Dragon Scales Read online

  "All right?" Isaia asked softly after another few minutes.

  Amantea managed a nod, figuring that was Isaia's subtle way of indicating he was sick of dealing with a clingy flit. "Sorry."

  "Don't be," Isaia said, letting him go. Amantea stumbled back a step, and then it finally registered they weren't on the lake shore like he'd assumed.

  "Where?" Amantea asked, coughing at the end of the question. They were in some sort of cave, it appeared. Water lapped at the 'shore' behind Isaia, where they must have come in. The cave was lit dimly by some sort of weird glowing orbs—magic? Amantea wasn't sure. He was sure that Isaia had lost his scarf, and Amantea had been pressed up against him while he'd been naked, and Depths, that was nothing he needed to think about.

  "Below the lake," Isaia said. "I think. The water has the same flavor."

  Amantea didn't question that. "Do you think she's here?" She had to be, didn't she? They'd ported, and the portal wouldn't work unless the anchors were set. Unless it had anchored itself to 'lake' and only 'lake'.

  "Yes," Isaia said, smiling again. "Come on, fl—Amantea. She's here somewhere." Amantea nodded, taking a stumbling step forward. Isaia's smile slipped. "Or you could wait here? I don't want to tax—"

  "I'm fine," Amantea snapped and resolutely started forward. He wobbled more than he liked, and his chest burned like he'd flown several miles, but he walked. Or squelched, given his boots were soaked. He was soaked. Amantea shivered. The cave was freezing, and being stuck in wet clothing wasn't helping.

  Isaia was quiet behind him, and Amantea resolutely didn't say anything. He could walk. They'd find Isaia's sister and then port out. Then he could have a fire, and once he was home, he'd pull an itharflower from his stash as a treat.

  "What's your sister's name?" Amantea asked as they rounded a bend in the cave corridor. The lights kept going, at regular intervals, and Amantea was more convinced than ever that they were magic.

  "Teria," Isaia said. "She's my half-sister, actually. We shared a mother."

  Amantea nodded. He didn't know if that was normal or not, but in faerie nests, it was normal for women to have children with multiple fathers. He had three half-sisters and a half-brother in his nest. His teeth chattered, and he crossed his arms. How far into the cave did they have to go?

  The question answered itself almost as soon as he thought it, as they rounded a curve and came to the end of the cave, a large, but squat chamber. It was brightly lit by a square, glowing blue cube in the center of the chamber and was also distinctly warmer, which Amantea definitely appreciated.

  A woman—Teria, no doubt—was sitting on a pile of cushions, a book in her lap. There wasn't much in the chamber: a ton of cushions, which likely served as a bed, and a small crate that was flipped sideways. On top of it rested an empty plate and several books.

  Teria looked up as they approached, her blue scales nearly luminescent in the light given off by the glowing cube. The color was pretty, but Amantea was partial to the red scales Isaia had. He lagged behind as Isaia made a beeline for Teria, not wanting to interfere in their reunion.

  She was as tall as Isaia, almost as broad, though her skin was covered in fewer scales. She was dressed in a brightly colored wrap that twisted and turned around her before knotting at the waist. Probably easy to remove, so shifting wasn't a pain. Which reminded him that Isaia was still naked. He ducked his head and edged closer to the glowing cube. It seemed to be emitting heat, and he was more than willing to cozy up to it to try and stave off the cold sinking into his bones.

  "It certainly took you long enough," Teria said. Her voice was sharp, loudly echoing in the chamber. Amantea peeked over at her and Isaia. She looked grumpy, but he supposed he would be, too. How long had she been down here? Her eyes cut over to him, and she bared her teeth. "Who's the flit?"

  Amantea would've bristled, but he had almost drowned them in his attempt to port them to her. Why hadn't the portal put them in the cave? He slouched, edging closer to the warm cube.

  "Teria," Isaia said sharply. "Don't call him that. He's the only reason I found you. Why didn't you swim up? The lake can't be that deep."

  Teria sniffed, giving Isaia a dark look. "Where, dear brother, do you suppose I would have shifted?"

  Isaia frowned, glancing around. Amantea looked too, and the ceiling was awfully short. Isaia had been much taller than him in dragon form—his smaller dragon form—so likely he and Teria couldn't shift in the cave without getting stuck. And given how long it took them to shift, shifting in the lake itself wasn't an option.

