Page 49 of The Cursed Queen

I was also worried and wondered if the two of them talked about it while Sera was recovering. Ladon has already made it clear he wanted nothing to do with the princess, but what of them? Would they reject their fated bonds as well? If they were ordered to help train Sera, then trying to deny the pull they now have toward her would be impossible to ignore.

"I know," Drayce said, his scowl faltering.

"Have you and Ryu talked about it?" I asked cautiously.

"We did, and Ryu still wants to see what his connection to the princess is like. I won't stop him, seeing as I know how important it is for him to have someone in his life who bears the same burden he does."

I knew what that burden was, and he was right. Ryu was a shifter who didn't have the easiest time being accepted into the den. Drayce was the first to openly show Ryu a sliver of compassion through their never-ending rivalry. How they made their relationship work was beyond me, though I had to admit that Ryu's patience and devotion to the normally hot-tempered shifter was a good influence. But now Ryu would have someone who had something in common with him. Something important. I wondered if Sera knew about it yet.

"What about you?" I asked him. "What willyoudo about your connection to the princess?"

Drayce scoffed. "I don't know. I'm happy with Ryu, and most of me isn't thrilled to be sharing Ryu with her. But there's that other part of me, the part that's curious about what it is about the princess that makes her fit to be my mate."

"I say take it day by day," Virgil suggested. "Nobody said you have to rush into a decision, right? Take the time to get to know her and go from there."

"Virgil's right. Ryu is likely using his training time with Sera to get to know her. Maybe you could do the same thing," I said.

A flicker in his eyes showed he wanted to reject the idea, but was smart enough to understand our logic.

"Perhaps you're right," he relented.

"Good." I began rolling my shoulders and cracking my neck. "Now how about I distract you with a sparring match. We'll need to build back our strength after being trapped in a cage for days."

I caught Virgil wincing from the corner of my eye at the memory of us being locked in cages, but otherwise said nothing.

Drayce held a challenging smirk on his face as he cracked his knuckles in preparation. "Sounds good to me. I've been looking forward to pummeling you to the ground."

"You've never been able to best me, or have you forgotten?" I laughed.

"Oh, I plan to change that today."

Looking at Virgil, I motioned for him to step back. He nodded and did so, his eyes swerving from Drayce to mine. Per traditions of the den, Drayce and I met in the middle and clasped the other's wrist in a show of fair play. Once the initial greeting was met, we turned our backs to each other and took ten steps in the opposite direction. Once we were in our proper position, we turned and got into our fighting stance. Our eyes never left each other as we waited to decide who would make the first move. Usually, Drayce was too impatient to wait, and would always make the first move. Today was no different, as he let out a battle cry and charged for me.

Drayce lunged a fist, aiming for the center of my chest, but I blocked it with my right arm and counter-struck with my left fist, connecting it to his shoulder. Drayce let out a grunt and recoiled back two steps. Not wanting to lose momentum, I swung with my right fist, this time hitting his right side. I went in for a third strike, but Drayce finally blocked my attack. The fingers on his right hand curled as they shifted to his dragon claws and took aswipe at me, the sharpened tips slicing through the tender flesh of my chest as easily as cutting a leaf.

I jumped back a second too late to avoid the slice and winced at the pain. Blood was already gushing from the open wounds and running down my stomach. My heightened healing kicked in, quickly stitching my skin back together, the pain receding instantly. Drayce charged once again to cut me open a second time. I was ready for it. Once he brought his claw down, I grabbed his wrist with both hands, hoisted him off his feet, and flipped him. His back hit the ground so hard that the stone surface cracked beneath him.

We continued like that for twenty minutes, both Drayce and I trading blow for blow, and him kissing the floor more times than he could do to me. By the tenth time his ass met the ground, he let out a pained shout and allowed himself to fall back and lie on the ground.

"I yield," Drayce declared through pants.

I relaxed my posture and offered my hand to him. "Better luck next time, old friend."

He was reluctant to take my hand, but ultimately, he accepted the help. "I'll get you one of these days."

I pulled Drayce to his feet, then brushed the dust and debris off my body and hair. From a distance, I heard Virgil clapping.

"That was amazing," Virgil said excitedly.

I beamed at him. "Trust me, kid, that was nothing compared to what we can really do."

"I bet. Do you mind if I try getting my hands dirty?"

I was about to accept his request when the sudden burst of laughter coming from Drayce halted my answer.

"You? A scrawny druid boy wanting to fight a full-grown shifter in hand-to-hand combat? Ridiculous," Drayce commented like it was the stupidest thing he'd ever heard.

Virgil narrowed his eyes in annoyance. "Are you saying I'm not tough enough to handle it?"

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