Page 11 of The Dragon King's Curse
Instead, I found myself thanking them. They’d brought me right to the princess. So close to getting my beast back. I would find a way to make her break my curse, and then I’d get the fuck out of here.
The Fae King was a dead man walking. He just didn’t know it yet.
CHAPTER SIX
FERYN
I never believed I would ever come face to face with the Dragon King. Noxx Drakoth.
Of course I’d heard the stories about him. My parents told me about his curse years ago. They didn’t like to discuss the details of what had led to the curse, despite my many questions. All I knew was that Noxx had murdered several of my people. Instead of hunt and kill him, they’d chosen to curse him with a life cut off from what he valued most. His dragon.
Many of our kind were able to craft blessings and curses, another trait we shared with the fae. My father’s most powerful elven mage had worked the curse. She twisted it so that only one member of our entire clan would be able to break it. The King’s only child. Me.
There was more to it than that. It wasn’t as simple as me willing the curse to be broken or speaking such words aloud. No, the curse had been designed to be almost impossible to break.
Now Noxx was here. Locked in the very same prison alongside me. Demanding that I free him. He had no idea how difficult that was.
My hand went to my throat where he’d tightly grabbed me. To the small cut on the side of my neck from one of his claws. His beast may be trapped inside him but it was still very muchpresent. In the claws that sprang from his fingertips. The fangs that had filled his mouth. The wild glint in his golden eyes and those pupils. Slit pupils that had chilled me to the bone. Not to mention the black reptilian wings.
“Are you all right, Feryn?” Miranda whispered, shooting furtive glances across the room at Noxx. “I had no idea it was him. I’ve heard the tales, but I’ve never seen him for myself. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to protect you.”
“Not to worry, Miranda. Don’t blame yourself. I honestly never thought he and I would be in the same realm let alone the same room.” Letting my head fall back against the stone wall, a heavy sigh escaped me.
In my peripheral vision, I could see Noxx still sprawled on the floor where the guards left him. He was conscious, staring at the ceiling as if lost in thought.
I wasn’t sure who I feared most. The vampire that continued to shoot hungry glances in our direction or the Dragon King that knew I was the one capable of breaking his curse, but knew nothing about how it might be done, or how unlikely such a feat would be.
As the hours passed, I began to grow tired. Even though Miranda assured me she would keep watch, I was reluctant to sleep. We were imprisoned with two predators. The guards may have been instructed to keep me alive but anything could happen.
At some point, the guards switched out with another who sat on a chair near the door and closed his eyes. He didn’t seem to give a shit about watching us. In no time he was snoring.
The vampire glanced at the sleeping guard and then back at Miranda and me. His lips twisted into a malicious grin.
“Nothing quite like the smell of elven blood. How about you give me a little taste? I can’t survive off this pig’s blood.Eventually, I’ll go crazy.” The vampire raised his nose as he sniffed in our direction. Smelling the magick in our blood.
The fae captive also had magick in his blood, as did Noxx. The vampire didn’t seem interested in any of them.
“How about you just stay on your side of the cell? Be glad they’re giving you anything at all.” Miranda nodded to the dead pig on the floor next to him.
He had a rugged exterior. Thick stubble with a scar running down one cheek. His eyes were dark and hungry. How long would it take before he lost his mind and attacked the rest of us?
No doubt the human captives were the easiest targets among us. This guy didn’t want human blood. He wanted blood with magick. Power. Something that would give him a rush.
There wasn’t much to work with in the way of weaponry. An empty metal food tray. That was about it. They didn’t even give us any silverware.
Try as I might to resist, my gaze continued to dart in Noxx’s direction. He still laid on the floor, staring up as if he could see beyond the ceiling above. What might he be thinking? Was he plotting against me?
Muscles flexed in his forearm as he clenched and unclenched a fist. Tall and broad, he was made of muscle. Strong in the way only a dragon could be. When he’d grabbed me by the throat, I thought surely he would rip my head right from my shoulders.
“You want to protect your princess, don’t you?” The vampire spoke to Miranda but nodded at me. “Allow me to drink from you and I won’t try to harm her.”
Miranda scowled. “Go fuck yourself, heathen. I won’t have you threatening either of us. We’re not intimidated by scum like you.”
The vampire continued to grin, revealing sharp fangs. “We’ll see about that.”
This wasn’t looking good. The maniacal glint in his eyes told me that he would soon make a move. Maybe it would be better that way. If he caused enough trouble, the guards may likely kill him. Why would they keep him anyway? I doubted the Vampire Lord cared enough to rescue one captive. According to the stories, he was a vicious ruler. One unlikely to enter the Shadow Realm in search of one lost vampire.
I wondered how long it would take for the rest of us to go crazy. The humans had been staring off into space since we arrived. One man rocked back-and-forth, whispering to himself. Eventually, we would also succumb to madness in this place.
