Excerpt from The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

He reached the car. Lydia was saying something to Travis about how many calories a dragon would have to eat per day to be able to breathe fire. Her argument did not seem to be persuading him.

She looked up as Dill approached. "Oh thank God." She started the car. "So, how's your dad?"

"Weird," Dill said. "He's really weird."

"Is— " Travis started to ask.

"I don't really feel like talking about it."

"Okay, jeez.""I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be rude," Dill said. "Just . . . let's go home."

They were mostly silent on the return trip. Travis read his book. Lydia switched to a Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds/Gun Club mix and tapped the steering wheel to the rhythm, still radiating good cheer. And why shouldn't she. She's had a great day.

Dill gazed out the window at the trees that lined both sides of the highway, the occasional handmade roadside cross, marking where someone had met their end, punc-tuating the unbroken wall of green. Three vultures circled something in the distance, soaring on updrafts. He tried to savor the remaining moments of the drive.

Last time school shopping together. The death of a little piece of my life. And I didn't even get to enjoy it completely because of my crazy dad. Who keeps slowly getting crazier.

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Lydia drive. The edges of her mouth. The way they turned up in a near-perpetual smirk. How her lips moved almost imperceptibly as she unconsciously sang along with the music.

Remember this. Write it on a handmade cross and plant it in your heart to mark this ending.

When they pulled into Forrestville, the shadows were long and the light looked like it was streaming through a pitcher of sweet tea. They dropped Travis off first.

Travis hopped out and bent down to look in the car, his hand on the roof. "Another year, y'all. See you tomorrow?"

"Unfortunately," Dill said.

Travis ambled up the front walk. He turned and waved again when he reached his porch, staff held high.

Lydia sped off

"I'm in no hurry to get home," Dill said.

"Habit."

"Want to go to Bertram Park and watch trains until it gets dark?"

"I'd love to hang, but I really need to start putting some time into the blog for the next few months. I'll be leading with it in my college apps, so there needs to be good content."

"Come on."

"Look, that'd be fun in its usual somewhat boring way, but no."

They pulled up to Dill's house. He sat for a moment, not reaching for the door handle, before turning to Lydia. "You gonna be too busy for us this year?"

Lydia's face took a defiant cast. Her eyes hardened, her exuberant air evaporating. "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention—what were we doing for the last several hours? Oh, right."

"That's not what I mean. Not today. I mean in general. Is that how this year's going to be?"

"Um, no dude. Same question. Is this how this year will go? You not understanding and being weird when I need to do the stuff I need to do?"

"No."

"Well, we're not off to a great start."

"I get it. You'll be busy. Whatever."

"But you'll just be really silent and taciturn about it and maybe somewhat of a dick."

"I have a lot on my mind."

"I'm serious, Dill. Please don't be gross when I'm busy."

"I'm not being gross."

"Yeah, you are a little."

"Sorry."

They regarded each other for a moment as though giving the opportunity for airing additional demands or grievances. Lydia's face softened. "On a different topic, half of my salad from Panera isn't much of a dinner."

Excerpted from The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner. Copyright © 2016 by Jeff Zentner. Excerpted by permission of Crown. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.