Page 5 of The Cursed Queen

"My stars," Virgil sounded awestruck as he watched my interaction with the beast. "Sera, I... I think it likes you."

"He," I corrected.

"Sorry,heseems to like you."

My smile was so wide my cheeks ached. Part of my childhood dream had come true, and I was filled with such elation. Ialmost didn't want to believe that this moment was real, that I was actually petting a living, breathing dragon. A dragon whose rumbling of approval reminded me of a cat's purring. I felt connected to him in a way I never felt connected to anybody. It was as if he and I were meant to know each other. Like my heart knew this dragon was meant to be...mine. Was this what it felt like for a druid to bond with a dragon and become a dragon rider? I never heard of any rider having this kind of connection with their dragon.

Just as I was about to ask Virgil about it, something stirred in the back of my mind. I winced as I felt a burning sensation along my skull. I didn't know what it was, but the pain was making me feel nauseous. Was it the curse?

"Sera," Virgil rushed to my side, his arms wrapping around my waist to hold me upright. "Princess, are you okay?"

"I-I don't know," I said with a shaky breath. "I don't know what's wrong, but it feels—"

"Mate!"I paused as a single word roared in my head. What in the blazes was that?

"Mate!"the voice said again.

"Mate?" I asked out loud.

"Sorry?" Virgil questioned.

"I heard something. A voice in my head. It kept sayingmate."

"Mate,"the voice rang again, the word acting as a white-hot poker pressing into my brain.

Instinct took hold of me as I looked back at the dragon I was petting moments ago. His eyes were on me, but there was heat in the way he looked at me. It was hard to describe. Then a thought came to me.

"Was it you?" I asked the dragon.

The dragon's head dipped lower ever so slightly as the single word echoed in my mind again, which was all the confirmation I needed."Mate."

Andriel

"Mate."That was the only word continuing to replay in my mind as I watched the princess staring up at me, those luminescent silver eyes gazing at me with wonderment.

She was my mate. I could feel it in my core, where my Dragonfire roared from a minuscule flame to a raging inferno. Finding my fated mate was the only good thing about my current situation.

I never thought I'd be one of the unlucky ones captured by the druid kingdom, but here I was, trapped with the rest of my kin. The druids use us for our magic, enslaving us to do their bidding and riding on our backs like equestrians. They're the reason our numbers have dwindled. For over twenty years, the druid kingdom turned our once flourishing clan into a speck of what we once were. Their continuous hunt had forced us into hiding in hopes that no more of our brethren would be taken from us.

It was wishful thinking.

I arrogantly thought I'd never be a victim. I'd trained my whole life, skilled in combat and flight, and my flames were a death sentence for any enemy that have crossed me over the years. But I was careless and outnumbered. The dragon riders found me airborne and came for me, using my kin as slaves and forcing them to attack me. No amount of training and powerwas enough to save me when I was outnumbered six to one. Now, here I was, and here was the place where I'd find my fated mate. A moment that should've delighted me. Instead, I'm left wondering how the dragon gods could be so cruel.

Being stuck in my dragon form, I couldn't speak to her directly. I could still see and hear everything, and what I'd gathered since the two druids arrived had left me with a whirlpool of emotions, my mind spinning and unsure what to digest first.

Sera, I gathered was her name, was not just some druid. She was a princess, the kingdom's princess. She was my enemy, the person responsible for the captivity and slavery of my people. But she didn't strike me as ruthless or heartless. Her anguish over us being locked in these cages showed signs of compassion and appalled over our current predicament.

Did she not know about this?

The way her eyes roamed my features apologetically, I knew she didn't like how we were treated. There was something odd about her, this Princess Sera. It was hard to decipher, but something was dwelling inside her. It was more than just the mate pull, but was too faint for my dragon to decipher. She was...different, but how different remained to be seen.

That aside, my little princess was a stunningly beautiful young woman. She looked sickly with dark circles under her eyes, but that did nothing to tarnish her beauty. Rich golden skin, wavy hair being a darker shade of pink—almost purple—high cheekbones, a straight narrow nose, and lips that were a perfect cupid's bow. The feeling of her hand on my dragon's snout sent warm tingling sensations down my scales and over to my groin. What I wouldn't give to shift back into my human skin so I could wrap her in my arms and feel her hands over my smooth skin as I filled her with my cock.

Damn, now was not the time to be thinking of sex. I was still trapped in a cage, my flames and strength useless to save me. Now, my fated mate was dangled in front of me, but I could not get to her. This was torture.

"Mate," my dragon growled telepathically.

The princess gasped, pulling her hand away and taking a step back. "What?"

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