  "The best I could do was send out bulbs," Teria said. She sighed, scowling at him. "Why aren't you dressed? No one wants to see your dick hanging out."

  Isaia threw up his hands. "I lost my wrap in the lake. Getting here to save you. Do you have any other complaints before we get out of here?"

  Teria cocked her head thoughtfully. "No, that shall suffice for now. But I am going to blister your ears about your choice in lovers as soon as we're home. And I'm telling mother, too."

  Isaia winced, but he didn't argue. Teria padded barefoot over to the crate, picking up something from behind it—fabric, a pale blue, silky looking thing—and she handed it off to Isaia. "You'd best not lose that. It's one of my favorites."

  "Amantea," Isaia said, making Amantea jump, startled to be addressed. "This is my sister, Teria. Teria, this is Amantea. Be nice to him."

  Teria sniffed but didn't say anything. Amantea stifled a sigh, shivering again despite the warmth of the block. They could leave, if he could find portal materials. He glanced around the cavern again, but all he saw were rocks. He didn't remember seeing anything in the corridor down to this chamber either.

  "We can port back to the house," Isaia was saying. "Then you can go home, Teria, and tell mother all about how I ruined your summer."

  "No," Teria said sweetly, "I'm going to find Naldo and make him eat a dragon claw."

  "No," Isaia said. "You're going home. I'm dealing with Naldo."

  Teria raised her eyebrows, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at Isaia. If Amantea had had any doubt they were related, that look would've dissipated it. It was the exact same look Isaia had given him several times. Amantea sat down next to the cube, shuffling as close as he could stand, still freezing. He ignored it as Isaia and Teria sniped back and forth. He didn't care if neither of them dealt with Naldo. All he wanted to do was curl up somewhere warm and safe and dry and never think about being stuck at the bottom of a lake with water on all sides and no air to breathe and no way to safety.

  "All right, there?" Isaia asked, dropping a hand on Amantea's shoulder.

  Amantea jumped, scrambling around to look at him. He hadn't heard Isaia approach. Amantea nodded quickly. The last thing he needed was Isaia thinking he couldn't handle himself. He'd only just convinced Isaia to take him seriously. "Fine. Um. I don't know if there's anything I can port with here."

  "Let's go look," Isaia said. He straightened up and offered Amantea his hand. Amantea took it, letting Isaia haul him to his feet. Isaia's hand was warm and firm, steady and secure, and Amantea reluctantly let it go as soon as he was standing. Teria was sitting in her pile of cushions, watching them both with steely blue eyes. Had they sorted out whether she was going with them to deal with Naldo?

  The cave corridor was dimmer than Amantea remembered, but his eyes adjusted quickly. Isaia stayed close and quiet as they walked, heading back toward the cave opening. Amantea could hear the lap of lake water on the cave's shore, but he ignored the unsettling reminder that he was underneath the lake. He was safe, he was fine, and he'd get them out without having to touch the water.

  Somehow.

  There was nothing living in the cave corridor, except a small amount of moss that was nowhere near large enough or useful enough for Amantea's purposes. The chamber had been empty of any growth as well. Amantea stared dully at the dark water that led out to the bottom of the lake.

  "There's nothing here," Amantea said.
He shivered, the cold of the cave creeping back in through his clothing. "I can't bring us out."

  "There's nothing in here," Isaia said. "Something plant or seed, right? About this large?" Isaia drew a small circle in the air.

  Amantea nodded. There was nothing of that description inside the cave. What was Isaia planning? Isaia unknotted the scarf around his waist. "What are you doing?" Amantea asked, his voice slightly higher pitched than he'd meant it to be. Isaia grinned at him.

  "Hold that. I don't want Teria to kill me for soaking her favorite scarf." Isaia tossed the scarf, and Amantea scrambled to catch it, folding it over his arm. Isaia stepped into the water, and Amantea's heart jumped into his throat, thoughts of Isaia being naked again disappearing immediately.

  "Is that safe?" Amantea asked. His fingers tightened on the scarf, and he stared worriedly at the dark water.

  "I'll be fine," Isaia said. He gave Amantea a soft smile that made Amantea bristle. He didn't need to be coddled. "I'll be right back."

