Page 29 of Hidden Dragons

“Is that the only spot where the venom got through your armor?” she asked, already gauging the depth of the wound on his shoulder. It wasn’t too bad and would heal well if they got water and then burnjelly on it immediately.

He chucked the contaminated armor to the side and bent over near the basin she indicated. The last thing they wanted to do was spread the venom all over his body. Better to rinse just the affected area at first, until they had diluted the acid sufficiently. He knew the drill, apparently, and cooperated as she poured bucket after bucket of water over his shoulder.

“Sweet Mother of All, that stings!” he exclaimed as the water sluiced over his raw skin.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“Don’t worry. I know it has to be done,” he gasped. “Keep going. It’s starting to dissipate.”

“Good. That means we’ve diluted it substantially. You should rinse your whole body off, in case there are spots we haven’t noticed yet,” she advised him. “The shoulder doesn’t look too bad.”

Robert stood and simply stripped off to his skivvies right there, without any hesitation at all. Isabelle felt her cheeks flame as he stood there, practically naked. He moved toward a station that had been set up for just this purpose and opened the tap near his head that would rain water down through a pipe that had a ceramic head on the end of it with multiple small holes. The effect was that of a rain shower. He moved under it and turned his body to be sure was completely washed off, including his head and hair.

When he was done, he closed the tap and reached for one of the many clean towels that had been stacked nearby. He dried himself off and came back to her.

“How’s Growloranth?” he demanded even before allowing her to treat his wound. It had only been a matter of minutes since he’d come in and Growloranth was already being treated. Isabelle had been keeping tabs on both males.

“He’s doing fine. No lasting damage. They are finishing up with him as we speak. Now, let me tend your shoulder, Robert. You need to be ready to fly when he is.”

That got through to the handsome knight. He sat on the stool that she had set near her supply table and presented her with his injured shoulder. She noted that he positioned himself so that he could look out over the wide ledge to where Growloranth lay, being treated as well. When Robert didn’t speak to her, she assumed he was communing silently with his dragon partner. She looked at his wound, deciding on the best course of treatment. Burnjelly would do, she thought, and began applying it over the area.

He sighed in relief as the burnjelly started to take effect.

“Thank you for taking care of him,”came Growloranth’s voice in her mind as she worked on Robert.

“No need for thanks. I could do no less. How are you feeling? Is there anything I can do to help?”she answered back.

“I am well enough now. The princesses have seen to the worst of my wounds and Lady Silla will handle the rest. Just take care of Robert. He would neglect himself if you were not here.”

“Not on my watch.”She winked at the dragon who lay several yards away, and he blinked one of his large, jeweled eyes at her in return. They had an understanding.“What happened to get you two into such a state? And where were Tildeth and Bear when this happened? Do you think they’re all right?”She carefully sent her words to both Robert and Growloranth.

“They were running high guard reconnaissance, feeding Jared and Darian intelligence so they could run the battle plan,” Robert explained in a tired voice.

“They saw us engage a knot of skiths. They knew we were on our way back here after we got burned,”Growloranth added.“But they were fine the last we saw them. Unlikely to be used on the ground because of their usefulness in the sky.”

Isabelle finished with Robert’s treatment and was about to comment when she heard the trumpeting call that meant another dragon was coming in for a not-so-well-controlled landing. There had been quite a few skidding, hopping landings on the ledge today as injured dragons did their best to make it back home for treatment.

Isabelle and Robert both rushed to help in any way they could, but it proved unnecessary. The dragon landed and Isabelle saw it was Sir Gareth and his dragon partner, Kelvan, one of Princess Belora’s mates. He didn’t dismount, but reached a hand down for her. She climbed up on Kelvan’s back as word spread silently from dragon to dragon.

Growloranth told them what was happening.

“The skiths have been defeated, but the enemy troops are now firing on our forces with diamond-tipped weapons. Two dragons have been shot out of the sky and Princess Belora is going with Gareth to treat them enough so they can fly home.”

“Diamond-tipped weapons?” Isabelle repeated, wondering why that was significant.

Robert took her hand and squeezed gently. “Diamond is the only edge sharp enough and strong enough to cut through dragon scale.”

“Sweet Mother of All!” she whispered, shocked. She had believed dragons were the next best thing to invincible. The idea that they could be shot down made her gasp. Especially knowing that Tilly and Bear were out there, flying reconnaissance.“Did he say who was shot down?”she asked Growloranth quickly.

“No, he did not, but I fear my mate is among the fallen,”Growloranth replied solemnly.“And I cannot fly to her aid. The Princess Adora forbade it. And truth to tell, I do not have the strength.”

Both Isabelle and Robert ran to Growloranth’s side. Tears were streaking out of his large, jewel-like eyes, rolling down his scaled skin to harden on the ground into a small pile of sparkling gems. How something so beautiful could come out of such heartbreak was beyond her comprehension, but that was unimportant now. What was important was the pain the dragon and his knight—and Isabelle too, if she was being honest—were feeling.

“I am with you, my old friend. Tildeth will be all right. You would know it if she wasn’t.” Robert stroked the dragon’s neck, leaning against him, offering comfort in whatever way he could.

Isabelle reached out to touch the dragon’s face. She had never dared to touch him before, but this was a dire circumstance. Her heart opened and the dragon stepped inside, his pain reaching out to her.

She stared into his eyes and simply stood with him, a hum of power passing between them. And then it became a real hum, in her throat, begging for release. Before she knew it, she was humming a tune of calm and peace. A sacred chant that would bring comfort until they knew for certain what was happening out on the battlefield.

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