“Er…” Honey broke into a sweat, acutely aware of Rufus’s eyes on her.
“Let’s get back to this game,” Buck growled. “What are we playing, Beth?”
“Two Truths and a Lie,” Beth said. “You have to—”
“Thanks, Beth, I can take it from there.” Buck folded his arms, sweeping the campers with a piercing glare. “My turn. I once punched a giant snake demon in the face, I’ve been on fire more times than I can remember, and I keep a cage in my basement for pesky kids who ask too many questions.”
Dead silence.
“I don’t think any of those are lies,” Flora whispered to the other campers.
“I’m guessing… the first one,” Archie said, though he sounded uncertain. “But only because of the demon part.”
“No, that one’s definitely true,” Beth said. “My mom and dad were there.”
“Mine too,” Finley confirmed.
“We’ve heard that story alot,” Estelle sighed.
Rufus held up three fingers.
“And we have a winner,” Buck said. “Rufus is right. I don’t have a basement.”
“Honey, Buck.” Leonie came up to their table. “Could I have a word? Sorry, kids, I promise to return your counselors in a minute.”
Honey wasn’t too sure it was a good idea to leave this smoldering powder keg unattended for ten seconds, let alone a whole minute, but Buck was already pushing back his chair. She had no option but to follow.
The head counselor led them outside. Zephyr and Moira were already there, conversing in low, tight voices.
“I’m sorry I didn’t discover this earlier,” Moira was saying as Buck and Honey joined them. “It never occurred to me to ask.”
“It’s a good thing you did, or this would have been arealdisaster,” Zephyr replied. “Ah, Honey, there you are. I take it you’ve met our latest arrival. How’s Ignatius getting on with the rest of the pack?”
“Not great,” Honey admitted. “What’s going on?”
“Oh, just the usual last minute panic,” Zephyr said wryly. He raked a hand through his long black hair. “We’d planned to put Ignatius in Moira’s pack, but it turns out that’s not going to work.”
“It’s Ragvald,” Moira explained. “I knew his people had clashed with other types of dragon in the past, but I thought it was ancient history. But it turns out Ragvald’s clan has some kind of personal feud with the Golden family.”
“Is that going to cause a problem?” Leonie asked, looking worried. She flipped through papers on her clipboard. “Even if I rewrite the whole schedule, I can’t keep Buck and Honey’s pack entirely away from yours.”
“No need,” Moira reassured her. “Ragvald’s people have a strict code of honor, and children are sacred to them. He may have a blood-feud with the Goldens, but he’ll treat Ignatius like any other camper.”
“I doubt Lord Golden would have been so gracious about the situation.” Zephyr blew out his breath. “Honey, I hate to dump this on you—”
“Then don’t,” Buck interrupted sharply. “Damn it, Zeph, the kid wants to be here even less than I do. Tell his motherloving uncle this is a lost cause and send the boy home.”
“You know I can’t do that.” Zephyr turned to Honey. “I appreciate this will be more of a challenge than you might have been expecting, but do you think you can handle it?”
“Of course,” Honey said, wondering why Buck looked like he was chewing on a live power line. She didn’t dare ask who Ignatius’s uncle might be, in case this was the shifter equivalent of not knowing the current president. “Ignatius may not be enthusiastic about camp now, but I’m sure we can win him round.”
“We’ve yet to have a camper who didn’t fall in love with this place in the end,” Leonie agreed. She checked her watch, then her clipboard. “Zephyr, you’re behind schedule. You should be halfway through your introductory speech by now.”
“Right.” Zephyr tugged his shirt straight, then adjusted his badge. “Time to go be motivational. Let’s all do our best to ensure Ignatius has a good summer. We can’t afford to have him carrying complaints back to his uncle.”
He went back into the hall, Moira and Leonie at his heels. Honey caught Buck’s elbow, stopping him as he moved to follow.
“Who’s Ignatius’s uncle?” she whispered.
