Cruel Daddy Dragon (Candara Dragon Ops #3)

Chapter 23 - Sarah

Luckily, as soon as we walk into the house, both Julie and Lena are still excitedly talking about their future research:

“This is just incredible!” Julie exclaims, “Oh, it’s so sad we have to keep this a secret because this is just the most amazing discovery about Greyson Ridge that’s ever been made, I think! Who would have guessed we’d have this mind-blowing history?! Oh, if only I could put these pictures in our museum!”

“I know!” Lena laughs, “I think Gram’s notes would belong in the museum as well. Shame.”

Kaius laughs.

“Maybe we can set up a private museum?” he suggests jokingly, “A magic museum? We could put it at the back of Lena’s shop since it has that spooky, occult theme to it anyway!”

“I don’t know,” Lena laughs, “I think if people not in on this dragon stuff found it, they’d think I’d be running a creepy cult out the back of my shop or something. You know how the bridge ladies are! They’d probably assume it’s a sex cult, considering how many of us are getting together with the new guys.”

All three laugh. Then, Kaius looks at me:

“Well, at least we know that if someone calls the police on the “creepy cult”, we have the sheriff on our side!”

There was more laughter, but now they’re looking at me, and I force a smile and a laugh. They go back to their conversation—Lena, Julie and Kaius. Luckily, Milo and Orion seem to be talking about other things, and I don’t have to fake a smile for long. Rufus’s beaming jade eyes haven’t left me since I warned him in the cave, but I don’t mind him. I know that I can trust him to just wait until I’m ready to tell him. Soon, we’re inside the house, and the chattering three start to walk away from us.

“Kaius!” I call quietly, but he keeps walking, not hearing me.

Rufus’s arm snaps forward and grabs him. Kaius whips around, and Rufus says:

“Actually, we need to talk to you, Kai,” he says intensely, “You can join Julie and Lena later.”

He says the last part pointedly, and Kaius nods.

“Okay,” he says, and then looks over to Julie and Lena, “I’m sure it’s gonna be boring stuff. You girls go ahead, and I’ll come back when we finish our meeting.”

“Okay,” Julie says gently.

Lena just nods at him and keeps walking away. Julie joins her, and they keep walking, talking excitedly.

For a long second, my gut twists in a rare jolt of jealousy; it really feels like Lena’s become so much better friends with Julie than with me nowadays…

“So, what’s this about?” Kaius asks, drawing my attention back.

“It’s Sarah,” Rufus says, then looks over to the other two: “Milo! O! Can you guys come over here for a moment?”

“What’s going on?” Orion asks, his voice serious.

“Yeah, what is this?” Milo chimes in.

“It’s Sarah,” Rufus says again.

Then, he steps back to look at me fully. The others gather around me, all these burly dragon men staring down at me. It’s definitely intimidating, but I suck in a breath through my nose and put on the police officer tone:

“Back in the cave, I had a vision,” I say, “I didn’t want to say it right then and there because I don’t want to stress Lena out more than necessary, but I saw a vision about Cyrus and Evander. A huge number of Eclipse dragons attacked them while they flew, and they were both torn apart. I watched them get killed.”

Every dragon reacts the same: they all lean back, their eyes widened for a moment. Then, their postures and faces darken. Their eyes turn sharp, their jaws tense up, and their muscles flex for the fight already.

“Where was this?!” Orion demands.

“I don’t know,” I answer, “It was up in the sky somewhere, so there weren’t any markings I could use as reference.”

“How long have we got?” Rufus asks

“Not entirely sure, but the sun looked like it was hanging low in the sky, so I’m going to guess it was evening time.” I cringe at my own vagueness as I add, “But with that being said, I don’t exactly have the most control over my own visions yet, so I couldn’t tell you what time or day exactly. Every vision I’ve had has been the same day so far, but the first one was only a few minutes away, and the next one was nearly half an hour away, so I can’t really tell.”

Milo looks grimly between all of them.

“Cyrus and Evander are meant to come back today,” he says stonily.

He lets the statement drop into the center of us all like a bomb. There’s a moment of bristling, tense silence before someone speaks again.

“We need to figure out who’s going,” Orion says, “If they’re getting attacked at the time they’re supposed to be coming back, then we don’t have the time to get Amelie or anyone else. It’s going to have to be us. How many can we afford to leave behind to guard Lena, Julie, and Sarah?”

“Well, we can split in two,” Kaius suggests, “Cyrus said he wanted two around the girls at all times. That leaves two of us to go.”

“We could keep it the same split we did before,” Milo suggests, “I’d be most comfortable if I were here with Lena, considering how far along in her pregnancy she is.”

“You and Rufus should go,” Kaius says, “You’re probably the better fighters anyway.”

