Dragon's Treasure (Dragons Awaken Book 1)

by Maya Starling

  “Alright,” Olivia said, not a hint of hesitation in her voice.

  “Alright? You aren’t going to argue?”

  “No,” Olivia’s grin grew even wider, “I do not want to miss this opportunity. This is amazing!” Kaden chuckled at her response, shaking his head in disbelief as he helped set her up.

  “Now, you have to hold on tight, especially when we’re gaining height. I will not take us very high because it’s cold up there and the air is thin. It would be harder for you to breathe. We’ll glide above the tree line. If at any point you feel uncomfortable or think you might slip, give the rope a hard tug.” Instructions finished, Kaden helped Olivia up so she could get settled.

  “Yes, sir,” she mocked and giggled.

  “Olivia...” Kaden said, a stern edge to his voice and a serious glint in his eyes as he looked back at her.

  Olivia shivered. Now she knew why. His commanding tone was hard to disobey, yet she liked it.

  “Hold on tight.”

  Without another warning, a whoosh sliced the air, followed by a blast of wind against Olivia’s face as the dragon’s wing swung down.

  Chin tucked to her chest, she kept her eyes shut tight, knuckles turning white, wrapped around his spine ridge. They lurched higher and higher until her whole body jerked back. Olivia squeaked and leaned forward, the wind deafening in her ears, whipping her curls back.

  “Open your eyes, Liv,” Kaden said as he glanced at his rider over his shoulder.

  She did as she was told. A gasp slipped past her lips. “Dear Heavens above!” she said.

  Pride swelled within Kaden, lifting away the years of darkness that had consumed him as joy filled him for making her that happy. It was a wonderful feeling, after so long alone in the dark, to indulge someone else’s desires.

  Olivia’s eyes had never been wider and she was sure her jaw was going to hurt for days because of how much she was smiling. She also didn’t care how many bugs she was going to swallow along the way. Her heart pounded against her ribcage as fear, exhilarating fear, coursed through her veins mixed with a rush she had never felt before. She couldn’t put it into words; it was so much more exciting and liberating than the first time she went galloping on her own. So liberating. The world far beneath her feet.

  Trees rushed by under them in a blur of greens, but as she squinted ahead, she was once again amazed by the view.

  Looking at the treetops, Olivia thought that she could just reach down and brush her hands through the leaves, caressing the forest itself. All the green below them and the blue vastness above them made her realize just how big the world was, how tiny her role in it.

  So this is what it feels like to fly. Right then, a new addiction bloomed inside her. She had to experience it again. Kaden would surely agree to such request.

  Olivia wrapped the little bit of loose rope she had around her hand until it was taut as she sat upright, gazing all around them. She closed her eyes for a few moments and cherished the wind whipping at her face, the chill leaving a trail of gentle nips on her flushed cheeks. But she didn’t mind any of it. She feasted on it; it fed her mind and her soul, refreshing her spirit.

  Opening her eyes, Olivia laughed out loud and a happy whoop escaped her lips.

  Kaden veered to the left, circling around then flying back to their little clearing. As they glided above forest, the dragon spread his wings wide. He looked back at Olivia when her happy laughter reached his ears.

  The healing balm of her being, her joy and innocence spread over his wounded soul.

  I’m smitten.

  He shook his head and minded their path again. Never before had he thought he would experience love, especially for it to bloom so fast, almost painfully so. Was it only his loneliness being quenched or were his feelings genuine? As soon as the question flitted through his mind, he knew the answer. Nobody could blame him after meeting Olivia. The adoration that grew within him in such a short time, like a spell of a masterful seductress woven around him, surprised him, but he had heard the stories of men succumbing to women’s charms as fast as in the fairytales. It doesn’t bode well for me. She will leave and I will be left alone again. And probably heartbroken too...

  A gentle caress of Olivia’s hand against his scales brought him out of his reverie. He didn’t care about a broken heart anymore. He would cherish her companionship for as long as he could. It would be worth it.

