The Dragon’s Treasure (13 page)

“What?” his eyes narrowed at her and he froze defensively.

“Please, Faolan? It’s important. I…I want to touch you. But you can’t move. Please?”

He blushed quickly and nodded.

“Do you promise?” she pressed.

“Yes,” he whispered, his eyes locked on hers.

She nodded and scooted closer to him, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. She took a deep breath and slid the rest of the way toward him until her knees were pressed against his side.

Isabelle hesitantly lay down next to him, smiling at him as he raised his arm for her to rest her head on. He smiled briefly back at her before closing his eyes as she began to gently run her fingertips over his ribs. He jumped slightly at her touch, causing her to scowl at him.

“You promised,” she scolded. He scowled at her, but said nothing as she continued to slide her hand further down his torso.

Her fingertips curled gently in the patch of hair between his legs. “May I?” she whispered, noticing with a small smile how his eyes were closed tightly as if he was in deep concentration.

He nodded quickly and then hissed as he felt her fingers stroke him.

“It’s not scary,” she breathed in awe.

“It shouldn’t be. It’s just a part of me, after all. But, Isabelle, wait—”

Her fingers paused on his velvety skin. “Yes?”

“Don’t you think that we should talk about the other night?” he asked quietly, suddenly seeming very uncomfortable.

“Not really. I spoke with your father about it already. I understand a little more now,” she replied, her voice as soft as his.

He nodded and pressed his lips to her forehead in a gentle, soothing kiss.

“Faolan?” she whispered.

“Yes, Isabelle?”

She smiled softly at him and returned his kiss with one just as gentle to his chest. “I think I’m ready now.”

Isabelle awoke to an empty bed with the bright morning sunlight hitting her in the face. She sat up slowly and frowned at the hollow dent in the sheets where she knew Faolan had been last night. His side of the large bed was already cool to the touch. She wondered where he went in the mornings, but never questioned him about it. They were getting along and becoming comfortable with each other. There was no reason to ruin that by prying into something which didn’t concern her after all.

She slid out of bed and rose to her feet. But she quickly sat back down though as a sudden wave of dizziness hit her. She ran her hands through her long tangled hair a few times before again standing. There was no dizziness this time, but her stomach felt a little uneasy. She poured herself a cup of hot tea and began sipping it as she curled up in one of the large chairs in the room. Someone had left her a few small cakes to have with her morning tea for breakfast. She ate them slowly as her stomach seemed to calm down with each tentative bite.

A small knock drew her attention to the door.

“Come in,” she called after swallowing a mouthful of cake. A bright blonde head poked around the corner of the door, followed by a widely grinning little boy. “Caden!” In an instant, Isabelle had him in her arms and was hugging him tightly.

“Izzy!” he exclaimed as he threw his arms around her, too.

“What are you doing here? You look so good,” she asked him as they sat down and she poured him a cup of tea and passed him a cake.

“Kylin said I was doing well enough to come see you for a change,” he said between hungry mouthfuls. “And he forgives us for sneaking out before. He actually told me to get out of bed this morning and to go play.”

“That’s wonderful, Caden. You are looking so much better.”

He nodded quickly and then took another large bite. “I feel stronger, too. Is this what you have for breakfast every morning?” he asked as he eyed the rest of the cakes greedily.

Isabelle giggled and passed him the plate to finish off.

“Usually this is it. Do you like them?”

“They are great! I haven’t been allowed to have anything solid since we came here. Kylin was afraid it would make me sick. Since I can be out for a little bit today though he said that I could eat as much as I wanted as long as I felt alright. Where do these come from? When Kylin says I’m all better, I’m eating these everything morning!” Caden exclaimed with large eyes as he ate another in just a few bites.

Isabelle laughed and rubbed her brother’s tousled hair. “I’m not sure where they come from actually. Something is always here waiting for me with a pot of hot tea. I just assume Faolan orders it for me before he leaves in the mornings.”

Caden became quiet and put a half-eaten cake back on the plate.

“Is something wrong, darling?” Isabelle asked as she pulled him into her arms.

“Do you think he’ll like me?” he asked softly.

