Isabelle has everything she’s ever wanted now that Caden is well. But is it enough?
Isabelle’s time in the mountains is over and she should be relieved. After all, her ties to the Draconian king are done and she has her brother back, stronger than he’s ever been. This would be a good time to celebrate. But is she ready to move on and forget everything she had?
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Dragon Flight
Copyright © 2013 Caitlin Ricci
ISBN: 978-1-77111-734-0
Cover art by Carmen Waters
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
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Dragon Flight
For Love of Dragons 3
By
Caitlin Ricci
Chapter One
Isabelle groggily awoke to someone roughly shaking her shoulder and the sound of horses dragging a carriage over cobblestone streets. She blearily looked up at Zorin and yawned. “Are we stopping for the night?” she asked him.
“No. We’re here,” he replied, taking her hand and helping her sit up a little more roughly than she would have liked.
“Where?” she asked, rubbing her eyes and looking out through the carriage’s windows and seeing nothing but dark streets all around her. There weren’t even any torches near the houses. She frowned as she got to her feet and followed Zorin out of the carriage. A boy was holding the horses, speaking soothingly to them. She noticed the small winged emblem on the chest of his shirt and stopped to ask him about it, but was quickly pulled along by Zorin’s insistent hand.
“Where are we?” she repeated as they slipped inside of a small doorway.
“Feeorin. This is the servant’s entrance to the palace,” he told her quickly as he bounded up the stairs, not bothering to see if she would follow him.
“But…But…” she stammered. “This can’t be Feeorin. We just left the mountains this morning. It would have taken at least a full day and night to get here.”
“Two actually,” he replied, turning back to her with a smug smile. “I put you out right after we took a break for lunch that first day. Remember the water tasting funny to you? I put some herbs to help you sleep.”
“You didn’t… you couldn’t have.” She was sure that she would have noticed something like him drugging her. “And besides, the horses look fresh.”
“I enchanted them,” he replied. “They’ll need a week to recover from running for so long, but they’ll be fine after that. My magic has no lasting effect on animals.”
“But why not rest? Why enchant them? And why did you have to drug me?” she almost whined as she continued to stare at his retreating back.
He stopped and turned back towards her. “I don’t like to rest when we’re in the open. I didn’t want lame horses so my only choice was to enchant them. And I drugged you because you wouldn’t stop whining. Now, is there anything else or can we get you to your rooms and let me go to bed? Someone, namely me, didn’t just spend the last day and a half asleep,” he snapped at her, clearly exasperated.
She nodded dumbly, her mouth agape at his harsh tone. She would have to remember how cranky he could be when he didn’t get enough sleep.
The dark hallway abruptly ended at a plain wooden door. Without hesitation, Zorin opened it and the two of them stepped into a well-lit grand room of white marble and cascading fountains.
“Mother’s meeting room,” Zorin told her once she had stopped staring. She nodded quickly, her eyes still wide as she took in the grandeur of it all and trailed after Zorin. “All of the important hallways connect to this room,” he continued on. “The servants come and go through the doorway we just came out of. I don’t suggest using that entrance all the time but when you’d rather not make a big production of your arrival, that’s the doorway to choose. The stables aren’t far from that entrance. At least the general stables aren’t. My horses are kept separate in a smaller stable across the gardens. I suppose now yours will be as well.”
“I don’t ride,” she told him as she struggled to keep up.
He snorted. “That’ll change. There are four hallways branching off of this room,” he pointed to each. “North, south, east and west. Down the south hallway you’ve got the dining rooms, both informal and formal, various meeting rooms and lounges and the small library. That is the hallway that connects directly to the outside. All guests will enter through that hallway. Across the room down the north hallway is the larger library and the guest rooms. West is the royal suites and east is more guest rooms and other such rooms. There’s also the portrait gallery down that way as well. I think it’s terribly boring but you might find it interesting.”
She gave him a skeptical look which he returned with a seemingly knowing smile. “Let’s show you to your rooms,” he said, walking swiftly again and expecting her to keep up without looking back to see if she actually was.
“Will I be near Caden?” she asked quickly, barely keeping pace with him.
He nodded distractedly, stopping sharply before an ornately carved wooden door. On it was a hunting scene. “This is your room,” he said. “Your brother is just down the hall.”
“Why are you in such a hurry?” she asked him as she began opening the door.
He shifted uncomfortably. “I have someone to meet,” he said quickly as he dropped his gaze.
She frowned at his sudden evasiveness but shrugged it off. She certainly had her secrets from him and she supposed he could have some from her. After all, they weren’t even friends.
“I’ll head to bed then,” she told him, giving him her back until she heard him starting to move away. She turned toward the sound of him leaving.