  Olivia was worth it.

  That last thought filled the dragon with contentment and happiness as they soared on the arms of the wind.

  Chapter 10

  Only a day’s ride away from the dragon’s cave, Prince Magnus and his knights rode into a small trading town.

  Heads turned as they entered the small town. Some people recognized the royal crest and whispered words spread. They never expected to see their prince here. Awe lingered on their faces as Prince Magnus and his contingent of knights rode by.

  Magnus held his head high, face grim, eyes narrowed. Pride coursed through him at the reverence of these peasants. They had probably never witnessed such an intimidating and magnificent sight. He led the way as his weathered knights followed; most of their faces just as grim, riding straight, chins tipped up, as their armors and sharp weapons spoke of proficient use… nothing fancy, nothing expensive, but practical and well used. Except for Magnus’s gold engraved breastplate.

  Magnus had chosen his men wisely. He made sure he had some of the best fighters, with two sworn knights at his side, and the rest, besides being good with a weapon, had skills in other fields as well.

  Reed was his right man hand, his brother in arms, his best friend. They were so much alike that they would feed off each other’s anger and temper. If it were not for Cassiel’s cool-headedness and calming presence, they would have probably encountered plenty of problems during their journey. Reed wielded his long sword as if he were born with it, the weapon as much a part of his body as his arms or legs. His mother had been the prince’s wetnurse, so the two had grown up together, fought together and whored together. A scar cutting alongside Reed’s jaw was left as a reminder to the man that without Magnus, Reed would have been just another lowly servant, emptying chamber pots or cleaning out the horse dung from the stables. They had been fourteen seasons old when Magnus put Reed in his place with the sharp edge of a knife, and the knight had stayed there.

  The prince’s second sworn knight was Cassiel, a dark-skinned warrior and the only true, honorable knight among them. As unique in his fighting style as in his appearance, Cassiel fought with a short sword in one hand and a battle axe in the other. Cassiel had sworn his oaths to Magnus’ father and, honor-bound to serve his king, had been given to the prince to use his talents in Magnus’ service. He did not take oaths lightly, and in Magnus’ presence was always silent and stern, the rational one. But there was a softness in Cassiel’s eyes that Magnus didn’t approve of. They needed to man him up, the prince thought. He wanted to take the knight aside with a woman and make a real man out of him, teach him that women were there for his pleasure.

  Theo, the red-haired scout, and Damien, the quiet hunter, kept to themselves and had developed a close friendship, always going off on their own, scouting they said, and hunting. Magnus had his suspicions, but when it came to tracking and acquiring food on their long travels, while stuck in the wild, the two were the most efficient and valuable men to have at his side. As long as his concerns were left unconfirmed and the men followed his lead, he would ignore his doubts.

  The prince chose young Donovan for his resourcefulness and quick thinking amidst the battle when his brothers in arms needed to be patched up. The boy looked up to him. He was the youngest of the group, with no family of his own, and was hoping for a brother in Magnus, even though Magnus never gave him anything in return. It seemed the more he ignored the boy, the more Donovan sought out Magnus’ approval. He had a natural healing touch; some might even say magic flowed through his fingers. Magnus didn’t care, as long as the boy di
d his job.

  The twins, Cathal and Galor, who really looked nothing alike but were as close as two peas in a pod, depended on Magnus and their position as royal knights. Their wives and children were well taken care of on account of their job. Magnus also found Galor quite useful when food needed to be cooked over the fire.

  Lance and Colin, he knew the least well of all of them. They were hired men but still loyal to the crown and Magnus respected them for the veneration they had towards him.

  Of course, they also had Charlotte, whom they called Charlie, a prostitute he had paid to travel with them, and her story was a different one.

  After receiving a nod from Magnus, Reed rode forward to the main market square and asked about dragon sightings. He returned with three men following him on foot. One of them stepped out, wringing a hat in his hands.

