Page 72 of The Cursed Queen

The upside was that I no longer felt remorse for not becoming a dragon rider. It used to eat away at me, but now I'd happily stomp it to the ground and set it on fire. I had a new dream now. A new goal that I planned on obtaining.

"Thank you, Virgil," I said. "All these years you've been a wonderful friend, and it means the world to me to still have you at my side."

Virgil's expression brightened. "Sera, there is nowhere in Iferia you could go that I wouldn't follow. We started this journey together, and I plan to stay until the very end."

"I only wish Vivienne were here with us," I said somberly, feeling the pang of not having her with me. She may have been my servant, but she was more of a mother to me than Verania ever could be. With every passing day, there was something new that I wish I could tell her about, only I couldn't. She died to make sure that I found myself here.

I still never knew what her role in all this was. She seemed to have known more about the dragons than I thought and was assigned by King Alphonse to look after me. Did she know about Lord Igneel and Lady Calida? That was the only conclusion I could think of. Maybe Alphonse told Vivienne about Lady Calida and feared what Queen Verania would do. So, he asked Vivienne to protect me in case something happened to him. And protect me, she had. But then, why would she encourage me to take my medicine? Maybe she didn't know about the dragonsbane?

Virgil stepped forward and reached out with his free hand to rest on my shoulder. "Her spirit is with us."

"I know. I just miss her."

"Yeah, me too."

We remained like that for a few moments, grieving over our fallen ally. When this was over, and the dragon's den is safe, I would see that we'd give Vivienne a proper sendoff. She deserved to be honored for her bravery and sacrifice.

King Alphonse—Father—I hope you're proud of her. She's done well to protect me. Please watch over me and my mates, you and Lady Calida. I promise to make you both proud.

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Time could sure fly when you're constantly moving from dusk until dawn. Between training and chores, the day of the summer solstice was upon us. Baxus hasn't bothered us the whole time. If anything, he'd been too quiet for my liking. It made me wonder if he was planning more than a challenge for leadership. Between worrying about him and focusing on my training, I barely had time to worry about how the den would react once it was revealed who I was.

My mates were doing a wonderful job trying to take my mind off it, and by that, I meant they worked to get me off to turn my mind off. To experience ecstasy in such a magnitude, feeling more of my body coming alive, then undone by three sinfully dashing dragon men, it had me seeing stars. The way they worked me into a shuddered frenzy. How they played me with their mouths, their fingers, their cocks. It was everything I ever hoped for, and more.

The only downside to all this was freeing my dragon. Three more days slipped by me, but I'd only managed to undo two more chains. Only two left, but there was no way I'd break them in time for the meeting. I suppose it wasn't all that tragic, but I at least wanted to show I was in control of my shift before announcing that I was the Dragon Den's lost princess.

"Don't worry that pretty little head of yours." Drayce patted the top of my head like a pet. "Everyone knows you're stillcoming to terms with being half dragon, so I don't think they'll hold it against you."

"Easy for you to say," I mumbled, feeling disappointed in my lack of abilities. "And you know Baxus may use it as an excuse for why I shouldn't lead the den."

"Then that's when you prove him wrong. Show him what you can do even without controlling your shift," Andriel countered, daring me to argue back.

I let the matter drop, seeing as they had full confidence in me. Not to mention the support of Lord Igneel and Virgil. I shouldn't be too hard on myself.

"Look alive, chums. We got trouble approaching," Ryu said, his back facing us as he noticed who was heading our way.

I wanted to groan at the sight of Baxus' smug demeanor heading our way. Was he trying to start a fight before the meeting even began? Springing into defense, Drayce and Andriel stepped in front of me. They weren't in my way, but were close enough to see that Baxus wouldn't come close enough to touch me. Ryu took two steps to the right to stand beside Drayce, but kept me in his line of sight.

Thankfully, Virgil wasn't around for this.

"Good morning, everyone," Baxus said in a fake cheerful manner.

Andriel narrowed his eyes. "What do you want?"

Baxus gaped at Andriel's crude tone, feigning offense with his hand to his heart and everything. It was a tad overdone, and it caused me to roll my eyes.

"Is that all I get from you? No good morning back? No, how are you? Honestly, Andriel, where are your manners? How can your mate stand your rudeness?" He directed that last question to me, and I had to bite my tongue to prevent myself from uttering a statement. I was sure it was an attempt to provoke me, and I wouldn't take the bait.

"Just tell us what you want already, Baxus, before I reach for you and rearrange that pretty face of yours," Drayce got out through gritted teeth.

"You think my face is pretty? What does your lover think about you hitting on me?"

"I'm not worried," Ryu said, keeping his neutral stance. The way he could mask his emotions could be described as art. It was hard to tell what was going through his mind most of the time, but only when he was around those outside our social circle. With me, he wore his heart on his sleeve.

Baxus hmphed. "Fine, since you lot don't feel like socializing. I'm actually here because Lord Igneel asked me to deliver you a message."

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