The Cursed Queen (Dragon’s Curse #1)

Sera

Nothing could've prepared me for seeing a colossal-sized dragon shifting into a beautiful man. There was so much to process, and I wasn't sure where to start.

"Unlock the cage," I muttered to Virgil, my mind working on its own while I struggled to make sense of anything.

Virgil seemed just as confused, but still did as I commanded. The spell over the stall that prevented a dragon from breaking through faded to nothing before the cage door swung open. Going on instinct, I ran to the man. I didn't know why, but the need I felt to embrace him overwhelmed me. The dragon— shifter —had his arms open and wrapped around my waist as soon as we made physical contact. I felt right. It felt like home. His face was in the crook of my neck, inhaling my scent and grunting in approval. He smelled of wood smoke, pine, and man.

I wanted to cry, to bury myself in him. To apologize for what my kingdom has done to him. My mother had kidnapped him and had him locked up. He wasn't some mindless creature like Virgil described; he was a fucking human being.

I pulled away and really inspected this man. He was a tall, copper-skinned man with layers of powerful muscles, jet-black hair, and chocolate-brown eyes. He was well past my five-eight height, not that I was complaining. It took me all of five seconds to realize this beautifully sculpted man was naked, and I couldn't seem to look away despite it being rude. Even worse, my fingers had a mind of their own and began running along his skin. Feeling the hard contours of his muscles, his firm pecs with dark nipples, and the dips and curves of his abdomen. There was so much to explore, and by the fiery gods above, I wanted to. Desire like I never felt before flowed through me like a heatwave. My body temperature rose as I inched closer to him.

The corner of his lip curved up as if sensing where my mind was going. "Like what you see?"

Mindlessly, I nodded. "I-I don't even know what to say right now."

The shifter chuckled. "I guess we can start with introductions."

He took two steps back before dropping to one knee and bowed his head. "Andriel of Dragon's Peak, at your service, my lady."

Referring to my mannerisms as princess, I lifted the ends of my dress, bowing with a tilt of my head in response. "Princess phina of the Zeffari Kingdom. You may rise, Andriel."

"I can't believe this," Virgil breathlessly spoke as Andriel stood tall. He trailed around the shifter as if trying to find any flaw in his human appearance. Anything that would show it being an illusion, or some sign that it was a trick. There was nothing. When he was done assessing Andriel, Virgil looked at me, disbelief etched in his features. "This can't be real. I thought shifters were nothing more than a myth."

Before I had the chance to respond, Andriel cut me off. "I assure you we're not a myth, but if your kingdom continues in its conquest of my people, our den will ultimately cease to exist. As it stands, we've already had to go into hiding because of the many abductions and attacks caused by you druids."

"Then it's not just you." My eyes trailed to the other two dragons in this stall, their attentions not on us. "They're all shifters, aren't they?"

Andriel nodded, and I felt sick to my stomach.

"I didn't know," Virgil whispered, then to me, he added, "I'm sorry, Princess."

"Not half as sorry as I am," I got out before my voice cracked. Tears welled in my eyes at the thought of all the damage my kingdom had done to Andriel and the rest of his den. Everything I believed had been fabricated, but I was still the heir to the Zeffari Kingdom. This was still a burden I now had to bear.

"I know it matters not, and it does nothing to repair the damage and turmoil my kingdom has caused, but as Princess, words cannot describe how sorry I am. I did not know about this. Until tonight, I could never even be near a dragon. Had I known, I would have done something." I wasn't sure what I could've done, or what I could do now that I knew the truth, but something needed to be done. Andriel didn't deserve to be used as some mind-controlled puppet and exploited for riches and glory. For the first time in my life, I was ashamed to be part of the Zeffari Kingdom.

"I don't put any blame on you, my mate," Andriel said, sounding sincere.

"You keep calling her that. Your mate," Virgil pointed out. "What do you mean by that?"

"It means the gods have deemed the princess and me an intimate match. For us to share a life together. For her to bear my children one day. To be mine forever. To hold, to cherish, to love."

With every word spoken, I felt my cheeks reddening. I was fated to be with his lover? Not that I minded, but it was something I had never heard of before. "Is that a shifter thing?"

Andriel shrugged. "It's common among my people. I'm not so sure of other species, but I'm guessing druids don't have fated mates?"

"Not that I'm aware of," I said before giving Virgil a questioning look, wondering if he heard of such a thing.

Virgil shook his head. "I know nothing at all, so don't look at me. But now that we know you're part human, what should we do?"

Was that even a real question? "What do you mean, what should we do? We can't keep him locked up. Him or the other dragons. They don't belong here."

Virgil held up both hands in surrender. "I understand that, , and I agree, but doing so right now would raise suspicion and questions. Both of which could fall on us should anybody spot us."

I hated he was right, but I didn't want to keep Andriel and the other dragons locked away. There had to be something we could do to set them free without being spotted.

"Princess?" I gasped when I heard someone calling for me from a distance. Damn it, I must've been gone too long. "Princess, are you out here?"

