The Dragon’s Treasure (7 page)

Isabelle woke up slowly, the light from the early morning sun barely touching her eyes. She snuggled further under the blankets and groaned loudly. Her body ached and her nerves felt raw. She needed time to think about last night before she had to see Faolan again. But as she heard the subtle sounds of footsteps on the stone floor, she realized she wasn’t going to get that chance.

“Faolan?” she called, hoping that he wouldn’t answer. She told herself that perhaps it was only a maid, though she couldn’t remember seeing any in the halls the day before.

The footsteps stopped.

She forced herself to breathe.

“Yes, Isabelle?”

She sat up slowly, pulling the blankets tightly around her. She slid as far away from him as the bed would allow. “Hello.”

Faolan looked up from the teacup in his hand and nodded at her. She frowned, waiting for him to say something as he looked away.

“Faolan…”

“Come join me for some tea. I know that these are your rooms and I am sorry for intruding. But I wanted to speak to you some,” he said without raising his eyes.

She hesitantly nodded and rose from the bed. She slowly walked across the room, keeping her eyes warily on him as he continued to sip his tea. Once she had taken the seat across from him, he handed her a fresh cup and a piece of cake on a small plate.

“So tell me, Isabelle, how did you manage to get here without a horse?” he began once she had begun drinking the tea.

“I do have legs, Faolan,” she replied, sounding much harsher than she had meant to. But he barely blinked.

“You walked? All that way?”

Isabelle fidgeted nervously in the chair. His coldness was more unsettling than open hostility would have been. She would have rather talked to him about the night before, but she didn’t understand him at all yet. She didn’t want to have to handle an angry man, let alone while naked in his home. “Well no, a farmer we met along the road gave us a ride on his wagon for a few hours as he traveled to the next city.”

“But after that?”

Isabelle shrugged and popped a small chunk of cake into her mouth. “I walked.”

He raised his dark eyes to hers, studying her. Isabelle couldn’t help the blush that formed on her cheeks under his intense gaze. “You must be very brave,” he said after a moment.

She had to look away, choosing instead to focus on a lock of hair that she twirled between her fingertips. “There was no bravery. Caden needed me and so I acted,” she replied simply.

“Ah yes, your brother,” Faolan replied. She caught the sharp undertone in his voice and her eyes shot to him.

“Yes,” she said, carefully controlling her voice.

Faolan only looked at her, his eyebrow raised. “How long has he been ill?”

“Since birth, years now.”

His cup empty, Faolan rose from his chair and went to the large wardrobe across the room. Isabelle watched him move effortlessly and with a grace she had never seen with anyone before, much less a man, even as slim and lithe as he was. He rifled through the wardrobe, pulling out shirts and putting them back again as he tried to make up his mind. She wondered why he would have clothes in her wardrobe before realizing that many of them were too big for him.

“Why are there clothes for men in that wardrobe?” she asked.

He continued sorting through the shirts, not bothering to pause in his search for clothing. “This is a generic bedchamber that my father keeps ready for guests. Rarely do we have female guests so all of the clothing that is kept in here is for men,” he told her.

“Oh.”

“You are sure Kylin can cure him?” he asked without turning around.

“He has to. Caden has no one else left,” she replied automatically.

Faolan turned around slowly, his arms crossed over his chest, a bundled shirt hanging loosely from his hand. His dark eyes caught hers, holding her firmly. “He has you, Isabelle.” He smiled slightly as a faint blush spread over her pale cheeks. “I’m sorry, but I should be going. Father will be expecting me. Feel free to explore the mountains as much as you like. If you get lost or wish to find me, ask a guard, any of them will be able to help you.”

“Thank you, Faolan.”

He nodded quickly, changed his shirt, and then left the room without another word.

After Faolan had left she began exploring the suite she and Caden had been given. There was the bath that she had found earlier, a common sitting room and then the last door she tried was Caden’s bedchamber. It was much smaller than hers and seemed quickly put together, but it had a bed in it which was all he would really need right now anyway. After she lit a few candles, she was able to clearly see Caden laying comfortably amidst the sheets. She quickly fell to her knees next to him and pulled his small hand into hers.

