The Dragon's Treasure, Part 3 (For Love of Dragons) (5 page)

The dragon quickly nodded and then stepped away from her. With a few strong beats of his wings he lifted himself off the ground, disappearing into the night sky. Isabelle watched him go until she could no longer make out his dark silhouette, then took a deep breath and walked into the palace. She walked up to the first guard she could find, a large man with a long blond beard, and quickly asked, “Where is my brother?”

“Welcome
back
my lady. I believe he is in his rooms,” the man responded instantly.

“Thank you,” she said, walking past him into the narrow hallways of the palace. She was surprised by how few guards she saw but realized that Andrew had probably already sent most of them away so that she wouldn't be bothered on the way to his rooms.

Within minutes she had made her way to the familiar door to her brother's rooms. “Andrew?” she called, knocking softly. “It's me, Isabelle.”

“Come in sister,” he called.

She quietly entered his room, her eyes taking a minute to adjust to the dim light that the few lit candles provided. “Hello Andrew,” she said once she found his dark shape amongst the shadows.

“My darling sister, you look well,” he said, coming closer.

“As do you.”
Isabelle shifted nervously.

“It’s funny,” he said, coming to rest by a small table with a vase of flowers on it. “I heard a rumor today that you and your brother are living in the mountains.”

Her eyes narrowed at him. If this was all he wanted to talk about this was a wasted trip. “You are correct.”

“Pardon?” he gasped.

“Caden and I are living in the mountains.” She spoke slowly as she rolled her eyes. She knew it would bother him but she wasn't prepared for the way he charged toward her, backing her up against the wall as he pressed against her.

“With them?
Why?” he asked, his
voice almost a pleading whisper
.

She squirmed against him, trying to get away. “They have helped Caden get so much better. If you could only see him now-” she squeaked.

“At what price did their generosity come?” he hissed.

“The price is not important,” she whispered, her eyes falling to the floor.

He nodded and pressed his face against her collarbone, his breath coming in
thready
whispers against her bare skin. “I see. So am I to assume gold and jewels were not part of the agreement?”

“Those things matter little to these people,” she replied, her voice shaking.

In a movement too fast for her to see Andrew had her chin between his fingers and was looking sharply into her eyes. “How long have you played the whore to those monsters?” he breathed.

Isabelle's eyes narrowed at her brother. How dare he ask such a
thing.
“Who’s playing?” she asked him, her voice just as flat and bitter as his.

She was prepared for his strike before it hit her. But her face still stung as his hand connected. Her head snapped to the side and a small line of blood was beginning to trail from the side of her mouth.

“You vile, disgusting piece of filth. How dare you give yourself to them!” he screamed at her.

She straightened up and looked him squarely in the eyes before spitting blood in his face.
“I’m
doing what I have to in order to make sure Caden lives.”

“How long has it been since you last laid for one of their kind?” he growled as he started taking off his belt.

“That's none of your business,” she hissed at him.

His hands stilled on the thick leather. “You will tell me,” he said darkly as one of his hands came to rest on her side.

“And if I don’t? Do you really intend to beat it out of me as punishment?” she laughed at him. “I'm not a child Andrew and you are far out of line. Let me go.”

Isabelle had no idea where this new bravery was coming from but she hoped it held out for a while yet because Andrew looked like he had no intention of backing down anytime soon.

“No, I will not beat you little sister. I merely wish to remind you of how we treat whores here in my city,” he hissed.

Her eyes narrowed and she pushed away from him. “This is still father’s city you pathetic waste of a man.”

This time she wasn't as prepared for his fist as it came across her temple, sending her sprawling to the floor. “How dare you speak to me that way you filthy
whore.
You must be punished.”

Isabelle turned onto her back and stared up at him, her eyes going wide as his pants fell to the floor. She scrambled to get away from him but he was much too fast for her and grabbed her by the ankle, pulling her back to him. Tears began streaming down her face as Andrew clamped a hand over her mouth and shoved his knee between her thighs, forcing her legs apart. Isabelle struggled against him, scratching him with her nails and punching him with her small fists, but he merely grunted each time she made contact.

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 went 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?”