EPILOGUE

EPILOGUE

Friday, June 10

Kalaupapa Overlook, Moloka‘i

At the top

of the cliff looking down at the peninsula that once had been a leper colony—but had now been washed clean by the tsunami—Thomas paused in his early-morning run. His home island, his people, had been through so much over the last millennium. And yet he’d found that although his own difficulties had left scars, they’d also left him stronger. He hoped the same was true for these people. After all, they were Dragon Clan.

The only easy day was yesterday

, he thought to himself, recalling the SEAL motto

.

He and his now very extended family had had a wonderful couple of weeks together, working at the aid stations during the day and staying at Kalani’s house at night. But now the time had come to move on. For all of them.

Mel, Romina, and Luis Junior would be returning to Roatán aboard the

Aggressor.

Thomas’s mother had invited Sol to stay with her and his

tutu

on Kaua‘i for the summer, making up for lost time, and Sol very much wanted to stay, so Eva gave her consent.

Rascal had nearly gone in a new direction as well. Eva had mustered up the courage to reunite Rascal for good with his previous owner, a former intern of Eva’s, on the Big Island. But it turned out the young woman couldn’t keep Rascal, as her house had been destroyed in the tsunami—and after hearing about Rascal’s close friendship with Finn, she told Eva that, as much as she loved the dog, Rascal needed to return with Eva to Roatán. Still, Rascal and his former owner had a wonderful, if brief, reunion, and both seemed happier because of the encounter.

As for the dolphins, a resolution had come faster than expected. Following a lead from DARPA’s Delphi Force, the Navy had investigated Atlantis Technologies and discovered that Julian had programmed the mine-finding AUVs to fail. All along, his plan had been for Eva’s dolphins to beat his AUVs so that the Navy would take them from her. If there was one thing Julian cared about even more than money, it was revenge.

DARPA now believed that they could rework the AUVs to make them at least comparable to the dolphins in their ability to find mines—and as a bonus, they didn’t need food, care, or training. So, the dolphins were released back to Eva’s care, and Captain Williams aboard the

Bougainville

would personally return them—along with Eva, Axel, and Jose—to Roatán. Rascal, though, would have to return home aboard the

Aggressor

.

And then there was Thomas himself. He had to get back to his research in Kansas. Ivan had called, saying he’d received a new list of children with terminal cancers who’d failed traditional therapies. Thomas’s customized gene therapies were their only hope; he couldn't deny them that.

But—there would be some big changes in his life.

Very

big changes. In the fall, Soledad would be moving in with him, with plans to complete high school in the States. Thomas was delighted by the prospect, but surprised that Eva would allow it. Yet Eva not only allowed it, but she also encouraged it. She wanted her daughter—

their

daughter—to improve her spoken English, to be challenged in math and science, and to have all the educational opportunities she needed to pursue her dreams. The girl wanted to be a pediatrician one day, after all.

Thomas swelled with pride at the thought. He had a

daughter

. And he was going to get to know her.

He couldn’t wait.

Thomas turned away now from the view of the peninsula and began his long jog back to the house on the hill. The sun was beginning to rise over Moloka‘i. He had one more day to spend with Eva and Soledad before they all went their separate ways.

There was still an open question about how he and Eva would pursue a relationship. Her place was on Roatán with the dolphins, and his place was in Kansas taking care of his patients. But he loved her, with all his heart, and now he knew that she loved him too. They were connected by an energy that no power, no dragon, no disaster could ever sever. And together, with their daughter Soledad, they were a family joined by blood.

Forever and always.

‘Ohana.

Dragon Clan.

Want more adventures with Eva and her dolphins?

In the Pacific, a sleeping dragon awakes.

Buy

Dragon Song

and continue the story today!

https://books2read.com/DragonSong