Chapter 15

After her momentous birthday when Argenis spent the whole day with her, he'd had to return to patrol. She tried not to demand too much of his time, but she wanted all of it. Today, she'd wandered outside, hoping to see the dragons flying overhead.

"I'm bored, Silly," Ciel admitted to her stuffie as she enjoyed the breeze outside. Even though things had been so much easier before, she adored her new life with Argenis. She'd never felt this way about anyone—much less told them.

But her mate had an enormous responsibility now. Protecting everyone inside the ring of mountains took time and vigilance.

Restless, she hopped out of the swing on its next forward arc. Instantly, she heard a knock on the large window on her mate's office. Sorry!

I can't do anything, Ciel muttered aloud. She flounced down to sit on the green grass and gasped. Her mate had spanked her soundly when they returned from the excursion. Not following directions and being bratty had earned her a very different type of spanking from her first. Ciel's bottom was still sore.

"I'm going to be good forever now, Silly. No more rolling my eyes at Daddy or trying to run around him."

Ciel tried to listen to Silly's wise advice to follow her Daddy's directions, but her mind replayed the information Argenis had shared with her at breakfast.

Just yesterday, the man who'd managed the livestock on his land for years had stopped a group of men carrying tools at the base of the mountain. They'd all answered questions correctly, reporting they'd recently been allowed over the mountain passes to work in Wyvern. That week, they'd been assigned to remove the large stones from an unused field to get it ready for planting. The men were camping out near the area. According to Argenis, the sight of shovels and pickaxes had thrilled the supervisor. They'd even had a hoe.

Something in the men's story seemed off. What they said was perfectly logical. But…

Argenis trusted his long-term employee. His father and grandfather still lived and worked on the estate. Argenis shared with Ciel that visiting these men was on his list to do that day.

"Just in case, stay near the house today," the dragon declared.

He would talk to the new men. Dragons could smell lies. He would take care of any problem or clear the haze of wariness away.

Ciel knew from her mate's expression, he was concerned. Something was off about these men.

"I was going to help with the cheese making today, Daddy. I'll stay on the path."

"Not today, Little Sky," he'd declared with a look that told her not to argue.

Thus, her boredom. She'd had her day all planned out. Now she was stuck in the house or just outside. There was nothing fun to do.

After debating for several swings back and forth, Ciel dragged her sandals on the ground to come to a stop. Immediately, she reached down to brush away the dust from her pretty silver sandals. Argenis had loved her wearing his color. She liked pleasing him.

A dragon shout echoed through green space, and she saw Argenis run into the greenspace. In seconds, the silver dragon soared away. With him out of his office, she decided to dare leaving the play area near the house. Ciel tucked Silly inside the back of her shirt and headed down the hill. She'd need both hands to make cheese. He'll never know.

"Hi," Ciel greeted the couple in the barn.

"Hi, Ciel. Did you come to sample some cheese?" the woman asked.

"I'd hoped you'd let me help. Is there anything easy I could do? I'd hate to mess something up."

"Of course. We can always use another pair of hands. Today, we're scooping up the curds into a mold and placing weights on them to press out the moisture. Are you feeling strong?" the man asked.

"Sure. Just show me."

Soon, Ciel wore an apron and gloves. It was easy to get engrossed in the process. She got the knack of how to heap the curds into the mold so that when she set the weight on top, they would be full. It was messy work and she loved it.

"Good job, Ciel! Thank you for your help. We got everything done so fast today, we can get the vat cleaned and set up for another type of cheese tomorrow," the woman praised her.

"I can help with that," Ciel rushed to volunteer.

"Thank you, but that's a two-person job. You're welcome back any other time to help us," the man said with a smile.

"Okay." Taking her apron and gloves off, Ciel laid them neatly on the counter. On her way back to the mansion, she stopped to watch the baby goats. They were so cute bouncing around.

Grinning, she turned to go back up the incline. She was almost there when she ran into them.

"That's her. That's the silver dragon's mate," the rough man announced.

Just the sight of them warned her that they were up to no good. She opened her mouth to scream, but they were on her before she could let out a peep. She concentrated with all her might and screamed one word in her mind as they gagged and tied her up.

