Page 11 of The Dragon Shifters’ Enemy (Dragon’s Reign #7)
Together
V alerius watched as Iolaire’s head lowered and it made soft hooting sounds, clearly feeling so guilty . So responsible for all the deaths and destruction that had occurred and would occur.
Did not know it would follow--that it could follow. Thought the connection was gone, Iolaire explained. Even though I could still feel something. Thought I was free. Thought it was over. Been so long. Thought it would be safe. But no. My fault.
“You are not at fault, Iolaire!” Caden cried. “Valerius, tell Iolaire that it isn’t at fault!”
“Of course, you are not, Iolaire. You are the Behemoth’s victim,” Valerius reassured both his lover and the White Dragon Spirit.
Caden reached over blindly and squeezed Valerius’ shoulder in thanks. Iolaire softly hooted and looked at him out of grateful blue eyes, but its head was still lowered and its expression still sad.
Caden went up to the mirror and put his hand on the glass over Iolaire’s head as if to touch the Dragon Spirit. Valerius wished Caden could physically comfort Iolaire. The White Dragon Spirit pushed its nose against the glass, but could not get to Caden no matter how hard it tried.
Raziel stared down at the two of them and there was a curious expression on its face.
Tender and sad. As close as they were to their Spirits, they were just as far away.
Valerius touched the mirror, too. Raziel saw his hand and lowered its massive head and pressed it against where his hand was.
He thought he felt warmth through the mirror and not just cold glass.
“We need to tell the others about this,” Caden said as he petted the glass.
No! Raziel’s nostrils flared. They will blame Iolaire for this!
“For what?” Caden demanded. “For doing what you and every other Spirit has done? For coming here and connecting to a human? It didn’t know that the Behemoth could come here!”
I brought danger here. Iolaire shook its head. If I had not come--
“No, Iolaire, this unrest has been coming on for longer than your coming,” Valerius stated emphatically. “It’s clear that the Behemoth has been acting in this world far before last week.”
“Yeah, Iolaire, this stuff with the Faith has been ongoing for years,” Caden agreed. “Serai and Fadel were taken over far before you came here and joined with me.”
But now the Behemoth is here. Not just in the Spirit world, Iolaire pointed out. That it could not do before my actions.
“You saved many lives by coming here. You defeated one of its plans, unknowingly,” Valerius pointed out. “In fact, I think you coming here--drawing it to this realm--was a good thing.”
Iolaire and Raziel looked at him intently. Caden turned towards him too. There was hope written large on all of their faces.
“Behemoth could not be stopped before it came to this realm,” Valerius explained. “All the free Dragon Spirits are here, are they not?”
Iolaire hooted. All the rest are with it.
“So you see, the Behemoth was beyond our reach. Your reach before,” Valerius stated. “Once a thing has come here, it can be destroyed. We are nine. Nine against one. We need to bring the other Dragon Spirits here so that you all can speak to one another.”
But they will not trust Iolaire! Raziel cried. They will think it is still under Behemoth’s influence.
“So Behemoth likes to be petted? Adores kids? Wants people to dance in the snow?” Caden shook his head. “Anyone who knows Iolaire will recognize it isn’t at all controlled by Behemoth!”
Valerius caught Raziel’s gaze and said simply, “Lying to others or ourselves is not the right way forward, Raziel.”
Raziel tossed its head. They have no right to judge Iolaire! They have no right to--
“If Iolaire is in any danger from the Behemoth--whether physical or spiritual--we must know, Raziel,” Valerius stated.
Caden whirled around to face him. Those innocent blue eyes were huge. “Valerius, you don’t think--”
“No, I don’t think Iolaire is being controlled.
But that does not mean it could not be affected in some way by the Behemoth.
Serai was a Shifter and she was affected.
Fadel, I believe, was human, and he was affected.
” Valerius took hold of Caden’s arms. “Iolaire has told us that it still feels some connection to the Behemoth. We must not ignore this.”
“No, but…” Caden bit his lip. “It just feels so wrong that Iolaire would have anything to do with that--that monster!”
“I know. I am still trying to accept this fairytale as real.” Valerius grimaced and shook his head. “But now that I know it is. I will not close my mind to any possibility. Nor should you either.”
Caden nodded miserably. “Iolaire has brought such joy to people.”
“And a new understanding among the Dragon Shifters,” Valerius added. “Iolaire will continue to do so because it is special and a different kind of Dragon Spirit. But I will not ignore Iolaire’s concerns. Would you?”
