Page 17 of The Dragon Shifters’ Enemy (Dragon’s Reign #7)

Safe

“ T ake me to the hot springs! I can hear the waterfall but--oh, my God! There’s someone else here?!” Caden cried.

He abruptly stepped behind Valerius as a woman in black pants and a sleeveless white shirt came out of the building to the right.

Her blonde hair was done up in a neat twist and she was smiling broadly as well as carrying two silk robes, one over each arm.

Black for Valerius and white for him. Caden would have felt touched, except he was trying to angle his body so his penis was not in her face.

“Caden,” Valerius chuckled, “you were naked on television. This is Celestine. She’s the major domo of Valinor. Not a stranger.”

“Ah, yeah, yep, I got that. But still,” Caden hissed, “I’m sure she doesn’t want to see this .”

He gestured to his front and Valerius snorted.

“She’s seen this for nearly a decade,” Valerius said pointing to his cock, “so I don’t think yours will bother her.”

“Indeed not,” Celestine said in a deep voice with some kind of nordic accent. “You are both quite well made. Even without being interested in men such as yourselves, you are pretty as pictures.”

Caden let out a cough-laugh of embarrassment as he took the white silk robe from her. That was when he noticed the faint flicker of nightshine in her eyes. “You’re a Shifter!”

“I am, King Caden,” she said with a half bow before she straightened and turned towards Valerius. She helped him with his robe. Caden had been clutching his in front of his genitalia.

“Uhm, is it rude to ask what kind? I’m just curious!” Caden flashed what he hoped was a dazzling and friendly smile.

“Falcon,” she said as she stepped back from Valerius to regard them both.

“Falcon Shifter… cool . I’ve only met Raven Shifters,” Caden admitted. “My dad’s an attorney and--”

“Yes, I know,” she interrupted, but not rudely, but to be efficient.

“Of course, you know. You’re… the major domo here so you would know,” Caden found himself babbling. “Oh, and please just call me Caden.”

“Of course… Caden,” she said, hesitating momentarily before using his given name. He had an idea that Celestine was a formal person. From the way she held herself--very erect--to the crisp way she spoke, all indicated an extreme level of control.

Valerius took the robe out of Caden’s hands, which caused Caden to swing around so his backside was to Celestine.

“Celestine is a tracker and a hunter. She was the one to locate the base that was here,” Valerius said as he helped Caden get on the robe.

Caden craned his head over his shoulder to see her. “Really? That’s so cool. You stopped the world from being destroyed.”

She smiled and nodded as if this were all in a day’s work. “King Valerius was truly the one to stop the human’s foolish actions. I just found the locations.”

“Still, he couldn’t have done his thing without you,” Caden said and turned fully towards her as his robe was now on and tied.

“I completely agree with Caden on this, Celestine. You saved the day,” Valerius said.

Another nod that was half a bow. “Many did. Now… what can I do to fulfill your needs?”

“We’re going to bathe in the spring and the waterfall so--”

“Towels?” she inquired and Valerius nodded. “Will you require food and drinks?”

“Please!” Caden cried out and then blushed. “I don’t know how I’m hungry after all those sheep.”

Valerius chuckled, a deep rumble in his chest. “Young Dragon Shifters are always hungry.

“Well, explain to me this! How come there was wool in my mouth but my stomach hadn’t exploded from the sheep in there?” Caden asked.

“It is a mystery,” Valerius said.

“I shall have everything prepared. Would you like to eat by the garden?” she asked.

“Yes, that would be appreciated,” Valerius told her.

Another quick bow and she turned on her heel to retreat the way she came. Caden’s eyebrows rose.

“She’s quite impressive! Makes me feel a little inadequate,” Caden confessed.

“She makes me feel the same,” Valerius said with another chuckle. “She is highly efficient and runs the staff here with a minimum of fuss. You won’t see many of them, but they do appear as if by magic.”

“Impressive!” Caden said as Valerius led him along a covered walkway around the building to the left. “Why did she decide to stay on as major domo?”

“Falcons love their lofty perches and the Valinor is the highest in the area,” Valerius said. “Her kettle of Falcons--”

“ Kettle ?” Caden’s eyebrows rose.

“That is what you call a group of birds of prey like falcons,” Valerius explained. “They live here with her, but most work with the police and military while Celestine takes pride of care of Valinor.”

