Page 62 of The Arrival of the Dragons

“Marban merely wants to be included at the top of any system. He has no desire for equality,” Valerius stated. “If it was Marban as a part of this, being on the Council neutralized him to some extent. He won’t want to shake the pillars of Heaven when he is in Heaven.”

“Indeed.”

“The other Dragon Shifters have yet to arrive. I am curious to see how thirty years of rule has impacted them,” Valerius said.

“Understood. Are you going to Iolaire?” she asked.

He nodded. “I have taken too long already to get to them. Seeing Serai die…”

“Have they ever experienced that?”

“I do not think so. Will you handle matters here? If you need me, of course, contact me,” he told her.

“I can get things settled. Go to them.” She bowed her head before he went to the stairs.

He could have shifted and flown to his room, but he’d seen Caden admiring these clothes and he didn’t want to ruin them. So he took the stairs two or three at a time to get to his tower rooms.

When Valerius opened the doors to his tower, he found Caden wearing one of his silk shirts that was long on him so that it came down to mid-thigh. The young man curled on the couch, staring at the fire. Immediately, Caden looked up when he came in. The sadness that shadowed Caden’s features cleared for a moment as the young man hopped up from the couch to come to him.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” Caden murmured.

Valerius took Caden into his arms and kissed the top of his head. “I am sorry that I could not have shielded you from that.”

Caden clung to him, face pressed against his shoulder, body shaking a little. Valerius ran a hand up and down Caden’s back. They stayed that way for some time before Valerius urged the young man back down onto the couch. Caden drew his knees up to his chest and looked a mixture of bewilderment and grimness.

“I see you found something to wear,” Valerius said, trying to lighten the mood.

Caden lifted up his arms which had the long sleeves of the silk shirt flowing back to his elbows. “This was all I could find that semi-fit. Do you own anything that isn’t black and silk or leather?”

“No.”

“You don’t have any underwear either. Or shorts or jeans or sweatpants or--”

“Underwear is a pain and unnecessary. Could you imagine me in shorts?”

Caden looked at him skeptically. “Noooo, so I guess I see your point. I’m going to have to bring a change of clothes to the castle.”

Valerius allowed this idea to sit with him for a minute. Should Caden have clothes here? It would be more convenient. Perhaps one of the guest rooms could be turned over for his use. Or Caden’s things could behere. In his rooms. Alongside his things. Caden was suddenly watching his face and nibbling his lower lip nervously.

“Uhm, maybe that was a little forward so I--”

“No, I think that is wise. You should have some things here,” Valerius finally answered after what he knew had been too long a silence.

“Only if you want me to--”

“I do. I do, Caden. It is just new for me.”

Caden gave him a ghost of a smile. “Yeah, I get that. But I’m really starting to figure out that change is inevitable.”

Caden went back to staring into the fire. For his part, Valerius called for raw beef and chicken along with vegetables to be brought up. He would cook for Caden. The young man needed to eat. Then Valerius opened a bottle of wine. He poured large glasses for both of them. Caden thanked him silently and cradled the goblet against his chest. Valerius sat down beside him, allowing one arm to curl around Caden’s shoulders. Caden naturally drew against him, resting the side of his head against Valerius’ chest. Caden let out a sudden snort.

“What?” Valerius asked.

“I imagined doing this with you the first day we met, which wasn’t that long ago. But I thought it was impossible,” Caden admitted.

“Because you never wanted to be this close to me?”

“Are you kidding? Of course, I did! You’re really hot. You were an asshole, too. But a really sexy one,” Caden laughed. “Now that I know you better, it’s hard to imagine not wanting to be like this for so many other reasons. I’m sure you didn’t imagine me here.”

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