Page 15 of The Dragon Shifters’ Enemy (Dragon’s Reign #7)

Valinor

I t’s Rivendell! You’ve created Rivendell from the Lord of the Rings! Caden crowed as the two of them circled outside of his private residence.

R-Rivendell? I have no idea what you mean, Valerius sputtered.

He had found the elves unutterably stupid in many ways, because of their decision to fade away, to not fight to stay in their territory.

Why cede what they loved to humans? It was absurd!

He would never fade away and go into the west. This territory was his .

The whole world was his and not the humans or the Behemoth would take it from him!

Then there was, of course, that idiot Dragon, Smaug, who managed to get itself killed because of a missing armor piece.

Ridiculous! Dragon hide was solid all over.

Clearly, the author had never known any real Dragons.

But, he supposed, Tolkien had to give the humans and elves a fighting chance against the great wyrm.

When he and the other Dragon Shifters had taken to the skies, humanity’s incipient war on Shifters had died.

When they saw that none of their missiles had any effect, nor their lasers, nor their machine guns, nor their tanks nor anything at all, they had realized that surrendering was the better part of valor.

They had demonstrated what they could have done to the cities, but none of them were going to slaughter humans.

Illarion had wanted to, of course. Mei thought that they should make examples of people.

Jahara and Tez had no love for those that had dissected their people.

Anwar was ready to make some of the city center into deserts.

Even Kaila had an angry glint in her eye.

It had been him and Esme that had convinced the others that they needed to begin as they meant to go on.

If they began with death, it would be almost impossible to convince humanity it wouldn’t end with death.

In a way, the war between humans and Shifters ended the exact opposite way that the Lord of the Rings had. Humans had been beaten back, subdued, shown that they alone didn’t rule everything, and Shifters got to stay in the lands they loved and be out in the open.

And, therefore, before Reach, before really anything else, he had created this place.

Because one of his favorite parts of the books was Rivendell.

He had loved the look of it in the films, too, and when he’d raised the Gray Mountains, he decided…

well, that he’d create it for himself alone, as a reminder that the Shifters belonged here.

That was one thing about being out to humanity.

He could shape the world the way he wanted. In little bits anyways.

You’ve recreated the Last Homely House East of the Sea. I think that’s the full title! Caden chuckled.

Valerius would have blushed more but for the scales, even as something inside him twisted a little bit.

Caden thought him quite unromantic in a lot of ways.

He’d had to be, because of what the world had shown him: an ugly, dirty face that was lit with a sneer many times.

This place seemed full of hope and utterly impractical.

I might have enjoyed the Lord of the Rings, Valerius said stiffly, but I don’t think--

What do you call this place? Caden challenged.

Shouldn’t you be thinking about how you’re going to land?

Valerius knew that was a low blow, but it would stop the questioning. Because, of course, while he didn’t call it Rivendell, what he did call it would give away the whole thing.

Oh, you’re so not getting out of this that easy! Caden was not to be deterred even with the thought of landing. No more fear of falling onto his head out of the sky. I’ll just drop down directly into the flower garden--

No, you will not! There are delicate bridges there! Not to mention the flora that I have painstakingly planted! Valerius cried as he imagined all the flowers dug up and a bridge snapping under Iolaire’s weight.

Caden’s laughter made him think of the young man rolling around on the ground; he was so amused. Worried about the flowers? Did you plant all of this?

I directed it to be planted, but I did some of the work myself, Valerius admitted. I do not have a green thumb. And when Raziel would get bored, it would breathe fire too near the plants. So...

Raziel, you dog!

I am a Dragon. Not a dog, Raziel rumbled. Why we ruined good mountains with this structure, I do not understand.

Iolaire loves it, Caden said.

Raziel appeared discomfited. Iolaire would prefer my cave!

Your lair, you mean! Caden sounded utterly amused and unrepentant. Iolaire would like to be wherever you are. So that’s that.

Valerius rather felt the same way about Caden.

But this place had meant-- did mean --something to him.

He wanted everything perfect here so he’d shown the movie with the scene of Rivendell a million times and the gardeners had helped him recreate it.

They didn’t laugh at him though. Only Caden, and maybe Chione and Esme on a very good day, could do that.