Isabelle smiled at him and kissed his cheek. “I think he will like you very much. Hopefully he’ll come back here before you have to go back to Kylin and then you could meet him and see for yourself. Now what do you say to me getting dressed and then I’ll take you on a tour of the mountain?”

Caden grinned widely. “Only if you get dressed really quickly. I’m glad you forgave him for what he did. Like I said, it wasn’t as if he really had a choice.”

She quickly kissed his cheek and handed him his half-eaten cake before slipping away.

Isabelle lay up to her neck in the warm bath. It had been hours since her dizzy spell that morning, but her stomach had never fully recovered. After a quick tour of the parts of the mountain she was familiar with, she and Caden had finished off a small meal back in her room. They had spent another hour with her reading Caden a storybook from Thadius’s library before returning to her rooms for Caden to take a nap and her to get cleaned up. Thankfully they had only seen a few guards on their walk that smiled politely at the pair before passing them.

Isabelle was surprised she had felt ill early that morning. It was unlike her to be unwell and especially for her stomach to still feel uneasy hours later. She closed her eyes and relaxed, hoping that the warm water would help get rid of whatever was ailing her.

“I like your cakes.”

Isabelle sat up and stared at the closed door that led to the bedroom.

“Really?”

She recognized Faolan’s voice and quickly got out of the bath and dried off.

“Yep. The berry ones were the best.”

That, she knew was Caden. She was surprised to hear him easily talking to a stranger since he was usually so shy. After wrapping herself in a robe that was far too big for her, she opened the door to see Faolan sitting across from Caden sharing a pot of tea.

“Do you think I should ask for those to be brought up tomorrow morning as well?” Faolan asked with a gentle smile.

“Every morning! With extra for me to sneak back in case Kylin tries to feed me more gruel,” the boy replied. He made a face of such pure disgust that she couldn’t help giggling.

Caden grinned widely at the sight of her and rushed over to quickly hug her. She picked him up in her arms and exchanged a quick smile with Faolan.

“Do you feel better? You look better,” Caden asked as he cupped her face between his hands and peered at her intently.

“You were ill?” Faolan asked with a frown.

Before she could reply, Caden answered for her. “Yep. She looked awful. She was pale and gross looking.”

“Caden!”

“Well you were, Izzy,” he replied before sticking his tongue out at her.

“Should I go get Kylin?” Faolan asked. “If you aren’t feeling well perhaps he should take a look at you, just to make sure that nothing is wrong.”

Caden gasped and shook his head wildly. “No don’t do that! He’ll take away the cakes!”

“Caden, please!” He was instantly calmer at his sister’s light scolding. She took a deep breath and, more softly said, “I’m fine, both of you. I was a little down this morning, but I really do feel fine now.”

Caden nodded and she quickly kissed his cheek. “You look a little sleepy still, would you like me to take you back to see Kylin so that you can get some rest?” she asked him.

“Faolan will take me. I want Faolan,” he said quickly.

Isabelle’s eyes widened in surprise. It was definitely not like her brother to latch onto anyone but herself. “Caden, I’m sure he is tired after being busy all day. If you can wait just a few minutes for me to get dressed I will take you down there.”

“Faolan. I want Faolan…” he grumbled, his bottom lip sticking out in a pout.

“Caden…”

“Really, it’s not a problem, Isabelle. I’ll take him down there while you rest here for a few minutes and I’ll be right back,” Faolan said quickly as he took a few steps closer to them.

“See? I told you,” Caden said as he slid out of her arms and onto the floor. He quickly took Faolan’s hand before she could begin to protest again and led him out of the room.

“Bye, Izzy,” he said at the doorway.

“Get some rest, Caden,” she called back.

“I’ll be right back,” Faolan quickly said before he was pulled from the room by his hand.

After they had left, Isabelle sank down on the edge of the bed as her mind tried to make sense of what had just happened. Since his birth, Caden had only wanted her. He would cry when anyone held him but her, even their father.

Faolan came back into the room a few minutes later and sat down next to her on the bed. He stroked her lower back as he pulled her closer to him.

“I’m sorry about Caden, he’s never been like that before,” she said after a short pause.

