Page 9 of The Cursed Queen

"I don't put any blame on you, my mate," Andriel said, sounding sincere.

"You keep calling her that. Your mate," Virgil pointed out. "What do you mean by that?"

"It means the gods have deemed the princess and me an intimate match. For us to share a life together. For her to bear my children one day. To be mine forever. To hold, to cherish, to love."

With every word spoken, I felt my cheeks reddening. I was fated to be with his lover? Not that I minded, but it was something I had never heard of before. "Is that a shifter thing?"

Andriel shrugged. "It's common among my people. I'm not so sure of other species, but I'm guessing druids don't have fated mates?"

"Not that I'm aware of," I said before giving Virgil a questioning look, wondering if he heard of such a thing.

Virgil shook his head. "I know nothing at all, so don't look at me. But now that we know you're part human, what should we do?"

Was that even a real question? "What do you mean, what should we do? We can't keep him locked up. Him or the other dragons. They don't belong here."

Virgil held up both hands in surrender. "I understand that, Sera, and I agree, but doing so right now would raise suspicion and questions. Both of which could fall on us should anybody spot us."

I hated he was right, but I didn't want to keep Andriel and the other dragons locked away. There had to be something we could do to set them free without being spotted.

"Princess?" I gasped when I heard someone calling for me from a distance. Damn it, I must've been gone too long. "Princess, are you out here?"

"You need to go. Now!" Virgil urged.

"But—" I whined, looking from Virgil to Andriel.

Andriel, seeming to grasp what was going on, sighed heavily. "Go, my dear. I will stay in the cage for the time being."

"No!" I shouted, then winced when I realized how loud it was. More voices sounded before I heard people approaching.

"Sera, you must leave now!" Virgil angrily whispered.

I didn't want to go. Not if it meant leaving Andriel. Even though I barely knew him, I couldn't stomach the thought of him having to revert to his dragon form and be caged and sealed off. I almost begged him to leave with me, but it would look suspicious to run through the castle hand in hand with a naked stranger.Sure, the maids would love to get an eyeful of the handsome shifter, but there would still be questions.

"Go," Andriel declared firmly. "I'll be all right."

"I can't," I whimpered.

He leaned forward and pressed a heated kiss to my forehead. "You must. Go before you're caught. Just don't forget me."

"Sera." Virgil's voice raised in warning as the footsteps grew louder.

There wasn't much time left. As much as I didn't want to, I knew I had to leave. The action felt like a blade piercing my heart, only to slowly twist and slice the more I hesitated. I reached out to grasp both of Andriel's hands, squeezing them as I spoke with all the finality I could muster. "I'll make this right. You have my word."

"I know you will," Andriel said, then pulled away from me and retreated into the cage.

"Go. Now!" Virgil urged, already working on putting back the seals while Andriel was once again encased in a tornado of flames until he morphed back into a gargantuan dragon.

My mind screamed for my legs to move until I finally pushed onward and ran to the back of the room. I noticed the other two dragons raising their heads as soon as I passed them, but I paid them no mind. They would all be rescued if it was the last thing I ever did. I couldn't tell if I made it out in time, and I dared not to look back to find out. Running as fast as my legs would carry me, but making sure I wasn't spotted, I made it around the castle until I reached the flower gardens in the back. Coming out of the rose hedge maze was Vivienne, who looked around frantically until her eyes spotted me and visibly sighed in relief.

"There you are. You had me worried when you were gone for too long," she expressed when I finally reached her.

When I stopped, I doubled over, trying to catch my breath. "Sorry. I didn't mean to take so long." I wheezed in between pants.

"It's quite all right, but your mother is demanding your presence in the dining hall immediately."

When my heartbeats were even, I stood up, looking at my servant and friend in a new, conflicting light. Had she known about the dragons too? Did she keep it a secret from me? I didn't know who to trust anymore, except Virgil. He seemed just as aghast as I was to learn about Andriel, but was there anyone who knew? Mother had to have known, but a part of me hoped I was wrong. What about the knights?

"Seraphina?" Vivienne looked concerned as she reached out and rested a hand on my shoulder. "Is something wrong?"

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