“Where?” I ask.
“He had to get a Christmas gift for Gordon, right?” Sammy nods knowingly.
If Axel really was collecting grubs for Gordon, that may be the cutest thing I’ve ever heard, but I do not want to see that box. “Grubs stay outside,” I say. “They do not come in here. Are we clear?”
Axel laughs. “Got it.”
“Who has grubs?” Dad asks, a confused expression on his face. “Do some of you like to go fishing? Because I heard there are crocodiles out there, so I really don’t want Sammy going without one of the dragons along.”
“There are,” I say. “The locals call them Salties, but they mostly stick to the edge of the river.”
What’s fishing? Asteria asks from outside.
“Are the dragons all out there, lurking?” I ask.
Coral frowns. “Whose fault is that? You said they can’t all stay inside.”
“There isn’t room,” I say. “Look around.”
“For Christmas, all I want is for Rufus and Gordon to be able to fit in here again.” Sammy’s lower lip is jutting out so pathetically.
I think about how I passed out the last time I helped Eupraxia, and I sigh. We haven’t sung carols, and we haven’t made any Christmas cookies, and we haven’t eaten the ham yet. But some things matter more.
“Have Gordon, Asteria, and Rufus line up outside,” I say. “I may as well give this a try.” It worked for Euphrasia’s sister, right?
“Why not Hyperion?” Coral asks. “That’s no fair.”
Just because he can shift doesn’t mean he and Coral will. . .I might have overreacted a little because of the timing of when she asked. I’m thinking it over.
“No,” Axel says. “I don’t like this idea.”
“The last time I wanted to do something like this, I asked Jörð for help,” I say. “It wasn’t so bad.”
“You passed out,” Axel says. “No.”
I take his hand in mine, and I twine our fingers together. “I should try, especially for Rufus and Gordon, right?”
He frowns.
“I won’t push hard,” I whisper. “I promise.”
He grumps, but he doesn’t stop me.
Does it hurt? On the end of the row, Hyperion looks a little crabby. Coral told me you said you’d rather be eaten alive by ants than allow me to shift into a human form.
I nod. “Good point. You shouldn’t?—”
“You said what?” Mom’s smiling. “That you’d rather be eaten alive by ants?”
Coral’s smile is diabolical. “Well, when she said that, I had just walked in on Liz and?—”
“Doesn’t matter,” I say. “I’m just trying it out right now. I can’t really do it myself. I’ll just be asking the heart, and by extension, Jörð, to help us out.” I can feel my blush, and I don’t like it.
Gideon walks up on the edge of the hall, watching carefully, but he says nothing.
“You were here when they could turn into humans.” My dad’s looking at Gordon and Rufus. “Was it horrible?”
Gideon shrugs. “I actually like them better that way.”
