The Cursed Queen (Dragon’s Curse #1)

Andriel

"Mate." That was the only word continuing to replay in my mind as I watched the princess staring up at me, those luminescent silver eyes gazing at me with wonderment.

She was my mate. I could feel it in my core, where my Dragonfire roared from a minuscule flame to a raging inferno. Finding my fated mate was the only good thing about my current situation.

I never thought I'd be one of the unlucky ones captured by the druid kingdom, but here I was, trapped with the rest of my kin. The druids use us for our magic, enslaving us to do their bidding and riding on our backs like equestrians. They're the reason our numbers have dwindled. For over twenty years, the druid kingdom turned our once flourishing clan into a speck of what we once were. Their continuous hunt had forced us into hiding in hopes that no more of our brethren would be taken from us.

It was wishful thinking.

I arrogantly thought I'd never be a victim. I'd trained my whole life, skilled in combat and flight, and my flames were a death sentence for any enemy that have crossed me over the years. But I was careless and outnumbered. The dragon riders found me airborne and came for me, using my kin as slaves and forcing them to attack me. No amount of training and power was enough to save me when I was outnumbered six to one. Now, here I was, and here was the place where I'd find my fated mate. A moment that should've delighted me. Instead, I'm left wondering how the dragon gods could be so cruel.

Being stuck in my dragon form, I couldn't speak to her directly. I could still see and hear everything, and what I'd gathered since the two druids arrived had left me with a whirlpool of emotions, my mind spinning and unsure what to digest first.

Sera, I gathered was her name, was not just some druid. She was a princess, the kingdom's princess. She was my enemy, the person responsible for the captivity and slavery of my people. But she didn't strike me as ruthless or heartless. Her anguish over us being locked in these cages showed signs of compassion and appalled over our current predicament.

Did she not know about this?

The way her eyes roamed my features apologetically, I knew she didn't like how we were treated. There was something odd about her, this Princess Sera. It was hard to decipher, but something was dwelling inside her. It was more than just the mate pull, but was too faint for my dragon to decipher. She was... different , but how different remained to be seen.

That aside, my little princess was a stunningly beautiful young woman. She looked sickly with dark circles under her eyes, but that did nothing to tarnish her beauty. Rich golden skin, wavy hair being a darker shade of pink—almost purple—high cheekbones, a straight narrow nose, and lips that were a perfect cupid's bow. The feeling of her hand on my dragon's snout sent warm tingling sensations down my scales and over to my groin. What I wouldn't give to shift back into my human skin so I could wrap her in my arms and feel her hands over my smooth skin as I filled her with my cock.

Damn, now was not the time to be thinking of sex. I was still trapped in a cage, my flames and strength useless to save me. Now, my fated mate was dangled in front of me, but I could not get to her. This was torture.

"Mate," my dragon growled telepathically.

The princess gasped, pulling her hand away and taking a step back. "What?"

"What is it? Is something wrong?" the man she was with asked, sounding concerned. My dragon let out a growl of warning, not liking his proximity to someone who was ours.

My attention was on her. Something spooked her, and I wasn't sure what it was.

The princess kept her eyes on me, even as they narrowed, her head cocked to the side in confusion.

"I don't know," she answered. "I thought I heard something."

The knight's head whipped around as if trying to catch someone sneaking up on them. "Where?"

She shook her head. "No, like something was said in my mind."

My spine stiffened at her words. She couldn't have heard my dragon's thoughts, could she? My dragon also seemed bewildered by the notion. She may have been fated to be mine, but I didn't think she could hear our thoughts through her mind. Only dragon shifters like me could speak to one another telepathically while we were in dragon form.

The knight seemed to be just as confused. "You mean you heard your thoughts."

"No, you dolt," she said with a scowl. "It wasn't my thoughts, it sounded like someone else's."

The princess now looked at me strangely, like I suddenly sprouted a second head. Tentatively, she stepped forward and reached out her hand, once again resting it on my snout. I waited with bated breath to see what would happen. After a few moments, her face sunk with disappointment.

