Dragon's Treasure (Dragons Awaken Book 1)

by Maya Starling

  The door to the stable opened, drawing Olivia’s attention from her mother’s flowers to the man coming out through them. He was very tall and a bit on the skinny side. His hair was golden blond, cut short and neat, and a set of slightly crinkled hazel eyes spotted Olivia immediately. Relief washed over his face and his thoughtful expression was replaced by one of joy. A wide smile on his face, showing off his perfectly straight white teeth, drew attention away from his slightly crooked nose.

  “Livvie!” the man exclaimed as he closed the distance between them, picking Olivia up off her feet, making her wince in pain. “Oh! I apologize… You are hurt. I am just happy they found you.” He gently put her down.

  “It is alright, Sebastian. I am glad to see you, too.” Olivia managed to reward him with a tiny, honest smile.

  “Do you want to go for a walk? Or just sit in the garden? We have some catching up to do and you have some explaining to do as well.” Lord Mykke scolded Olivia playfully but when he saw that her face remained serious instead of gracing him with one of her bright smiles, he frowned. “Are you alright, Love?” He cupped her cheek gently.

  Olivia closed her eyes and leaned into his palm for a bit of comfort. Him calling her Love with friendly affection brought memories of Kaden calling her that with different emotions behind the words. She held her breath as she fought against the tears.

  She drew back, opened her eyes and wiped away the one tear that managed to get past her restraints.

  “No, I am not alright. But I will be; I just need some time.”

  Lord Mykke nodded. “Is there anything I can do for you?” He was always such a good friend, despite the ten-season gap between them.

  Olivia shook her head no. “I just need some time alone. I actually came to see you so I could apologize. For running away when I learned of our betrothal.”

  “Am I such a bad choice?” Lord Mykke was used to teasing her so it was hard for him not to be playful, and this time he managed to get another smile from Olivia.

  “You will be a wonderful husband to your wife someday. You know I love you dearly ‘Bastian, you are a wonderful person. But,” Olivia shrugged, “you are more like an older brother to me. It would have been awkward at the best. And what would have happened if I had met someone I could actually come to love romantically?”

  “I know what you mean, Livvie.” Olivia saw something flash in his eyes before he continued. “At the time, when your father asked, mind you it was not my idea, it seemed reasonable enough. Combining our estates, me finally settling down, and I knew you, knew what to expect. It made sense, but after I accepted, I actually thought about it for a few days. When I started spending more time in your company, I came to the conclusion that it was a bad idea after all, for the same reasons as yours. But I could not go back to your father and tell him I had changed my mind. That would have been quite a debacle,” Lord Mykke admitted, his voice barely above a whisper.

  “I should have talked about it with you. And don’t you dare tell your father what I just told you. I am actually relieved that the prince asked for your hand, and may I say that he is a much better match for you.” Lord Mykke wrapped his hand around Olivia’s shoulder and led her towards the gardens.

  Out of the corner of her eye, Olivia saw a man walking by. She recognized him as one of Magnus’ men, and the look of resentment he gave her quickly had her agreeing with her friend.

  “Yes, he is,” Olivia answered as she looked at the flowers.

  “Thank you for your apology; not many would admit to a fault like that. But I always knew you were too nice a person not to feel guilty about it. So I absolve you from all the guilt,” Lord Mykke said as he gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze.

  Olivia frowned. “Bastian? You seem overly happy about all of this. What is going on? I have never seen you this chirpy.”

  “Can I not just be happy to see you safe?” It was the slight quiver in his voice that made her think there was something more.

  “No… I mean yes, but that is not like you. Usually you are the quieter and more mature one and I am the chipper one, so?” Olivia stopped them and turned to face him, a stern look on her face. “Is there someone else?”

  His blush was her answer. “Oh my, there is someone else, is there not, Bastian?”

  Lord Mykke let out a deep breath and nodded. “But it is complicated…”

  I wish I could have my complicated back, Olivia thought as she locked eyes with him, not letting him look away.