“You’re just saying that because you want to protect Julie, but you’re not the only one with a mate to protect!” Rufus snaps suddenly.

My heart clenches when I hear it: wow… I know he’s said he loves me, but I’ve never heard him talk to other people about me like that before…

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Kaius replies, “But Milo has to stay, and that means only one other person can stay.”

“No. You all need to go,” I declare.

All of them stop arguing and stare at me.

“I don’t think I’ve made myself clear,” I state, “When I said I saw Cyrus and Evander getting killed by a huge number of Eclipse dragons, I mean, there was at least a dozen in my vision.”

“A dozen?!” Orion snaps, his voice as loud as I’ve ever heard it.

“More than ten, at least,” I answer darkly, “They… uh…”

The vision flashes before my eyes, and I shudder. Cyrus and Evander are soaring through the air, just flying easily. They don’t speak to each other, instead flying with frowns on their faces. It looks like whatever they’re flying from, it didn’t exactly go well. The sky is very clear, with barely a cloud in the sky. Just the smallest light wisps, shining a light peachy pink in the reddening sky. The sun is drifting quite low, not quite sunset, but not too far from becoming sunset either. There’s nothing else to be seen; they’re too high in the sky for me to see if they’re flying above a forest or civilization. It’s a very calm and peaceful image for a few moments.

Suddenly the air turns thick and dark with other swooping drakes, descending on Cyrus and Evander at speed and with force. It’s less of a fight and more like a gathering of piranhas swarming around some prey, ripping meat from bone. They all come in so quickly—one moment, the sky is clear, the next, it’s full of dragons. Cyrus fights well, Managing to rip one Eclipse dragon’s wing, throw another out of the sky, and rip one’s throat out, but he’s overwhelmed by the sheer number of attackers. Evander isn’t as lucky—one descends on him and has his limbs wrenched away by so many others that he can’t fight.

I at least don’t see their end. There are just too many Eclipse dragons surrounding them, like killer wasps swarming over prey. But I can see blood—on their mouths, claws, and dripping from the sky.

“Sarah?”

I jerk back. Milo, Orion, and Kaius are staring at me, and Rufus has stepped forward and put his hands on my shoulders.

“Sorry,” I grunt, “I was just… remembering.”

Rufus puts a hand on my face, a gentle look in his eye.

“I’m okay,” I assure him, and then clear my throat and take his hand off me before I look to the others, “A dozen Eclipse dragons and the ambush will be a bloodbath. There’s no way that even with the element of surprise, two of you will be enough. To be honest, I’d be worried even with four of you, but if you guys can figure out how to take out three each in a single attack before they figure out you’re there, then you can do it.”

“That’s going to be tough,” Orion grunts, “One, we can take out by surprise easily. Two, perhaps. Three each in one strike? That’s probably going to be tough to pull off.”

“Well, if you can take out two each, that might be enough to turn the tables,” I reply, “What I’m trying to say is that sending only two of you is a suicide mission. There are just too many of them, and your only option is to ambush the ambush.”

“What about Julie and Lena?” Kaius asks, “Who’s going to protect them?”

“I will,” I say strongly.

Again, there’s a pause among the four of them, and they exchange uneasy looks.

“I’ll take them somewhere safe,” I assure them, “Us girls will hunker down somewhere underground and lay low until you come to get us.”

“Sarah…” Rufus says to me, pained.

I look at him, smiling sympathetically.

“We don’t have a choice,” I say, “I mean, it’s not a good situation, but what are we going to do if Cyrus and Evander get killed?”

“She’s right,” Orion says, “If they kill our Alpha, we’re going to be in a hell of a lot more trouble than we’re already in. We just can’t let that happen.”

Orion looks at me.

“Do you think you could take them to the police station?”

“Absolutely,” I answer, “I’ll be sure to take them as far into the police station as I can.”

I look to Milo.

“There’s usually a medic in the station as well, so without you, Lena will still have some medical care, and if something happens, we can drive her to the hospital in a cruiser,” I tell him.

Milo gives an uncomfortable sigh.

“I don’t like it,” he says, “because she’s getting along, and this isn’t a normal pregnancy. If something happens, she might need someone who knows about shifters.”

“We don’t have the time to get anyone else, Milo,” Orion answers.

“I know,” he replies.

Orion then looks at me.

“Sarah, you get the girls to the police station and then get in contact with some of the others,” he says, “We need to go as quickly as possible.”

“I will,” I assure him, “Give me their numbers, and I’ll get in contact with them as soon as I’ve got Julie and Lena somewhere safe.”

“Right,” Orion says, then looks between the rest of them, “We need to get going as soon as possible, then.”

All of them nod. They then start hustling, getting ready for action. I can just stand, feeling like I have a stone in my stomach.

There are so many Eclipse dragons in my vision…

Are they going to make it?