Chapter Nine – Ruby

Ruby kept her voice level as she encouraged Magnus to crawl forward, hiding her own apprehension.

Dragons don’t belong in confined places, her dragon told her sulkily.

I thought you were brave. Ruby focused on the man in front of her. Her priority was to keep him safe.

Which we can’t do, if we’re buried under a mountain of rock, her dragon informed her bluntly.

Ruby ignored her dragon and instead followed her own advice and focused on the man in front of her. Particularly his butt, which she could just about make out as the light from the flashlight bounced back off the walls on either side of them. If he’d been asleep for a couple of centuries, he must have worked out in his sleep, because he had one tight…

The light vanished, and she took a sharp intake of breath. “Did you drop the flashlight?”

Then she realized the light hadn’t gone out; instead, it was sucked into a dark abyss before them. “I found the cave.”

Magnus scrambled forward and stood up, turning the flashlight on her. Thankfully he didn’t shine it in her face; instead, he aimed it at the ground. “And I found a gold coin.” Ruby’s fingers closed around it and she picked it up from between the small rocks that littered the floor of what looked like a large cave that stretched out behind Magnus.

He stepped closer to her, aiming the flashlight at the coin. “How did it get here?”

Turning in a circle, he aimed the light at the ground, but there were no other gold coins or gems of any kind. She caught the disappointment on his face and reached out for his free hand. Lifting it up, she opened his fingers and placed the gold on his palm. “This is yours.”

He weighed it in his hand. “It feels…familiar.”

Ruby smiled. “A dragon always knows his treasure.” She inhaled deeply. “There’s more close by.”

Her heart hammered with excitement and her dragon fluttered around in her head like a lovesick fool. Only a dragon could be this impressed by gold and jewels.

“How do you know?” Magnus asked as he turned back to look at her.

“I can sense it.” She was about to add, it’s a dragon thing, but stopped herself. He didn’t need to hear it. Not now. “Come on.”

She took his hand and pulled him forward, following her nose, or whatever sense it was that led her toward the treasure. They stumbled over small rocks and splashed through a puddle of water created by rain seeping through the rock above. When Magnus shone his light on the water, they could see stalagmites forming on the ground. “This section must have been untouched by the cave-in, or else these stalagmites would be broken.”

“So you don’t know about cars and flashlights, but you know about caves?” Ruby asked.

“Yes.” He nodded and frowned. “I know this cave.”

“This must have been your lair.” Excitement bubbled up inside her. “How amazing to have a real cave as your lair.”

“My lair.” He sounded unsure.

“You must be a dragon shifter, this is your lair and…that is your treasure.” She stopped dead in her tracks and pointed at the pile of gold and silver, littered with trinkets and gems.

“What if it’s not mine?” Magnus asked.

“But you were here,” Ruby insisted. “It has to be yours.”

“Or there could be another explanation.” His tone was troubled. “What if I came here to put a dragon shifter under the Ancient Slumber spell, and it somehow reversed and got me?”

“You think the reason you were in here was that you tried to put a dragon to sleep?” Ruby contemplated that for a moment. “Impossible.”

“Why?” Magnus asked as he approached the treasure.

“Because it could never happen.”

“Why? I’ve seen how strong you are. Your dragon could easily overpower me.”

“Yes, it could. But you are missing the point.”

“Which is?”

“A dragon would never leave someone else here alone with his treasure.”

“What if that dragon was dead? I could have killed him. Or her?” Magnus was searching for answers, some kind of explanation. Why couldn’t he accept that he was a dragon shifter?

“You don’t think you can be a shifter, do you?” Ruby pulled him forward, wanting him to touch his treasure. One thing she knew above all else was that a dragon’s treasure sang to its true owner. “Pick it up, touch it.”

Magnus hesitated. Then he plunged his hands into the gold and lifted it up, letting it rain back down. “It feels familiar, but I still don’t remember a thing.”

“Give it time.” Ruby walked around the pile of gold. She longed to pull her hiking boots off and wade through the treasure, just as she waded through the mountain stream on a hot summer day. Both were equally refreshing to a dragon.

