The Dragon's Treasure, Part 3 (For Love of Dragons)

by Caitlin Ricci

  He leaned over her, close enough for Isabelle to smell his breath as his free hand began to push the long skirt of her dress up.

  Isabelle closed her eyes tightly, tears streaming down her face, but quickly snapped them open as she felt a rush of wind and heard the balcony doors smash open. She looked at the splintered doorway, a slow smile forming on her bruised and bloodied lips as a large black shadow began walking toward them. Andrew scrambled off her, getting to his feet as the dragon continued his slow advance. Isabelle shakily rose to her feet and backed away, sinking against the wall for support. The dragon watched her for a moment, making sure that she was alright, before turning back to Andrew.

  With a shattering cry the dragon charged at him, throwing him against the wall with a sickening crack. Andrew stared up at it blankly, confusion and pain clouding his eyes. The dragon moved in closer to him, his dark eyes fiery as his scaly lips curled back in a wicked smile. His shoulders hunched and the dragon suddenly lunged forward.

  “No! Wait! Please don’t kill him!” Isabelle cried as she scrambled over to them, lightly placing her hand on the dragon's shoulder. The scales rippled under her touch but he did back down after a moment of staring at Andrew's shaking form below them.

  Once the dragon had stopped looking at the man in front of them, turning his attention fully to her Isabelle spoke to Andrew. “I have spared your life this one time, Andrew. If you ever come near Caden, myself or any of the mountain people ever in the future I will not show you this same mercy again. Do you understand me?”

  Andrew nodded quickly, wiping the blood off his lips. Isabelle spared him one last hateful glance before quickly sliding up on the dragon's shoulders. “I think we have been away for too long on this waste of an errand. Don’t you agree?” she said to the dragon. He nodded and then bared his fangs one last time at the still cowering Andrew before walking out to the balcony and taking off in a flurry of wings.

  Isabelle hadn't realized that she was shaking until they were well over the palace. Only then did she allow herself to breathe. She would not cry though, not in front of the dragon. She didn't want anyone to know what had happened and luckily the dragon couldn't talk so he wouldn't be telling anyone. She slowly closed her eyes and rested her head against the side of his warm neck, willing her racing heart to slow down so that she could compose herself before they reached the mountains.

  Isabelle didn't realize that she had fallen asleep until a finely curved claw stroking her bare leg woke her up shortly before he landed just outside of the bedroom she shared with Faolan. He landed with a quiet thump, kneeling so that she could slide off him. In her weakened and dazed state she wobbled against him.

  “Thank you again… for everything,” she whispered to him before stumbling into her bedroom.

  The dragon waited until he saw her go safely inside, the boy instantly coming to her side, before he took off into the night sky.

  “How was it?” Caden asked quickly, tugging at her skirts.

  She shrugged and looked around the room. “Where is Faolan?”

  “I don’t know, he didn’t come back here last night. Will you tell me what happened? Why do you have bruises on your wrists?”

  Isabelle quickly pulled her sleeves down to hide the bruises and turned toward her brother, her eyes pleading. “Go get some rest Caden, we will talk later.”

  “But-”

  “Please Caden?” she begged, tears forming in her eyes.

  He was about to protest again but seeing his sister so distraught made him think better of it. “You get some rest too, Izzy,” he said gently as he hugged and kissed her before walking quickly from the room.

  Isabelle waited until the door closed behind him before stripping off her dress and walking into the bathroom, grateful that there was already a hot bath waiting for her. Without her clothing to hide the dark marks that were already turning purple against her pale skin Isabelle could see the extent of her bruises. She quickly pulled her knees up to her chest and began sobbing into them, needing the release as much as anything else.

  Silently Faolan stepped into the room, instantly knowing from the half open door where she was. He sat down next to her on the cold bathroom floor, careful not to get too close.

  “Care to talk about it?” he whispered to her, keeping his eyes off her.

  Instantly her sobs were silenced and her eyes lowered to the water beside her. “Hello Faolan,” she whispered softly.

