Page 8 of The Cursed Queen

Virgil huffed out a breath, not liking the idea but seeming to know that arguing with her wouldn't get her to see his reason. There was a sense of familiarity and comfort in the way they bickered. The kind that would take years to develop. These two have known each other for a long time. My anger stirred at the implications forming.

Were they lovers?

Had they fucked before?

How much did this knight know of my mate?

I had to quell my flames since nothing could be done about it. I was sure attacking the pale knight would arouse trouble. Besides, any history between them happened before I arrived. Even if I wasn't her first, I'd certainly be her last.

Virgil stepped closer to the cage before stretching his hand in my direction. I felt the shiver of magic in the air right when his eyes glowed with power. Muttering an enchantment under his throat, one by one, the runes on my body faded. Slowly, I could feel the flow of my Dragonfire return to my body, with each rune vanishing. The locks that kept my powers at bay were undone, and I could feel my strength slowly returning.

When the magic was undone, Virgil stepped back, leaving room for Sera to come forth and address me. "Show me."

She wanted me to shift. Obeying, I closed my eyes, and let the flames of my magic transcend before spiraling around my form until I was completely secluded. My height shrank drastically as my dragon form retracted back into me, my wings and tail shrinking and pulling into my body. The scales along my body softened, morphing into human skin. My snout and horns pulled back as my hair sprouted atop my head.

When I felt the transformation was complete, the flames opened and were snuffed out until I was left standing there,fully human, and fully naked. My mate's eyes were bugged out, her mouth slack-jawed and shivering. It was hard to read her emotions right now. She looked stunned, but there was more than that. Virgil's reaction, however, was as easy to read as a book. He looked at me in disbelief. Everything he knew to be true was now ripped from him with a simple shift in my appearance.

Good.

What he thought of me made no difference. All I cared about was the woman inches away from me, with only the bars and the protection spell separating us.

I smiled softly at her. "Hello, mate."

Sera

Nothing could've prepared me for seeing a colossal-sized dragon shifting into a beautiful man. There was so much to process, and I wasn't sure where to start.

"Unlock the cage," I muttered to Virgil, my mind working on its own while I struggled to make sense of anything.

Virgil seemed just as confused, but still did as I commanded. The spell over the stall that prevented a dragon from breaking through faded to nothing before the cage door swung open. Going on instinct, I ran to the man. I didn't know why, but the need I felt to embrace him overwhelmed me. The dragon—shifter—had his arms open and wrapped around my waist as soon as we made physical contact. I felt right. It felt like home. His face was in the crook of my neck, inhaling my scent and grunting in approval. He smelled of wood smoke, pine, and man.

I wanted to cry, to bury myself in him. To apologize for what my kingdom has done to him. My mother had kidnapped him and had him locked up. He wasn't some mindless creature like Virgil described; he was a fucking human being.

I pulled away and really inspected this man. He was a tall, copper-skinned man with layers of powerful muscles, jet-black hair, and chocolate-brown eyes. He was well past my five-eight height, not that I was complaining. It took me all of five seconds to realize this beautifully sculpted man was naked, and I couldn'tseem to look away despite it being rude. Even worse, my fingers had a mind of their own and began running along his skin. Feeling the hard contours of his muscles, his firm pecs with dark nipples, and the dips and curves of his abdomen. There was so much to explore, and by the fiery gods above, I wanted to. Desire like I never felt before flowed through me like a heatwave. My body temperature rose as I inched closer to him.

The corner of his lip curved up as if sensing where my mind was going. "Like what you see?"

Mindlessly, I nodded. "I-I don't even know what to say right now."

The shifter chuckled. "I guess we can start with introductions."

He took two steps back before dropping to one knee and bowed his head. "Andriel of Dragon's Peak, at your service, my lady."

Referring to my mannerisms as princess, I lifted the ends of my dress, bowing with a tilt of my head in response. "Princess Seraphina of the Zeffari Kingdom. You may rise, Andriel."

"I can't believe this," Virgil breathlessly spoke as Andriel stood tall. He trailed around the shifter as if trying to find any flaw in his human appearance. Anything that would show it being an illusion, or some sign that it was a trick. There was nothing. When he was done assessing Andriel, Virgil looked at me, disbelief etched in his features. "This can't be real. I thought shifters were nothing more than a myth."

Before I had the chance to respond, Andriel cut me off. "I assure you we're not a myth, but if your kingdom continues in its conquest of my people, our den will ultimately cease to exist. As it stands, we've already had to go into hiding because of the many abductions and attacks caused by you druids."

"Then it's not just you." My eyes trailed to the other two dragons in this stall, their attentions not on us. "They're all shifters, aren't they?"

Andriel nodded, and I felt sick to my stomach.

"I didn't know," Virgil whispered, then to me, he added, "I'm sorry, Princess."

"Not half as sorry as I am," I got out before my voice cracked. Tears welled in my eyes at the thought of all the damage my kingdom had done to Andriel and the rest of his den. Everything I believed had been fabricated, but I was still the heir to the Zeffari Kingdom. This was still a burden I now had to bear.

"I know it matters not, and it does nothing to repair the damage and turmoil my kingdom has caused, but as Princess, words cannot describe how sorry I am. I did not know about this. Until tonight, I could never even be near a dragon. Had I known, I would have done something." I wasn't sure what I could've done, or what I could do now that I knew the truth, but something needed to be done. Andriel didn't deserve to be used as some mind-controlled puppet and exploited for riches and glory. For the first time in my life, I was ashamed to be part of the Zeffari Kingdom.

---