  Isaia smirked then and stepped into the water. Surely he wasn't serious... But he was, wading out into the water and then slipping beneath its inky surface. Amantea took a deep breath, trying not to worry. Isaia could swim. He'd swum them both to the shore of the cave, after all, and Amantea had been nothing but dead weight.

  What if he didn't come back?

  Amantea pushed that thought away, forcing his hands to relax so he didn't permanently damage Teria's scarf with his worry. What if he did come back, but there was nothing that would work for a portal? Amantea had never worked with water plants. What if they didn't work? Would anyone come and free them? Would Naldo leave them there until Isaia gave in and gave up his dragon scales?

  Biting his lip, Amantea paced along the water's opening. It had been too long. Had it been too long? How long could Isaia hold his breath? How long could dragons? Amantea continued to pace, ignoring the way his wet, cold clothing clung to his skin and made him shiver. He wanted Isaia back, wanted to be out of this damp, cold cave, wanted to be curled up in his nest, warm and comfortable and maybe with Isaia—

  Isaia burst from the water, breaking the surface and gasping in a deep breath. He was clutching several murky-looking plants, and he dragged in another ragged breath as Amantea gaped at him.

  "Are you all right?" Amantea demanded when his wits finally gathered enough for him to form words.

  "Fine," Isaia said, smirk reappearing. He waded out of the water, and Amantea couldn't be upset at the way the water dripped from his fine form, though it did little to help him forget that Isaia was naked. "Will any of these work?"

  "I don't know," Amantea said. He wrinkled his nose. They smelled like sour lake water. Isaia spread his offering out on the cave floor, and Amantea edged closer. He knelt down to poke at the plants. He discarded immediately the three leafy plants Isaia had brought. Leaves didn't work. That left two weirdly-shaped things. The first was flat and wide, with a ridged top and smooth bottom. It was hard, so maybe some sort of nut?

  Turning it over in his hand, Amantea focused on it, pushing the magic of an anchor into it. It rebounded hard, and Amantea flinched back, dropping the thing. It was some sort of animal, not a plant. He shook his head, glancing up at Isaia—and getting an eyeful of Isaia's cock. Amantea managed to say with only a little strain in his voice, "This won't work."

  "And the others?" Isaia asked. He was watching Amantea, a tiny hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth. He probably realized how discomfiting his closeness was, the jerk.

  "Too leafy," Amantea said, nudging the three leafy plants away. He picked up the last thing. It was slick and soft in his hands, irregularly shaped. It reminded him of a mushroom, though it didn't look quite right. He did the same thing he'd done with the animal-thing, and this time the magic cemented. "This one will work."

  "All right, then," Isaia said. He waded back out into the water, and Amantea turned the mushroom-like thing over in his hand. He supposed it wasn't too odd he'd never seen the like, given he wasn't prone to putting himself anywhere near lakes or ponds or other bodies of water. Isaia returned after a few minutes in which Amantea didn't stare at the surface of the water, willing him to reappear.

  He had three more of the mushroom-like things, which he unceremoniously dumped into Amantea's hands. "How many will you need?"

  "Um," Amantea said, frowning when Isaia managed to accidentally drip water on him. "Probably only a dozen, since I know exactly where we're going."

  "Great," Isaia said, sounding like it was anything but. Amantea couldn't blame him; he wouldn't want to dive into the cold lake water looking for one small plant to anchor the portal. Isaia disappeared again after taking a deep breath, and Amantea focused on setting the anchor magic on the three that he'd brought up.

  So it went for five more trips. Isaia would disappear under the water, and Amantea would set the portal anchors on the mushroom-like plants he brought back. He came up with nothing once, and sat on the edge of the cavern for several minutes, but Amantea didn't say anything. He'd wrapped Teria's scarf around his neck to keep it out of the way but not on the floor. He tried not to think about how it had been wrapped around Isaia's hips until very recently. Finally, Isaia came back up with the last of the mushrooms.

  "Do we need to port from here?" Isaia asked, eyeing the plants Amantea had set up in a rough circle.

  "Yes," Amantea said. "I spelled them here, so we have to leave from here." He took the last two plants from Isaia, curving his fingers around them. "If you want to go get your sister, I should have the last of it set up by the time you return."

