The Dragon's Treasure, Part 3 (For Love of Dragons) Read Online Free PDF Page B

the palace she had called home only a few months before.
    Isabelle quietly stroked the dragon's neck as she looked around the familiar grounds. “Thank you very much for the ride. I will tell Faolan how good you were to me when we get back. I’m going to go find my brother now. Will you stay nearby? This shouldn’t take long,” she whispered to him.
    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