Argenis!

One man threw her over his shoulder, and they ran toward the rocks. He jerked her off his shoulder and thrust her toward the side of the mountain. Were they going to bash her against the stone? She dug the toes of her shoes into the ground trying to slow herself down and felt one sandal rip off her foot.

Where are…

She closed her eyes anticipating pain and felt the bite of rocks scraping the skin of her back and front. Flashing her eyelid open, she discovered she was being pushed inside a very narrow opening. As she emerged on the other side, someone held her roughly. When the same man grabbed her and threw her back onto his shoulder.

The rest of Argenis's worried response never arrived as they dashed into a tunnel hidden in the craggy rock. The man carried her deeper and deeper into the darkness lit only by flickering torches. The others extinguished the light behind them.

Finally, one spoke, "Surely, he can't hear us here."

"You going to guarantee that?" another asked.

"Put her in the box," the first one directed.

At the sight of what looked like a big footlocker, Ciel fought the rough ropes tied around her wrists and ankles. It did no good. Soon, the top slammed into place and she heard the latches lock into place.

Argenis!

There was no response.

Daddy?

When that also was met with silence, Ciel panicked and tried to shift over onto her back. Landing on the soft stuffie she'd tucked into her shirt a few hours ago, she froze. Silly was here. Ciel concentrated on getting her breathing under control. She wasn't alone. Argenis was coming. He'd find her if he had to destroy the whole mountain.

"Something's happened. I have to get home." Argenis threw the words over his shoulder as he ran for a clearing.

Shifting into a dragon, he launched himself into the air. A flash of emerald green told him another dragon was coming with him in case he needed back up.

Someone has taken Ciel , he mentally sent to Khadar.

A flash of anger that rolled through his mind was the only response Argenis received. He agreed with that completely. Whoever had taken her had just sealed their fate.

The dragons landed behind the house and Argenis raced toward the last place he'd heard her call. They scoured the area along with staff members. Retracing his steps repeatedly, Argenis found nothing.

He stopped and tried to think. Khadar joined him as well as a ring of others. "Her voice stopped mid-thought. She either was gaggled or shielded from connecting with me."

"What would interrupt your connection?" Khadar asked. "A thick barrier?"

"It would have to be made of a solid material."

"We build our lairs into the side of the mountain to protect from fire but also so we can not be spied on," Khadar suggested.

"Or even have someone know you existed," one man suggested. The townspeople were still astonished that they had no idea about the dragons other than the statue in the square.

An image of the used tools flashed into Argenis's mind. "They're inside the mountain."

"There's no way you didn't hear them excavating your mountain," Khadar scoffed.

"Unless they only worked when I was out. Put one man on my staff for a look out and they would know when I appeared and flew out immediately," Argenis said, feeling the anger build inside him.

Khadar's expression hardened. "That would work."

"There are caves in several places but three main entrances. I have barricaded all with boulders," Argenis reported. "Let's check those openings."

He divided the men in two, before waving them in opposite directions. Khadar joined the smallest group to reinforce them. On his own, Argenis headed down the hill. As he passed the cheese makers' new building, a woman called out.

"Thank Ciel for us. She could be a master craftswoman."

"Ciel was here?"

"Yes. She was wonderful."

Argenis immediately ran for the last entrance. The boulders were all still in place. There was no way anyone had moved those massive pieces of rock without having machinery or dragon power. He would have noticed both.

He slammed his hand into a large jutting section of stone. She couldn't just disappear. He paced further down the slope. A flash of silver caught his eye. Racing down to investigate, he found Ciel's sandal. He'd noticed it this morning, approving of her choice of colors. She needed to wear more silver.

Scanning the ground, he saw a patch of grass raked and torn. There was nothing else except the craggy rock that formed his mountain. Wait! There! A patch of rock lay scattered by a jagged section.

Argenis rounded the protrusion and found it. He visually traced the jagged crevice running vertically at the back of the jutting section of rock. It had been widened, just wide enough for a person to squeeze in if they went from a certain angle.

Khadar, I found where they took her.

Go! I know where you are.

Bring the men here to guard this entrance.