"Maybe I was just hearing things," she whispered lightly.

She heard nothing this time, but my thoughts were also silent. Which meant she must've heard my dragon before. To confirm it, I communicated mentally, hoping it would reach her. "Don't be sad, Princess."

Her eyes widened right as I thought the words, her mouth agape. "Oh, my stars. I-It's you, isn't it?"

"Can you hear my thoughts?" I asked, not wanting to get my hopes up too soon.

She nodded vigorously. "Yes! Yes, I can hear you!"

"Sera?" The knight shook his head, completely lost to what was going on.

She grabbed the knight by his upper biceps, giving him an eager shake. "Virgil, I can hear him. The dragon. I can hear his thoughts!"

I was just as excited as she was, but still confused by how this was possible. Maybe the mate bond was giving her the ability to hear my thoughts? She was a druid, so perhaps it worked differently for her since she wasn't born a dragon shifter. Or maybe there was something that we weren't seeing yet.

Could she be...?

No, it couldn't be...

"That's impossible," the knight—Virgil—protested. "It's a dragon. They're not capable of thoughts."

"We're plenty capable and have more intelligence than you hex-flinging druids," I shot back in thought, knowing the Princess could hear me.

"Are you calling me a liar?" the princess challenged, then looked my way. "And hex-flinging?"

I chuffed out a snort. "My apologies, my darling. I did not mean you."

"Oh, so I'm your darling now?" The corner of her lip curved up in a smirk.

"Oh, my sweet, beautiful princess, you're so much more than that. You're my mate. My fire. My heart. If not for this blasted seal and cage, I'd show you just how dedicated I am to you."

I practically purred as her cheeks tinged a lovely shade of red. "Well, aren't you quite the charmer?"

"You have not seen charm yet, my princess."

"What is going on here?" Virgil's head continuously whipped back and forth, and for a moment, I thought he too could hear my thoughts, but I was certain he would've mentioned it if he had. While my words were only spoken from my mind, Sera's words were loud and vocal. "Sera, are you flirting with a dragon? Do you have some strange fetish I know nothing about?"

"How dare you," the Princess says appallingly.

If I could laugh, I would have, because the horrified look on her face was rather amusing. So, no playing dirty while in dragon form. I made a mental note of that, for now at least. The lighthearted banter and flirting provided a brief distraction until the reality of my situation returned to me. I was still imprisoned with two of my brethren here with me. This was no joking matter, not when our fate of becoming mindless slaves hung over our heads.

"Princess," I called to her. "I need your help. We need your help." I look past her and Virgil over to the cellar across from me. The one containing a dragon shifter with obsidian scales and glowing red ridges. Could that be Drayce? Did he get captured too? What of his lover, Ryu?

"He says he needs my help," the Princess recited out loud.

"Oh please," Virgil scoffed. "Of course, he— it —wants your help. It wants to be set free so it can destroy the kingdom."

"That's a lie," I roared back. "We shifters have never caused destruction aside from you hex-flingers who've continued to invade our den!"

"Wait!" Sera held up her hands to signal us both to stop. "Did you just say shifters?"

"Yes. We're no ordinary dragons, milady. We're shifters, and your kingdom has been capturing and enslaving us so you can steal and use our fire magic."

My mate's silver eyes widened as she took a step back. Able to read her emotions thanks to our bond, I could sense the confusion, horror, and guilt plaguing her.

She turned to Virgil. "Did you know about this?"

"About what?" Virgil asked with an arched eyebrow.

It would've made things a lot easier if he, too, could read my thoughts.

Sera pointed to me. "He's saying he's a shifter. Shifters are part human, are they not?"

"What?" Virgil faced me with a frown, his eyes scanning my form as if trying to find evidence that would reveal my human half to him. "That's ridiculous."