  “Your Highness, these men claim to have seen a dragon yesterday,” Reed said, sitting atop his horse as he maneuvered the animal behind the three men, while Cassiel and Galor flanked their prince.

  Magnus eyed the men warily as he patted his horse’s neck. “Your name?”

  “Rhett, Your Highness,” the man said, keeping his head lowered.

  “Tell me what you know,” Magnus demanded. “And look me in the eye as you answer.”

  The man looked up as instructed. “Yester we was traveling with our caravan to here for some trading on the market. Took the same road you has. Then, out of nowhere, actually... from the south - ” The man called Rhett glanced at his men who nodded in agreement, “- yes, south. It swooped down like this,” he made a swooping motion with his hands “and attacked us somewhat fierce. The beast tried to take our whole wagon! Including horses! It almost burned us alive. But not us... Oh no! We… we fought back with our swords, sticks and stones. We was not going to let it take from us. We was fiercer. So, the dragon fled defeated but managed to take away with him one of the crates with our most precious wares,” the man finished off with a self-satisfied nod.

  Magnus was no fool. He knew the man was lying, at least about the fight. The three of them were clean and completely unharmed. If they had fought a dragon, at least one of them would have been wounded or burned, and they were neither. The man also hadn’t mentioned any bystanders being injured. Magnus presumed the other parts of the story to be true, though; the direction and the day matched.

  “Where did it fly off to?” inquired the Prince.

  “To the mountains, Your Highness.” Rhett waved his hand to the west.

  “Have you ever seen the dragon around here before?”

  “No, Your Highness. We’re new to this route. It’s been quiet. But there is stories going ‘round ‘bout dragon attacks surrounding the mountain area, some years back I guess… or were they only sightings?” Rhett scratched his balding head. “Should talk to the locals about those.”

  “My prince?” Reed spoke, requesting Magnus’ attention.

  “Yes, Reed?” Magnus quirked an eyebrow.

  “If I may suggest we rest here for the night and ask around about those attacks. It has been a long day of riding.”

  Magnus agreed so they settled in for the evening. They would probably head towards the mountains in the morning, following yet another trail the dragon had left. And if the rumors were true, he was one step closer to having the monster’s head, first on a pike and then on his walls.

  Chapter 11

  “I can’t wait ‘til he kills that dragon,” Charlotte exclaimed as she burst through the door into a room of the inn where they were staying, long flaming curls bouncing on her shoulders. She paused a moment in thought, tapping the cleft of her chin with her finger. She closed the wooden door, locked it and continued as she walked towards the bed, “Or better yet, if the dragon kills him.”

  “Charlie!” two male voices hissed from the direction of the bed. They both jumped up blushing.

  “Don’t say that!” Theo said as he settled back on the bed. “Someone might hear you. And you shouldn’t have burst in like that. What if someone followed you in?”

  “Well, you should’ve locked the doors. You two’ve become careless. Lucky for you twas just me this time,” Charlie said as she plopped herself on the bed next to Theo, leaning back against the headboard. Damien lay crosswise to them with his head on Theo’s lap and his feet hanging off the side of the bed. Charlie put her feet up on Damien’s stomach.

  “Umph! Thanks for the warning, Charlie.” Damien turned his head to glare at her. The look was short-lived however, because Theo brought his hand back down on Damien’s head and started running his fingers through Theo’s short, dark curls again.

  “You’re welcome!” Charlotte retorted with a giggle.

  “Bitch!” murmured Damien, which caused her to shrug her shoulders. She had heard it all before and she knew he was actually angry with himself and Theo for leaving the door unlocked.

  “He’s grumpy today,” the red-haired woman pointed out as she rested her head on Theo’s shoulder. Seeing the two of them like that, one would guess they were siblings. Both had red hair and similar soft features, but Charlotte had mischievous green eyes while Theo’s were light brown, and his nose and cheeks were peppered in light freckles. Damien, on the other hand, was the complete opposite of the two with sharp, high cheekbones, short black curls, and dark blue eyes that stood out against his tanned skin.

