Page 67 of Cruel Daddy Dragon

“It’sfine,Rufus!” I insist.

I walk back inside, carrying the plump little trash panda in my arms. The dragons are still in there, chatting away.

“Kaius!” I call.

His head pokes up, and I look down at Roscoe pointedly:

“I thinkthisis yours!”

“Hey! C’mere, Ros!” he calls.

The raccoon wriggles in my arms and I lean down, letting him go. He leaps from my arms and waddles across the floor to get to Kaius. Once he’s returned to his one true love, Orion talks to us all:

“Roscoe reminds me—we should go and investigate that cave more thoroughly,” he says, “From what I could tell when Islipped out earlier, we may have gotten lucky; there haven’t been any more signs of Eclipse since the attack earlier.”

“Right,” Rufus says, walking in, keeping his distance from us, “and who’s going to be going?”

“I think we all should,” I say.

They all look at me, but I meet Orion’s eye first.

“There were runes in there. Sigils and other things which I think Julie and Lena might need to have a look at,” I explain.

Orion nods his head at me.

“That makes sense,” he grunts, “And obviously, if Julie and Lena are going, we need to be there to protect them.”

He looks down at Julie and Lena, still on the couch.

“That is, if youaregoing, the pair of you?” he asks, “Would you want to do that?”

“Going makes sense to me,” Lena says, “I’m sure that Gram’s notebooks will be useful if there are markings.”

“And I might have another vision,” Julie pipes up.

“Exactly,” I say, “So, I think all of us should go as one big group. If something happens, then we have more people to help figure it out.”

Orion nods.

“That makes sense to me.”

He looks to Kaius and Milo, and the pair of them nod and murmur in agreement. As everyone gets back into conversation with each other—including Lena and Julie getting up to leave to go to another room—the back of my arm is gently touched.

I turn and see Rufus’s hooded gaze.

“So…” He says, “when you say everyone’s going for safety, does that include you too? Or are you going to work anyway, despite everything going on?”

I smile wanly.

“I’ll call up and take some long overdue vacation,” I say, “They don’t usually give it so quickly, but I’m the sheriff, so I’ll pull some strings there.”

I stare at him more seriously.

“I told you I was going to keep myself safer to help you out, and I mean it,” I say, “It’s just until the danger’s passed, right?”

Rufus gives a little sigh of relief and smiles at me.

“Thanks, Sarah,” he says, “I really appreciate it. I love you.”

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