Magnus made his own way around the edge of the treasure. Occasionally he would stop and lean forward, looking at a jewel-encrusted dagger, or lift out a wooden box filled with gems, but he always replaced them as if he were a stranger here and the valuables belonged to someone else.

“There’s so much of it.” He stood with his hands on his hips. “What do we do with it all?”

Ruby circled around and stood next to him. “Leave it here for now. I won’t tell anyone, and I think you can trust Fara. She’d likely rip the throat out of anyone who tried to steal from you.”

“What then? What if it is not mine?”

“Finders keepers,” she offered lamely.

He hunkered down and cupped his hands, filling them with treasure. “Why can’t I remember?”

She crouched beside him. “Listen, I’ve seen the Ancient Slumber spell cast once. Maybe whoever cast it on you used a variation?”

“You mean the spell still has an effect on me?” He let the gold slip through his fingers. “That makes sense.”

“All we have to do is figure out how to break it.” Ruby reached out and grabbed hold of a silver chain, pulling it toward her. “This is pretty.”

She held it up and a silver moon dangled from the chain, glimmering in the light. Magnus’s heart rate quickened, she could hear it thundering in his chest. “I remember this.”

The breath rushed from her chest as relief swept over her. A breakthrough, no matter how small, gave her hope. “What do you remember?”

Magnus lifted it up, so it dangled above their heads. “I don’t know.” He shook his head. “It belonged to someone special to me.”

The room spun around as Ruby fought the jealousy that wanted to consume her. Whoever it was meant nothing compared to his mate. She knew it, he knew it. Only he didn’t know it, because that side of him was still dormant. Ruby might be his mate, but as they crouched here next to his treasure, she was no more to him than any other woman in his life. No, she might mean less to him than whoever the crescent moon pendant belonged to.

“Do you know who she was?” Her voice was small in the vastness of the cave.

“No. Not her face.” He lowered his hand and stared with unfocused eyes at his treasure. “But I do know she is the reason I am here.”

Not what a girl wanted to hear. Especially not what a girl wanted to hear coming out of the mouth of her mate. “Did you love her?”

Magnus turned his head to look at her. “Yes. I think so. But I don’t remember her face.” He palmed the pendant and shoved it in his pocket, before cupping her face in his hand. “It’s not the same as this.”

Her forehead creased as she said, “Do you know what this is?”

“No.” He lifted her face as she tried to pull away. “But I do know, deep down in my soul, that no sleep, no matter how long, could make me forget you.”

He leaned forward and kissed her lips—in his lair, surrounded by all his treasure. Her dragon swooned, to her this was the most romantic gesture in all the ages of all the world.

Ruby agreed. His words were heartfelt and she believed him. He might not have his memories or his dragon, but he recognized Ruby for who she was. As their lips moved, he awoke a part of her that had been dormant, too. The woman inside her, the primal side that wanted a man, a mate, and a family. Children had never been a priority. Yes, she loved Harlan Jr. as if he were her own blood, but she’d never gotten it before, that intense need to procreate.

Yet, if Magnus asked her to, if he made a move, she would lay down here on his treasure and make a child with him. Make a future with him.

His tongue slid along her lower lip and she opened her mouth, their tongues entwined as they explored each other. Ruby ran her hands over his hard-toned chest, her thumb brushed against his taut nipple, and he groaned, deepening their kiss and pulling her closer. She wanted to climb inside his skin and be one with him, two beings joined forever.

When their lips parted, she felt a sense of loss. Leaning forward, she rested her head against his chest, then raised her eyes to his. “I don’t suppose true love’s kiss woke your memories?”

“Alas, no.” He stroked her jawline and gazed into her eyes. “However, I am in no doubt this is true love.”

A smile crept onto her face. “That’s the most important thing for you to know. The rest doesn’t matter. Only that we’re together.”

He leaned forward, his lips as gentle as a caress as they touched hers. “You have faith in me.”

“I do.”

“I wish I could share it.” He pulled away and stood up abruptly. “You deserve answers, Ruby. You deserve to know who I am.”

“I deserve your love and that is all. The rest is not necessary.” She took his hand and he pulled her to her feet. “But I think you need answers, and if we haven’t found them here, then we’ll look elsewhere.”