  She narrowed her eyes. “Well, complicated be damned!” she blurted. “Do not wait, do not wonder, do NOT care what others think. If you really love her and she loves you back, you should be together. Mind, body and soul. Unless you want to spend the rest of your life regretting that you did not take the plunge and wondering what if.”

  Olivia’s outburst caught Lord Mykke by surprise. He had never witnessed such passion in her about anything; it made her passion for horses pale by comparison. “Olivia?”

  “Do not Olivia me. If you don’t marry that woman, I will personally… make sure you never have an heir.” She nodded, satisfied with her threat.

  “Are you alright?” he couldn’t help but ask.

  “I told you I am not, but I do not want to talk about it and we are talking about you now.”

  Raising his arms in surrender, Lord Mykke conceded to Olivia. He had never witnessed her lose her temper like that. She had never been the aggressive type.

  “She is one of my servants,” he admitted, afraid of more of Olivia’s outbursts.

  “So? I do not understand the problem.” If she could, Olivia would have folded her hands across her chest, but she had to settle by putting her healthy hand on her hip, glaring at him.

  “She is one of my servants.” He repeated disbelievingly.

  “I heard you the first time; I am not deaf. She could be the daughter of a beggar and you will still regret it if you don’t do something about it. You are your own man, you have your riches, your estate. You don’t have your parents to lecture you or make you worry about their opinion. You can do as you please. Forget about what others think of it. It is your life and they will get over it; if they don’t, well, that is just too bad for them; show them the door and kick them on their way out.” Olivia took a deep breath to calm herself.

  She continued in a much softer voice. “Please Sebastian, do not miss out on your opportunity to be happy. If you don’t want to be selfish then think of her. Do you want somebody else to marry her… to kiss her and touch her the way you want to? What if she ends up with someone who doesn’t love her, maybe even beats her? Do you want that for her or do you want to make her happy with everything you have to offer to her?” By the end of her speech, Olivia was once again in tears.

  Lord Mykke wrapped her in his arms gently and held her against his chest. “No, you are right. I don’t want anybody else putting their hands on her.” He lay his head on top of Olivia’s head. “Thank you for the support. For not making me feel guilty if I follow my heart.” He kissed the side of her temple.

  “But, what is going on with you, Livvie?” He pulled back.

  “A lot…” She averted her gaze.

  He wiped away her tears and turned her face towards him. “Talk to me. Are you not happy?”

  “What is she like?”

  “Olivia...” Lord Mykke frowned at her.

  She pulled her face away from her dear friend’s gentle grasp, pasted on a fake smile and asked again, “What is she like?”

  Lord Mykke was well aware of her stubbornness; if she didn’t want to talk about it, he knew there was no way for him to make her. He let out a defeated sigh and when he started talking about the woman he loved, his eyes sparkled to life. “She’s beautiful… She joined my household a few months ago. Her uncle works for me. She has long blonde hair which is usually braided, soft light brown eyes and her smile is almost as bright as yours, but much more… hmmm… quirky. She’s taller than you, perfect for me. She’s twenty-eight
years old, closer to my age than you are. She’s feisty and isn’t afraid to talk back. She…” Lord Mykke was interrupted by somebody clearing their throat beside them.

  They both turned and saw Magnus standing there. It was probably that man of his who had alerted him to their conversation, Olivia thought.

  “Is everything alright here?” Magnus took a step closer towards Olivia, who barely refrained herself from taking a step back. “Have you been crying again, princess?” He turned his eyes to Lord Mykke. “What did you say to her?” He furrowed his brow.

  Lord Mykke was at first taken back by the prince’s presence, as he hadn’t had a chance to meet him yet.

  “I apologize, Your Highness.” Lord Mykke bowed. “I am Lord Mykke, Lady Olivia’s friend. I just came to see how she was recuperating.”