“Caden?” she said quietly.

His eyes opened slowly at the sound of her voice. “Izzy?”

“I’m here, darling. How do you feel? You look better.” She ran her fingers gently through his hair and along the side of his face.

“I’m okay,” he replied, his voice hoarse and strained. Caden frowned as his eyes started to focus. “Where are we?”

“The mountains. There’s a healer here and he’s going to make you all better,” she replied quickly, her fingers tightening around his. She started to tell him everything about her marriage and about Faolan and everything else that had happened, but she stopped, the words choking in her throat. He didn’t need the details. He was too young to understand them anyway. It would only be a few months out of their lives and then this would all be behind them. She plastered a warm smile to her lips as she kissed his forehead.

“I’m tired, Izzy,” he whispered before turning over.

“Alright, love,” she said, quickly kissing him on the cheek as she rose to her feet. “Get some more rest.” He nodded and buried himself further under the blankets. He was snoring softly by the time she was at the doorway.

Isabelle realized with some embarrassment that she was still wrapped in a sheet. She quickly dressed in some men’s clothing she took from the wardrobe before finding a guard in the hallway.

“Hello,” she said as she approached him. He quirked an eyebrow at her unusual attire, but wisely kept his mouth closed. “I would like to go see Faolan. Can you take me to his rooms?” she asked. The man nodded quickly and began leading her. Just a few doors down the long hallway from her room the guard stopped, gave her a quick bow and went back to his post down the hall across the door from her suite.

“This is his room?” she called to him. The guard nodded. “You could have pointed, you know.” He smiled briefly before turning away. With a shake of her head, Isabelle knocked on the door and when there was no answer, let herself in. The room was designed much the same as hers was and there was steam coming from the door to the bath.

She approached cautiously, not wanting to startle Faolan if he was in there. The scene that met her eyes though instantly brought a soft smile to her lips as she saw him up to his neck in the hot water, his head leaning back against the smooth stone, his eyes resting closed.

Feeling uneasy about spying on him, she still couldn’t resist seeing him so vulnerable and unguarded. He really was beautiful with his pale skin and fine muscles. His dark hair, so neat before, now lay in wet clumps around his neck and shoulders.

His eyelids began to open and, not wanting to be caught staring at him, Isabelle knocked on the open door. She forced herself not to smile as his eyes shot open and he sat up quickly, splashing water over the stone. In a moment, the unguarded look in his face was replaced by the cautiousness that she was starting to grow used to.

“Isabelle…Hello…” he stammered, a bright blush already forming over his cheeks.

“Hi,” she replied, forcing herself to look away from him.

He leaned forward slightly and forced himself to slow his breathing. “I’m almost done if you want the bathe to yourself,” he said quietly.

Isabelle shook her head and pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. She couldn’t meet his eyes. “Um, actually, I was wondering if you could…um…”

“You went to see your brother, didn’t you?” he asked quickly, already reaching for the towel beside him.

“How did you know?” she said as she turned slightly towards him, her eyes wide.

“A hunch I suppose. Is he better after…Well, what happened…”

Isabelle nodded. “Much. He seems so much stronger.”

“It makes sense that doing that would help the most. It’s hard for my father to have his precious heir without that after all,” he said.

“You don’t want a child?” she asked.

“I wouldn’t have forced marriage and a child on someone just to have an heir,” he replied seriously.

“It’s not so bad. I will have my brother back and that’s worth it,” she said softly.

“I’m glad for you.”

She squared her shoulders and caught his gaze. “I want my brother well again as quickly as possible. You can help me with that. Like you did last night.”

* * * *

He instantly stopped and stared at her, not fully believing what she was saying. “Are you sure, Isabelle? I don’t want you getting hurt.”

She pressed her lips into a thin line and nodded once more. “I want my brother to get better.”

“If that is what you want, we will do as you wish. Would you like to wait on the bed and I will join you in a few minutes?”

