The Cursed Queen (Dragon’s Curse #1)

Andriel

I couldn't find the mental link between me and my mate. Her thoughts were absent, and judging from her expression and the smell of horror wafting off her, she couldn't hear mine. Something had weakened our connection, but it couldn't have been from me. The druid knights only drugged me when I was out of the cage. Otherwise, the enchantments binding me to my dragon form shouldn't have influenced my mental link with the princess. Not when it had no effect last time.

Something must've happened to her since we last spoke this morning.

Virgil undid the bindings on my body, allowing my dragon flames to engulf me and shift me back to my human skin. When the locks on the cage were undone, and Virgil opened the door, I rushed to my mate, enveloping her in my arms.

"I'm sorry, . I couldn't hear your thoughts." Sera sounded frantic.

"I can't hear yours either. Has something happened to you since this morning?" I asked, holding her at arm's length to assess her. She seemed paler than before. Her stance was unsteady, and the dark circles under her eyes were more prominent. She looked as if her very life essence was being stripped from her.

"None that I can think of," she said, panic visible in her expression.

"What all has happened since you returned to the castle?"

"Um," The princess calmed herself and recited the events of the day. "I went to see my mother, and she told me she was moving the dragon crowning ceremony to my birthday in two weeks. That's what we need to talk to you about."

I nodded in understanding. "We'll get to that, but right now, I'm concerned for you. What happened next?"

"Well, I was upset, so I went to my bedchambers, and—" The princess froze. "My magic. It reacted."

Virgil's brow furrowed. "Reacted?"

"Yeah. There was an explosion of magic I caused in my outburst. It was nothing like I ever felt before. My magic has always been too weak to cast enchantments, but somehow it felt stronger than it'd ever been."

"Your magic felt strong to me when you first entered here, but now it feels as weak as you described," I noted. It didn't occur to me that her pool of magic was unordinary for her. To me, it felt healthy. Average, minus that hint of something buried deep within her core that I couldn't assess. But now I couldn't sense it. Nor could I feel her pool of magic.

"What happened after the explosion?" Virgil asked.

The princess hesitated before looking at the druid knight. "I forgot to take my medicine this morning."

Virgil's eyes widened at her admission, whereas I was left confused. Medicine? What could she need medication for?

My question must've been visible on my face because Virgil looked at me in regard and explained. "Seraphina has been taking a medical remedy since she was born. The queen states a sorcerer infected her with a curse, and only the medicine can contain the side effects."

"What kind of curse?" I asked my mate.

She shrugged. "I don't know. Mother never explained what exactly the curse does, or what the medicine is supposed to do. She simply said it was to make me feel better, and that I needed to take it every morning."

Something in the back of my mind didn't like the sound of that explanation. It sounded too vague for my liking. If it were my child, not only would I tell my dragonling, but I would scour through all Iferia for a permanent cure. I wasn't sure the queen did that for her daughter. Warning signs flashed in my mind's eye.

"My darling, I need you to do something for me," I said.

"What is it?" Princess Sera asked.

"Do not take the medicine tomorrow. Bring it to me as soon as possible. I want to inspect it myself."

"You think it's not really medicine?" Virgil guessed, sounding suspicious.

"I'm not sure, but something's not right about the queen's story." To the princess, I asked, "How did you feel after taking the medicine?"

The princess paused for a bated breath before answering. "Weak," she spoke airily. "Like all the strength within my body was sucked out of me. I could barely stand after taking it. And my magic disappeared entirely."

I cursed under my breath. "Whatever you do, do not drink it tomorrow, understand? Do not drink it ever again!"

Virgil suddenly became wary. "What's wrong? What do you think it is?"

"I'm not completely certain until you guys bring it to me tomorrow. But if my assumptions are right, then no, you haven't been drinking medicine. You've been drinking poison."

The paled expression on my mate's face nearly broke me. By the dragon gods, I hoped I was wrong, but I didn't think I was. The effects told the telltale signs of something I was all too familiar with. If that mixture contained what I assumed would be in it, then my certainty would be confirmed. Not just that my mate has been unknowingly drugging herself, but of something else I didn't want to think about. Something that would bring a sleuth of questions to the forefront, and I wasn't sure Sera would have the answers to them.