Isabelle watched him go, the frown that touched her lips deepening as she stared after him. She shook her head, shaking away troubling thoughts that might have actually been compared to caring about Zorin. She walked into her room, sighing at the simple elegance of it, and promptly got ready for bed.
* * * *
The cold stone pathway, a silent reminder of a childhood nightmare, rose up before him like a ghost in the night, glowing in the pale thin light of the slivered moon. He didn’t know why he was standing here, waiting like he had been all those years before. He certainly hadn’t wanted to. And yet here he stood. His feet began to move on their own. Unbidden by him, they stepped around tangled roots and knotted vines, oblivious to the mind inside the body they were attached to as it screamed to turn back, to be anywhere but there.
Alone with the guilt of the memories he had never been brave enough to face, Zorin Danube could do little more than stare at the stone slab, a lifeless marker, as cold and forgotten as the pile of bones that lay barely a few feet below. Only they weren’t forgotten, not by him at least. He could never forget, not as long as he held onto her and the
pain that his memories of her always brought forth.
He sank to his knees on the moon kissed grass, his gaze lingering on the faded name barely legible on the cold stone before him. He placed his long fingers on the stone, following them with his lips as he kissed the name he had long since stopped speaking.
* * * *
Isabelle blearily looked towards the door at the sound of light, almost hesitant knocking. She’d been awake, but only just barely. She sat up slowly, the bright sunlight stinging her eyes as she pushed her heavy hair out of the way. The room was fuller now that she could see it in the morning light. All around her expensive furniture stood against marble columns and large painted landscapes hung in gilded frames. She frowned at the splendor of it all, the cleanness of it all stinging her as she wished it could all be the familiar worn stones of her bedroom in the mountains.
The knocking increased, pulling her out of her painful thoughts. “Come in,” she called, slipping out from between the bed covers and pulling on a white robe she found folded neatly on a chair.
A young girl with mousey brown hair and large hazel eyes stepped silently into the room. “I’m sorry to wake you, Majesty. My name is Meggie. May I assist you in dressing?”
Isabelle silently looked over the pale girl. “How old are you, Meggie?” she asked, stepping closer to her.
“Twelve, Majesty,” she replied, her voice squeaking nervously as she stared dutifully at the toes of her plain brown shoes.
Isabelle frowned. She was small for her age but seemed well fed and her dress was clean. “You’re human,” she said, stating the obvious and sounding quite dumb for it. “Like me,” she finished lamely.
“Yes,” the girl replied with a soft smile. “Many humans work in the palace.”
“No Angelus?” Isabelle continued.
She quickly shook her head no causing the tight bun she kept her hair tied back in to bob on the back of her head. “No, Majesty. Only humans.”
“Why not?” Isabelle asked as she began looking through the large closet. She held up a purple dress, frowned at the amount of lace pooling out of it, and then returned it to the closet.
Meggie came up behind her, as slowly and quietly as a cat. Isabelle felt her there, smelled the scent of fresh baked bread rolling off her, before the girl spoke. “No Angelus would take a position in the palace. They’re all nobles.”
“All of them?” Isabelle asked, pulling a green dress from the back of the closet. It still had far more ruffles and lace than what she would have normally chosen but it seemed to be the least offensive dress of the bunch. She would have to talk to Amalthea about having a few new dresses made. She tossed the dress over the back of a nearby chair and turned to face the girl that was as close as a shadow on her heels.
“Yes, Majesty. All Angelus are nobles,” she told her.
Isabelle’s frown deepened as anger began to darken her cheeks. “Are there any humans in the nobility of Feeorin?”
“Oh no, Majesty,” she replied sounding horrified.
“We’ll see about that,” Isabelle said under her breath but dropped the subject with a furious shake of her head. “So what does the queen have planned for me today?” she asked, moving to the wash basin as she began to slip off her robe.
“The queen wishes to see you and the Lord Batal for a late breakfast in the east garden as soon as you are ready,” she said quickly as if reciting.
“The Lord Batal?” Isabelle asked as she stepped out of the night gown, leaving it pooled on the floor as she began getting dressed.
“Master Zorin,” the girl explained as a pink blush began to form over her rounded cheeks.
Isabelle stared at her a moment, wondering if the blush was from having to explain such a thing to a princess who should have known of the man’s title already or if it stemmed from some childish fascination with the man in question. Choosing to ignore either option, she slipped into the waiting bath. She had bathed in a tub many times of course, but as she sank up to her neck in the warm water she couldn’t help the pang of sadness that washed through her as she thought longingly of the baths she had taken in the mountains and the man who had joined her.
“Is the water too hot?” Meggie asked, peering intently at her as she knelt next to Isabelle’s shoulder. Isabelle quickly shook her head no, brushing off the girl’s concern as Meggie began to wash her long hair. Isabelle closed her eyes and sighed wearily as the girl’s small fingers began to work on the many tangles in her hair. Isabelle leaned back into the girl’s experienced hands.
