Page 42 of The White Dragon's Dilemma

“But--”

“No, Caden!They live in the Mid, not in the Below! Their parents have good jobs.Her brothers work construction and make bank.Yeah, so Landry is a clerk, but what’s wrong with that? Wally was totally helping you guys the best he could,” Tilly pointed out.“There are tons of people who have it so much worse than them, but they aren’t blowing up people or wanting to hurt others! You know, just because Humans First wasn’t behind these bombings, doesn’t mean they didn’t think they were good ideas.”

He couldn’t deny she had a point. It was why he had asked Rose and Wally to check out what was going on inside of the townhouse. He had read a lot into Landry’s decision to out him to Jasper.But what would have happened if she hadn’t? Would Jasper have hurt her or her brothers?The thing was that he didn’t know.Jasper seemed like a sociopath to him.Who knew what the guy was capable of? But, then again, maybe it was easier to think of Jasper as someone who would hurt people instead of Landry simply choosing her brothers over Caden and his family.

Landry’s brothers are still in prison.They still need Humans First’s help.Maybe that’s why.

Caden shook himself.There were a handful of “good” reasons that Landry could have chosen Jasper and Humans First and a ton more bad ones.But it didn’t actually matter.She had chosen.She had expressed that choice in no uncertain terms to the world.Did he really think that talking to her would change that? But he still had faith in her.He couldn’t just end their friendship without speaking to her, could he?

“Caden!”Tilly was shaking his shoulder this time.

Caden’s head shot up towards the townhouse where Tilly was looking, wide-eyed and open-mouthed. A rat and a whole swarm of bees were charging away from the townhouse as if they were on fire.

“Get the door, Caden!Let them get in!”Tilly cried.

Caden fumbled with the door handle and was able to pop it open just as both the bees and the rat flew inside. Wally was running so fast that he did look like he was flying.They both shifted almost instantaneously and Caden’s hand was stuck behind Wally’s bare back as if in an awkward embrace.

“Wally?Rose?What is it?”Caden asked as Wally, without even reaching for his pants, was turning the key in the ignition.

Rose, too, didn’t attempt to dress as she was slapping the back of Wally’s seat and saying, “Go!Go!Go!”

The Bug sputtered to life and there was a terrible grinding, squealing sound as he cranked the wheel and aimed them towards the center of the street. The car reluctantly coughed and then they were moving at a cool twenty miles per hour.

“Guys, what the Hell is wrong?”Caden asked as he glanced back at the townhouse.No one had emerged from there so they hadn’t been caught.

So what’s the rush?

“A bomb,” Rose breathed out, sounding like she had been running full speed.“Humans First has planted a bomb somewhere along King Anwar’s route to High Reach.We’ve got to let everyone know!”

Wally looked grim as he added, “We might already be too late.”

LOVE CHOSEN

Earlier…

Caden’s parents entered the throne room not three minutes after Caden, Tilly and Rose had escaped from it.Valerius only wished that he could run off and avoid this.

He knew he should rise from his throne and greet the Bryces like thefamilythey were--or, at least,would be, once they accepted things--but he felt he needed the protection the throne offered from Grant Bryce’s rather stormy expression.Chione stood at his side at attention with her tablet under one arm.Even she looked a little uneasy in the face of two protective parents.

Can I blame them?Would I want my son mated to someone eons older than him?And would I want anything less for Caden than two extremely loving and protective parents?

“King Valerius,” Grant said as he stormed up to the steps of the throne.He did not mount them, which told Valerius he had been right in keeping the high ground.“Where are my son and daughter?”

Of all the questions he could have asked, Valerius could actually answer this one rather easily and forthrightly, “They went to go pick up Landry from prison.She has been released, as it is clear now that the Faith set the bomb in Dragon Strike Square and not her brothers. So her actions in helping Humans First place smoke bombs in the square are...much less serious.”

But still punishable as they intended to cause damage and mayhem.But such punishment can wait.

Ellen Bryce had followed her husband up to the throne more slowly.She gave a curtsey which Valerius acknowledged with a nod of his head.He would have to figure out what formal protocols were necessary or not.They lived here.Their son was a Dragon Shifter, too.He and Caden were sharing a territory.And he and Caden were…mates.But though he needed no protocol to feel kingly, sometimes keeping these things were necessary for others and order.

Valerius glanced at the mirror and saw Raziel rather moodily lying down, massive head on its forelimbs, eyes half shut, looking lonely and put out since Iolaire was not there to admire and hoot.He felt the same way about Caden not being there.But they would both have to buck up and not be teenagers about it.

“In any event, Caden and Tilly will be back shortly,” Valerius added.

“I’m so glad that Landry was released.I take it that it was your doing, King Valerius,” Ellen inquired.She was rubbing her hands together anxiously and he hoped it wasn’t because she was nervous about being in the throne room with him.

“Chione’s, actually,” he answered her with what he hoped was a genuine smile.

He remembered her initial reaction to Caden’s bonding with a Spirit, about how Chione had told him that she hadlostCaden in a more profound way due to her worship of the Spirits.She seemed to have come around to seeing that was not so, but moving into High Reach might be bringing those feelings to the forefront again.

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