––––––––

––––––––

We never got the chance to talk about the dragon crowning ceremony last night. Not with the princess distraught by the possibility that her own mother may have been deceiving her. I hated my hypothesis caused her distress, but her health could've been at risk if I hadn't said something. For her sake, I hoped I was wrong. Please, let me be wrong.

I awoke to the clanking sound of bars as the main gate opened and six druid knights flooded the room where I and two of my other brothers were locked up.

"All right, let's get these beasts drugged and pulled into the field," one of the knights ordered.

They each split into two before going to their respective cages. The two who stopped at mine watched me intently. One held a syringe the size of a dagger full of dragonsbane. The dosage of that size would not only weaken me and my magic, but prevent me from shifting. My instincts urged me to fight back, to break through the wards and enchantments and fly as far from this place as possible. But then I thought of the princess, my mate. I couldn't leave her behind now that I finally found her.

The knight with the needle stood back while the other undid the wards on the cage and opened the door. The one with the syringe cautiously stepped inside.

"Easy, big guy," he said. "Make this easy on yourself and let it happen. Cooperate, and nothing bad will happen to you."

Somehow, I doubted that was true, but it wasn't as if I could tell him so. With the enchanted restraints on my body, I could not shift. If I tried to attack, the restraints would only tighten around my body until I was writhing on the ground in pain. It killed me having to submit so easily to these bastards, but I reminded myself that I needed to bide my time. I trusted that the princess and Virgil would help us escape somehow.

While I may have been obedient, judging from the frantic cries coming from the opposite side of the room, someone else was being difficult. I looked over to see a black-scaled dragon with red glowing through the ridges of his scales bashing the walls of his cage.

That was Drayce. I was positive now. Which meant his lover was in here too.

"What's going on? Why's he acting like that?" one of the druid knights asked, backing away from the hot-tempered dragon.

Another knight farther off responded, "I don't know, but this one is acting up too."

"Enhance the restraints! Force it down!"

One of Drayce's knights lifted his hand as green magic glowed around his hand. Slowly, his fingers clenched into claws. The runes that made up the restraints locking our bodies flashed to life along Drayce's body. As the druid knight clenched his fingers, Drayce cried out as bolts of electricity began crackling along the runes. The more the knight's fingers clenched, the more the magic on Drayce pained him.

Despite the magic, Drayce pushed himself to stay on his claws and force himself through the cage. He had to get to his love. I could feel it through our den connection. It was faint, but it was there. A single word kept replaying in my head.

Ryu, Ryu, Ryu, Ryu!

He had to get to his Ryu. That was all he could think about.

The knight working on tightening Drayce's magic cursed under his breath. "Damn, this guy's strong."

"Just drug it already!" another knight said.

At the command, Drayce's second knight holding the needle rushed inside his cage and jabbed the pointed tip into Drayce's neck. The dragonsbane immediately took effect, causing my brother to lose any fight he had in him. I whimpered at his distress, wishing I could help. Ryu too, since I knew he was in here too. I didn't have time to think about it as I felt a needle piercing me as well. Like Drayce, all my energy and magic slowly buried itself deep within my core, where it would remain locked for at least twenty-four hours.

Now too weak to resist, the knight tugged on my chain, urging me out of my cage. I followed obediently, unsure of what was about to happen. The other knights pulled Ryu and Drayce out as well, the three of us being led out of the stable and into the harsh light of the sun. Standing huddled together was a battalion of druid knights. Some I recognized as the ones who captured me.

But I also recognized Virgil, standing in the front with two other knights. He looked up at me apologetically, likely wishing he could be elsewhere. I wish I could communicate with him. To let him know everything would be okay. We all had to play along for now.

The tallest of the druid knights, who looked to have been the captain, cleared his throat to grab everyone's attention. "Alright trainees, listen up! As you all should be aware by now, the Dragon Crowning Ceremony will be moved up to celebrate the princess' twenty-first birthday. Therefore, this will be your last lesson. You've all had the chance to ride with us on our dragons, but now it's time for you to experience your first solo flight. The three of you in the front are the ones being promoted this year. You've worked hard for this. The rest of you will haveanother chance to be promoted to dragon rider when more dragons are apprehended. Don't lose hope."