  “So you are Lord Mykke?” Magnus couldn’t help but smirk. “I am sorry to have taken this precious gem away from you.” Magnus wrapped a hand around Olivia’s waist as he snuggled her against his side.

  Olivia forced herself to lean into Magnus. She didn’t want Sebastian figuring it out. That would be another set of problems to deal with, and who knew what Magnus might do to him if he doubted something.

  “She is very precious, Your Highness, and I know she will be in great care with you.” Lord Mykke studied them together. They made quite a couple, so he nodded approvingly when he saw that Olivia didn’t pull away, even though the haunted look never left her eyes. He presumed it would take time for it to go away. Who knew what the dragon had done to her.

  “She will be. She has been through a lot lately, so I have to apologize for stealing her away from you yet again.”

  “Yes, of course. I need to speak to Lord Moore, so I will bid you a good day.” Lord Mykke bowed again to the prince and gave Olivia one last warm smile. “We can continue some other time.”

  “Of course, Lord Mykke,” Olivia answered and watched her friend walk away.

  After Lord Mykke was far enough, Magnus returned his attention to Olivia. “Now my Princess, you will become my dearest puppet. I have to explain to you how all of this will work out.”

  Magnus led Olivia to one of the garden benches, making sure no one was around as he made her sit down and took a seat close to her himself.

  He put one of his hands on the back of her neck, holding her head firmly in place. Olivia tried to pull away but was still too weak to fight him off and the sudden movement of her head only brought dizziness and nausea. It also didn’t help that he tightened his grip on her.

  When he noticed her giving up her struggles, he brought his other hand up to caress her face with the back of his hand. He loved the feeling of her bruised skin.

  For those who watched from a distance it seemed like a lover’s comforting caress and nobody wanted to intrude on their intimate moment.

  Looking straight into her eyes, he stated coldly but quietly, “I will have you. You will be mine. You will leave this place with me and accompany me to the capital and the palace. You love your parents, right?”

  She nodded apprehensively.

  “You want them alive and unharmed?” he asked next.

  She didn’t like what he was hinting at again so she nodded, tears welling in her eyes. All her smiles had been replaced with tears.

  “You will cause no problems regarding our departure. I am more than capable of fulfilling my threats, understand? Accidents happen all the time.” His eyes never wavered from hers.

  “Yes,” she responded firmly and leaned in closer. “Just so we are clear... I hate you.”

  Her response provoked a menacing yet amused chuckle from him.

  “Puppet, I don’t care how you feel about me. I will have you –” he paused a bit and licked his lips as he looked her over, “– all of you.” Magnus whispered the last words right into her ear, his whiskey-tainted breath fogging her hair.

  She managed to pull back a bit so she could turn her head and glare at him but before she could retort, he spoke again. “Of course, I’ll let you recover a bit first. So you don’t look like a beaten whore. I’ve had my share of those. And I want you to be able to fight back. I like them feisty. Oh, my dear, dear puppet, the things I’ll do to you, we will have so much fun together.”

  The longing glint in his eyes and the shivers of dread running down her spine left her no doubt that he would not hold back and that he meant every word he said to her so in his venomous soft voice.

  “I will – ” Before she could finish saying it, Magnus roughly pressed his lips to hers.

  Olivia was thankful that wasn’t her first kiss.

  She tried to draw back but his hold on her was too strong. She had had enough of him; she didn’t need to put up with him yet, so she kissed him back, relaxing in his arms, forcing him to soften his lips as she let her own part.

  He moaned at her sudden surrender and she used his distraction to bite hard on his lower lip, drawing blood as she clamped down almost hard enough to pierce through his lip with her teeth.

  He jerked back, stood up and watched the fire burn in her eyes as he sucked at the blood on his lip. He loved that about her, and if he could not have her love, he would have that fire.

  Bringing his fingers to his bleeding lip, he said, “Just as feisty as I imagined you’d be.”

  He gave her an exaggerated bow. “I will see you at dinner, my lovely puppet.” With that, he turned on his heel and sauntered towards the house.