  He reached out to touch her, wanting to brush the wet hair from her neck but she shied away from him. With a soft frown he let his hand fall to his lap.

  “I saw Caden in the halls, he seemed upset,” he quietly told her.

  “He doesn't understand,” she whispered back.

  Faolan shrugged and leaned back against the stone wall. “He’s young, perhaps in time he may. Did something happen?”

  Isabelle went pale under his watchful eye. “Andrew… He…”

  In the span of a breath he was on his knees crouching beside her. She spared a glance at him, instantly cringing at the hatred in his dark eyes. “Your brother gave you those bruises?” he asked darkly, his breath barely as whisper.

  “That monster is not my brother,” she growled back at him, meeting his eyes fully.

  Faolan watched her eyes, seeing the emotions flicker across them. When anger had given way to pain and then to sadness he spoke again, knowing that she was calmer now. “Yes, I see how this could be hard for someone Caden’s age to understand.”

  Isabelle nodded and turned away again.

  “Tell me, how did you like your first ride on a dragon?” Faolan asked her, his voice soft and light.

  Her eyes snapped back to his, confusion pooling in her gaze. “You aren’t going to press me for answers about what happened?”

  He slowly shook his head no and moved closer to her until he could feel her warm breath on his cheeks. “You are safe now, that’s what matters to me. The rest you can tell me if you ever decide to. I’m here if you need someone to talk to but I will not force you.”

  She smiled gratefully at him. “Thank you Faolan. That means a lot to me.” He nodded and returned her smile. “And the dragon was wonderful,” she continued, her voice turning dreamy as she thought back to her first ride.

  “Good, I’m glad that you enjoyed it. He’s young but I thought you might like him.”

  Her smile widened slightly and she leaned back in the bath, her head resting next to his against the wall. “I did very much. He was so fast and graceful. But his scales…”

  Faolan's dark eyebrow raised in question. “His scales?”

  Isabelle chewed thoughtfully on her bottom lip before answering him. “They were smooth, like a snake’s skin. Is that normal?”

  “Their scales harden and form as they mature. Once he reaches his prime those soft scales will turn into the hard plating you are more familiar with,” he answered quickly.

  “May I see him again?”

  “Of course you can,” he replied with a slight chuckle.

  “How?”

  Faolan moved closer to her, his fingers tentatively coming up to brush against her bare shoulder. When she didn't move away from him, he laid his palm out flat on her back, his thumb rolling in soothing circles against her damp skin.

  “Picture him in your mind, down to the smallest detail. If he is close enough at the time to hear your call he’ll come to you,” he said softly.

  “Why would he come to me?”

  He smiled widely at her. “You are my wife, they all listen to you. All you have to do is call one of them.”

  “Thank you Faolan.”

  “There’s no need to thank me,” he said quickly.

  He gently brushed his knuckles over the curve of her arm. There was a few comfortable moments of silence before Faolan hesitantly said, “Isabelle, I’m sorry but I must ask you a question. Would anything that happened between you and Andrew require the attention of Kylin?”

  As he feared, Isabelle wen
t pale and pulled away from his hand. “I… I don’t think so,” came her shaky reply. “But would it be possible to have him come check me over just in case?”

  He smiled gently at her. “Of course. Let me go let a guard know to get him.”

  “Thank you.”

  He nodded and then left the room. A few moments later he returned to her side, helped her step gingerly out of the bath and then wrap a long robe around herself. By the time Kylin came in she was sitting on the bed with a cup of warm tea in her hand.

  “Hello Kylin,” she greeted the elderly man.

  “Good evening my dear. Would you like Faolan to leave the room while I examine you?” he began to shoo Faolan away towards the door as the young man glared at him and remained seated nearby.

  “No, that won’t be necessary. I would like him to stay,” Isabelle said with a small smile to Faolan, which he quickly returned.

  With a scowl at the prince Kylin turned back to her. “Very well then. I understand you went to see your brother Andrew tonight?”