Once her bath was over it was quick work to get Isabelle dressed. She was standing before Meggie as the girl pulled a corset around her. Isabelle winced as the laces were tied tighter, pulling her figure into a much smaller shape than she would normally have.
Suddenly the door swung open, revealing a flushed Caden. He ran into the room and stopped suddenly, his eyes bulging as he caught sight of Meggie behind her. Isabelle smiled brightly at him. “Hello, Caden,” she said, pulling him close to her. He caught Meggie’s gaze over his sister’s shoulder and quickly turned bright red. He pulled away and sputtered out a greeting to the girl.
“Are you feeling well, my lord? Shall I call a healer for you?” Meggie asked, stepping around Isabelle so that she could stand in front of Caden. He shook his head quickly and muttered a quick goodbye before sprinting into the adjoining sitting room.
Isabelle frowned after him before helping Meggie pull a purple dress over her head. “Has he been acting strangely?” Isabelle asked as she continued to look into the sitting room where Caden’s softly booted feet were just visible through the door.
Meggie blushed prettily as she looked away. “Tell me, he is my brother and you would not be betraying him in the least,” Isabelle said, holding the girl’s chin and turning her so that Isabelle could look into her eyes.
The girl nodded slowly. “I have noticed it,” she said quickly as her gaze flicked between Isabelle’s gaze and Caden’s boots in the other room.
Isabelle stepped back and straightened her skirts. “Thank you for your assistance this morning. You may go now.” Meggie gave her a curtsey and quickly exited the room as Isabelle walked into the sitting room to be with Caden.
She sank into the chair and without a word, pulled him against her and into her lap. She sighed into his soft hair and hugged him close. “I missed you,” she whispered to him.
“Me, too,” he said, clinging tightly to her.
Isabelle groaned as there was a knock on the door and a servant in brightly colored silks entered her lavish sitting room. “Do the interruptions never end?” she growled under the breath as she met the man’s gaze. “Yes?”
“Queen Amalthea wishes to speak with you,” he said quickly as he clasped his hands at his sides and bounced impatiently on the balls of his feet.
Isabelle narrowed her eyes at him and tightened her grip on Caden. “I am visiting with my brother at the moment. I will see her when I am done.”
He seemed to bluster a little for which Isabelle was glad. She was tired of being ordered around by everyone else and just wanted a minute for herself. But apparently that wasn’t to happen.
“I have to go to my studies anyway, Izzy,” Caden said quickly, hopping off his sister’s lap and landing lightly on his feet before turning toward her. “History is just after breakfast, followed by languages and then horseback riding,” he counted off quickly at his fingers as he met her questioning gaze.
She nodded quickly. “Do you enjoy it here?”
He smiled brightly. “Yes.”
“Are you happy here?” she pressed. “Truly happy?”
His smile widened. “Yes. Of course I am.”
“Good.” She ruffled his hair and got quickly to her feet. She pulled him behind her and met the man at the door. With a curt nod, he turned his back to her and began walking. She hugged Caden quickly before following quietly in his wake.
The man led her to
a large marble room similar to many of the other great rooms in the Feeorin palace. Although Isabelle had never been invited to the palace as a child and should have found the statues and elegant touches throughout the room amazing, almost breathtaking, she couldn’t muster the emotions necessary. Her heart was days away in a dimly let bedroom where Faolan slept. She shook her head fiercely as another image came to mind of an elegant woman wrapped around him amidst the dark sheets of the bed they had shared. There would be none of that now. They had both made their choices. And his was probably wrapped around him in bed right now. She growled in frustration.
Chapter Two
Isabelle sank into a chaise across from Amalthea who, as usual, looked immaculate in a shining silk dress of the palest cream that complimented her porcelain skin and the soft golden glow of her wings that were tucked daintily behind her. In contrast, Isabelle had on a plain dress and her hair was a mess. She didn’t even have any lip color on and she hadn’t bothered to put on better shoes than her own chamber slippers. But if Amalthea minded she didn’t show it. No, she was too much of a lady for that. She only offered tea and a small cake as she smiled prettily at the much younger woman over the rim of her teacup.
Isabelle fiddled with the hem of her dress as they sat in silence. After a few moments the sound of heavy boots echoed through the large room and Zorin fell ungraciously next to her on the large seat.
“Isabelle,” he greeted her briefly.
She nodded to him. “Zorin”
His smile was snide as he turned his attention to his mother. “And my mother. Hello. Have any new tasks for me?”
Amalthea rolled her eyes at him and ignored his crass nature as she had likely done so many countless times before. “You’re to be queen once I have stepped down, right Isabelle?”
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