Cruel Daddy Dragon (Candara Dragon Ops #3)

Chapter 26 - Rufus

I can’t even find it in me to keep my hand off Sarah as we go back home, but she holds onto me as if I’m a lifeline, too. Once we’re back in the Miller’s Mansion, we all spend a moment taking a breath after the battle—both us and the girls; it seems like they had a hard fight of their own while we were gone. Far too soon, though, Cyrus calls all our attention, and we all gather in a circle around him.

“I’m not going to waste any time,” Cyrus says in a low voice, “I need to tell you all before the rest of Soleilus. Now that Eclipse has taken charge of the council, they’ve shown their hand; they’ve issued a formal warning to Soleilus that they’re laying claim to Greyson Ridge, and we have a month to leave.”

There’s a moment of stunned silence.

“What?” The question is uttered by so many of us at once.

“Is this war?!” Orion asks.

“Yes,” Cyrus answers grimly, “They have officially issued us a formal warning; apparently, we have until the next full moon to move Soleilus out of Greyson Ridge. Since they’ve given us a warning and a chance to leave peacefully, they have fulfilled the parameters for an honorable duel between clans for territory. None of the other clans can interfere, or they’ll become enemies of the council.”

He looks up at all of us.

“It seems like they’re willing to go to war with us to lay claim to the relics in Greyson Ridge.”

“But wait!” I protest, “You went there in the first place because they broke the council rules first! They attacked Sarah in the middle of town! How in the hell can they issue an official notice for a clan duel when they’ve already broken the rules?!”

Cyrus draws a deep breath and closes his eyes.

“Well, the rule against shifters revealing ourselves in front of humans is to prevent the secret of dragons getting out,” he growls lightly as he speaks, “and according to Eclipse’s representatives, them revealing themselves isn’t breaking the rules because there will not be any humans left to spread the secret.”

“Wait, what the fuck does that mean?!” Sarah snarls.

Cyrus looks up at us all darkly.

“It means that they’re going to kill the entire population of Greyson Ridge.”

There’s another moment of stunned silence among everyone. I feel like I can hear everyone’s throats closing. It’s a hot minute before anyone says anything.

“But they can’t… do that!” Sarah chokes out.

Cyrus growls at the back of his throat for a moment before he answers:

“Apparently, they can,” he snarls, “It seems that as long as the secret of dragon shifters doesn’t get out, it doesn’t matter to the council at large how that happens.”

“No!” Julie gasps.

“This is bullshit!” Kaius snaps, “They can’t do that!”

“This is insane,” Milo says quietly, staring wide-eyed into the middle distance.

Orion just snarls inhumanly at the back of his throat. Lena’s covered her mouth with her hand. Cyrus hangs his head.

“I would have never handed over control to them if I knew they’d go as far as to kill the entire human population in Greyson Ridge…” He laments.

“Not just the human population,” Sarah says suddenly.

All eyes are on her suddenly.

“What do you mean?” Cyrus says sharply.

“When I saw that vision of you and Evander getting attacked—”

“You have visions too?” Cyrus asks.

“I do. I have visions of danger,” Sarah answers.

“Yeah, she does,” I add, vouching for her.

There’s murmuring from everyone else.

“Good to know,” Cyrus answers, “Sorry, Sarah—what were you saying?”

“When I saw that vision of you and Evander getting attacked, I saw so many Eclipse members attacking just the two of you,” she says, “There weren’t so many Eclipse members because the whole Candara team was there—the others only came after I told them about it. They thought it would only be you two; they wanted you both dead. ”

Cyrus nods slowly, staring intensely at her.

“What this says to me,” Sarah continues, “is that they really didn’t want that message that Soleilus has a month to evacuate to reach the rest of Soleilus.”

“Oh, my god,” I mutter as I pick up what she’s laying down.

Evander and Milo’s eyes widen. Kaius looks between us all. Orion closes his eyes. Both the other girls look horrified.

“She’s right,” Cyrus says, “If we didn’t make it back, Soleilus wouldn’t know to leave. They are obligated to give us a warning to leave, but nothing in the rules says that they have to repeat that warning if something happens to the messengers.”

“Those bastards! ” Kaius explodes.

Julie gives a little squeak, and Kaius tries to comfort her. Lena’s looking horrified, rubbing her pregnant belly worriedly. There’s concerned murmuring among everyone else.

“So… how long do we have exactly?” Milo is the one to ask, “The next full moon, they said? How long is that?”

“One has just passed, so about a month,” Cyrus answers, “Considering everything, it’s a generous amount of time for us to escape—if we’re going to run, then we have plenty of time to pack up.”

“Would that… include the humans of Greyson Ridge, too?” Lena asks.

“Yes,” Cyrus answers, “It has to be. We can’t leave them to be killed.”

I look to Sarah. She’s glaring out at Cyrus. When I look at Julie and Lena, Lena has the same almost offended look as Sarah, and Julie has a tearful look on her face.

That’s when Sarah steps forward, putting her hands on her hips.

“We are not going anywhere,” she declares.