  “Yes,” Isabelle replied shortly.

  “And he gave you these injuries in a fight then?”

  Isabelle looked down at her wrists, the purple circles clearly visible against her pale skin. “It wasn’t exactly a fight.”

  Kylin blanched at her words. Beside them Faolan leaned forward slightly. He had not been able to clearly see them before. “Oh, I see,” Kylin told her.

  Isabelle's gaze went to Faolan. “The dragon… he saved me… before…”

  Kylin and Faolan exchanged a look, ending with the older man nodding quickly. “Very good. You will have to give him a special treat, Faolan.”

  “It has already been done,” he replied, his voice almost too soft to hear.

  “I see. Well then, will you remove the robe so that I can get a look at your injuries please?” Kylin asked.

  Isabelle nodded slowly and rose from the bed. While keeping her eyes on the floor she quickly untied the loose knot on her robe, letting the thick fabric fall to the floor around her ankles. Across the room she heard Faolan hiss loudly and felt even worse than she had before. She looked down at the purple blotches forming over her pale skin, tears brimming in her eyes.

  “Well my dear, from what I can see the dragon was able to save you from being badly injured. Your bruises will be sore for a while and your face will probably stay swollen for a few days. But I will leave a salve with you to rub into your skin whenever you feel pain. It should help with the swelling as well,” Kylin told her.

  Very quietly and while still keeping her eyes to the floor, Isabelle said, “Thank you. Do you think… is the baby alright?”

  Instead of answering her, Kylin turned to Faolan. “Come here please,” he told him.

  He slowly stood up, his eyes never leaving Isabelle's nude form. He walked quietly toward them, only at the last moment taking his eyes from his wife and pinning them on Kylin. “Yes?” he gruffly asked him.

  Ignoring the younger man's attitude, Kylin said, “I want you to place your hand just above her stomach and focus on the life growing inside of her. I should have shown you two how to do this before but I thought the nature of your relationship meant that you two didn’t feel much affection for each other. Seeing you here together tonight, I know that I was wrong. Go ahead now, try it.”

  Faolan raised an eyebrow skeptically but nodded anyway. He slowly put his hand over Isabelle's lower stomach, concentrating on the small mound there. Suddenly her stomach began to glow with a bright white light, startling Faolan and causing him to yank his hand away.

  “What was that? Isabelle, did you see that?” he asked her with wide eyes.

  Isabelle nodded, her chin trembling as she struggled to keep her tears from falling.

  “It was our baby,” he whispered the obvious, happy to say it aloud. Faolan forced himself to swallow the lump in his throat and turned back to Kylin. “Thank you. Is it alright?”

  “He’s fine.”

  Isabelle's eyes turned to his wrinkled ones. “He?” she asked cautiously.

  “We’re having a boy?” Faolan asked.

  “You are having a son.”

  Faolan smiled widely, his dark eyes glowing as his eyes again dropped to her stomach. “A son…” he whispered, the awe thick in his voice.

  To be continued in the next installment of The Dragon’s Treasure.

  About the Author

  Caitlin was fortunate growing up to be surrounded by family and teachers that encouraged her love of reading. She has always been a voracious reader and that love of the written word easily morphed into a passion for writing. If she isn't writing, she can usually be found studying as she works toward her counseling degree. She comes from a military family and the men and women of the armed forces are close to her heart. She also enjoys gardening and horseback riding in the Colorado Rockies where she calls home with her wonderful fiancé, their dog and Blue Tongue Skink. Her belief that there is no one true path to happily ever after runs deeply through all of her stories.

  Website

  http://caitlinricci.blogspot.com/

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  http://www.facebook.com/caitlin.ricci.7

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  Email

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  Also by Caitlin Ricci

  Marked by Grief

  All or Nothing

  Taming the Lion Tamer

  Simon Says

  First Kiss

  Pine Hollow Wolves Series

  Almost Paradise

  For Love of Dragons Series

  The Dragon’s Treasure

  Heart of Darkness Series

  The Little Crow