Caden shook his head and passed a hand over his forehead. “Imagine what the press would have said if they knew the Behemoth was real and that Iolaire had--had been a part of it though!”
Valerius did not want to think about that. But really he feared more what the Behemoth could do to Iolaire and Caden more than he feared any bad press.
“The Behemoth is in this world now. It must have joined with a human. Perhaps at that ceremony that Anwar showed us or…” His voice suddenly died as a horrible thought occurred to him.
Caden’s eyes became huge, catching his thoughts before he could stop them from leaking out over their bond. “What if Iolaire having a bonded human is enough? What if the Behemoth is joined to me too?”
Valerius was violently shaking his head. “I would think if that was the case, when you shift, you would become the Behemoth and not just Iolaire. But you don’t. I do not understand this connection between Iolaire and the Behemoth, but I do not believe it touches you.”
Would never let the Behemoth hurt Caden! Iolaire was standing tall, wings outstretched, blue eyes crackling with might.
“I know, Iolaire,” Valerius stated.
Nor would I , Raziel added, rising above the White Dragon Spirit like a mountain.
But he did not know--and he didn’t think the Dragon Spirits knew either--what the Behemoth could do no matter what Iolaire wanted.
Did the Hydra have access to Caden in some way?
He’d said no. He believed that. And yet, his soul felt sick and wanted to shrivel away at the idea.
But he could not. Danger was here. He would face it head on.
“Those moments when we weren’t able to shift, Iolaire,” Caden said suddenly, “could that have had something to do with the Behemoth? Like maybe it was in this world and so shifting was hard? Or maybe it didn’t want to shift… I don’t know!”
Iolaire hooted that it did not think so. It sensed nothing of the Behemoth in Caden.
“Those are likely just nerves, Caden, nothing more,” Valerius stated as he smoothed his hands up and down his lover’s arms.
Caden though did not look so certain. “You didn’t have such nerves!”
“I was in the middle of battle when Raziel and I joined. Hatred and rage has a way of blasting through one’s doubts,” Valerius reminded him.
“Yet we don’t really know!” Caden cried and wrapped his arms around himself.
He cupped Caden’s face. “I know. There is nothing in you of that thing, Caden.”
Caden nodded, but still appeared miserable.
Valerius firmly looked at the two Dragon Spirits as he stated, “I do not know whether it was our failure to not ask more of you and your history, or if you were hiding what you did not see as important. But we cannot allow such secrets between us. Mates and the Behemoth. These things are crucial for us to all understand, but you kept them from us. As Caden stated, we are in this together.”
The White and Black Dragon Spirits exchanged looks and then turned back to him and Caden. They both nodded.
“And it is not just the four of us either,” Valerius said. “All the Dragon Shifters must know. I will--”
Before Valerius could say more the doors to the throne room were thrown open and Esme appeared followed by the other Dragon Shifters.
“Scylla told me about--about the Behemoth. And not just Scylla,” Esme said, looking pale and uncertain in the dim light. “The Behemoth is real . They fought it. They thought they destroyed it.”
Scylla appeared in the mirror beside Raziel and Iolaire. Scylla flapped its wings tentatively, asking to draw near and be accepted. Iolaire hooted eagerly, but Raziel kept the White Dragon Spirit well within its powerful arms but nodded for Scylla to lean in and touch foreheads with Iolaire.
“Oh! Esme, Scylla and Iolaire are so cute together! Lana wants some cuddles too!” Kaila cried.
Lana appeared in the mirror. Her turquoise scales reminded Valerius of a Bahamian sea.
Unlike Scylla who had requested to be let near, Lana--like her human--simply busted its way in.
Scylla lifted an eyebrow. Raziel’s eyes narrowed.
But Iolaire let out barks of laughter, showering them all with snow.
Lana appeared to love the snow, snaking its tongue out to taste it.
Iolaire opened its mouth and caused a huge mountain of snow to appear.
Lana made a very undignified squeal of delight and tossed itself into the snow.
Snow flew up everywhere, coating all of the Dragons. Caden snorted.
“Aw, Caden, can’t you make snow here?” Kaila asked, her hands balled into anxious fists. “I want to do that too!”
“Dear, we have to speak about something important . Making snow angels can wait,” Esme countered.
“I do my best thinking about bad things while I make snow angels!” Kaila pouted.
“Your territory doesn’t get cold enough for snow,” Mei stated as she glided into the room.