Page 60 of Accidentally a Dragon Daddy

“Are we not going back?” she asked, looking around in confusion.

“You’re not,” I said.

She swayed backward, eyes rounding. “What? Why not? Did I do something wrong?”

“Not what I meant,” I said, putting a steadying hand on her shoulder. “You’re not going back yet is a more accurate statement. Neither am I.”

“All right. What’s the plan then? Where are we going?”

I snared her hand, holding it in mine as I strolled across the pavement toward the giant bunker. People and weapons stirred as we approached, and one of the members of the human government paused, turning back to look at us as she saw the stirring from the armed soldiers.

“What are you doing?” she asked sharply as I approached.

“Going to that building,” I said, pointing to an office building behind the lines. Snipers dotted the rooftop, but otherwise, it wasn’t adorned with soldiers.

“No, you aren’t,” the official said, shaking her head. “This is the truce line. You stay on your side. We stay on ours.”

I sighed. “I’m not here to start a fight, lady. Send your armed guards with me if you want. There’s nothing in there that will materially affect things between us. Okay?”

“Nobody crosses the lines,” she said stiffly.

“Right. Because you don’t regularly send people across the lines into our territory to steal people and goods out from under us. That’s not something you would do, is it?” I tilted my head, letting my condescension show.

“Um.”

“I literally shifted into this form as a peace offering,” I told her. “I just—”

“What seems to be the problem here?” a soldier barked, stepping out from the bunker and making his way through the razor wire barricade.

The gray hair at his temples, just visible under his cap, and the pins on his collar seemed to denote him as a senior officer.

“We’re going to that office building,” I explained, pointing again. “A couple of hours. Then back across the lines. That’s all.”

“You absolutely are not!” the officer said, speaking with the tone of someone used to being obeyed.

My dragon and I stirred. The government official shifted uncomfortably, looking back and forth between us.

“Damon,” Elanya said from at my side, tugging on my elbow. “What are we doing?”

“We are going to that office building,” I growled, just a little irritated.

The officer sneered. “Absolutely not.”

I leaned forward, letting myself tower over the major, or general, or whatever he was. “Yes. We. Are. I’m going to take this woman, and we’re going to walk over there. A few hours from now, we will walk back. You’re free to send men to oversee us if you wish. I’m not here to fight.”

“Then go back to where you came from,” the soldier spat.

I let fire fill my eyes. “Do you really want to try to stop me?” I asked softly. “The world will know you’re the one who reignited this war, who broke the ceasefire. I will level this entire area, except for you, if I must. That way, you’ll be alive for your government to absolutely destroy your reputation. Is that what you want?”

The officer hesitated, but he didn’t back down. Not that I’d expected him to. The government wouldn’t have picked a weakling to man that section of the border, given what it was being used for.

“Let him pass, Colonel.”

For a moment, it looked like the soldier was going to have an aneurysm on the spot. His face purpled, eyes bulging and spittle flying from his lips. A pin could have popped him.

The official, who had more pull than I’d thought, turned to me. “Do you vow to stay in human form, remain peaceful, and return in no more than two hours?”

“Three hours,” I said automatically. “Otherwise, yes, I give you my word. I am not here to do any harm to anyone.”

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