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

About this Book

Attention Readers: This book uses US English.

The
Dragon’s Treasure, Part 3
copyright © 201
3
by Caitlin Ricci

http://caitlinricci.blogspot.com/

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or i
n part, without express written
permission. All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental. The Licensed Art Material is being used for
illustrative purposes only; any
person depicted in the Licensed Art Material, is a model.

This series, For Love of Dragons, is written as a serial. Every two weeks five more chapters will be released. I hope you’ll follow along with the story and enjoy seeing the characters each time.

Dear Reader,

Thank you for purchasing this book. It means more than you know to an author for their work to be enjoyed by another person. Authors love writing the stories but seeing people reading our books, knowing that our characters were loved, that people connected to our words- that matters.

And authors work hard. A lot of hours and time go into writing a book. There’s stress, sacrifices and hard choices. We care about giving you a great story and will do our best to make sure that happens. For many authors, including this one, their book sales are their income. They’ve dedicated their lives to making sure they deliver worlds and characters for you to immerse yourself in.

So please, if you see free copies of this book or any other available somewhere, if you get offered a free share or stumble across a pirated copy of any book, please don’t take it. We authors love that you want to read our books and we will often have contests and giveaways where you can get a copy for free. But knowingly taking a pirated book is stealing from us, the authors who work hard to write books for you to enjoy. If you do happen to see one of my books available for free please email me at [email protected]. I will do my best to have it taken down and will be grateful to you for being kind enough to let me know.

Thank you for not pirating,

Caitlin Ricci

C
hapter Eleven
 

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. 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.

Chapter Twelve
 

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.