"You need to go. Now!" Virgil urged.

"But—" I whined, looking from Virgil to Andriel.

Andriel, seeming to grasp what was going on, sighed heavily. "Go, my dear. I will stay in the cage for the time being."

"No!" I shouted, then winced when I realized how loud it was. More voices sounded before I heard people approaching.

", you must leave now!" Virgil angrily whispered.

I didn't want to go. Not if it meant leaving Andriel. Even though I barely knew him, I couldn't stomach the thought of him having to revert to his dragon form and be caged and sealed off. I almost begged him to leave with me, but it would look suspicious to run through the castle hand in hand with a naked stranger. Sure, the maids would love to get an eyeful of the handsome shifter, but there would still be questions.

"Go," Andriel declared firmly. "I'll be all right."

"I can't," I whimpered.

He leaned forward and pressed a heated kiss to my forehead. "You must. Go before you're caught. Just don't forget me."

"." Virgil's voice raised in warning as the footsteps grew louder.

There wasn't much time left. As much as I didn't want to, I knew I had to leave. The action felt like a blade piercing my heart, only to slowly twist and slice the more I hesitated. I reached out to grasp both of Andriel's hands, squeezing them as I spoke with all the finality I could muster. "I'll make this right. You have my word."

"I know you will," Andriel said, then pulled away from me and retreated into the cage.

"Go. Now!" Virgil urged, already working on putting back the seals while Andriel was once again encased in a tornado of flames until he morphed back into a gargantuan dragon.

My mind screamed for my legs to move until I finally pushed onward and ran to the back of the room. I noticed the other two dragons raising their heads as soon as I passed them, but I paid them no mind. They would all be rescued if it was the last thing I ever did. I couldn't tell if I made it out in time, and I dared not to look back to find out. Running as fast as my legs would carry me, but making sure I wasn't spotted, I made it around the castle until I reached the flower gardens in the back. Coming out of the rose hedge maze was Vivienne, who looked around frantically until her eyes spotted me and visibly sighed in relief.

"There you are. You had me worried when you were gone for too long," she expressed when I finally reached her.

When I stopped, I doubled over, trying to catch my breath. "Sorry. I didn't mean to take so long." I wheezed in between pants.

"It's quite all right, but your mother is demanding your presence in the dining hall immediately."

When my heartbeats were even, I stood up, looking at my servant and friend in a new, conflicting light. Had she known about the dragons too? Did she keep it a secret from me? I didn't know who to trust anymore, except Virgil. He seemed just as aghast as I was to learn about Andriel, but was there anyone who knew? Mother had to have known, but a part of me hoped I was wrong. What about the knights?

"phina?" Vivienne looked concerned as she reached out and rested a hand on my shoulder. "Is something wrong?"

Yes. Yes, there were a lot of things wrong. My kingdom kept shifters as prisoners while stealing and manipulating them and their magic. One of them in question deemed me as his fated lover. On top of that, I still felt heavily warm, and I wasn't sure if it was from my encounter with Andriel, or the curse spreading since I'd forgotten to take my medicine.

"I'm fine," I lied. "I'll go see my mother now."

She knew I was lying; I could tell. Rather than call me out, she took back her hand and nodded. "If you're sure, but you know you can talk to me about anything. I'm here for you."

I wasn't so sure of that anymore, but I kept that to myself. Stepping onto the walkway, I strolled back towards the castle, preparing to put on a stoic face and act as if my mind wasn't a whirling vortex of chaos.

"Oh, Princess, I forgot to ask. Did you see the dragons?" Vivienne asked me.

I froze mid-step, not even bothering to look back at her. "I did."

"And? Was it everything you hoped it would be?" Vivienne sounded delighted about the prospect of achieving my greatest desire.

It should've been, but the happiest moment of my life was tainted by the crimes committed by my people. I wanted to speak up, to ask whether she knew about Andriel and the other dragons. That wasn't what I ended up saying, though. "It was more than I was expecting."

With that, I continued walking, feeling my heart turning to stone, but the growing flames inside me continued to burn.

––––––––

––––––––

Though my facial features did well to hide my growing ire, my steps toward the throne room echoed with fury on the tiled floors. I had the rolling gait of a bull seeing red, ready to charge. I tried to remain calm, but all I could think about was Andriel—how he was forced to stay in his dragon form, shackled and confined in a cage like a common animal. My body vibrated the more I thought about it, the internal heat rising.

Calm... I needed to remain calm.

I was just around the corner before I forced myself to halt. Taking a few seconds, I shut my eyes and eased the growing anger inside me. I imagined a tranquil field of flowers, the singing of birds, and the trickle of water from a nearby river. Anything that would help my mind relax. It was working. Little by little, I felt the tension in my body relaxing. Despite my rage, I couldn't help noticing how livelier I was this morning. While there were moments of frustration and depression towards my weakened state, and my inability to work and act as a princess should, I never felt this much energy before. Usually, I'd feel sluggish and cold. Today, it wasn't like that.

I felt... alive .

