Page 61 of The White Dragon's Dilemma

Caden wiped away tears of laughter.“You almost look like you’re smiling.Why would you be smiling at the thought of me snowed under by reports?”

“Because you would see that I am right about them andruethis day that you laughed so cruelly at my good advice.”He leaned in as Caden pouted and whispered in his ear, “And then I wouldsaveyou.”

Caden pinked and grinned. “I think I want some of those reports.Just so you can save me. So long as the saving involved--”

“Are you two flirting?You are!” Tilly cast a suspicious look back at them both. “You need to save that for the cameras!”

Valerius chuckled.She flounced ahead of them happily. Valerius laced one of his hands with Caden’s as they strolled after her.

“I will save you from this report at least for the evening.You have enough to worry about,” Valerius told Caden as they neared the meeting room.

“From the media?Oh, it’ll be fine, right?Yeah, I mean I’m boring! Tilly will steal the show.Dad will sit there and answer in clipped yeses or noes and Mom will laugh uncomfortably every so often.You'll have to do most of the talking,” Caden rattled off as he leaned into Valerius’ larger form as if to take shelter there. “The press will realize that me and my family are so uninteresting that people will turn off their shows as soon as my name comes up.So it’ll truly be fine!”

Valerius felt for him.He wanted to wrap Caden up in his arms and simply take him away from all of this.

A mountain peak,Raziel suggested.That is where we should go.

Iolaire’s wings fluttered at the suggestion and the “cavern” behind the two Dragons turned into such a peak. They were on the top of an incredibly high mountain with a thick, icy snow covering.The sky was so clear it had an almost crystalline appearance, like it might shatter.The stars sparkled and the moon glowed.It was a stunning sight.

No one but us,Raziel continued the suggestion.

Valerius heard only the shifting of snow beneath Dragon feet and the whistle of the wind then. Raziel and Iolaire gazed up at the moon, their wings almost touching.It was a scene that had Valerius nearly forgetting all of his and Caden’s responsibilities.But that could not be.

Sounds amazing, but we must do this.Their hunger for information about Caden and Iolaire is already insatiable,Valerius warned.We must take control as much as possible of the narrative.

Bah!Raziel stretched one clawed forelimb.We are Dragons! We need no narrative!

Valerius smiled.You do have a narrative though, Raziel.You are the strong, powerful and moody protector of the world.First among equals.

Raziel’s red eyes shut to slits.Yes, yes, I am.

And Iolaire is the Dragon with the heart of gold.Fierce, protective yet gentle.A friend to all unless they try to harm the innocent,Valerius said.

With every word, Iolaire’s chin had lifted until its snout was perpendicular with the ceiling of the “cavern” it and Raziel inhabited.Iolaire let out a breath of frost.

Indeed, Iolaire is all of those things,Raziel agreed.

That is all the press can know of you because they would be too terrified or respectful to ask more,Valerius told them both.But Caden and I…

We protect you most of all!Raziel stated proudly.They should not ask you questions either!

Iolaire, though, gave him an understanding look.Violence was not the answer.

They need to connect with us, Raziel.On the one hand, they must see us as their leaders, but on the other, they must see us as the same as them,Valerius explained.And in that balancing act, the press looks for good and bad things to report upon.

There is nothing bad about Caden!Raziel said with loyalty that it had never expressed before.

No, there is not,Valerius agreed.

Iolaire cooed at the bigger Dragon. Raziel leaned down and they pressed their foreheads together.Valerius left them as they purred. Caden, of course, had heard all of this and he gave Valerius a quirked smile.

“The press can twist stuff though, can’t they?”Caden asked. “Make something that’s innocent into something not?And take what’s complicated and make it seem black and white?”

Valerius nodded.“I admire your loyalty to Rose and Wally. I think you understand that their pasts will be something that the press will not ignore.”

“They won’t,” Caden agreed with a nod.“But I think a lot more people will relate to them than won’t.Yeah, sure there will be those that judge them.But a whole lot more will see the incredible things they’ve done to get out from under.And it will give people hope, which is, I think, Iolaire’s greatest strength.”

Valerius considered this.One of the biggest problems in society was the lack of social movement.Even in his territory where it was said that anyone could become anything that really wasn’t true.And some would say it was becoming less true everyday.That was what Humans First was feeding on.The sense of discontent.The sense that no matter how hard you worked, it didn’t matter.If you weren’t a Shifter you could never truly get ahead.

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