Isabelle nodded and left the doorway. She was vaguely aware of her hands shaking as she began stripping off the loose tunic. At least the simple clothes didn’t take too much concentration to take off or else she might never accomplish it. After a few minutes of struggling with the pants, the clothes lay in a crumpled pile around her feet. Not wanting to seem lazy and hoping to stall for a few extra seconds, she neatly folded them up and placed them on the seat of a nearby chair. She crawled into bed, her pulse ringing loudly in her ears as she attempted to get comfortable among the sheets.

She turned to the wall as she bathroom door slowly creaked open. The soft padding of his bare feet on the smooth stone was almost familiar now as he walked toward her. She could tell that he was trying to be calm, trying to force his breathing to slow, but he sounded as nervous as she was. The bed dipped slowly and she felt the sheets move aside as he joined her.

“Isabelle?” His soft voice, so close to her shoulder, startled her.

“Yes?” she squeaked.

There was a moment’s hesitation. “Will you look at me this time?”

Isabelle shut her eyes tightly as unbidden tears welled inside of them. He sounded hopeful, and yet still so scared. “I…I can’t. Not yet,” she whispered into the darkness.

She imagined the hurt in his eyes and pretended that she didn’t care.

“I understand. After this child is born and you can return to your own lands, will you hate me?”

“No,” she said without hesitation.

“I’m surprised,” he replied softly.

“Honestly, in a way, I am, too. But you don’t hurt me, you’re nice to me and last night you made it as painless for me as possible. I can’t hate you for that,” she said as she slowly turned toward him. His dark eyes flicked to hers for an instant before turning away again.

“Thank you. Please try to believe that this is strange for me, too,” he said as he lithely turned over onto his stomach and propped himself up on his elbows.

“I know it is.” Isabelle’s eyes caught the fine lines in his shoulders, barely noticeable in the dim light. Hesitantly she reached out to touch him, her fingertips just barely grazing the taut muscles of his upper arm. “They’re scars,” she whispered, half in pity and half in awe. Now that she could feel them, she knew that his upper arm was covered in a fine pattern of thin scar lines. Many seemed to be years old, but others, like the one her thumb gently caressed, looked red and angry and couldn’t have been more than a week or two old at most.

Faolan took her hand gently in his, keeping his eyes cautiously on hers just in case she decided to pull away from him. He brought her fingertips to his pale lips, at first blowing on them lightly before planting a soft kiss on the smooth tips. Isabelle quickly sucked in a breath through her teeth as a sudden and completely new wave of desire flared in her stomach. Startled, Faolan dropped her hand and turned away again.

“I’m ready now,” she whispered softly.

“Are you sure?” he asked after a moment’s hesitation.

Not trusting herself to speak, Isabelle nodded quickly and closed her eyes as she felt him move silently beside her. His fingertips, slightly calloused and warm, were gentle on her inner thighs as he moved her legs apart.

Isabelle tensed uncomfortably as she felt him pressing against her. His smell was all around. But it was sweeter than before, almost intoxicatingly so. She wondered when she had become so aware of someone’s scent. It had never been like this before. She tentatively touched his shoulder, her fingers lightly playing against his already tight muscles.

“Easy, Isabelle,” he whispered softly. He sounded like a groom trying to calm one of her brother’s feisty horses. The thought made her smile a little. “Try to relax. It may hurt less.”

She bit her lip and nodded. She turned her head to the side and closed her eyes tightly. Taking a deep breath, Faolan pressed his lips to her neck and slowly slid inside. Isabelle fought back the urge to cry out and instantly started blocking out the pain. But she was surprised that, even though she was still sore, there was very little pain like there had been the first time and the burning sensation was almost all gone. She lay quietly under him, letting him do as he wanted. She was ready for any pawing or manhandling he might do. She knew from listening to the other women that men were sometimes rougher than they had liked and she had prepared herself for that possibility.

But just like the first time, he didn’t touch her any more than necessary and didn’t make eye contact. He was gentle and careful with her, something she knew many men wouldn’t have been.

He took a few deep breaths and then rolled onto his side of the large bed. Isabelle lay as she was, her heart still pounding as she watched him try to control his breathing. In moments, he was on his stomach again, looking away from her. She wondered if that was how he preferred to sleep.