So that was what this was about. While the other two knights seemed excited about this last event, Virgil did his best to mask his discomfort. I knew riding us included using magic to manipulate us, forcing control over our bodies to the rider. Now that he knew the truth, Virgil was seeing this in a new light. One that wasn't so pleasant for us.

The leader continued. "When I call your name, you will step forward and claim a dragon to ride. You will cast the compulsion enchantment on the dragon, then climb onto its back. Once you're situated, you will compel the dragon to take flight with the help of your magic. Any questions?"

Virgil raised his hand. "Will this harm the dragons?"

The leader seemed puzzled by the question while the other druids laughed.

The leader cleared his throat. "They're dragons, Virgil. They feel nothing, which includes harm."

Virgil looked as if he wanted to protest. I willed him not to say anything that would reveal what he knew. If he said the wrong thing, it could ruin any chance we had for freedom. Thankfully, Virgil seemed to have come to the same conclusion and kept his mouth shut.

"Now, Virgil, why don't you start us off? Step forward and select your dragon," The leader commanded.

He gulped, but took a step forward. He didn't want to do this, but knew refusing would look suspicious. Either that, or they'd kick him out and possibly let another knight take his place. Virgil looked at the other two dragons before letting his eyes land on me. I gave him an encouraging nod, a silent encouragement that everything would be okay.

The young druid knight steeled himself before stepping closer to me. "I choose this one."

The leader brightened. "Excellent. Now, cast the compulsion enchantment and have it submit to your power."

A twitch from the corner of his eye signaled Virgil's reluctance. His fingers twitched as a thin veil of his magic surfaced, but he did nothing more than that.

Just do it. I'll be fine.

Forcing the words to escape through gritted teeth, Virgil pushed to recite the enchantment. Tendrils of his magic slithered towards me, surrounding my head before injecting itself into my mind through my eyes. A numbing sensation began spreading through my body, causing my limbs to slowly lose feeling.

Bringing a hand forward, he twirled his wrist, forcing his magic inside me to react. My wings spread unwillingly, fueled by Virgil's control.

So this was the power of a druid's magic of manipulating dragons. If we were at full strength, we may have been able to break their hold over us. But thanks to the dragonsbane, all we could do was witness our bodies becoming lifeless dolls for druids to play with.

"Nicely done, Virgil!" The leader stepped toward him and patted Virgil on the back. "Now, are you ready to fly?"

"Yes," Virgil said in a strained voice.

The leader frowned. "Is something troubling you?"

"No, sir. I'm nervous is all."

"Well, don't be. You can do this. You're more than prepared for it. Now, strap a saddle to your dragon, and climb up."

As if he was the one in a lifeless state, Virgil stoically obeyed. He made quick work of strapping the saddle and reigns to my back. Once everything was secure, he pulled himself up and seated on top of me. If only I could move my eyes. The entire experience felt demeaning and made my anger towards the druids increase. But I forced my mind to calm down.

Think of the princess. Think of the chance for freedom.

"Good, now command your dragon's wings, and start flying," The leader instructed.

I felt my wings flapping, as my body pushed off the ground. Instantly catching air, Virgil and I began flying upward.

"Please forgive me," he begged once we were out of earshot.

Virgil guided us forward, going far away from the crowd. Once we had enough distance between us and them, he undid the enchantment, giving me complete control over my body.

"I may not understand you, but I hope you know how sorry I am. I didn't want to do that to you, but I had no choice."

" I know. " I wish I could tell him.

With me controlling the beat of my wings, our flight throughout the kingdom was smooth sailing. I was sure it made Virgil look experienced. Like he was born to command a dragon to ride, but I knew he no longer cared about that.

"We'll get you out of this, . You and the rest of your people. I promise Sera and I will do everything in our power to rescue you all," Virgil said firmly.

I trusted him. Both Virgil and the princess. It would take careful planning, but we would succeed. We had no choice. It was a matter of life, death, and the future of my den.