“Are all the servants here Falcon Shifters?”

Valerius shook his head. “Many are human. But Celestine rules the roost or eyrie, I should say.”

“Do you worry about it?” Caden asked suddenly.

“About… having Falcon Shifters on staff?” Valerius’ forehead screwed up.

“No. The humans…” Caden let out a breath that he hadn’t known he was holding yet he felt guilty saying this at all. “Humans are more likely to listen to Behemoth’s words, aren’t they?”

“Serai wasn’t human,” Valerius reminded him.

“Yeah, you’re right.” Caden rubbed his arms as he suddenly felt a little chill. “I don’t know. It’s not fair, but with all the hatred and anger I’m seeing from humans, I worry… that sounds so stupid.”

“No, it is not.” Valerius stroked his chin. “When I was a mercenary, I saw enemies everywhere. I imagined that under every person’s shirt was a hidden dagger. That even the children I met who wanted to play were looking to lure me into a dark alley so that adults could waylay me. The reason was--”

“That’s all you’d been exposed to?” Caden guessed.

“Yes, because my job was to kill people for money. I was very good at it. But when you take a person’s life for coin, you begin to imagine that everyone sees things the same way,” Valerius answered.

“Now, you are here to protect people, but recently, all you’ve seen are people we trust--that you have trusted--show you a side of themselves that makes you question everything.

You want to feel safe. You want to limit the chance of being wrong about someone. ”

Caden nodded. “But you also said I’m like hope so… well, that doesn’t sound very hopeful.”

“You are hope. But that doesn’t mean you aren’t affected by what’s happened.” Valerius pressed his lips together for a moment as if contemplating keeping his next words to himself.

Caden nudged him. “Go on. Tell me.”

“It was not all that long ago, Caden, when I told you that your father and I had twin concerns for you? One that you were innocent and two that you would learn to rue that, which would destroy that innocence?” Valerius reminded him.

Caden nodded.

“Don’t let fear rule you, Caden. Don’t let distrust color your views.

Right now, it seems like everyone is against us, but that’s not true,” Valerius told him.

“The majority though don’t. The majority of people are rooting for the White Dragon Shifter.

The majority of people want us to stop what the Behemoth is doing.

And the majority of people will help us. Not harm us.”

Caden considered what Valerius had said. “You know, I think Valinor makes you the hopeful one between us.”

“Here, I feel freer than at High Reach, though I love it there best of all,” Valerius told him. “I also think Raziel just likes being higher up.”

The two of them laughed even as their Dragon Spirits slept on, completely unaware of the teasing.

As they rounded the corner of the building that appeared to Caden to be all curving windows with lots of comfy-looking chairs facing out of said windows, the sound of the waterfall grew louder. And then he saw it.

About fifty-feet away, there was a gray stone cliff that was terraced into several levels.

Water plunged into three pools before it fell into a final pool at the house’s level before running off in a lazy stream underneath the structure.

There was a deck all around the outside of the pool with lounge chairs, some situated in full sun while the others were beneath some of the trees that provided shade.

The smell of clean, refreshing water intensified as they neared the water and Caden took in a deep draught and then gagged.

“Sulfur. The hot springs,” Valerius informed him. “The hotter the water, the worse the smell, supposedly, the more curative the springs.”

“R-really?” Caden asked weakly. “No wonder Celestine didn’t suggest eating by the pool.”

“Quite right. But don’t worry. You will get used to it. And you’ll be too busy enjoying the heat to mind. Which first? Hot or cold?”

“Cold. I’m dying to get under that waterfall!” Caden grinned. “Race you!”

“Ah! You won’t win!” Valerius laughed.

Caden raced towards the pool with Valerius hot on his heels.

He flung off the robe and tossed it onto a lounger.

Valerius did the same. Caden was just about to dive in when Valerius lunged past him, performing a perfect dive into the pool.

Caden was in as well, slicing through the water.

Valerius was underwater, waiting for him.

Valerius’ dark hair haloed his head. He was smiling as bubbles leaked from between his lips.

When Caden tried to dart by him, Valerius grasped his waist and propelled them to the surface with powerful kicks of his legs.

Just like how his dad had done when he was little, Valerius tossed him into the air.

He came down laughing as he splashed into the pool once more.

He surfaced to find Valerius having swum over to the waterfall.