  Grim determination burned through her, heating her skin. She would play along for now, for her parents’ safety, but she would not make it easy for him. Maybe she would find the solution along the way or maybe the right opportunity would present itself at the castle. Her family would be known by then, and they would be somewhat safe. She could be the worst wife ever, and the best Queen the Kingdom had ever had. She would survive this, it would make her stronger, she could be braver. At least he left her alone for now.

  Olivia sighed a breath of relief, but Magnus turned around one last time. He said something that made her shed those tears she had been holding back.

  “And remember. Your dragon is dead.”

  Epilogue

  “Are you paying attention, Delilah?”

  Her mother’s voice snapped Delilah out of her daydreaming. “Yes, Mother!” She sat up straighter at her desk and tried to focus her eyes on her mother and away from her doodles and drawings.

  No one would have ever guessed that the woman in front of her was her mother. First, she looked young. Very young. She appeared to be twenty-five seasons old but Delilah knew that her mother was much, much older than that. Older than anyone she had ever met. Which wasn’t many, really.

  When a person compared them at first glance, they looked nothing alike. Her mother had very curly long black hair, stern hazel eyes and a tall willowy figure. She was a beautiful woman. Delilah, on the other hand, had straight. light brown hair and plain brown eyes, her figure smaller and curvy. She was just another pretty girl, at the age of seventeen not yet a woman. But when a person looked closer, their facial similarity was apparent, and when her mother smiled, it was the same smile that graced her own face.

  “As I said, two small spoons of lizard blood, not big ones… we don’t want a repeat of last time.” Those stern hazel eyes glared at Delilah. “Write it down!”

  “Yes, Mother.” Delilah obliged once again as she turned over a page in her notebook, away from her doodles and to an empty white sheet. “Two small spoons of lizard blood,” she repeated as she wrote the words down.

  Her mother, Lilith, gave her one last glare and turned back to the cauldron bubbling with liquids for her next potion.

  They lived in a small wooden cabin in the Witch’s Forest, named after Delilah’s mother. The forest used to be named differently a long time ago, but since her mother had first settled there, everyone around started calling it the Witch’s Forest. The name was more of a warning.

  The cabin wasn’t big, just enough for the two of them. It had a ro
omy kitchen, which was mostly used for brewing potions, connected to the living room area. There was also a library downstairs and upstairs were two bedrooms.

  The house was surrounded by a garden filled with an assortment of herbs, vegetables, plants and flowers. At the edge of the garden two sheds were leaning against each other, with an outhouse nearby. One shed held the usual gardening tools. Even though it was spelled to be silent, the other was the one that Delilah hated and dreaded. Because once she stepped inside the shrieks, whimpers and cries for release from all the animals would descend upon her as the weight of the world. She loved animals but she feared her mother’s wrath more.

  Lilith was a mighty witch, probably the most powerful one in the whole Kingdom of Illirya. Even King Magnar himself had sought out her services a few times and never held a grudge when she didn’t comply with some of his requests. People, as well as the animals, knew to fear her.

  Even though their cabin looked sweet and the garden was beautiful in the spring, the silence surrounding it gave it a very unsettling feeling. No animals dared come near, so when Delilah wanted to enjoy nature’s beauty to its fullest, she had to walk for a while to reach the peaceful little pond she usually snuck out to, bringing a book filled with fairytales and brave knights. She would daydream there. Dreaming of a life she would never have. A simple life with her charming knight, a wonderful home filled with children’s laughter and…

  “Delilah, you’re daydreaming again!” Lilith snapped at her daughter as she brought her palm down sharply on the table where Delilah sat, making the younger woman jump up in her seat. “I swear… If I didn’t know any better…” Lilith grumbled as she walked back to her cauldron. “You better pay attention now, because I don’t plan to waste my time repeating myself.” The mighty witch threw one last glare at her offspring, her eyes flashing black.