Page 7 of The Arrival of the Dragons

“I had to stick my head out of the sun roof in the vehicle taking me here from the airport to get in on the action.” Esme’s eyes slid to Illarion. He had taken the short cut by shifting. “But I did see the battle. You were magnificent as always, Valerius. Raziel is so gorgeous. Those midnight black scales against the peerless blue sky.” Esme kissed Valerius’ cheek.

I am magnificent, Raziel agreed. His Spirit had always liked Esme, which was rare, as Raziel normally hated most people.

“Raziel extends its greetings to you and Scylla,” Valerius told her.

“Scylla so wanted to fly up there and get involved in things!” Esme’s eyes narrowed at Illarion.

He had violatedallof their rules, not just Valerius’. To treat one Dragon with a lack of respect was to treat them all that way. The delicate balance was kept by each Dragon Shifter acting carefully around the other. Illarion had violated all of that.

“It was good that you convinced Scylla not to,” Chione said. “Iolaire had things well in hand all on its own.”

“Oh, yes, I saw that!Everyonesaw that,” Esme tittered.

Esme gave Illarion a similar hard smile as Valerius had. The Green Dragon Shifter ignored her. It was really impressive that Illarion could pretend to be alone on this courtyard with Iolaire. Other than Esme’s opening line, none of them had actually directly spoken to him. So there was that.

Esme turned fully to Iolaire, who had stopped cleaning to observe her almost shyly. She took a few steps towards the White Dragon. Her expression was surprisingly tender. “Aren’t you beautiful! Oh, my such a lovely one. I am Esme, the Blue Dragon. My Spirit’s name is Scylla.”

Esme is a friend,Valerius assured Caden.Though she looks like a stylish grandmother, she has the most strategic mind of all of us.

She seems nice!Caden exclaimed, and Valerius got an impression of long lost grandparents from Caden’s past that he missed dearly.

He wanted to warn Caden that Esme was more like Marban than she was like those fuzzy memories of white-haired older people who brought presents and smiles. But Iolaire was already slowly lowering its head so that its eyes were even with hers. Iolaire then slowly blinked, cat-like once more. Esme reached out to touch Iolaire.

“May I, dear Iolaire?” she asked.

Iolaire pushed its nose into her hand. She let out a delighted laugh and was soon scratching and embracing the massive head. She pulled back to gaze at Iolaire with affection. A huff of frost exited Iolaire’s mouth. The White Dragon looked apologetic, but Esme tsked.

“I control water, dear one. We are aligned. You see?”

She moved her hand through the last tendrils of drifting fog. They curled around her fingers and then transformed into water droplets that formed a small pool in her hand. Iolaire licked the water up experimentally, which had her laughing delightedly again. She patted Iolaire’s nose.

“Valerius, Iolaire is quite the charmer!” Esme’s pale cheeks were pink with pleasure. Her sea blue eyes looked quite brilliantly happy.

At that moment, Valerius realized that she wasgladfor this new addition to their kind. He had thought she would be more concerned about the politics of it, and the potential disruption of the power balance. It was she who had suggested the splitting of the planet into territories. But, at this time, she seemed simply happy to embrace a new Spirit in the realm.

“Iolaire is at that.” Valerius strode towards them, and immediately, Iolaire pressed its snout against Valerius’ chest. Hot breath gusted over him, nearly blowing his robe off.

Chione came over as well. She got a lick from Iolaire in greeting. That left just Simi and Ngoye standing at attention by the doors of the throne room--where they were supposed to be--and Illarion, standing awkwardly a dozen feet away. The Green Dragon Shifter was no longer scowling, well, no more than he naturally did. He looked thoughtful, which had Valerius feeling uneasy. Illarion had definitely not given up on getting Iolaire. Seeing Valerius observing him, Illarion met his gaze evenly. He gave a small smile to Valerius.

“Well, this visit has not been boring yet,” Illarion said as he approached.

Iolaire’s head rose abruptly as it turned to regard Illarion out of cool, blue eyes.

Illarion hesitated in mid-step. He finally held up his hands. “I have no ill will towards you.”

“That is hardly what you were saying earlier,” Chione remarked dryly.

Illarion let out a few chuckles that didn’t sound authentic. “I was… startled. I am not used to being manhandled.”

This coincided with Valerius’ own beliefs. Illarion was off his game. He had revealed too much in that temper tantrum of his.

But he expected to come here and what?Valerius wondered and narrowed his eyes.He has gone too long unchecked. No one can challenge him in his own territory, but here, he has had a small Dragon take him down to nothing.

“It was quite a bit more than that, Illarion.” Esme’s expression was mild, but there was a sharpness to her tone.

Illarion’s expression grew dark for a moment, but then with a visible effort, he smoothed it into a smile with another chuckle and shrug. “I had no idea of our newest addition’s powers.” His gaze hardened for a moment. “But next time I won’t be caught off guard.”

Iolaire regarded him with a speculative look. The White Dragon Spirit was new, but clearly it wasn’t a fool.

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