  Isaia made no move to go fetch Teria. Instead, he tilted his head at Amantea curiously, like Amantea was some special kind of specimen or oddity that warranted being stared at.

  "What?" Amantea demanded. Then he realized he still had Teria's scarf around his throat. "Oh, um, do you want this back?" Amantea tugged at it with his free hand, but Isaia shook his head.

  "It would just get wet." Isaia was still dripping, it was true. "The walk will dry me. Are you all right?"

  "I'm fine," Amantea said. He swallowed hard because Isaia was probably referring to his being upset about the water. He was fine. Isaia had gotten them out of the lake, and now they were going to port out, and everything would be fine.

  "Are you sure?" Isaia asked. He stepped forward, touching his hand to Amantea's chin. It was a soft, intimate touch, and Amantea stepped back, not wanting to deal with the rush of emotion it elicited. He almost wanted to go back to when Isaia was trying to get rid of him.

  "I'm sure. Go get your sister," Amantea said shortly. He moved away, crossing to the last gaps in the circle. Isaia was gone around the curve of the cave before he set the first one.

  He could hear Isaia and Teria bickering before he saw them, something about her scarf, and Amantea quickly unwrapped it from around his neck. He folded it over his arm and then busied himself looking over each of the portal anchors. He didn't need to, but it was better than standing there waiting for Isaia and Teria to appear.

  "See? It's fine," Isaia said. "You can have it back now. We're going to my father's old house, and I have plenty there."

  "Ugh," Teria muttered, though at the location or something to do with the scarves, Amantea didn't know. He handed her the scarf, which she took and wrapped around her head. She gave Amantea a smile that looked like it hurt her mouth to make. "Thank you."

  Amantea nodded, not sure what to say to that. Isaia was carrying the books that had been at the back of the cavern, and he had a bright red cushion tucked under his arm.

  "Let's get this done," Isaia said, stepping into the circle. Teria was already inside from when she'd approached to get her scarf.

  Shutting his eyes, Amantea focused, activating the portal. The ground shifted slightly under his feet, and it was only through lots of practice porting that Amantea didn't so much as stumble. Teria and Isaia weren't so lucky, given her cursing and the sound of him dropping his books. Amantea opened his eyes; they
were, as he'd aimed for, inside Isaia's house. There were still various things strewn all over the floor, and Isaia seemed content to let Teria's books join them. He stalked over to one of the chests and fished out a scarf, wrapping it around his waist.

  Amantea hesitated, at a loss. What next? Were they going to go confront Naldo immediately? His limbs felt like the weight of the lake was bearing down on them, and that wasn't a happy thought. Amantea shivered, and Teria clucked her tongue, climbing to her feet.

  "You need to get out of those wet clothes before you catch cold. Isaia, find something for him," Teria said. She strode over to Amantea, and he warily took a step back, for all the little good it did. She snagged the hem of his shirt and tried to pull it over his head, and Amantea was done. He shifted, turning small and dropping out of her reach.

  Fleeing wasn't the bravest of options, but Amantea was tired and cold and wet and he didn't need grabby dragons trying to get him naked on top of that. He pulled his shirt off quickly and flew away while Teria was still gaping at him, heading for the rafters where he'd be out of reach. He curled up in his spot on the rafters, ignoring that he was still cold and wet.

  He could hear Teria and Isaia talking below, but they were speaking in hushed tones, and he couldn't bestir himself enough to find out what they were talking about. There was a lull, and then the house shivered—Isaia removing the sealing spell, Amantea realized—and the door opened and slammed shut.

  "Amantea," Isaia called loudly. "You can come down. She's gone."

  Amantea debated staying where he was; it felt like there were several pounds of leaves stacked on top of him, weighing him down. But he was cold and wet, and he needed to find out what they were doing next. Hopefully Isaia wouldn't try to fob him off now that he had Teria back. Shoving himself off the rafters, Amantea flew down. If he didn't fly quite straight, well, who was counting? Hopefully not Isaia.

  Once he was on the ground, Amantea shifted back. He stayed sitting on the floor, however, not caring that he was once again stuck craning his neck up at Isaia. He let his wet shirt drop to the ground, wishing it were dry so he could put it on again.