Page 13 of Dragon King's Cursed Mate

The dark magic of the hunter still lingered in the area. It was no wonder that Seraphina could feel it. He had no idea what she would have done if she’d confronted the hunter on her own.

Automatically, his thoughts returned to the kiss they shared the night before. He knew he needed to distance himself from her, because the closer he got, the more he wanted her and ached to possess her. He couldn’t afford to go there. Too many people depended on him.

Kissing her invoked feelings so intense that they threatened to completely consume him. An aching need exploded inside of him, and he wanted so badly to pull her into his tent and make love to her. He imagined seeing her beautiful body as he ran his hands from her shoulders, over her breasts, her waist, and down her legs.

He pictured sinking his hardness into her hot, wet center, making sweet love to her until they both erupted from ecstasy. Then, he would take her again, making sure she felt the incredible sweetness of their bodies meeting.

Dain shook his head to dispel the images in his mind. He gave a humorless laugh. He’d never been one to be romantic before. Of course, he’d been with women before, but it was about releasing sexual energy and fulfilling a specific need at the time. There had been no promises, no fantasizing, and no desire to do anything but to enjoy the moment.

He clenched his jaw and stood just as Valon approached from the west. “I didn’t see anyone, but I caught the scent of blood magic near the old creek bed. It wasn’t fresh. Most likely it was probably from a scout.”

Nodding grimly, Dain said, “We should probably double the watch tonight. Malakar will be even more anxious to find us. Not only do we have the Oracle he wants to kill, but we made him look foolish in front of the people. He won’t take that lightly.Hopefully, though, he’ll be so angry that he’ll make a mistake that we can use against him.”

Valon nodded and then hesitated as though he wanted to say something else. Dain figured he wanted to question him about Seraphina but apparently decided against it.

“Let’s head back for now,” Dain said. “There’s no one out here right now.”

The warriors spent the afternoon discussing which outposts would be most susceptible to attack. Kade had returned from Wyrmhaven around lunchtime.

“Lord Garren of Ashthorne welcomed me into his home. He said that his family and several others were getting anxious because Malakar seemed to be descending into a pit of absolute evil. He’s taxing people to the point of starvation and putting anyone to death if they even think about not following him. The noble houses were at the point that they only appeared in court when it was absolutely necessary.”

Kade sighed heavily, ran his fingers through his dark red hair, and fixed Dain with a hard look. “They heard the oracle’s prophecy and know she’s never given a false prediction. They are anxiously waiting for your return and will assist to the best of their ability.”

“That’s good news, although I’m sure Malakar will be watching them. We’ll have to tread lightly because we don’t want to put them in any unnecessary danger,” Dain said.

That evening, Seraphina approached him. “I must go outside of the ruins for a bit. I have to do a protection spell that will prevent Malakar from tracking me. It must be done by moonlight.”

“I’ll go with you.”

She shook her head. “I’m sorry, but you can’t. It’s something I must do alone. Don’t worry, I’ll be safe. You aren’t going to get rid of me that easily.”

He waited anxiously until she returned. Dain heard her go into her tent. He wanted so badly to join her but forced himself to stay in his own tent and try to sleep.

The next morning, Seraphina sat next to him during breakfast. “I need to go back to the temple in Eryndral to get my supplies. The temple itself was burned when the soldiers came to arrest me, but I knew they were coming so I hid everything in a sacred tree in the woods behind the building.”

“It’s too dangerous. You know that Malakar will have guards stationed in the area knowing you’d likely return.”

“I can manifest a cloaking spell that will protect us during the journey. It’ll only be a temporary enchantment, but it’ll last long enough for us to get there, let me retrieve my belongings, and for us to return. We’ll be safe.”

He hesitated, knowing that Seraphina would have a bounty on her head and every hunter in the area would be looking for her. However, she was the oracle, and he had no choice but to trust that her plan would work.

“Very well, then. We’ll leave in half an hour.”

She touched his arm, sending electricity exploding inside of him. “Thank you. I need my supplies for my magic and for the prophecies.”

Dain wasn’t happy about taking her because he felt that it would put them in danger. Everyone would be on high alert for any extraordinary activity around the temple. However, he recognized the importance of Seraphina having her supplies. Having a powerful oracle on their side would be very beneficial.

He finished eating and walked over to Xander, an obsidian dragon who breathed hot magma to immediately kill enemies and exhaled hot ash that blinded and suffocated anyone who fought against him. Xander also had armor-piercing fangs and claws.

“Seraphina needs to return to the temple in Eryndral to retrieve the belongings she hid in a sacred tree before she was taken to Malakar. I’d like for you and Kael to accompany us.”

“When?”

“Now.”

“I’m ready.”

Seraphina had gone to her tent to retrieve a blue cloak that one of the women had made for her. Dain’s heart skipped a beat at how angelic and beautiful she looked. She smiled at him as though she could read his thoughts.

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