“I’m better now that I’m warm. I’m a little scared about what I’m going to find down there.”
“No need to be scared, my Duchess. I would never let anyone hurt you.”
I twist my lips. Except for the three of them. They hold my heart. I’m obsessed, and the line between reality and my dreams keeps being challenged.
“I’ve dreamt of this day, bringing you down to the hoard. Although, my dragon didn’t think about how you might find it drafty.” Roark’s thumb traces over my lips. “Are you ready, Duchess?”
He takes my hand in his and leads me down the first few steps. The scratches give the stairs traction as we descend.Kieren’s behind us, and when Roark and I are down ten steps or so, Evander pulls the thick wooden door shut behind himself. The thud echoes down the stairs and back at us.
It’s a long way down, and the wide stairs are worn and smooth in the middle. It’s down far enough that when I turn and catch Evander’s brown eyes behind me, I can only barely make out the door above. And the floor below isn’t something I can see yet. With each step of my foot, tension builds in my chest.
“You doing okay, Duchess?” Roark asks, his silhouette long and drawn out in the light of the single bulbs strung every twenty feet.
“Yeah,” I say, but I’m definitely not feeling it. The draft blows my hair around my face. It’s eerie, but I trust the guys. I have to.
“Not much longer, Raine,” Evander says, his voice light on the wind. But Evander’s right. The bottom of the stairs appears, and the side wall widens the deeper into the earth we get.
When I hit the bottom step, I turn to Kieren. “I’m glad I don’t have to climb back up right away.”
“Oh, there’s another way to get out.”
“Prince?” Roark’s rough voice is deadened in the moist air.
“Only if she wants to.” Kieren takes my hand and leads me around the corner. I’m not prepared at all. I don’t know what I thought a dragon hoard would be, but stacks of golden bars on a bookshelf; golden crowns, cups, and jewelry on stands; sparkling diamonds on display; and crystal chandeliers that aren’t crystal but diamonds, artfully hung? That wasn’t it.
“Whoa.” I try to close my mouth.
“Whoa, good?” Evander asks.
“It’s impressive.” It’s more than impressive. It’s so much it’s overwhelming. My brain’s having a hard time wrapping itself around how amazing it is.
“But?” Evander asks. He’s so perceptive.
“It’s not what I imagined. I figured there would be, I don’t know, a mound to sit on.”
Roark lets out a good belly laugh.
Evander shakes his head, and Kieren pinches the bridge of his nose.
“Come here, Duchess.” Roark takes my hand and leads me quickly past the golden bars, past a room with a glass door, and down a wide corridor. “This is my portion. How a hoard should really look.”
It’s a tall mound of gold with a well in the middle. Roark picks me up, climbs up the side of the mound, and places me on the side of it. It’s about as comfortable as you would think. Golden doubloons flow over my arms. A coin with a Roman emperor on it lands in my palm.
“Fuck, look at how perfect she looks. Damn.” Roark shakes his head.
“You might be onto something. Roark’s a bit of a traditionalist.”
“I can see that.” I hold the coin up. Roark’s eyes flash, and I put it back down. I try to stand, but the gold shifts under me as I do. It’s like trying to walk in a metal ball pit. Not easy at all.
All three of them are frozen, staring at me.
“Can you give a girl a little help?”
Kieren takes my hand and helps me down. “Come here. I have something else to show you.” Kieren pivots to Roark. “If you don’t mind?”
“I’ll allow it. She’s going to like it, so...”
Kieren lifts me up by the waist, turning me into the shallow edge of the pile. A round ruby in an unusual setting catches my eye. I scoop it up, looking at it. It’s mounted with a golden stem like it’s a mushroom. There are even diamonds mounted around the edge that look like the white spots on the red mushrooms.
