The Dragon Shifter’s Desire by Harmony Raines

Chapter Twenty – Ivan

Our treasure is near.His dragon’s tail thrashed from side to side like an angry cat about to claw someone’s face off.

Calm down,Ivan told him.

How can I stay calm when so much is at stake?His dragon puffed smoke out of his nostrils. Although Ivan sensed his dragon would rather be breathing fire over the fae palace, burning it to the ground so that his treasure would finally be revealed.

A little more patience.Ivan wanted to deal with this calmly. He certainly didn’t want to anger Gilliam, who might have all the answers they were seeking.

His dragon knew he was right. But he still didn’t like it.

“That will do fine,” Gilliam told Zara and she switched off the engine and got out of the truck. “No one can see in here. If you want to grab your gear, we can go inside and talk.”

Karros went to Zara, he touched her on the arm as if to reassure her.

“It seems you are not the only one who isn’t sure about this,” Larisa said quietly.

“It’s good to be cautious,” Ivan replied. “But it’s also good to give others a chance. I don’t want to jump to any conclusions. Not yet.”

“Come on, let’s grab our bags from the truck.” Larisa guided him forward.

“How are you feeling?” Gilliam came toward Ivan, but Larisa placed herself between them.

She’s trying to protect us. His dragon found that both amusing and endearing.

“I’m okay,” Ivan answered curtly. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You know why.” Gilliam stared at him intently. “Can’t you feel it?”

He means the treasure, Ivan’s dragon’s tail twitched from side to side. Why is he taunting us like this?

I don’t think he is taunting us, Ivan answered. He’s trying to figure us out. If we can sense the treasure, then he knows who we really are.

He’s as wary of us as we are of him. His dragon relaxed a little. He’s trying to protect our treasure.

“I can.” Ivan nodded. “Hannah sent us to see you, but I would have found my way here even if she hadn’t given us directions.”

Gilliam half-smiled. “You know that I am not going to take you to the treasure.”

“What?” Larisa asked sharply. “The treasure belongs to Ivan. It was his father’s and now it’s his.”

“I need proof,” Gilliam said. “I can’t just hand the treasure over to anyone. You might have figured out where Andor hid the treasure and decided to come and fool me into handing it over.”

“Has that happened before?” Ivan asked. “Has another dragon shifter come for the treasure?”

The fae’s expression cleared, his face an unreadable mask. “You are not the first dragon to visit.”

“And who was this other dragon?” Larisa whispered.

“He was a friend of your father’s. Lorelis. A good man from what your father said. But the treasure was not his. He couldn’t sense it and so I lied.” Gilliam placed his hand on Ivan’s shoulder. “I have guarded the treasure for you. Because your father asked me to. I have kept my word and stuck to my promise all of these years.”

“You and my father must have been good friends.” Ivan was indebted to Gilliam.

We still should not let our guard down,his dragon said.

“We were.” A sadness filled Gilliam, and he turned away to hide his feelings. “Come on, let’s go inside. I have some food and I’ll make coffee. You all look as if you need a rest and something to eat.” He chuckled. “One thing I learned from your father is that shifters are always hungry.”

“We’ll grab our bags.” Larisa pulled Ivan toward the truck. “Should we eat and drink what he makes for us? Maybe we should get Karros to watch what Gilliam prepares.”

“I want to trust him,” Ivan replied. “But you’re right, we need to be careful.”

If Gilliam wants to poison us or put a spell on us, he’ll figure out a way to get past Karros. We can’t watch him every second.His dragon had a point.

“Karros.” Ivan stood close to the fae. “What do you think?”

“About what?” Karros asked. “Gilliam, or this place?” He looked up at the crumbling building. “This must have been an amazing place once. I don’t understand why it’s been allowed to decay like this.”

“Perhaps something bad happened here.” Larisa shrugged as the others looked at her. “I know you talk about the elves as if they were a myth. But maybe Ivan is right, myths are often based on half-truths of the past. Dragons are mythical creatures in my world, but Ivan is living proof they are real. Maybe there once was a war between the fae and the elves. There might have been a battle here and no one likes to live here because the ghosts of the past haunt the place.”

“The ghosts of the past?” Karros shook his head. “We don’t believe in ghosts.”

“That doesn’t mean they don’t exist.” Zara grabbed her mate’s pack and handed it to Karros. “In our world, there are plenty of places that are believed to be haunted. Houses that no one wants to live in because people were murdered there.”

“Ghosts are not real,” Karros asserted.

“They’re right,” Ivan said. “There is something about this place.”

“That would be your treasure talking.” Karros shouldered his pack and strolled toward the entrance where Gilliam had entered the building. However, he didn’t go in alone, instead, he waited for the others.

“Afraid of the ghosts?” Zara nudged him as she walked past him into the building.

“I was just waiting for you. I’m not the one who is scared of ghosts.” Karros followed along behind her.

“I didn’t say I was afraid. I was just saying that might be why no one likes to live here.” She waited outside the entrance for Ivan and Larisa. “Whatever happens, whether it’s a fae or a ghost we have to worry about, we have your back.”

“Thanks.” Ivan let his focus slip for a moment and the song in his head immediately got louder. He shut it down and gritted his teeth. “Let’s do this.”

“Do you think you can locate your treasure?” Larisa kept close to him, her arm brushing against his as they ducked under an overgrown leafy plant that was a little like ivy. On the other side of the doorway was a small well-tended courtyard where fragrant herbs grew. Some Ivan recognized from Wishing Moon Bay, some he recognized from Elise’s recipes, and some he’d never seen before.

He longed to linger in the courtyard and rub the leaves between his fingers to release the scents, but there was something more important he needed to do.

