Page 13 of The Cursed Queen

"I don't disagree with you." Virgil huffed. "But if you're hell-bent on doing this, I shall join you. We'll be fugitives together."

My body stiffened at his decision. A small, selfish part of me wanted to accept his help, needing his strength and support. To cling to him as an infant would to their parents. As much as I wished for him to sacrifice his life for me, I couldn't ask that of him.

"No," I said firmly. "I can risk my life, but I can't risk yours."

"You wouldn't be risking my life. I'd be risking it myself," Virgil pointed out, smirking like he'd already won this argument.

"Virgil—"

"Stop!" Virgil raised his voice, then winced when he realized how loud he was being. "Sera, you don't have to do this alone. If we work together, we may have a better chance of pulling this off."

"Are you willing to risk everything for this?" I challenged him, needing him to understand the gravity of his choices. "Your family has served this kingdom for generations. You've pushed yourself through dragon rider training when everybody thought you didn't have what it takes. You're on the precipice of achieving everything you worked so hard to get. Are you willing to discard all of that to help me?"

Virgil stood there without answering, the pregnant silence thickening between us. My heart stammered against my chest, pleading for Virgil to reconsider. He was the one who tried to warn me off by expressing the dangers that would befall me should I be discovered. But now that I planned on carrying out my quest, he wanted to accompany me? Out of the question.

Virgil licked his lips before finally speaking up. "You're willing to risk the punishments for the sake of these shifters. Why can't I do the same?"

"Because I have a reason to. Andriel called me his fated mate, and if I were honest with myself, I felt a connection between us." My hands pressed against my chest where my heart continued its rapid beating, fueled by nerves. "I can't explain it. I knownothing about fated mates, but the mere thought of Andriel spending any time alone in that cellar makes me physically ill. The thought of someone mounting him like a common horse and using magic to persuade his mind to obey a dragon rider's commands. It angers me that something like that has happened to the other dragons currently under the control of their riders. I'll be damned before I let this continue. To him, or the other dragons."

"You're wrong," Virgil said matter-of-factly. "I have a reason for doing this with you. Becauseyou'redoing it, and I've always promised to protect you since we were children. Also, because it's the right thing to do. So, like it or not,Princess, I'm helping you set Andriel and the others free. You can argue with me all you want, but you'll only waste precious time because I will not be swayed. Understand me?"

Reluctantly, I conceded, knowing full well that Virgil would remain true to his word. He was as stubborn as I was, and while he relented frequently, sometimes it mattered most that he remained strong in his decisions. Especially when he was right.

"Fine." I sighed in defeat. "We'll need to speak with Andriel and decide on a plan, but it's after nightfall and the guards will swarm the castle."

"Not a problem. Follow me." Virgil smirked before taking my hand and pulling me out the door and into the corridor. He looked both ways before ushering me to follow along the east wing. We ran from one corridor to the next, making sure not to be spotted. When we noticed a guard making their way to where we were, we hid around a corner before we were spotted and waited until they left. After a few moments of walking, he stopped at a door leading into a broom closet.

"What are we doing here?" I whispered.

Virgil pressed his fingers to his lips to shush me, looking around once again before opening the door and shoving meinside first. The space was barely big enough to house us both with all the cleaning equipment the servants stored here. If not for the small window on the other side shining a beam of moonlight through it, we wouldn't have been able to see anything. The air was musty with a cloud of dust that made it difficult to breathe.

"Why are we in here again?" I asked, trying not to inhale the smell.

Virgil had to squeeze between me and the wooden shelf in front of me, the space so thin that our front rubbed together as he moved. The way the solid mass of muscles along his chest rubbed against the pebbled nipples had electricity coursing through me. A shaky moan forced its way out before I could keep it contained. Virgil paused for a moment, but then continued like he heard nothing. For me, I resisted the urge to hide my face and run back to my bedchamber to die of embarrassment. There was a small gap in the corner between the shelf behind me and the wall farthest to the back. His hands were flat against the wall behind the shelf, and he pushed his whole body weight into it.

I wasn't sure what he was doing until I heard a gravelly sound echoing, followed by a meager amount of dust and debris raining down on him. The wall he was pushing against slowly moved, I realized. With a grunt, the wall opened like a door, revealing a darkened path that I never knew existed.

"What is this?" I asked in astonishment.

"It's a secret passageway that leads to the back gardens. It's meant to be an escape route for servants if the castle is ever under attack."

Why had I never known about this? Surely, as Princess, it should've been my duty to know of these escape routes to help assure the servants would have access to them in emergencies. Did my mother know of them? Those were questions I'd have to ask another time.

"It's dark," I noted, since we didn't bring a torch or a lantern with us.

"Not to worry." Virgil closed his eyes as he muttered an enchantment under his throat. When they opened again, the white of his eyes was as jet-black as ink. His crystal blue irises morphed into a golden ring that glowed as he regarded me.

Night vision, I concluded. He'd be able to see through the dark now.

"Follow me." Virgil once again took my hand, acting as my eyes as he led me through the darkened route to freedom. As we walked, I tried reciting the night vision enchantment, but was unsuccessful. I gritted my teeth in frustration when I failed three other times. Of course my magic had died the moment I'd taken the medicine. I was starting to regret that decision.

The air was damp and heavy. I tried not to think of the moldy stench as I trailed behind Virgil, blindly following him with our entwined fingers.

"This is it, come on," Virgil said as we reached what I assumed was the end of the tunnel. Releasing my hand, my ears picked up what sounded like Virgil climbing up a ladder. His grunts, followed by the rustling of stones, told me he was forcing open another doorway. Light pierced through the top, revealing Virgil, his hands pressing against a stone surface above his head and moving it off to the side. As soon as the exit was no longer concealed, he pushed himself up and out.

I followed suit, climbing up the ladder and holding out my hands just as he reached for me. Gripping my hands, Virgil helped me up and out of the tunnel. As he said, when I looked up to inspect my surroundings, I noticed we exited in the center of the garden's walkway. I inhaled the clean, floral air while Virgil slid the stone back into place.

"I'll have to remember that passageway," I stated, both of us standing and dusting ourselves off.

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