Page 28 of Valentine's Day Treasure

Heather stared at him, horrified. “I don’t want it,” she said. She shoved it in the bag and tossed it on top of the diadem, but then she thought better of it. She took the anklet out of the bag and put it with the rest of the anklets, in the second compartment where it obviously belonged. She felt like throwing the whole bunch of them in the Atlantic Ocean on the way back to Serenity.

Graeme must have seen her intention on her face. He touched her arm and spoke soothingly. “Mayhap I was wrong to tell ye how it was used in the past. Rhen may intend nothing more than unique, valuable gifts.”

Heather nodded at him, then picked up the bag with the diadem in it, meaning to put it on top and then close the small chest and… and what? Maybe give it to Graeme for safe-keeping. Her horror at being given battle attire as a gift was already fading. The diadem called powerfully to her. Irritated, she shoved her hand into the bag and pulled it out, then placed it on her head. Power surged through her, and she wanted to use it. She snatched up the jewelry box with the 12 anklets in it and held it in one hand then, feeling like she could do no wrong, she placed her other hand on the small chest until it flared into flame and burned to nothing. She ran her hands over the ash to clean it, deliberately not looking at Graeme, even though she could tell he was staring at her. The chest was gone, and she didn’t know why she had destroyed it, but she kept moving. She crushed the jewelry box between her hands like an accordion.

Heather gasped and dropped it, then ripped the diadem off her head and flung it to the top of the large chest.

“I broke it!” she cried. “I melted them!”

Graeme shook his head and picked up what Heather had dropped. He placed it back in her hands, then cupped them with his.

“Nae broken,” he said, smiling reassuringly at her. “Only compressed for travel and fully recoverable.”

In their hands, the box opened back up and returned to full size, with the anklets fully intact inside.

Heather stared at them, then looked at her man. “And the chest? Is it…”

Graeme gave her a lopsided smile. “That, you destroyed. Nae bother. It was a verydragenthing to do. We destroy what we have no more use for.”

Contemplating that, Heather pressed her hands together again, not sure what she was doing or how she was doing it, but willing the jewelry box and anklets to ‘compress’ again. They did, into a neat little package about the size of her phone. She held it up, disbelieving, and Graeme smiled at her. She smiled back, then put the thing in her left cargo pocket and buttoned it closed.

She picked up the diadem and shoved it in the bag quickly, cinching it tightly closed, and holding it by the strings, ignoring its call.

“Right, then,” Graeme said.

He touched the large chest and the lock popped open. He lifted the lid and they both looked inside. Heather whistled in amazement. The thing was packed full, up to the very top with crates full of gold bars, and one more small, closed chest.

Graeme closed the lid. He motioned for Heather to stand back, then he transformed into a dragon. He wrapped his wings around the chest full of gold, and when he released it, the chest was small enough to carry. He transformed into his human self, looking strong and handsome, picked up the chest, and nodded to Heather.

“We’re done?” she said.

“Aye.”

Heather carried the lantern, and together, they headed up the stairs.

15—DragenBooty Duty

Heather was panting and holding her belly as they walked up the stairs, falling farther behind Graeme with each step.

When he realized, he said, “We take a break here.”

Heather sat down. Graeme came and sat next to her. He’d offered to carry her but she’d refused, saying he had a job to do and it didn’t include babying her. When she was rested, they got back to climbing the stairs, and in a few more minutes, they were at the top.

Graeme put the chest down against the wall of the house. He banged on the top once and it shuddered, then expanded to full size.

Heather sat down in the grass, breathing heavily. She held up the bag with the diadem in it. “Can this go in the chest?” she said.

“Aye,” Graeme said, taking it from her.

He took all six crates and the small chest out, placing them on the ground and opening them, examining the contents under the light of the moon.

While he worked, Heather had an idea.

“Graeme, can I clean your house?”

He stopped what he was doing and turned to look at her, a questioning look on his face. She stood up and looked in one of the windows, although she couldn’t see much in the dark.

“Remember when you tried to teach me how to clean withdragenmagic?”

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