Page 43 of The Arrival of the Dragons

“Really? Hmm, I shall have to continue to be more forceful.” He stroked his beard.

She playfully hit his arm. “No! Mei and Illarion are the only two that truly need a show of temper!” She brought up a tablet and ticked off, “Queen Kaila shall arrive tomorrow around noon.”

“Ah,” he said with a faint flattening of his lips.

“Youlikeher. I realize that she is flighty at times and--”

“She hates being away from water. We are practically land-locked here, which will trigger herboredom. And when Kaila is bored, she gets into trouble,” he explained.

“She will liven things up.” Chione smiled softly.

“Do we need to liven up?” His eyebrows rose this time. Then he said, “Have you reconnected since--”

“No, no, we are just friends now. So! Let’s get on,” she quickly said, her cheeks flaming hotter than his from earlier. “Queen Jahara will arrive later that evening.”

Jahara was more reserved than Kaila by a yard. She was a planner by nature. He wondered how she would view Iolaire. She was steady and thoughtful. She would not come to a conclusion until she had seen and experienced everything.

“And King Anwar? When should we expect him?”

“The following morning. Though he will not like being last, he is a small Dragon and it takes longer for him to come so far.” She ticked something off on the tablet before tucking it beneath her arm. “He and Tez will undoubtedly start a war of words with Illarion that the Green Dragon King cannot win and there will be blood.”

“Perhaps it will stop him from criticizing High Reach, my clothes, the furniture--”

“He loves beautiful things and has very good taste. Perhaps you could ask him for some advice with--”

“I like how things are.” He glared at her.

She just smiled. “Well, we shall have all the Dragons here for the first time in two days from now. Momentous.”

“Yes, and all the more reason for our unknown bombers to strike,” he reminded her.

“I have an idea on this to try to get more information on Humans First that I’ve started in motion,” she said as she tapped her chin.

“Will you tell me what this plan is?”

Surprisingly, she shook her head. “No, I think plausible deniability is best in this. I’ll let you know if it goes anywhere, and then you can thank me or I can brush it under the carpet as a terrible idea.”

He snorted. “You don’t often have bad ideas, Chione.”

“That’s because I only tell you the good ones.” She patted his arm and headed in. “Enjoy your call!”

He smiled at her retreating figure just as he felt the buzz of his phone and Caden’s message,Yes! Call me!

Valerius did and the phone was answered upon the first ring.

“Hey,” Caden’s voice was low and a little breathy. “I missed you.”

A smile was on Valerius’ lips immediately. All his annoyance at the other dragons and their shenanigans fell away. “I missed you as well. I think Raziel is even more heart broken.”

“Really? Iolaire has been pining a little bit, too,” Caden admitted.

“Oh, yes, I do not know if I should reveal how it referred to Iolaire.” He leaned his hip against the warm stone railing.

“Now you have to tell me!” Caden laughed, utterly delighted.

“Something about how Iolaire is the moon.” He paused to hear Caden and Iolaire’s reaction to this. He was not disappointed.

“Iolaire is blushing! And preening! And giving me a nasty look for telling you!” Caden’s laughter grew. “Oh, c’mon, Iolaire, it’s not as embarrassing as I was with one of Valerius shirts!”

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