, Swaer said, and then he floated back down and wrapped himself around Batari’s shoulders like a fuzzy scarf.

“Is Swaer alright?” Teeka called down from her position on the crow’s nest.

“Did he finally run out of breath?” Maca asked from beside her Aviar flockmate.

“I find that very hard to believe,” Jemma joked, and her bondmate Tirian let out an amused snort.

I’m fine! Swaer huffed, even though he knew the two bird women couldn’t understand him.

“I told him to stop,” I announced to everyone. “And I want all of you to stop what you’re doing, too.”

“Draco Rex…” Jonas, our resident soothsayer, said as he stepped forward. “I trust you with every fiber of my being. You know that. But what in Oshun’s name are you doing?”

“I’m tired of running,” I said. “If we keep this up, we’re going to lead them right back to Seashuna.”

Then we shall kill them there, Mira said telepathically. When we have the might of your entire army.

“The orcs are assholes.” I shook my head. “But they’re not completely stupid when it comes to battle tactics. There’s no way in hell they would follow us all the way up to Seashuna’s shores and then attack like that. If anything, they’ll follow us until they know where we’re docking, and then they’ll come back with the entire orc army.”

“Cacoo save us.” Holara shuddered.

“So?” Nadir asked. “Let them come. They don’t stand a chance against us!”

“We’ve put way too much time and effort into starting a new life on Seashuna,” I continued. “I’m not letting these orc bastards take that away from us, too. Even if we somehow are able to win against the invasion of the full orc army, there’s no way we can get out of the battle without some serious damage to our homes and the palace and maybe even Seashuna herself. No...We stand, and we fight.”

“Now, that’s what I love to hear!” Nadir proclaimed as she tied off her rope and drew her stone battle axe. “Let’s smash some orc skulls.”

“Maca? Teeka?” I called up to the two Aviar women. “Fly over to The Valtras and let the orc women know what we’re doing.”

“You know Olga’s going to give you all sorts of grief about this decision,” Mira warned.

“Then they can keep sailing,” I retorted. “We’re staying until every single one of those ships has been sunken.”

“Gods, it makes me so hot when you talk like that,” Nadir purred as her tail went rigid and shook like it was having a seizure.

Arrick and Kehlaan both gave each other a confused glare, which quickly morphed into a look of disgust. The two boys watched Nadir as her tail trembled some more, and then as the Coonag woman wiped a bit of sweat away from her forehead.

If I were a teenaged boy like them, I would probably confused, too.

On many different levels.

“Battle stations, everybody!” I said in a booming voice as I looked around the ship. “Ethala? Do you think you can explain to Cartram what’s going on?”

I’ll do my best, the sparrow dragon said. But don’t think that means I’m going to sit this one out.

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” I retorted with a half smirk. “If you’re not involved, who’s going to tear holes through the orc’s bodies?”

Nadir, Ethala noted. If my memory serves me correctly.

“Fair enough.” I shrugged.

Ethala turned to Cartram and let out a series of snorts, grunts, and chuffs, and I watched as the shadow dragon’s eyes widened before his massive bottom lip started to tremble.

Then Cartram let out a low, deep grunt as he shook his head intentensely.

He doesn’t want to face the orcs again, Ethala explained. He says the last time he did, they captured him and killed his entire family. I believe he’s afraid.

I didn’t blame the poor thing. He’d been a captive of the orcs for lord knows how long, and he’d been tortured the entire time. Even now, I could still see the raw burn marks and scars all over his black-scaled belly, remnants of the roaring fire they’d kept underneath him at all times that forced him to use his protective breath.

“Ask him this, Ethala,” I said to the dragon telepathically. “Ask Cartram if he wants to avenge his family.”

Ethala turned her head to Cartram and then began to speak in the language of the dragons. As she did so, the shadow dragon’s eyes narrowed, and his lips twisted up into a snarl as he looked down at our ship.

Cartram let out a powerful, water-shaking growl, and for a second, I wondered if I’d just said something that had pissed him off.