“Don’t be sorry, Isabelle, I like him very much. Kylin knows to give him cake tomorrow morning and he is welcome back here anytime. Are you alright though? He was right, you are a bit pale today.”

She smiled gently at him. “I’m probably just a little tired.”

“Take a nap with me before a meal then?” he asked.

“I would like that very much,” Isabelle replied.

Isabelle buried her head further under the pile of blankets. The morning sun was already much too bright and her stomach felt as uneasy as it had the day before and she hadn’t even stood up yet. She vaguely recalled Faolan saying something to her about needing to see Kylin before he left earlier, but that had been hours before.

The bed shifted beside her and Isabelle opened her eyes just enough to see Caden’s blonde tousle of hair splayed against the dark sheets. She didn’t remember him coming into the room, but judging from how comfortable he looked, he had probably been there for a few hours at least.

“Caden?” she whispered.

There was a grumble and then some moving of the blankets, but he remained under the covers. She nudged him a little, but he still didn’t wake. With a soft sigh, she gave up and closed her eyes, hoping to fall back asleep.

As she lay in bed though a strong wave of nausea hit her, churning her stomach and blurring her eyes. She pulled her legs up tightly against her chest and whimpered. Tea might have helped, she knew, but this late in the morning the tea would have grown cold and that was not appealing to her in the least. Feeling stifled and hot, she sat up in bed and tossed the covers off. Thankfully Caden was still asleep, even as she took a few deep breaths and willed herself to stand up. She thought some fresh air might do her some good. It had been a long time since she had been outside in the sun and even longer since she had felt the grass beneath her feet. But since Thadius had insisted that she not leave the mountain without Faolan and he seemed to be nowhere around she decided to settle for stepping out onto the balcony. She had seen Faolan do it plenty of times and it never seemed to bother him so she reasoned that it must be safe enough. With one last glance at Caden to make sure he was still asleep, she stepped carefully into the open air and let the warm sun wash over her.

The air was still and calm, not at all what she had expected from being so high up. All around her, she could only see large red and brown colored mountains. There was a sickly sweet smell in the air, something she had never experienced before. Feeling brave, she took a few more hesitant steps into the open air.

Isabelle cautiously moved closer to the edge. But although the warm stone seemed solid under her feet, she still felt her nerves go on edge and the fine hairs of her neck stand on end as she chanced a quick glance over the side of the cliff and saw only the blurry bottom of the canyon thousands of feet below her. It must have been madness that led her out here in the warm midday sun.

That was really the only explanation she could come up with for her foolishness. She slowly turned to go back inside, back to the safety that awaited her there, when a large gust of wind sprang up from the side. Stumbling from the force of the sudden blast, she quickly crouched down just as another harsh gust of wind threatened to sweep her from the relative safety of the ledge to what would surely be her death thousands of feet below. She could almost hear the soft thud her body would make on those jagged rocks as she huddled against the wind. Isabelle began to make a few tentative movements toward the wide opening she shared with Faolan, but each small step became harder and harder to take as the wind steadily grew stronger and began to bash against her from all sides.

Hot tears began forming on her eyelashes, threatening to spill over at any moment, but she held them back. She had surely been through worse and survived that. So why did it seem such a challenge to walk the few yards back inside? Mustering her courage, she took another step toward the opening. The wind pummeled her and each gust threatened to send her hurling over the edge, but she continued walking slowly forward.

There was a soft thud behind her, causing her to turn. At the sight of the dragon, her breath caught in her throat. He was small and lithe with long sinewy muscles and smooth skin the color of onyx. She took a step away from him, her hands coming up to her face protectively. But then she stopped. The dragon was just standing there, watching her curiously, his head tilted slightly to the side. She looked back at the opening and took a step backward toward it, never taking her eyes off the dragon. Her foot caught on a loose pebble though and she stumbled slightly. But before she could fall, she felt something smooth curl against her side. The dragon pressed his tail against her again, firmly helping her back up to her feet. She hadn’t heard him move and certainly hadn’t seen him even take a step, but now he was only a few yards away with his side facing her, his head still tilted slightly as he watched her brush off her dress.