Page 53 of The White Dragon Revealed

Nothing there. God, though, she wears too much perfume! Lilacs!

Iolaire disengaged them from her embrace and went to the next person at the end of the line to their left. That person immediately stepped forward and embraced Iolaire just as the leader had. Again, no scent of chemicals.

Does C4 smell like anything?Caden wondered.

And even if it did, would they recognize its scent? Would they sniff every single person and miss the obvious? But Iolaire seemed confident they’d discover the person if there was a person to be found.

Another reporter had joined the first and he heard them saying over the continued singing, “Aww, Iolaire is letting the Faith hug it!”

The first reporter chuckled, “Yes. Is Iolaire sniffing them?”

“It might be! Maybe that’s its way of greeting?” the second replied.

“Let’s hope it isn’t smelling them for tastiness!” the first reporter chortled.

Iolaire was sniffing the fifth person. Caden kept looking down the line of Faith. Was anyone reacting differently? Tense at their approach? Sidling away? Trying to hide something?

While quite a few of the Faith were eagerly looking down the line towards them, waiting for their chance to embrace him and Iolaire, there were just as many not looking. Some had their eyes closed as they sang their hearts out. Others appeared to just be murmuring. Others had their faces hidden.

Which one of you is guilty?Caden wondered.Is one of you guilty?

He thought he saw one of the people about five down twitch when they moved their head to the next person. He fixed one of their blue eyes on this person. They had their hood pulled down and were definitely shifting nervously.

Iolaire, skip the rest of these people! Go to them! They are looking suspicious!

His Spirit complied and bypassed the next person who nearly toppled over as they thought his and Iolaire’s snout would have been there to catch them. Instead, they glared down at the figure whosuspiciously kept their hood pulled down almost to their chin. Their blue eyes narrowed! This person wasdefinitelyacting suspiciously. They loomed over the hooded figure.

I won’t let you hurt anyone!Caden hissed.

Then they leaned in and the hooded member of the Faith slowly put their arms around his snout. They drew in a deep breath and…

Mom?!

There was no scent of C4 or any other explosive, just his mother’s clean scent of sandalwood and cinnamon. She hugged him fiercely.

“Iolaire,” she whispered, but he heard his own name somehow in the name of his Spirit.

Mom…

This was the first time that his mother had seen Iolaire up close, let alone touched them. They closed their eyes and purred. He knew they should pull back and not treat her any differently than the rest of the Faith, but he couldn’t quite do it. And Iolaire waslovingbeing so close to her, too.

You think of her as Mom too? Oh, man, she’s going to love that! She’s also going to think she’s not worthy of that but I can’t wait to tell her.

His mother saved them both by drawing back. Her hands drifted over their snout. He could see her face now. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, but she was smiling broadly.

It was in this moment of hesitation, gazing at her lovingly, that Caden and Iolaire caught a whiff of a plasticky, acrid scent. A scent he knew did not belong. A scent Iolaire knew to mean danger.

It was a member of the Faith with a bomb.

And they were standing right next to his mother.

BOMB BELIEVER

Earlier...

Valerius pushed past George to look at the video feeds. The Snake Shifter let out a “Hey, who do you think you are?” but then Valerius swept back his hood from his head, and George gasped, “You?! King Valerius?!”

“You’re quite observant. Let’s see if you can do me!” Kaila shook back her hood.

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