Page 76 of Cruel Daddy Dragon

Orion’s voice rings over the air:

“Come on, Guys! We need to GO! RIGHT NOW!”

Sarah’s head snaps up; she looks at him, and then at me, pain dancing in her green eyes.

“Rufus…” She murmurs.

I smile sadly at her.

“Duty calls, Sarah,” I reply, “Keep the girls safe. I promise you, I’m coming back.”

“You’d better,” she says, borderline tearfully, “Because I—I love you.”

My body stiffens when I hear it. I feel like the world slows down for a moment.

“Say that again,” I say.

Sarah loops her arms around my neck. She pulls herself close to me, inching up on her tiptoes and resting her head on my shoulder. Her lips touch on my ear, and she whispers to me:

“I love you.”

I just close my eyes, holding her close for a moment.

“KAIUS! RUFUS!”Orion screams,“LET’S GO!”

It takes a Herculean effort, but I force my arms off Sarah. I have to hold them away from her and walk backward from Sarah.

“I love you too,” I say, walking backward.

She just stares at me. I can hear everyone gather around behind me. Julie and Lena join Sarah, and Julie looks similarly devastated. Julie gets close to Sarah, and Sarah notices. She puts her arm around Julie comfortingly, but she’s still looking at me with tears in her eyes.

“Rufus,” Orion says stonily, “Let’s go.”

I look at him and then to her. I have to turn my back on her because otherwise, it’s too hard. I can’t leave while looking at that sad face.

But I will see her again. I will make sure of it.

***

We take flight and soar across the skies, taking the same path we can only assume Cyrus and Evander would take. There’s not a single word passed between us; with how hard we’re flying, I don’t think a single one of us could even manage to form a word. I feel like I’m sprinting, my heart knocking on my ribs like an insect trapped in a glass, my lungs burning as I try to suck in enough breath to keep going. Orion trails ahead, leading our way.

I’m just hoping that we’re going the right way—it’s the most direct way to the council, but if Cyrus and Evander took the scenic route, then they’re fucked.

And so are we.

And so are the girls back home…

But Orion looks back at us and then gestures to something with the tip of his snout. I follow his gesture and—

I see them.

Oh, shit.Sarah was right; there have to be at least a dozen Eclipse dragons, flying in the same direction as us.

Orion falls back a little bit over to Milo. He speaks to Milo quietly and then looks over all of us sharply. Milo pauses in his flying, pivoting straight and then sweeping his wings forward. A cloud starts gathering around Milo first and then passes outfurther and further. Everyone gets the picture, and we hover close to Milo. Soon, we’re all covered in the shroud, and in the middle of the fog, we fly.

“Up!” Orion orders, “Let’s get above the Eclipse ambush.”

We all comply. Before long, I can sense them below us all, but I can’t see them; Milo wouldn’t make the cloud cover so weak that they could look up and see us. We carry on like that for a while, shoulder to shoulder, bumping into one another as we fly.

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