Page 82 of Accidentally a Dragon Daddy

“Of course,” I said with a half-laugh.

“That’s pretty. What is it?” he asked, pointing at the glani hanging halfway out of my backpack.

“It’s called a glani,” I said, pulling it back out and holding it up. “It’s the traditional garb of dragon women.”

My dad eyed me, giving the fabric a feel. “It’s very soft.”

“Yeah.”

He smiled, putting a hand on my shoulder. “So, when are you going back?”

“What?” I asked, pulling my eyebrows back down. “Going back? Why would I do that?”

“Because you obviously miss it.” He stared. “You miss him, princess.”

“I don’t…” I trailed off. Lying to my Dad always felt wrong. “Yeah, I do. But that’s to be expected. He was good to me, except for when he hid a major part of the truth from me. I can’t just forgive that. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have even been on the island.”

“True. You’d be here. Doing your job still. Until you discovered you were pregnant. And then you’d be an amazing single mother because you’d never be able to find the father again. I have no doubt you’d kill it. At first.”

“First?” I asked, frowning. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

He rolled his eyes. “How on earth would you have any idea how to raise a dragon child, dear? You still don’t. Not really. That’s not a knock against you. It’s just the truth. None of us know any better either.”

“This is true,” I said, trying to not think about it. I would have several years. Who knows how things would turn out.

It wasn’t the smartest decision. I knew that. But still …

“Lena, darling. You’ve been here for, what, five days now? I’m no expert, but it’s fairly obvious, even to me, your heart is in another place.”

I bit my lower lip. Although it had taken me most of the week, I’d slowly been coming to that same conclusion. I didn’t like it, but fighting the desires of the heart was stupid.

“Forgiveness is an option,” my dad pointed out. “People screw up. All the time. I have. Your mom has. Ask your brothers and sister if they have or if their other half has. Everyone will tell you they’ve made horrible mistakes. That’s part of what it means to be human. Or dragon, too, I suppose. But we can also forgive.”

“I spent two months in jail because of him. It would have been my entire life if not for the random chance of a ceasefire. How do I forgive that?” I asked, all but pleading for him to show me the answer.

He patted my head gently. “Only you can find that path, Lena, dear. Because only you know if it truly exists.”

“Shit.”

A smile blossomed on his face at the resigned acceptance in my expletive.

“Yeah, yeah,” I said, waving him off. “You’re right. As usual.”

He snickered. “Think you could tell your mom that?”

I stared at him. “I don’t work miracles. Sorry.”

“Fine,” he said with a fake pout and retreated from my room to let me pack.

There was a heavy knock at the front door.

“I’ll get it!” my mom called from the front of the house.

I listened to her pull open the door as I tucked my few other clothes and the toiletries my parents had bought me into the bag.

“Lena,” my father hissed as he returned suddenly, pulling back the curtain. “Come, time to go.”

“What? Why? I’m not ready I—” Any further protest died as I saw the pale fear on his face. “What is it?”

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