Maybe from meeting Andriel? Or possibly a side effect of the medicine I forgot to take.

As wonderful as it felt, I couldn't show my mother how well I was. She would ask questions about it, which could reveal my recent activities. Keeping that in mind, I folded my arms in front of me, rubbing them as if there were a chill in the air. Feigning exhaustion, I turned the corner and nodded to the guards to open the doors for me.

When they opened, The sight of servants and maids frolicking about greeted me, frantically cleaning while others were moving furniture. All while Mother orchestrated everything, pointing to sections of the dining hall and demanding tables and chairs be moved to that location. Purple and Royal Blue banners were draped over one table, which would soon hang all across the hall. If there was one thing my mother excelled at, besides being a cruel tyrant, it was party planning. Another medium to showcase her perfection.

I stood there, gazing at the woman responsible for imprisoning dragon shifters, wondering how this could be my mother? Once upon a time, I used to feel insulted when I heard the snickers and quips of knights and servants who claimed I couldn't have been her real child since we never looked alike, but now that I was seeing her under a different light, I had to wonder if they were on to something?

We truly looked nothing alike. Where my complexion was relatively darker, hers was the color of sunlight, with blond hair that looked spun from gold, and eyes as bright as crystals. Her cheeks were sunken, and her nose wasnarrower than mine. Unlike me, she had poise and charisma that matched someone of her stature.

Maybe I took up more of my father than I realized, but I'd never met the man, so it was hard to tell. My mother never talked about him to meor described him to me. To me, he was a faceless phantom who was watching over me from the cosmos. I wondered if he was a more compassionate ruler, or did he, too, enslave dragon shifters?

Mother had yet to notice me, but that wasn't saying much. To her, I was nothing but an inconvenience. Still, she wanted to see me, and there was no point in delaying. Continuing my weakened fa?ade, I took a deep breath, then coughed before weakly calling out to her. "Mother."

Mother whipped her head in my direction, a fake, widened smile plastered on her ruby-red lips. "Daaarling, there you are! Come, my dear. Quickly."

Inwardly groaning, I stepped closer to her. She embraced me with a hug that omitted the warm sensations that came with a loving gesture. It wasn't like when Vivienne or Andriel hugged me. Mother's was all for show with no substance.

"You sure you took your sweet time getting here. You know it's not becoming of a princess to keep people waiting," Mother scolded me when she pulled back.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, or to remind her how she often had people waiting for over an hour, just because it was imperative for the queen to make a dramatic entrance . Fucking hypocrite. Instead, I curtsied, eyes glued to her like a good little princess. "My apologies, mother. It won't happen again."

"I'm sure it won't," Mother replied in a tone suggesting that she knew it would again. "Now, on to business. As you know, we have quite the number of important events happening this month."

"I do. The Dragon Crowning ceremony, and my birthday, yes?"

"Exactly! Now, normally, your birthday would come first, followed by the Dragon Crowning Ceremony, but since this is your twenty-first birthday, which means you'll finally be of age to take my place as queen, I'm doing something extra special to commemorate the occasion. Oh, I'm so generous; always giving, and giving, without expecting nothing in return."

"Where are you going with this, Mother?" I asked, the corner of my brows quirking inquisitively.

Mother tittered gleefully. "Well, my dear, I know you've wanted to see your precious dragons up close and personal, so that's what I'm giving you. I'm moving the date of the Dragon Crowning Ceremony to have it take place on your birthday. You'll have a front row view of our newest recruits who will be promoted to dragon rider. We'll even have a dragon riders' tournament where riders will battle it out to see who will be crowned the best and be assigned as your personal protector. Isn't that wonderful?"

My eyes widened as an icy chill of dread fell over me, but as quickly as it came, it soon thawed by the heat of anger. My mother was planning to exploit the dragons for entertainment and have it in my honor. People could get hurt. Virgil. Andriel. The other shifters. What pained me the most was knowing that, twenty-four hours ago, news like this would've delighted me. I would've considered it a dream come true. I'd even considered that maybe—just maybe—my mother actually cared about me. Now, all I felt was a mix of guilt and anger.

How could I have been so blind to the truth for so long?

Unable to help myself, my fists shook at my side. My mother must've noticed, as she eyed me warily.

"phina, is something wrong? I thought you'd love news like this?" she questioned.

Come on, . Get a grip.

I cleared my throat and did my best to feign joy and excitement, even as my insides felt like ash. "Sorry, Mother, I've just been feeling more ill than usual today. But yes, I'm very excited about the festivities. Thank you so much, mother. This is the best birthday present I've ever received."

To highlight my supposed excitement, I quickly hugged her and gifted her with the biggest smile I could muster.

She giggled and patted my back, satisfied with my performance. "I know, my darling. I do everything the best. It's a gift. What can I say? Get ready, phina, because in two weeks, the Zeffari Kingdom will throw the biggest celebration in Iferia."

Two weeks; we had two weeks before Andriel and the remaining unclaimed dragon shifters would be bound to a druid knight. We needed to act soon if we had any chance of setting them free.