Perhaps once we find our treasure, once we claim it as our own, it will stop calling so loudly,his dragon said.

Ivan hoped so. He’d learned to control his reactions to the tiara with the help of Fiona and her family. Surely what he learned would work on the rest of the treasure. Sure, there was a lot more of it and its call was louder and more intense. But treasure was treasure.

Treasure,his dragon sighed.

Ivan caught hold of his dragon’s excitement. It was as if finding his treasure would make him whole. As if there had been a part of them missing all their life and once they finally found that missing part, they would be something different.

Something more,his dragon said.

“Through here.” Zara led the way and the others followed.

“Can you sense Gilliam?” Karros turned around as he walked and looked up at the high walls surrounding them. “This would make a good area for an ambush.”

“You’re right.” Ivan turned right and left, staring up at the high walls surrounding the courtyard. “Defenders could position themselves at the windows above and fire down on whoever was in here.”

“Cheery thoughts.” Larisa hurried forward toward the door on the other side of the courtyard. “Let’s just get out of here.”

“Relax,” Zara told her. “There’s no one else here but us and Gilliam. No one is going to shoot anything down at us.”

“Except the ghosts,” Karros said drily and earned himself a reproving look from his mate.

“We’re fine, honestly.” Zara pushed open a solid wooden door that was hung on well-oiled hinges. “It seems Gilliam hasn’t let the whole palace slide into disrepair.”

“Obviously not.” Ivan stopped in the doorway to admire the ornate ceilings of the large hallway that opened up before them.

“Gilliam is not all he seems.” Karros stared at the ceilings in awe. “This palace must have been incredible. It’s grander than Flora’s father’s palace.”

“Do you think Gilliam leaves the outside of the palace to crumble so that no one realizes what’s hidden back here?” Larisa asked.

“That’s exactly right.” Gilliam appeared in a doorway across the hall. “Come on. This way, we have a lot to talk about and not much time.” He beckoned to them, and they followed.

“You know he could be leading us into a trap?” Zara said. “None of this is as it seems.”

“I thought you said there wasn’t anyone else here besides us.” Larisa looked behind them, her face etched with fear.

“A trap doesn’t need other people. There could be anything waiting for us as we go deeper into the palace.” Even Karros was uncertain.

“I thought you trusted him.” Ivan didn’t want to risk their safety. Not even for his treasure.

“I did. I do. It’s just... Fae usually like showing off what they have. They like other fae to look up to them. They are often arrogant and conceited.” Karros pointed after Gilliam. “They don’t usually hide away.”

“But Gilliam has a good reason to hide. Not only because the dragon treasure is here but because he also brought my father into the fae realm and helped him conceal himself.” Ivan’s doubts suddenly disappeared. “We can trust Gilliam for those very reasons. He had kept the treasure safe. I think he’s a man of his word.”

“Okay. If you really think we can trust him then we trust him.” Larisa nodded. “We’re here for you. We’re here to support you, whatever that means and whatever it takes.”

“Larisa is right.” Zara sighed. “Let’s just get this over with.”

“Are you sure?” Ivan asked.

“Yes. We have to commit to this and believe that fate brought us here. It’s time you claimed your treasure, it’s your birthright and if Gilliam was a good friend of your father’s, then he’s going to help you.” Karros nodded at Ivan. “You have our support. We have your back.”

“Thank you.” Ivan stopped walking and turned to his left, instead of following Gilliam.

“What’s wrong?” Larisa stood close to him, her shoulder brushing his arm.

“We need to go this way.” He pointed to the wall but there was no doorway. Not even a window.

“Do you want to go back outside and figure out a way to get there?” Karros was already backtracking toward the door they’d entered through.

Ivan shook his head. “No. There’s a door here.”

Karros exchanged a puzzled look with Larisa. “There’s nothing there.”

Ivan didn’t answer. He strode to the wall with his hands outstretched as if he was going to push a door open and walk on through. But Karros was right, there was no door. At least none that could be seen. But his shifter senses told him the door was there. He just had to look in the right place. Or feel in the right place.

“Ivan.” Larisa stuck close to him as he placed his palms flat on the cool stone wall. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.” He nodded once and locked eyes with her, needing her to understand he knew exactly what he was doing. “It’s this way.”

“Okay.” She copied him, placing her hands on the wall, searching for any clue there was something hidden out of sight.

Karros and Zara joined them, touching every inch of the wall as they searched for the smallest dent or crack that might show them the way.

“There’s nothing here.” Larisa blew the air out of her cheeks in frustration.

“There is,” Ivan assured her.

Why can’t we find it?His dragon itched to be free. He wanted to help with the search because he too was certain that their treasure lay beyond the wall.

Ivan stopped searching, his hands dropped to his side and his shoulders slumped as he stared at the wall. “Of course.”

“Are we missing something?” Larisa asked.

“I can’t find it.” He raked a hand through his hair as the song in his head grew louder.

“Does that mean we need Gilliam to show us where it is?” Karros asked. “I can go get him if you want.”

Ivan shook his head. “I don’t need Gilliam. This treasure belongs to a dragon shifter.”

“You need the spell to wear off before you can get to it.” Karros stopped searching and turned to face Ivan. “The spell should be completely worn off in a few hours. We can wait until then.”

Ivan shook his head. “It’s not the spell. It’s me.”

“Ivan.” Larisa placed her hand on his arm. “Don’t.”

“Don’t what?” Zara’s eyes widened as she figured out what he planned to do. “You need to shift.”

“Need to or want to?” Larisa asked sharply. “Don’t let the treasure control you. Don’t let it put you in danger.”

“I’m not.” Ivan slipped his arms around her shoulder and pulled her close. “This is what I need to do. Only my dragon can reach the treasure.”