“Is there anything—” he tried to ask as she scooped another blob of pasta sauce before it could fall off the edge of the table.
“I’m fine! It’s fine! This is … depressingly normal.” Her shoulders slumped. “Not depressing. Lovely and magical and—okay.Tomás, I am getting the feeling that you are not interested in this dinner! What can we do about that?”
Tomás gurgled and flipped his plate over.
“Bath time!” Maya declared with manic excitement. She turned to Corin. “This shouldn’t take long. Just … make yourself at home? And once he’s in bed we can talk about what’s bothering you.”
That settled it. He might be out of his depth around toddlers, but there was no way he was going to let her deal with this nightmare bedtime and then sort outhisproblems alone.
It was time to take action.
The sheer quantity of splashing from the bathroom told him everything he needed to know about how bath time was going. By the time they emerged, Maya was as wet as Tomás.
“Pajamas!” Maya called out in explanation as she disappeared into Tomás’s room.
Of course, the moment they came out again, Tomás transformed into dragon shape and slithered out of his pajamas. Maya picked them up with a sigh.
“Normally this is time for bottle and a book,” she said, “But…”
As leader of his clan, Corin had years of experience cementing his authority among other dragons. He had the most powerful duskfire in generations. He was the only person who ever managed to keep his cousins in line. Using his dragon’s authority, and a hint of its power, to ensure everyone behaved came as naturally to him as breathing.
And how well has that worked out for you, with everything falling to pieces the moment you look away?His head throbbed with tension at the reminder of the reason he was in such a bad mood when he came to meet Maya.
Perhaps a different tactic was needed.
He braced himself.
“May I try something?”
She eyed him. “Some magic dragon parenting skill you’ve been hiding up your sleeve?”
Corin flexed his fingers. “Not … quite.”
Tomás scurried to the front door and scratched at it, obviously refusing to believe it was no longer playtime.
Corin took a deep breath.
This was not going to be pleasant.
“Ahahahaha!” he bellowed. “While this tiny dragon is out adventuring, I shall steal his hoard!”
Tomás’s head whipped around. “Sssss!”
“I’ll go steal it now, while he’s distracted!”
He sounded like a cartoon villain. Which was the point. Maya looked like she didn’t know whether to burst out laughing or hide her face.
If this didn’t work, he would have to go hide in his own hoard for a very long time.
“Only the most powerful dragon would be able to stop me from making off with his hoard!” he declared, bounding—very slowly—up the stairs.
Tomás was after him in a flash. He zipped through his legs and scampered to the top of the stairs. Corin followed him, still laughing like a deranged Dracula.
“Is this really going to help?” Maya asked, worried. “I can’t help but notice you seem to be winding him up, not calming him down…”
“Trust me.”
She eyed him suspiciously. “That sounded like you’re trying to convince yourself.”
