Page 11 of The Cursed Queen

Mother tittered gleefully. "Well, my dear, I know you've wanted to see your precious dragons up close and personal, so that's what I'm giving you. I'm moving the date of the Dragon Crowning Ceremony to have it take place on your birthday. You'll have a front row view of our newest recruits who will be promoted to dragon rider. We'll even have a dragon riders' tournament where riders will battle it out to see who will be crowned the best and be assigned as your personal protector. Isn't that wonderful?"

My eyes widened as an icy chill of dread fell over me, but as quickly as it came, it soon thawed by the heat of anger. My mother was planning to exploit the dragons for entertainment and have it in my honor. People could get hurt. Virgil. Andriel. The other shifters. What pained me the most was knowing that, twenty-four hours ago, news like this would've delighted me. I would've considered it a dream come true. I'd even considered that maybe—just maybe—my mother actually cared about me. Now, all I felt was a mix of guilt and anger.

How could I have been so blind to the truth for so long?

Unable to help myself, my fists shook at my side. My mother must've noticed, as she eyed me warily.

"Seraphina, is something wrong? I thought you'd love news like this?" she questioned.

Come on, Sera. Get a grip.

I cleared my throat and did my best to feign joy and excitement, even as my insides felt like ash. "Sorry, Mother, I've just been feeling more ill than usual today. But yes, I'm very excited about the festivities. Thank you so much, mother. This is the best birthday present I've ever received."

To highlight my supposed excitement, I quickly hugged her and gifted her with the biggest smile I could muster.

She giggled and patted my back, satisfied with my performance. "I know, my darling. I do everything the best. It's a gift. What can I say? Get ready, Seraphina, because in two weeks, the Zeffari Kingdom will throw the biggest celebration in Iferia."

Two weeks; we had two weeks before Andriel and the remaining unclaimed dragon shifters would be bound to a druid knight. We needed to act soon if we had any chance of setting them free.

Sera

I kept my building rage dormant while discussing my birthday event with Mother. Now that I was free to leave, I hurriedly returned to my chambers, hoping nobody would stop to talk to me. Once secured inside with the door shut, I finally let loose all the emotions that built up inside me. My blood was a volcano; boiling and ready to erupt. My vision blurred as I whirled around, gripping handfuls of my magenta hair. When I let out the scream I'd been holding, a rippling pulse of magic exploded, causing the furnishings to rock and the fire in the pit to be put out.

I stood in the heart of my room, gobsmacked and petrified, wondering what happened, and how it happened. I knew it was magic, but it couldn't have been mine, could it? My magic could barely light a candle, let alone cause an explosion like that. It couldn't have been an intruder since I was the only one in the room. Looking around, my eyes landed on the medicine bottle, still sitting on my nightstand where I'd left it.

Untouched.

I walked over and picked it up. Maybe this was all because of the curse. I never once in my life missed a day of taking my medicine. Now, on the day I forget it, my emotions were threatening to incinerate me from the inside out. My vision was unsteady, and I had just released a wave of magic I shouldn'thave been able to unleash. Not wanting to waste any more time, fearing what the curse would do to me next, I opened the bottle and quickly downed the liquid in one sitting.

I revolted at the taste lingering on my tongue as I consumed it, nutty yet spicy, with a chilling mint aftertaste. Once I drank every drop, I slammed the bottle onto the table. Immediately, I felt my body temperature chilled. The burst of energy I felt moments ago vanished. I had to sit for fear that my legs wouldn't be able to keep me up. I was back to being a wilted flower in the winter, weak and brittle. Suddenly I missed the lively energy I had this morning. Testing the strength of my magic, I pointed a finger at the fireplace, willing the flames to flare back to life.

It didn't work.

I couldn't feel an ounce of magic surfacing from my core.

After my fifth failed attempt, I dropped my hand in resignation. The effects of the medicine worked fast, but now I was disappointed. Perhaps I should've waited a little longer, before taking the medicine, to see how much stronger my magic would be without it. A few moments later, I jumped at the sound of knocking at the door.

"Come in," I called to whoever it was.

Vivienne stepped inside, closing the door behind her before rushing over to me. "Your Highness, are you alright? Everyone heard a ruckus downstairs, and I rushed to check in on you. Your mother wanted to send the guards after you, but I volunteered to come up first."

"Y-Yes." I sighed. "My apologies, Vivienne. I was merely letting off a bit of steam and throwing a tantrum. But everything's all right, I promise."

"A bit of steam? Why? Is something the matter?"

The truth almost slipped from my tongue, but I caught it in time. It killed me not to confide with Vivienne when she'd been my most trusted confidant for my entire life. But for now, it wasbest to assume everyone had been conspiring against the dragon shifters until proven otherwise. It would break my heart to deem Vivienne innocent, only to find out she'd been deceiving me.

"I-I was just upset that I wasn't able to have more time with the dragons in the cellar," I said instead. "The knights were looking for me, and I had to sneak away before they caught me."

It wasn't a complete lie. I wanted to spend more time with Andriel, and knights were searching for me in the cellar. It simply wasn't the entire truth.

"I see." Vivienne stepped closer and wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me to her side. Instinctively, I tilted my head to the side and rested it on her shoulder. She always smelled of fresh lavender, which never ceased to appease me in times of distress. Much like how I was feeling now.

"I'm sure you'll have another chance to see them," she said.

Oh, I most certainly would. "Well, Mother informed me she's moving the dragon ceremony forward to host it on my birthday. She's even hosting a dragon rider tournament to see who my protector will be when I'm queen."

"Really?" Vivienne seemed delighted by the news. "That's wonderful, Sera. I'm so happy for you! See? I said you'd see them again. Any clue which dragon Virgil is selecting for himself?"

---