Page 32 of The Cursed Queen

"My lord," Ryu spoke evenly, seeming unphased by all the commotion. "What do you think?"

Lord Igneel said nothing for a long moment that I thought he hadn't heard Ryu, but then he raised his head to face us. "I think Andriel is correct."

That got everyone's attention.

"But, sir, how can that be?" Ladon asked, his earlier fury now deflated.

"That's something I cannot reveal to you all. Not without speaking to the princess first. But I know that she's my mate's daughter. I sensed her mother's spirit inside her when she partially shifted."

I picked up on the fact that he referred to the princess as his mate's daughter. Not his. Was there an underlying meaning behind that?

"As soon as the princess awakens, I'll talk to her first. Only then will I reveal it to you all. But for now, this conversation remains between us. Is that understood?"

"Yes, my lord," Ryu, Andriel, and I echoed in unison, along with Virgil's agreement.

Ladon, of course, seemed apprehensive about it. Begrudgingly, he agreed to keep this news a secret.

Lord Igneel finally let us go our separate ways after requesting that Andriel would escort Virgil to the medical cavernto check on the princess. He agreed, and the five of us left our lord alone in his cave to wrestle with the possibility that his lost dragonling had returned to him.

"Is it possible?" Ryu asked quietly once we were outside. "Do you really think it's her?"

"Of course not," Ladon protested. "Don't be such a fool."

"The only one who's acting like a fool here, Ladon, is you," Andriel said. "I'm the one who spent the most time with her. I was the one who sensed the faintest trail of a dragon inside her. The consideration wouldn't have crossed my mind if I thought it was impossible."

"Actually, I'm the one who knows her best, but evidently not as much as I thought." Virgil huffed.

"You didn't notice any signs that the princess was part dragon?" Ryu asked.

"No, not one. The princess could never be outdoors. Not without the queen in toe, at least. She was always believed to be too frail to be alone."

"But it was that concoction with the dragonsbane mixed in that was draining her of her strength and magic," Andriel added, his face contorted into a sourfrown.

"So, the queen somehow kidnapped the dragon princess, drugged her with dragonsbane her whole life, and raised her as her own to turn against us? Something is missing here," I said, still struggling to put it all together.

"I guess we'll find out as soon as the princess wakes up. By the gods, won't she be in for quite the surprise," Andriel snorted.

"What about us?" I motioned to the four of us shifters. "What are we going to do about the fact that we're all fated to her?"

"Pfft, I don't know what you lot are planning to do, but I'm not doing anything about it," Ladon spat. "You all can have her, but I won't take part in this."

"She's your mate too," I said.

"No, she's not, and she never will be. Hybrid or not, she's still the enemy. You all may be willing to look past what her kingdom has done to us, but I don't. She's the enemy, and she always will be."

"She had no part in that!" Virgil came to the princess's defense. "Even as a child, she always loved and admired dragons."

"Virgil's correct, Ladon." Andriel rested a hand on the druid knight's shoulder. "Sera held no malice towards us even before learning the truth of what was happening to us."

Ladon didn't seem to pay attention to Andriel. All the hatred he bore was still directed at Virgil, likely wishing he could incinerate the druid knight with his eyes.

"You think I will listen to the likes of you?" Ladon stomped forward, reaching out and lifting the violet sash that looped from his left shoulder to his right hip. "I recognize this. You're a dragon rider, too. You were planning to do what has been done to the rest of us for years; to enchant and use one of us for your kingdom's army. Did anything about it seem wrong to you? Did you ever stop to question the morality of this path you were leading, or what it could do to the dragon you were planning to possess, like property? No, right? Becausedragons are mindless beasts of destruction who can't feel pain. Isn't that what you all say about us while thinking we're too stupid to comprehend what was being said?"

Virgil gulped, but said nothing, his skin glistening with sweat as pain seeped through his eyes. His lips pressed firmly in a tight line. I noticed how his fists shook at his side.

Ladon had a malevolent grin on his face. "That's what I thought."

Even as Ladon stormed out of the den, the tension did little to fade. Virgil's whole body shook, trying to keep himselftogether, but I noticed a single tear falling from the corner of his eye.

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