  He had his eyes closed as Theo’s fingers massaged his scalp, relaxing him. His pulse slowed to a steady beat.

  “Anyway, you two are still my favorites,” Charlie said through a yawn, and then grinned.

  “I wonder why...” Damien rolled his eyes behind his closed eyelids. “Must be our amazing personality and great skills in bed.” A small smile slipped onto his lips.

  Charlotte giggled. “Yeah, great skills in bed, if only you were to share. So selfish!” She poked him in the ribs with her bare toes.

  “No. Sorry. I don’t share my man.” Damien opened his eyes, winked at her and beamed at Theo.

  “Such a waste!” Charlie pouted.

  “You know your womanly wiles and those pouty lips won’t work on us, Charlie.”

  “Well, you can’t blame a girl for tryin’.” Charlie grinned back but the smile left her face when she remembered why she had come to their room in the first place. “Reed said he’s gonna look me up tonight,” she sighed wearily. “I can’t handle him yet; he was too rough the last time.”

  Theo brought his hand around her shoulders and pulled her in closer. “We’ll cover for you, you know that. So don’t worry about it tonight. But...”

  “I know. I won’t be able to avoid him much longer. At least Magnus’s been keeping himself busy with other women this last week. I shouldn’t complain; this whole deal could’ve been much worse. You all could’ve been all over me. What was I thinking?” She groaned.

  “You weren’t. It was your stomach and your empty purse that did the thinking for you.” Damien rubbed her calves which were resting on his stomach.

  “I know. Hopefully it’ll be over soon, one way or the other. Then,” she sighed, “I just need to bear the trip back and I’m done.”

  “Why not ask him to leave you behind when we go back?” Theo said.

  “You think he will? After the last trick I pulled?” Charlie extracted herself from Theo’s embrace, crossed her hands over her chest and looked up at the ceiling.

  “Yeah, that was really a stupid attempt at running away,” Damien said, angry at her for trying and at himself for not helping. No one should go through what she had gone through, what she was still going through.

  “’Twas worth it... seeing his fuming face when he caught me. He was so embarrassed that I managed to get that far with his own horse. I thought his vein would burst and he would die right there.” She smiled wistfully, imagining the prince’s demise, seeing him falling at her feet, reaching out for help or mercy, and she would just kick him over and leave him to rot. “Now, that would’ve been a wonderful sight.”

  “Bu
t was it worth it? The beating and… other things?” Theo turned his angry eyes at her. He had been the one who had helped patch her up afterwards.

  Both men heard her sigh and could see her lip quivering as she fought back the tears.

  “I’m sorry... I shouldn’t have...”

  Theo gently wiped away a tear that ran down her cheek and brushed a red curl behind her ear. He hated seeing her like that. He was starting to really care about her, as if she were his own blood. “We… we should have helped you. We still can.”

  “No!” Charlie’s eyes widened in alarm as she shook her head vehemently. “Don’t you dare even think of it. He’d kill ya if he found out. He’s the prince! Our future king. If you betrayed him like that, if he found out… no, no, no,” she shook her head and then narrowed her eyes at Theo. “It’s not worth it… I’m not worth it. I made the deal with him and I’ll stick to it. I’ve handled men like him before…” She winced at the memories of what had happened when she fought back. “I’ve learned my lesson.”

  “But—”

  “No. Please don’t, Theo. If you try something like that, I won’t cooperate. As long as there’s a possibility of you two gettin’ hurt on my behalf... just no.” Her voice softened, wavered. “I wouldn’t be able to handle the guilt. It’ll be easier to handle him, and Reed, for a few months longer, and then I’ll have enough gold to stop selling myself around.”

  Theo closed his eyes, but nodded his assent.

  “Anyway,” Charlotte cleared her throat, “since we’re talking about working for the Prince Cur, I’ve wondered for a while now, why’re the two of you even working for him?”