“Like where? This is where I must have slept. If there are no clues here, then where will we find them?” Magnus turned his back on his treasure and walked back toward the narrow entrance, with Ruby’s hand still firmly in his.

“We have a couple of choices. First, we go through the records in Bear Creek and look for a clue. Second, we visit my sister’s relatives. Tiberius, her father-in-law, has some knowledge of the spell.” She forced herself to sound upbeat and confident.

Magnus didn’t need to hear her doubts. She’d been convinced they would find the answer here. That would have been the easiest way. And she liked easy. Ruby’s hope that finding his treasure within the cave where he slept would jog his memory and make him remember was dashed. But she would stand by his side and work through every possible way he might regain his memories.

“Wait, what’s that?” Ruby looked down at something wedged beneath two sharp stones that jutted up from the cave floor. She bent down and picked it up. “Shine the flashlight on it.”

Magnus aimed the light at her fingers. “What is it?”

“A scale.” She looked closer. “A dragon scale.”

His eyes widened, and he took it from her, holding it carefully between his finger and thumb. “Do you think it’s one of mine?”

“I think it belongs to whoever this treasure belongs to. No other dragon would be in here.” She pointed at the entrance. “Perhaps this is where you shifted back to human form.”

“I don’t remember any of it if I did.” Magnus frowned. “But it’s a clue.”

“It’s a good clue. When we get outside we can have a good look at it. I can’t see the color properly in this light. It looks turquoise.” She took a steadying breath to control her excitement. They might not have found his memories, but if they had found a part of the dragon, it might be enough for Tiberius to work out a spell that could link the human and the dragon side. It was a long shot, but Ruby was ready to grab hold of any hope and hang on for dear life.

Magnus closed his hand around it and held it in his fist as they exited the cave. Outside, Fara waited with a hopeful, expectant expression on her face. Ruby shook her head slightly to let Fara know Magnus hadn’t regained his memories. “We found a scale.”

“A scale.” Fara didn’t sound impressed. “What about the treasure?”

“Oh, we found that, too.” Ruby showed her a gold coin.

“It’s like the one in Magnus’s pocket. And there’s more of them?” Fara asked as she took the gold coin from Ruby. “Aren’t you supposed to use your teeth to check if it’s real?”

“A dragon knows gold when she smells it,” Ruby assured her. “Why not go inside with Magnus and let him show it to you?”

Fara handed the gold coin back to her. “I’ll take your word for it. A wolf has no need for treasure, not when she has the mountains around her, a roof over her head and good friends around the hearth.”

“That sounds like an ideal world,” Magnus agreed. Then he looked over his shoulder at the cave mouth. “Yet to me, the treasure is like an old friend.”

“Can you hear it singing?” Ruby asked.

His face saddened. “Alas, no, I cannot.”

“You will. One day, you will.” She took the scale from him. “This is what interests me.” She held it up to the light. “It’s a beautiful color, look how the light shines off it. It’s gorgeous.”

“Maybe one day you will see me in all my glory.” Magnus didn’t sound convinced.

“Oh, I will. A dragon always gets her way.”

“Right now, this wolf wants her way,” Fara told them. “I’m freezing cold. I’m going to shift.”

Without waiting for an answer, she shimmered into her wolf and set off down the mountain trail, retracing their steps.

“Are you ready to go?” Ruby asked, sensing his reluctance to leave.

“For now.” He looked around. “I wish I could hide the entrance.”

“Don’t worry, hardly anyone comes up here. Not to this altitude. The treasure has been there for hundreds of years, it’s not going anywhere for the next few days.”

“And what then?” Magnus asked as they walked along the narrow ledge.

“Then you can enlist the help of my family to bring it down off the mountain or leave it here. The choice is yours. But give yourself some time.” Ruby took hold of his arm and turned him toward her. “Everything will be okay.”

He looked down at her, then kissed her lips lightly. “I should be looking after you and showering you with gifts. Instead, I’m lost in this world. Nothing makes sense. Not my memories, not the contraptions that litter your world, most of which I don’t understand.”

“You’ll learn.” She stood on tiptoes and pressed her lips to his. “And really, the only thing you need to remember is how to love. What’s in your heart is more important than any amount of treasure.” Her brows pulled together. “Did I really say that?”

Her dragon turned away, totally disowning her.