The gardeners had worked incredibly hard, still did, to keep this place a paradise.

You really care about this place, Caden said thoughtfully.

Valerius led them to a huge slab of bedrock that allowed for easy landings about half a mile from the house.

The ground barely shook as both of them landed lightly and shifted into their human forms. Almost immediately though, Caden was making a hacking sound and picking out something between his teeth.

“Oh, gross, wool ! I’ve got wool between my teeth! How is that possible?” Caden gagged.

Valerius gently thumped his back. Caden had his hands on his thighs and was leaning over.

“No more sheep. Not for a long time,” Caden said through dry heaves.

Sheep are good! Iolaire enjoyed the plump one that I especially gave it, Raziel said as it shook its head.

Iolaire was already bedding down in their lair, obviously sated and needing to digest said plump sheep. Caden was still hacking. Valerius repressed a laugh.

“You like lamb,” Valerius said helpfully.

“Yes, when it's cooked over a fire and seasoned with salt, pepper, rosemary and lemon! Not when it’s still bleating. I felt so bad for the little sheep. They were so cute. And Iolaire and Raziel treated them like--like Dragon toys,” Caden said as he straightened up slowly, seeing if anything was going to come up, when it was not he breathed a sigh of relief.

“They do enjoy playing with their food,” Valerius agreed.

The Dragons had chased the poor creatures up and down the pasture until the sheep were incapable of running any longer. They had then eaten a few more before agreeing to leave.

“They’re a bit like cats, you know? Real predators, but easily amused by colorful moving objects.” Caden’s gaze went to the low sprawling home. “Speaking of pretty things to look at. It really does look like something out of the movie, but made of stone instead of wood and… well, better .”

The structure was mostly on one level, but there were a few towers that rose up at strategic spots.

Most of it though was covered outside spaces.

There were over a dozen fire pits situated around the estate with graceful, low chairs with plump cushions to sit upon.

There were views of sunset and sunrise. Places to read by the waterfall.

Balconies to contemplate the vastness of the mountains he and Raziel had raised from the bare earth.

There was a double-decker library stuffed with first editions.

In the main house, there was only a single massive bed as he was the only one that came here.

Staff stayed in a rather palatial home all their own.

A helicopter ferried people and supplies back and from Reach. It was the most private space he had.

Warmed by Caden’s compliment, Valerius admitted, “I did base it off Rivendell, specifically the Peter Jackson movies.”

“You did! I knew it!” Caden spun around, eyes full of affection and mirth. “Why didn’t you want to say that?”

Valerius considered this. He felt exposed. He felt like the hope from the early days was showing in this house. Hope he had set aside after only three decades. “Because it’s foolish.”

“Being able to create your own Homely House is not foolish! It’s amazing!

” Caden beamed. He frowned though and put his hands on his bare hips and regarded the place critically.

“But I’ve never heard of this place! The press should have been all over this.

Architectural Digest would love to do an expose or whatever it's called. Why doesn’t anyone know about it? Or did I somehow miss it?”

“No one knows, because I’ve kept it secret,” Valerius explained. “There are no roads in or out. You can only get here by helicopter or Dragon. And the press steers clear of the Gray Mountains. I’ve made it clear that this is a no-fly zone at all times.”

Caden looked doubtful. “The press isn’t known for listening to stuff like that. The more secret something is, the more laser focused they are on it.”

“Sometimes, yes. But, surely, you have heard of the Gray Mountains and the lore behind them?” Valerius lifted his eyebrows.

“Well, yeah, ghost stories, but they are not real!” Caden laughed, but then he narrowed his eyes. “They aren’t real, right?”

Valerius smiled. “Walk with me. I want to show you the grounds and then we can get into the hot springs by the waterfall.”

Caden’s eyes got huge. “There’s a hot spring by a waterfall?”

Valerius grinned. “Raising the earth has consequences, some of which are quite pleasant.”

“So we can go in the waterfall and get cold then jump into the hotsprings to relax and--”

“Yes, Caden. We can even have some food brought to us,” Valerius said.

Caden looked a little green. “I don’t know. I still taste wool …”

“It will wear off,” Valerius assured him. “Next time, you might even enjoy the taste of sheep tartar.”