Page 45 of Dragon King's Cursed Mate

Growling low in his throat, he looked at Seraphina. It seemed there was nothing he could do to sever the connection, at least for now.

He couldn’t stop himself. Dain stood up straight, looked at her, grinned, and winked. He had to laugh at the expression on her face—she looked like she was about to have a moment right in the middle of everyone.

Seraphina must have decided she couldn’t take it anymore because she stood up and walked away. Grateful that the sexual connection had lessened immensely, he got back to work.

Supper was interrupted by one of their spies who’d been in Wyrmhaven. Dain and the rest of the council met in the temple.

Zara, a woman who was somewhere between fifty and seventy, who stood erect with clear eyes and gray hair, pushed back her hood. She bowed to Dain.

“King and lords, Malakar is getting very worried. He’s been trying to recruit dark sorcerers. He’s got at least two—possibly three. Word is that Malakar promised Nythros anything he wanted if he’d help Malakar win.”

Xander raised his eyebrows in surprise. “I didn’t even know he was still alive. It’s my understanding that he was responsible for creating and losing the netherrot plague on Dravenmoor, killing all of the dragon shifters half a century ago.”

Zara shrugged. “Apparently, he just retired and came back out.”

“Damn it. That’s all we need right now,” Xander growled. “Don’t we have enough to deal with right now?”

Lucian looked at Valon, who could see things beyond this world and sometimes predict the future. “What do you know?”

Valon shook his head. “I haven’t got a sense of him. I wouldn’t have known that he existed. Perhaps the oracle can make herself useful.”

Dain looked at him sharply and narrowed his eyes. He knew Valon didn’t like Seraphina because of the curse. However, Valon knew better than to disrespect her because shewasthe oracle, and she would be the queen someday if he had anything to say about it.

Valon steadily met Dain’s gaze.

“There’s more, My King,” Zara said, interrupting the tense exchange. “Malakar is using dark magic on humans and shifters to try to make them invincible.”

“Is it working?” Kael asked.

She shook her head. “Not yet. Everyone they’ve tried it on has gone mad or simply died.”

“Death seems to be more merciful,” Lucian said. “Madness, losing yourself to the darkness, would be unbearable.”

Dain growled low in his throat. He knew exactly what Lucian was getting at.

“Thank you, Zara. Please ask Jasmine for some supper. You’ve done well.”

She bowed and left the temple.

Dain sent a telepathic message to Seraphina, asking her to join them.

She arrived, with her fire crystal in her hand, knowing that this wasn’t a social call.

Valon fixed her with a hard stare, not hiding his dislike for her. “Zara has said that Malakar has summoned Nythros, promising the dark magician anything he wanted. What can you tell us?”

“He’s no longer a threat. Nythros was once the most feared magician in all the realms. He did many evil deeds. After he unleashed the plague, the gods bound his magic and Nythros disappeared.”

She held the crystal in the palm of her hands and summoned the green fire in the center of the table so they could all watch and listen as Vytharion, the god of the dragon shifter gods, brought Nythros to the top of a mountain. The god described the magician’s evil acts and punished him by using a celestial dragon heartstring to bind his magic. Only Vytharion could release it.

“How do we know it hasn’t been released?” Valon insisted.

Seraphina waved her hand over the fire. “Watch.”

They all peered into the fire and saw a small, bent-over man walking between Malakar’s guards. One of the guards asked if Nythros could move a tree trunk that had fallen into the bath. The magician pointed his hand at it and muttered a spell, but only emitted a tiny spark.

“Interesting,” Valon said. “How do we know that what you’ve shown us is real and not some fantasy you’ve created to appease us?”

Fury rose in Dain. His face turned red, and he could feel the vein in his neck throb.

---