It did not.
“Huh.” Archie got down on hands and knees, putting an eye at ground level to squint along the bottle. “Is that pointing at Beth or Leonie?”
Beth quickly shuffled to one side, bumping her shoulder against Rufus. “Leonie. Definitely Leonie.”
“But you were right—” Ig started, and then winced. From the way Estelle was glaring at him, Shan guessed he’d just received an extremely pointed telepathic message. “Fine,fine. Let’s get this over with. Truth or dare?”
Leonie hesitated, as if weighing up the risks herself. “Ah… truth.”
“Will you please stop screaming into my cerebellum?”Ignatius snapped at Estelle. With an exasperated sigh, he turned back to Leonie. “For the record, I’m only asking this because if I didn’t, I’d need to immediately go into witness protection. Were you disappointed that Shan, and I quote, ‘chickened out like a giant pussy’ just now? Please don’t answer.”
Shan had expected Leonie to simply laugh off the question, shaking her head. Instead, a blush swept up her neck. Without a word, she took the bowl of soot, marking a line down her cheek.
“Thankyou.” Lip curling in distaste, Ig dabbed the tip of his little finger in the soot. “Also, and I address this to no one in particular, you idiots owe me one.”
Tiff leaned over to Spencer. “You ever get the feeling everyone else knows something you don’t?”
Spencer eyed his fellow campers. “I don’t think Iwantto know.”
“I like you,” Ignatius informed him, fervently. “Let’s be best friends.”
“See?” Ragvald clapped his huge hands together, beaming. “Already, we are bonding! Truly, there is nothing like a good game to reveal inner character. Let us continue.”
“It’s your turn, Shan,” Beth prompted.
At least he was safe from another challenge. He spun the bottle.
This time, there was no uncertainty about where it stopped.
Ignatius made a sound of physical pain. “Howare you idiotsdoingthis?”
Spencer picked up the bottle, peering into it. “There must be a hidden magnet or something.”
“Fate falls on us as it will, and none may escape it.” Ragvald spread his hands. “Though some say the bottle seeks out those most in need of aid.”
“I’m going to need to seek out a bottle after this,” Leonie muttered. She sighed, looking at him in resignation. “Seems it’s our unlucky day, Shan. I’ll take a dare. Go easy on me, okay?”
“That’s no fun,” Tiff said. “Make it a good one, Shan.”
“Remember, you can dare her to doanything,” Beth added. “Anything you want.”
There were many things he wanted, and he wasn’t about to dare Leonie to do any of them. He opened his mouth, intending to issue some harmless, enjoyable challenge—racing one of the campers in her shift form, perhaps—but something made him pause.
So far, Ragvald had been enjoying the game, grinning and groaning along with the kids. Now, however, the wyrm was watching him intently.
We set challenges in good faith, Ragvald had said, when he’d been explaining the rules.To help our shield-siblings overcome their fears.
“I dare you,” he said to Leonie, “to do something just for yourself.”
“Huh?” Archie said as a general mutter of confusion ran around the circle. “How is that a dare?”
From the way Leonie blinked at him, she was just as taken aback as the kids. “What do you mean, do something for myself? Like what?”
“I don’t know.” Rufus was staring at him now, too, though with a somewhat different expression to his friends. “That’s for you to decide. It doesn’t have to be a big thing. Just something you would enjoy. Not because it needs to be done, or would help someone else. Something just for you.”
Leonie frowned, as though it were some sort of trick. “But I enjoy helping other people.”
“I know.” He glanced at Ragvald. “But you cannot only live to serve others. Your own desires are important, too.”
