Dragons Are Demanding (Book 1)Complete

55.) Summoning.

The light on the ceiling had flashed brightly, flickering in color. Cerastes had sat up so suddenly I thought he had heard an intruder. He jumped out of bed barely glancing up at the red light and rubbed his ears. He walked across the room to the wardrobe, dressing in a hurry. Brushing his hair with a comb and chewing on something. 

"What's going on?" I asked him as he rubbed what looked like soap across his body.

"Covering the smell." He replied. "I'll be back soon."

The outfit he wore was like a red robe with long sleeves them bottom him reached all the way to the floor without dragging. Black pants and a shirt were worn underneath. The material looked glossy and shimmered. I wanted to touch it but I didnt want to get my smell on it. To be dressed so nicely it must be important. This was the first time I'd seen his hair tied back. Cerastes covered his taloned feet with leather wrappings and left closing the door loudly.

"Byeee." I called out to him.

Alone again I sighed.

The red light bothered me. The light painted the room a red tint like blood. It was unsettling to stay in the room. I decided to literally roll out of bed and have a look around the rest of the house. I dressed in Cerastes clothes and headed for the stairs.

The stairs were cold on my bare feet and they made a light clapping sound as I climbed.
Left or right.
I went left at the break in the stairs.
After reaching the top of the stairs I looked down from the long stone balcony. How odd to be up high while still being inside a house, I wonder why we never built houses on top of houses like this at home. Something I'll never know. 

I began exploring the top floor. The first room was at least five times larger than Cerastes's room downstairs. Maybe this is his uncle's room? It was devoid of personal items. Light shown in from the window that started from the floor and went all the way up to the ceiling. I looked out the west facing window, and bumped my face on the clear surface. The view was of a raveen, part of the the mountain, and a desert far off in the distance. The rug infront of the widow had faded where the light had reached, causing a stripe of the green rug to be bleached white.

A mountain of furs had been piled up ontop of eachother, In what I assumed was a sleeping place. Browns bear furs, cow hide, wool blankets, and deer pelts made up the majority of the stack. 

This place had the smell of being closed up for a long time but was oddly still clean. Clothes were in the wardrobe, they smelled of the wood the wardrobe was made from.
Fire wood had been stacked next to the fireplace but there were no ashes, or signs of use. The room felt like it was waiting, ready to serve its master at any moment.

I left that room and entered the next. It was a smaller room with a desk and  a couple longer sitting chairs. I ran my finger over the desks surface and my tan finger came up without dust. I couldnt picture Cerastes cleaning this place himself but I hadnt seen anyone els here either. The rug was the same green but the room had no windows like the first. It felt dreary almost ominous in the dim light. I began to wonder why there was so many fireplaces in the house but there wasnt one In the third room.

The most interesting room was the last door on the floor. It was so full it made the other rooms seem bare. Shelves and shelves littered with different objects.
I didnt even begin to know what all of these things were called. More sitting areas littered the room in the worst condition of all the furniture in the house. Small tables were cluttered with curious objects.
It was another room without windows but everything on the shelves was still visible in the dim light.

I picked up one of the many items off the shelf. It had a wood covering and firm pressed rectangles inside.  Markings written with maybe  charcoal. Occasionally a picture would be drawn on a rectangle as I flipped through. Dragon women. The ocean. Eggs the size of my fist. I put the object back on the shelf where I found it.

A mural had been drawn on the wall but of what I wasnt entirely sure. Smudges and blobs. As I walked closer I tripped over a stack of... shells? I had seen a shell once, my mother had kept it in the bag she kept around her neck. The shell was a memento, "a piece of where she was born", she called it.
I hurried to pick them up. And put them back in there box. Hoping that I hadnt broken anything.  This place didnt feel like home yet, and the space didn't belong to me.

I teared up looking at the shells in my hand and left quickly. Those shells bothered me more than I had expected. I wiped my tears and made my way down stairs.

I felt a slight pain in my arm and rubbed it. The white scaled tattoo covered my forearm.
Maybe it was a cramp? I flexed my arm to get some blood moving. But the pain didnt ease if anything it became stronger. I should dunk it in some water.

The bathing room was significantly colder than the rest of the house. The chamber had a faint mildew smell that I hadnt noticed before, but I ignored it. I rolled up the shirt sleeve and dipped my arm under the water. The cool sensation was nice but didnt cure the pain like it usually did.

After a ten minutes I started feeling cold. Hadnt the water felt warmer earlier? Why was it different now?
I need to warm up, I should go make sure its warm for Cerastes when he comes back.

I stood up to go when I felt something behind me. I jumped.

"Oh! Husband." I calmed down. "Its you."
He stood behind me undressing painfully. Well he is home now I shouldnt really make a fuss about clothes. Is he going to take a bath again?

"The water is really cold now, I dont .. what happened to your back!" I shrieked as he walked past me. His back had been sliced up with some pieces of cloth were stuck in the wounds.

He had just finished healing why is it like this? The wound from before hadnt even been on his back, no these were fresh.

He submerged himself up to his neck in the water taking shallow breaths. I bent down and picked up the red glossy clothes at my feet, they were bloody and cut into rags. Anger flashed through my veins.

"Did HE do this to you?" I asked clutching the clothes tightly. Cerastes had his eyes closed while the water became tinged with red clouds.

"Why doesnt your father step in and do something about him?!?" I asked angrily. I was mad for him. I know he said that there wasnt anything he could do to protect me if his brothers wanted me but does that mean there was nothing he could do to protect himself?

The wounds from the last time had already healed leaving no sign that they had ever existed in the first place. How many scars would he have  if they hadnt healed without a trace?

"Dante is the heir apparent, he doesnt have many limitations" Cerastes replied.

"So he can just attack you and you father doesnt even care?" I asked getting red in the face.

"Might is right." Cerastes said bobbing in the water as if it explained everything.

I let out a deep sigh. Not being able to stand the situation I stood up.
"I'll go make sure the room is warm." I said quietly. I left the bath and headed for Cerastes's room while he continued his bath in silence.