Page 53 of The Cursed Queen

"They are. I can feel the druid's enchantment," Ryu confirmed as he dove to fly through the clouds and use them to conceal us better.

I'd never seen the dragon riders in action until the escape during the Dragon Ceremony, so I wasn't aware of what tricks they used to capture the shifters. An invisibility enchantment is an underhanded tactic, but an effective one. But if memory served me, there was an enchantment that could heighten my eyesight to see through invisibility. Narrowing my eyes, I tried focusing on the blank area behind me, willing myself to see what's obviously there but concealed. No longer restrained from the poison, my magic flowed like water. My eyes tingled, my vision sharpening. Something blurred in the center, almost as if the empty sky was a painting and the movement of a brush was causing the image to shift. A faint outline came into view, still trying to remain camouflaged but more visible to me now.

"I see them," I said to Ryu.

So far, I could only see one dragon rider, but I knew better than to expect only one. More would be close by.

The lonely dragon rider behind us remained on our tail, the poor dragon's head raised, and I could sense the heat building.

I gasped. "They're attacking. Ryu, behind us!"

Ryu whirled around and raised his in retaliation. Both dragons spewed flames from their mouths, but Ryu's flames differed. Usually, flames were the color of the sun, a mix of red, gold, and orange. For my mate, his was a deep azure color. I didn't know fire could be a different color, and as Ryu breathed out his torrential blue flames, I couldn't help wondering if maybe his bloodline affected it. A collision of spewing embers caused a torrential inferno that erupted between us. The clouds cleared, and the disturbance must have disrupted the invisibility enchantment. The enemy dragon rider came into view, the druid grunting and pulled on the reins that strapped into the harness the dragon wore. Flames dispersed as the dragon rider reeled back, preparing for another attack.

"Your time away from your kingdom hasn't done you any favors, huh, Princess? You're not looking so well," the druid knight shouted.

"On the contrary, I've never felt better after learning the truth," I fired back.

"The truth about what, that you were never fit to be our ruler?"

"The truth about the dragons we've been holding captive. They're not mindless creatures, they're shifters. Living beings like you and me, and they deserve to live in peace."

"They're weapons of destruction that need to be tamed by us," the druid knight argued. "Their mighty power belongs to us. We're the only ones who can control them, and with them, we'll show everyone why the druid region is the strongest."

"He's not going to listen to reason," Ryu's voice rang.

My thoughts exactly. I hoped I could reason with him, to show him the error of his ways, and maybe convincehim to release his hold over the dragon he was controlling. Alas, it didn't seem possible. Power had corrupted him and stripped him of his humanity. Or was it Verania's beliefs that brainwashed him?

"This is your only warning, traitor. Give up and tell us the dragons' locations, and the trip back to Queen Verania for punishment will be far less painful. Refuse, and I'll take you both down by force," the druid knight warned.

I pretended to think about it. "A tempting offer, but I'm afraid I'll have to refuse."

The druid knight's sneer could be seen through the openings of his helmet. "Then it's time you feel the full force of the Dragon riders of the Zeffari Kingdom."

Right as he said that, a shiver of warning ran down my spine. I turned to see three more dragon riders, invisible to everyone but me, hovering behind us and ready for a surprise attack.

"Up!" I commanded Ryu right as the dragon rider in front of us readied for another volley of dragon flames.

Seeming to trust my judgment, Ryu shot upward, narrowly missing the flames erupting from both directions.

Pointing down to where the other three dragon riders were concealed in their enchantment, I instructed, "Fire there."

Ryu nodded and breathed out a storm of blue flames. Dispelling their invisibility enchantment, the dragon riders scattered to avoid my mate's attack. That gave us the opening we needed to fly out of there and try to lose them. Ryu dove forward like an arrow, no destination in mind. As expected, the dragon riders were still in pursuit of us. But at least we were keeping them away from the den.

"We need a plan. We can't run from them forever," I said.

"Try to reach Andriel and the others through your mate bond," Ryu suggested as we swerved left to avoid another fire breath.

I didn't know how to do that. I barely understood what it meant to be fated to someone, but I had to try something. Closing my eyes, I mentally pictured Andriel, Drayce, and Ladon, hoping that would trigger the bonds tying us together.

"Guys," I mentally called for them. "We need your help. We're under attack by dragon riders. If you can hear me, please help us."

I didn't know if they could hear me, but more movement from Ryu caused my eyes to open wide and break my concentration. I needed to focus on what was happening. Ryu flew effortlessly while narrowly avoiding every blast of fire trying to hit us.I needed to do more than just sit here. I had to help. Turning myself around to face the dragon riders, I built up my flames into both of my hands. Balls of amethyst flames swirled, and I threw one of them like a cannonball. Three of the dragon riders moved out of my attack's range, but the fourth got hit in the chest, causing it to recoil, temporarily stunning it.

Praise the gods above for giving me this ability.

Not wanting to lose the momentum, I chucked another ball of fire at the dragon rider I hit. I thought it would connect, but one of the other dragon riders came to the rescue, knocking the fireball away with the dragon's tail.

A breath of flames shot out from our right, but Ryu sensed it and dove to avoid it. That was their plan. The fourth dragon rider waited below for us, mouth agape and ready to fire right at us. It was too late to evade it, and Ryu wasn't charged enough to fire back. Shocked and fear for Ryu's safety had me springing to action. Though they were still sore from flight practice, I forced my wings to flap, lifting off Ryu and facing the dragon rider. My amethyst flames build up in my hands and I shot them forward right as the dragon rider's flames erupted. My flames collided with theirs before it could hit Ryu, saving him in the nick of time.

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