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  Zahr whirled. His eyes blazed.

  “Yes,” he said. “And the loser was always me. The smaller one. But not anymore. I’m Zahr now. King of Krad. Envy of all men!”

  Darek shook his head. “I don’t envy you,” he said. “Your brother is your enemy. Your father lives in fear of you. What joy does your kingdom bring?”

  Zahr sneered. “Joy?” he said. “What is joy? How can one miss what one has never known?”

  “You can know it now, Zahr,” said Darek quietly. “Your father asked me to tell you he’s sorry.”

  Zahr snorted. “Sorry!” he said. “He’s sorry I beat him, that’s all. Sorry that I’m king now, and he is nothing.”

  “No,” said Darek. “He’s content to be nothing. He doesn’t want to be king. But there is one thing that he wants.”

  “Ahh,” said Zahr, “and what would that be?”

  “A chance to be a real father to you and Rebbe.”

  Zahr stared at Darek for long moment, then slowly shook his head. “It’s too late for that,” he said. “I don’t need him anymore.”

  “I don’t believe you,” said Darek.

  “What do you know of me?” asked Zahr.

  “I know… I think… that on the inside you’re not so different from me,” said Darek. “And I know I need my father. And I miss him.”

  Zahr turned away and stared out the window. After a long silence he asked, “What else did he say?”

  “He said… he loves you.”

  Zahr whirled once more. “Now I know you’re lying,” he said. “My father never spoke those words to me. Never in my life.”

  “He is waiting to speak them now,” said Darek. “All you need do is hoist a red flag from the highest turret. Then he will come, alone and unarmed. And he will tell you for himself.”

  14

  AZZON LOOKED REGAL IN HIS royal robes. Zahr and Rebbe stood on either side of him. Their sharp features were gentled by smiles. Gazing out over the cheering throng of newly freed prisoners, they looked almost kind. Darek shook his head in wonder. It was a powerful force—a father’s love.

  It was a glorious day. A day to rejoice. A messenger had been sent back to Zoriak to free Darek’s and Rowena’s fathers and bring them to Krad to work out the details of the peace settlement. It would take time, Darek knew, but he couldn’t help feeling that this was the start of a bright new future for all—dragons, Zorians, Kradens, and, yes, even the little Zynots. Only one thing still worried Darek. Zantor. Darek still hadn’t learned the dragon’s fate. Zahr had told him that Zantor had been wounded, but that he had made it back to the Black Mountains. But then why were there still no mind messages? Darek had tried to find a moment to question Azzon, but Azzon had been busy with his sons since his arrival.

  “Look! In the sky!” someone shouted.

  Darek looked up. Two Great Blue dragons were winging their way down into the courtyard. Drizba and Typra! And they were bearing Pola and Rowena. The crowd parted to let them land. In spite of his worries, Darek smiled. Rowena slid out of her saddle and rushed into his arms.

  “Oh, Darek!” she cried. “It’s so wonderful!”

  “Yes,” said Darek, one eye still on the sky. “But where is…”

  Suddenly Pola rushed up and clapped Darek on the back. “You did it, my friend,” he said. “You really did it!”

  Darek smiled. “We all did it,” he said. “But where is…”

  Just then Darek heard a sound, a faint sort of hum. A faint sort of “Thrummm!” He whirled and looked. There, peeking out of Drizba’s pouch, was the tiny blue head of a newborn dragonling! Darek’s mouth dropped open. But… that was impossible. Drizba was too young to mate.

  “What is that?” Darek asked, pointing. The little creature had climbed out of the pouch and was approaching on wobbly legs.

  “Didn’t Azzon tell you?” asked Rowena.

  “Tell me what?” asked Darek. His eyes were riveted on the baby dragon. Warm, joyful feelings were filling his mind. All at once he knew!

  “Zantor!” he cried. He ran to the dragonling and swept him up. The tiny tongue flicked out and kissed his cheek. Tears of joy welled in Darek’s eyes. He hugged the dragonling tight, too overwhelmed to speak. At last he turned to Rowena and asked, “How?”

  Rowena smiled. “He was badly wounded when he got back to the mountains,” she said. “Azzon said he wasn’t going to live because his body was so large and his heart so weak.”

  “So Azzon gave him the youth potion,” Pola put in. “It shrank him down to a size his heart could manage. It shrank his wounds, too. Now they’re only pinpricks.”

  “So, he’s going to be okay?” said Darek.

  Rowena smiled. “Yes,” she said, stroking the nubby little head. “He’s been doing a lot of sleeping. But he’s going to be just fine.”

  “There’s only one problem,” said Pola. “Azzon had to give him such a strong dose that the aging process was completely reversed.”

  “What does that mean?” asked Darek.

  “It means he’s going to have to grow up all over again,” said Rowena. “Do you think you’re ready to raise a baby dragon again?”

  Darek thought back over all Zantor’s exploits of the past year, then he laughed. “Hey,” he said, looking into the dragon’s wide green eyes, “an adventure’s an adventure, all the way to the end. Isn’t it, little Dragon King?”

  Zantor snuggled happily in Darek’s arms. “Thrummm,” he sang. “Thrummm, thrummm, thrummm.”

  More from this Series

  The Dragonling

  Book 1

  A Dragon in the Family

  Book 2

  Dragon Quest

  Book 3

  Dragons of Krad

  Book 4

  Dragon Trouble

  Book 5

  About the Author

  Jackie French Koller has been a storyteller since the sixth grade, when she amused her friends by spinning tales on the playground. She has also edited a children’s newspaper, taught writing in public schools, and studied art. Ms. Koller lives in Groton, Massachusetts, with her husband and children.

  ALADDIN

  Simon & Schuster, New York

  Visit us at simonandschuster.com/kids

  www.SimonandSchuster.com/Authors/Jackie-French-Koller

  Don’t miss the other adventures of Darek and Zantor:

  The Dragonling

  A Dragon in the Family

  Dragon Quest

  Dragons of Krad

  Dragon Trouble

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  ALADDIN

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  This Aladdin paperback edition June 2020

  Text copyright © 1998 by Jackie French Koller

  Cover illustration copyright © 2020 by Tom Knight

  Interior illustrations copyright © 1998 by Judith Mitchell

  Also available in an Aladdin hardcover edition.

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  Designed by Laura Lyn DiSiena

  Library of Congress Control Number 2019949356r />
  ISBN 978-1-5344-0077-1 (hc)

  ISBN 978-1-5344-0076-4 (pbk)

  ISBN 978-1-5344-0078-8 (eBook)