What Fire Dragons Treasure - Cristina Rayne Page 0,23
by a charming smile and good looks.
CHAPTER NINE
Amber hadn’t realized exactly how nervous she was to be left alone with Raphek until the moment the door closed behind Briana and silence hung heavily in the air.
She didn’t even have Matty as a natural buffer between them as he had fallen asleep on the couch about thirty minutes prior. No TV or even a radio, either. No more tasks for her to do other than “rest” even though her leg hadn’t hurt once since it had been healed, and she wasn’t even the least bit tired. In fact, she was so keyed up that she was nearly ready to jump clean out of her skin with anxiety.
Raphek was right about Terrans. She had never been very good at sitting still.
What the hell was she supposed to do now?
In all her plans to get Matty safely into Elysia South, Amber hadn’t thought much about what they would do past that seemingly impossible accomplishment beyond vague notions of her finding any kind of work she could and learning more about the Draknos culture.
Maybe asking to join Emma in her classes was the answer? Matty would, at the very least, have other children to play with. He was nearly four. Was it possible to enroll Matty in some type of school at that age?
“If you wish to sleep a bit somewhere less narrow than my couch, you and Matty can use my meditation room,” Raphek offered abruptly, drawing her gaze back to the handsome face she had been studiously trying not to look at sitting in an overstuffed chair adjacent to the couch that resembled a large, cloth-covered beanbag.
“Oh, well, thanks but I’m—I’m fine. I was just thinking about—things,” she finished lamely.
“Thoughts can be especially exhausting,” he said sympathetically. “If you like, I can continue telling you a bit about our cities and culture while Matty continues to nap. Then when he wakes, how about I take you both down to the city beyond this mountain for a short tour? We can also take the opportunity to find you something suitable for bedding as well as clothing.”
“I would love that,” she replied sincerely, something like excitement igniting within her. Then reality came and dropped a truth bomb onto her head. “But—Matty and I literally have nothing more than the clothes we came in. I had brought a backpack full of some minor food supplies, a couple of changes of clothes, identification, and of course, money, but I was in such a hurry to get Matty out of the car after those bastards ran me off the road that it got left behind. Only Matty’s T-rex plushie made it across.”
“Your Terran money would have been useless here, anyway,” Raphek said. “Jewels are our currency here.”
Amber perked up. “Jewels as in diamonds and rubies?” She pulled off her diamond wedding ring and held it up to him. “Could I use the diamond from this?”
Raphek reached over and took the ring from her. He spent a moment scrutinizing it. “I’ve never seen this type of earth jewel outside of a video or photo. It much resembles an Elysian jewel known as a Mitnokt that is often used as a focus by the Mikkan in their higher level spellcraft, but I can tell just from its absence of any discernible smell that it’s a completely different jewel. From what Emma has told me, diamonds are one of the hardest natural substances in your world.”
“Yeah, we use them for cutting and polishing stuff as well as for jewelry,” Amber said. “So, it’s worthless here?”
“No item from your world is worthless,” he said. “Something like this would trade well within several different markets, I think.” He handed it back to her. “You just can’t use it as currency.”
Amber sighed in disappointment. “Then how am I going to buy—”
“You and Matty are guests of our kingdom. Until that status changes, then all your needs will be taken care of courtesy of the royal coffers.”
Amber stared back at Raphek in shock. “But…” Her voice trailed off, unsure of what to say.
Before she could react, Raphek stood and reached down to clasp one of her hands between the furnace of his own. The warmth against the clamminess of her own hands made her shiver.
“Come,” he said as he gently tugged her hand upward until she rose stiffly to her feet. “Allow me to give you a tour of my home while the little one sleeps. That way you can see what things my