"How so?" Sera asked, crossing her arms over her chest. She hadn't known, had she? Why would the kingdom leave its princess in the dark? The entire dragon shifter race knew the queen held much hate for our kind, but how did the princess fit into all of this?

"Sera, there's no way this thing is a shifter. Shifters are a myth, and dragons have shown no signs of humanity."

"I can prove it," I pleaded with my mate. "If the seals along my body are released, I can shift into my human form and show you."

"You can?" Sera asked me.

"I can." I nodded, hoping beyond hope that she'd release these cursed runes. The battle before my capture left me weak and drained. Shifting back to my human skin would allow me to reignite my fire much faster.

The Princess's eyes roamed my dragon up and down, noticing the glowing runes that etched onto my skin like a brand. The slight furrow of her brow showed confusion.

"These runes, I've never seen an enchantment like this before. What are they?" she asked Virgil.

"They're used to suppress a dragon's magic. It's to keep them from setting us and the stalls on fire."

Sera's eyes glinted, realization dawning in her. "That's not all it's doing. Undo it."

Virgil looked at her incredulously. "What? But Princess—"

"Do as I say," she barked out. "Undo the runes this instant, or I will go to my mother about this right now and demand answers from her. Doing so would raise questions about how I know about this, wouldn't it?"

I wish I could laugh at how pale the knight looked in response to her threat. With white hair, the man could now pass for a ghost.

"Sera, be reasonable," he pleaded. "If I undo the runes, nothing could stop it from attacking us. We'd be taking a gamble that could be perilous to the kingdom."

"He won't," Sera said confidently. "He won't hurt me."

"How can you be sure of that?"

Because we're fated together , I wanted to say, but couldn't. But I knew she felt it too. Deep down, the princess knew I'd do nothing to jeopardize her safety. It was tempting to fight my way out of the cage and fly off, alert the dragon lord of what had happened, and finally convince the old man to fight back. But doing so would also bring harm, not only to my mate, but to my enslaved brethren. As hesitant as I was, I had to put my life and faith in the princess's hands.

"Just do it. Trust me," Sera finally said after a moment of silence.

Virgil huffed out a breath, not liking the idea but seeming to know that arguing with her wouldn't get her to see his reason. There was a sense of familiarity and comfort in the way they bickered. The kind that would take years to develop. These two have known each other for a long time. My anger stirred at the implications forming.

Were they lovers?

Had they fucked before?

How much did this knight know of my mate?

I had to quell my flames since nothing could be done about it. I was sure attacking the pale knight would arouse trouble. Besides, any history between them happened before I arrived. Even if I wasn't her first, I'd certainly be her last.

Virgil stepped closer to the cage before stretching his hand in my direction. I felt the shiver of magic in the air right when his eyes glowed with power. Muttering an enchantment under his throat, one by one, the runes on my body faded. Slowly, I could feel the flow of my Dragonfire return to my body, with each rune vanishing. The locks that kept my powers at bay were undone, and I could feel my strength slowly returning.

When the magic was undone, Virgil stepped back, leaving room for Sera to come forth and address me. "Show me."

She wanted me to shift. Obeying, I closed my eyes, and let the flames of my magic transcend before spiraling around my form until I was completely secluded. My height shrank drastically as my dragon form retracted back into me, my wings and tail shrinking and pulling into my body. The scales along my body softened, morphing into human skin. My snout and horns pulled back as my hair sprouted atop my head.

When I felt the transformation was complete, the flames opened and were snuffed out until I was left standing there, fully human, and fully naked. My mate's eyes were bugged out, her mouth slack-jawed and shivering. It was hard to read her emotions right now. She looked stunned, but there was more than that. Virgil's reaction, however, was as easy to read as a book. He looked at me in disbelief. Everything he knew to be true was now ripped from him with a simple shift in my appearance.

Good.

What he thought of me made no difference. All I cared about was the woman inches away from me, with only the bars and the protection spell separating us.

I smiled softly at her. "Hello, mate."