Page 23 of Born of Blood and Thorns

Alastair nodded with her as if they were synced to one another. "The dragons were born when the sun goddess was walking through her garden and came upon the most beautiful red flower. She reached out to touch it but, when she did, a thorn cut her hand. A drop of blood fell onto the earth and, from it, sprang the first dragon."

“Born of Blood and Thorns," I mumbled, suppressing a snort from the fable. I vaguely remembered the same tale, which, so long ago, was told as a bedtime tale. It was obviously a myth. I wanted to add that we had ways of knowing those things weren't true and that there was a predictability to magic and the goddesses. Instead, I held my tongue.

Alysha began wrapping my hand up again and then created a makeshift sling. "Do not move it until I say you can. You won't lose the use of it, but if you're not careful, your grip will never be the same if you don't let it heal properly."

"I think I need some air. Am I good to go?"

Alysha murmured, "Of course, dear."

These people needed me. They'd been kind in a way I'd not felt in a long time, and I felt a strong need to help them escape this situation. They were trapped in a cage made by the man and dragon holding them hostage. Just like my father had held me captive and forced me into a cage of my own. I couldn't just sit by and let this happen without doing something.

My thoughts drifted as I thought of our similarities: They were stuck under a curse, and I was stuck under a different kind of curse. There was no reason that we couldn't all get out of this and live the lives we truly deserved.

As if they had forgotten me, I left, again alone. This time, I had a purpose. Find Lore, interrogate him, and maybe kill him. I was undecided on that last part, but it looked like the solution the longer I stayed here. Because I was convinced, the monster part of Alysha's warning had been of him. A dragon roamed the night, and if I wasn't mistaken, Lore was that dragon. He was the reason everyone was trapped. If that was the case, he needed to die.

CHAPTER 11

Bella

Ispent hours exploring room after room, each with outdated furniture and knickknacks. The dust layers made it clear no one had lived in some of these spaces for a very long time. I wandered aimlessly, searching for any clue about the curse, but finding nothing but heaps of dirty furniture forgotten to time.

It was tragic.

More than ever, I realized I needed to learn more about this curse. The longer I explored and the longer I stayed here, the curiouser it all became. I felt an odd compulsion to continue. My gaze seemed drawn to the ceiling, where the beautiful scene was depicted. It was a visual representation of the love of the sun goddess. There was no doubt about it. It was mesmerizing.

I searched my memory of the palace I'd grown up in at the Vampire Court. No motifs or paintings were dedicated reverently and with so much love as this one to the moon goddess. No, instead, they barely spoke her name; if they did, it was in hushed tones of fear or obedience. In this castle, so far locked in the past, they had obviously loved her. Yet, it hadn't saved them from their fate.

As I stood there, I became lost in the past. The nights I'd sneak off from my room right under the nose of my nursemaid, Ola, whom I’d affectionately called Nan. Long after I was meant to be in bed, I’d peeked my head around curtains and corners in the ballroom of my uncle's court, where beautiful ladies in extravagant dresses had danced the night away with handsome men. I'd watched them dance and had practiced their movements in the shadows, then I’d perform for my father later, who had clapped and pretended to be amused.

I could hear the music as if I were there now. As if caught by the magic of the past, I lifted my arms and began the movements of the dance I hadn't danced in years. I twirled and sidestepped, keeping to the music in my head. My feet remembered even though I had long forgotten the precise movements. At the end, I curtsied as if I were dancing with someone, and as I stood, I giggled, a smile stretching across my face and my gaze going back up to that ceiling motif. As if I had been dancing for her, the sun goddess.

The sound of clapping, slow and mocking, made my smile vanish and blood run cold. I stilled in place, breathing heavily from the dancing as my heart pounded.

"Are you lost?" an annoyed and deep voice asked as I jumped, embarrassment hitting me quickly as I felt the warmth spread through me.

It turned quickly to anger as I realized who had interrupted my thoughts: Lore. I glared at him.

"I must say, you dance beautifully. Almost as if you were courtly trained." He stepped forward, his eyes trailing up my body as if examining me in a new, more thorough light.

I said nothing.

Lore held out his hand to me. I raised an eyebrow but didn't budge. "Come. Indulge me. What else do we have to do with our time here?" He stared expectantly at me, waiting.

I sighed and took his hand with my good one. He turned to face me. I swore I heard the music again to the exact movements he made as he began to dance. He moved toward me, then turned as our hands almost met but not quite as we twirled away from one another. This dance was meant to tease. A push and pull of intimacy that was never quite enough.

The melody swelled from somewhere, no longer in my head, and Lore pulled me into the graceful steps of the dance. Irritation warred with unwilling admiration as we glided across the marble floor—he was an excellent dancer.

"I suppose royals must endure years of dance lessons," I commented. "Though I imagine you stepped on your fair share of toes before mastering this."

Lore shot me a wry look. "I was taught by the finest tutors. My footwork has always been flawless."

"Ah, so all those centuries alone just left you desperately starved for a partner then?" I asked with mock sympathy.

His eyes glinted at the challenge. His voice deepened to a timbre that warmed me from the inside as if it were melted chocolate and seduction. "I suppose you consider your own skills comparable after your rustic village upbringing?"

I raised a brow. "Please. I've been dancing since I was four years old. I could dance circles around you."

"Is that so?" Lore's eye widened in surprise before he quickly hid it and grinned. "Why don't you prove it?"

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