Page 24 of Dragon Unleashed
“Yes.”
“And your father?”
“I need to go down and pretend everything’s fine,” I say, dodging his question.
“And then you will return,” he says uncertainly.
“As soon as my shift ends, I’ll be back. And tonight, once Hoc leaves, we can work on finding a way to get you home.”
He grunts, clearly not a fan of staying put. I walk over and pick up the remote, powering on the television. The screen comes to life—a baseball game. Aries’ eyes widen as he stares at the screen. Human amenities for the win.
“What is this miracle?” he breathes.
“Baseball.”
“Baseball?” He takes a step toward the screen.
“A re-run of last night’s game. If you want something different, hit this button,” I tell him, shoving the remote into his hands. “I’ll check on you soon.”
He doesn’t respond, and I decide now is as good a time as any to make my exit. Here’s hoping dragons like daytime TV.
* * *
I’m so lostin my own thoughts that Blossom nearly gives me a heart attack when she corners me in the vampire section and says, “I know what you did last night.”
My legs threaten to buckle right there as I squeak, “What?”
She glares at me. “You covered for Mag,” she hisses.
“Oh.” I exhale, thoroughly relieved, which only makes her seem to glare harder.
“Oh? That’s all you have to say? Paige, you know you aren’t cleared for keeper duty.”
“I know. I just thought maybe...” I trail off, fully aware of how stupid it will sound now that I’m saying it aloud. Especially given what actually happened last night.
The scope of my fuck up knows no bounds. Which means I am not the keeper I thought I could be. And that realization hits. Hard.
“You thought Hoc would forgive your little stunt last week if you played grown-up?” Her words are snarky, but her tone lacks all condescension. She’s worried about me. And that makes me feel even worse.
“Maybe.”
She smirks. “I mean, it’s not the worst idea.” Her smile drops. “Unless, of course, a book decided to make a break for it.”
Oh shit.I try not to wince. “Nothing happened.”
“Hmm.” Her reproachful look lasts another few seconds, and then, like a switch being flipped, she lets it go and moves on. “What was Mag doing, anyway? Was it buy one get one free hooker night or something?”
I snort as we fall into step together, patrolling the stacks. “No idea. You know how mysterious he is.”
“Shady, you mean.”
I don’t tell her about his brother’s playoff game. I’ve known Mag my whole life, and last night was the first personal detail he’s ever shared with me. As trivial as the detail may be, I can’t bring myself to break his trust when he’s only so recently given it to me.
Blossom doesn’t seem to notice, though. For the next half hour, we chat about her. More accurately, she chats, and I listen. Blossom is here as punishment for breaching a portal from her world to another—a grave offense by any world’s standards, but entry into this one was apparently extra forbidden. She snuck through a portal that led to a world full of unicorn shifters like her. Or so she’d thought. Except that, when she’d arrived, all she’d found were remains.
The world had died off hundreds of years ago, and no one had told her.
I suspect her rage at being sentenced here as a keeper is partly a cover for her sorrow. I can’t blame her. All she’d wanted was to know where she came from, to find her own kind. Instead, she’d learned how truly alone she is. And now she’s stuck here, tasked with making sure no one else leaves their world either.
