Page 52 of Her Dragon Daddy Disaster
I tamped it back down as we hurried to his door, and once more, Levi went first.
Flames roared higher as we opened the door.
“Mommy!” Jakub cried from the top of the bed, surrounded by flames that were eating at everything, including the sheets.
“Everybody, on the count of three, open your mouths wide!” Levi shouted over the roaring flames. “Okay?”
We both nodded, not that Levi looked at me. He had eyes only for our son. Once he saw the answering nod, he started to count.
“One.”
“Two.”
“Three!”
I dropped my jaw as wide as it could go, watching Jakub do the same.
For Levi’s part, his head was shapeshifting, covering itself in ruby scales and growing a long snout. As he did that, the air in the room began towhistle, bringing with it a cool breeze.
Then, one by one, the flames weresuckedtoward him. They leaped from the bed and the floor, the sheets and the walls, hurtling into the massive vortex of his maw, as Levi quite literally swallowed the fire until it was completely out.
Snout closed firmly, eyes twitching in what had to be some serious discomfort, he walked toward the window and flung it open. Sticking his head out, he angled upward. Then, at long last, he exhaled.
A jet of flame erupted from his mouth, stabbing high into the sky as he released all the flames.
I watched for a moment.
“Mommy!”
Hearing the little cry, I ran forward, snatching Jakub from the bed and hauling him toward the corridor and safety from any fresh flames that might pop up.
None seemed to, however. They were well and trulygone. Not out but literally gone. Levi had taken the fire into him and expelled it harmlessly outside. I didn’t know they could do that.
When the flames finally expired, Levi closed the window. He took a deep breath in and out, then came toward us. His features slowly melted back toward that of a human. Once he got close, he extended his arms.
“Jakub, come with me,” he said deeply, his yellow-brown eyes troubled.
“Why do you need him?” I asked skeptically.
“Because,” Levi said, “that fire wasn’t a candle or an electrical outlet.”
“How can you be sure?”
He glowered at me angrily. “Because it was dragonfire.”
I held tight to my son at that pronouncement. “You can’t be sure.”
Levi sighed. “Yes, I can, Sarah. Now, give him to me!”
He stepped forward, reaching for Jakub.
“No!” I shouted, backing away and twisting my body to keep it between Levi and my son. “Stay back!”
Levi came to an abrupt halt. Slowly, he put both hands out to his side at shoulder height, fingers wide. “Whoa. Sarah. Why are you reacting this way? What’s going on?”
“He didn’t mean it, Levi,” I said. “He won’t do it again.”
“Yes,” Levi rumbled. “He will, Sarah.”