He’s… he’s not very happy with that comment, Ethala explained. He says, and I quote, “Of course I do. But I’m not a fool. If we fight, we will die, and their sacrifice will have been for nothing.”

“You didn’t have us last time, Cartram,” I said as I locked eyes with the dragon directly. “We’ve killed these bastards time and time again. If you stand with us and fight, they will fall.”

I can verify that, Tirian said as he glanced over at Cartram. I’ve been with Ben since I was a hatchling, and I’ve seen him take out entire fleets before.

“And that was before we had you, Cartram,” I continued. “With your shield breath, these jolly green assholes won’t stand a chance.”

Cartram’s glaring eyes eased back to normal, and his entire body loosened up. The black dragon’s long, sleek antenna seemed to twitch as he let out a deep sigh, and then he nodded, grumbled something in his original language, and turned back to face the incoming orc fleet.

He’s with us, Ethala confirmed. Begrudgingly, but he’s with us nonetheless.

“Alright, then…” I trailed off as I looked out to the rest of my crew, and then I began to speak telepathically to anyone with a dragonbond. “Prepare for battle. Dragons, I want you four to act as our flying squadron. Swoop in, take out as many of the fuckers as you can, and then get out before they have a chance to attack you with arrows or cannonballs. Jemma? I want you on Tirian and leading the charge.”

It would be my pleasure! Jemma responded. Tirian? Let’s ride!

With that, the silver fire-breathing dragon swooped down and landed on top of the deck of The Dragon Queen, and the second he had all four feet on the ground, Jemma dashed over to him, tossed her left hand onto his neck, and used her momentum to flip herself up onto his back. Then Jemma let out a sharp, shrill whistle, and the two bondmates took to the sky.

“Jonas, Kehlaan, and Holara?” I asked all three crew members. “Do you think you can handle the cannons?”

“I’ve been on many adventures with you, Draco Rex,” Jonas said with a chuckle. “And I can confidently say the cannons are one of the few methods of combat I think I can handle.”

“We’ll blow them out of the water, Draco Rex,” Kehlaan added with a smirk and a nod.

“We need to get down there quickly,” Holara said as she floated into the air on her silver wings. “Every second we’re up here is a second they’re getting closer!”

The Morpho woman zipped across the deck in a flash and then disappeared down the ladder that led to the lower part of the ship. Meanwhile, Kehlaan and Jonas just looked at each other with an amused smirk.

“Is there anything that woman doesn’t worry about?” Kehlaan snorted, and then he ran off toward the ladder.

Jonas followed close behind the Spindrel boy, and soon they vanished down below the deck.

“Nadir! Batari!” I called out. “Stay where you are. We’re outnumbered by those orc ships, but with you guys on the sails, I’m sure we can out-maneuver them.”

“That’ll all be up to our captain,” Mira teased. “You’re the one who’ll be steering us to victory.”

“No, I won’t.” I shook my head. “Arrick and I are going to be going around the ship and calling out commands. You’re gonna steer the ship.”

“M-Me?” the golden-scaled dragonkin woman gasped. “You want me to take command now, during a battle where we’re facing certain death?”

“There’s no time like the present.” I nodded. “Now, get up here.”

Mira tied off the rope she was holding before she sheathed her spear on her back, and then she dashed over to the wheel of The Dragon Queen. I kept one hand on the wheel of the ship as I stepped aside, though the dragonkin warrior hesitated before she grabbed onto one of the wooden handles. Mira’s face was stone-cold and stern as she stepped behind the wheel, but I could see the slight tremble in her hands.

I placed my hands on Mira’s shoulders before I leaned in and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. Then I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulled her in close to my body, and rested my chin against her left shoulder.

“You’ve got this, Mira,” I whispered to the dragonkin woman. “You’re the best damn first mate a captain could ask for, and there’s nobody else I’d rather have steering my vessel.”

“Is that a-- what do you call it?” Mira chuckled. “An ‘innuendo?’”

“Nope,” I said with a snort. “It’s just the truth. Now, let’s kick some ass.”

I gave Mira a playful smack on the ass, and she let out a giggle as she tightened her grip on the wheel.

“Did you really have to do that right in front of me?” Arrick gagged. “It’s bad enough when you do that shit with mom.”

“You’ll understand when you get a significant other,” I explained to the Dragon Prince. “You can’t keep your hands off them, no matter how hard you try.”

As I spoke, The Valtras finally floated up beside our ship. The orc captain Olga stood behind the wheel of the mighty carrick, while the other five women stood at the edge of the deck, all in different frustrated poses.

Olga’s long, brunette hair billowed in the wind behind her as she slowed the ship to a halt and then locked it in place. She adjusted the red bandana on her forehead as well as the corset that was tightened around her body. I could hear the sound of her leather boots as they clomped across the deck of The Valtras, until she was right next to her crewmates.

“What the hell are you thinking, Draco Rex?” Gudrun asked with a scowl. “We’re trying to get away from the orcs, not go right back to them.”

The “mother goose” of the orc crew placed her hand on her leather-clad hip as she awaited an answer. Her massive wooden club hung comically off the side of her waist, attached to the skimpy black leather of her bottoms by lord knows what. Her short blond hair fluttered with the breeze of the ocean, and she kept having to flip it out of her face.

“They’re going to follow us, until we either slip up or until they find out where we live,” I explained. “We have to go on the offensive, now.”

“Ben…” the blonde orc with frayed haired, Thyra, said as her lips trembled. “If the Grand Gar catches us…”

She’d been a “wife” of the asshole tyrant of the orcs, and I knew she was afraid of being captured and tortured again. The beautifully timid orc crossed her arms across the bone-plated armor that made up her top, and her many metal bracelets clinked together with the slightest movement of her body.

“He won’t,” I promised. “I’ll never let that son of a bitch take you again. I understand if you guys want to continue on, but The Dragon Queen is going to take these fuckers head-on.”

“Don’t be so dramatic,” Olga called out from behind the wheel. “Of course we’re going to fight by your side.”

“We just think it’s a stupid idea,” Hilda laughed as she slung her grappling hook over her shoulder and flipped her crimson locks out of her eyes. “That doesn’t mean we won’t help.”

Hilda scratched the shaved side of her head as she spoke, all while she twirled her grappling hook with her free hand. Her spiky brown frock coat billowed behind her like a superhero’s cape as she stood there, but I honestly couldn’t take my eyes off the exposed bikini top underneath.

“Just know if the Grand Gar takes Thyra back,” Gudrun warned, “Yrsa and I here will pummel you into dust. Even if we’re all dead.”

“Yes, mother goose,” I said with a playful military salute, and then I looked down to my son. “Are you ready for this, Arrick?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be, Dad.” The Dragon Prince drew his sword from its sheath and looked across the deck of the ship.

“Then make the first command,” I said with a smile.

“Crew?” Arrick called out, and I couldn’t help but chuckle when his teenage voice cracked. “Charge!”

“You heard the Princeps Draco!” Mira repeated. “Full speed ahead!”

Nadir and Batari both began to tug at their ropes, which dropped the sails down once more. The wind caught them instantly, and The Dragon Queen lurched forward at a slow, lumbering speed. At the same time, Mira began to twist the wheel to the left, and our schooner started to turn toward the starboard side.

The Valtras was already facing the direction of our enemy fleet, so Olga simply gave the command for full speed ahead, and they took off like a bat out of hell.

The dragon squadron up above began to move along with the orc women’s ship, and soon all three of us were facing down the fleet of orc ships. They were now only a few miles out, and I could see most of them were already starting to put themselves into position to attack.

These fuckers may have had us outnumbered, but I wasn’t gonna let that intimidate me.

From now on, my main goal in life was to make the Grand Gar rue the day he messed with the Draco Rex.

And it all started here.

“Dragon Queen? Valtras?” I called out as I drew my seaglass sword and held it high. “Attack!”