Page 26 of The Cursed Queen

Now it no longer mattered when I broke free from the crowd. Nobody could see me running to the spire. I stole a quick glance behind me, seeing the knights frantically searching for me. I smirked before running in the opposite direction and heading for the entrance to the spire. The dragon's noise had distracted the guards, so I opened the door and paused for a second.

I was really doing this. In a few moments, Andriel would come for me, and we'd escape together. I'd be leaving the Zeffari Kingdom behind me. The princess side of me was chastising me for betraying and abandoning my kingdom, but the other side of me felt I didn't belong here. I belonged with Andriel, with the dragons. This wouldn't be permanent, not until every single dragon was free from their control, and my mother was no longer in control.

I could do this.

Ihadto do this.

Steeling myself, I took one step forward before crying out in agony; the pain breaking my focus on the invisibility enchantment, causing it to dispel and making my form visible again. The pain was getting worse, and I didn't know what it could mean. Was it a side effect of my magic being suppressed for too long? Was my body struggling to adjust to the changes?

"Princess?" I heard someone up the stairs calling for me.

Not knowing if they were friend or foe, I leaned against the wall to keep myself up, preparing to unleash another flash bomb or a wall of fire. Whichever I could do first. It wasn't till someone came around the corner to reveal that it was Vivienne. I dropped my hand, feeling unsteady, but relieved that she was unharmed. Before I could collapse, Vivienne got to me in time and held me up.

"There you are. I was so worried. Now hurry. You need to get up to the balcony. Your dragon friend is waiting," she explained as she helped me up the steps.

My stomach felt as if a sword was stabbing through my gut repeatedly, every pierce worse than the previous one. "S-Something's wrong with me," I got out through gritted teeth, wincing with each step.

"It'll be okay, I promise. As soon as you're away from here and back at Dragons Peak, all will be explained."

"What will be explained?" I asked seconds before her words sank in. "Wait, you knew they were shifters?"

Vivienne nodded. "I know a lot more than that, but Sera, you must understand that I had no part in their captivity. Nor was there anything I could do to set them free. There's a lot more to this than you realize, but we don't have a lot of time to talk about it."

So many questions were running through my mind, but as much as I wanted to ask them all, Vivienne was right. My timewas limited, and I needed to leave with the dragons now. There was one thing I needed to know first. "Why are you helping me?"

"Because your father asked me to watch over you," was all she said.

My father. Twice now, he was mentioned. He must've had connections with the dragons, but what was it?

Halfway up the steps, the world shook again, causing dust and debris to rain down on us. Vivienne urged me to keep moving, so I did. We reached the top just as we heard commotions coming from down below. Cursing under my breath, Vivienne and I made it outside onto the balcony. Closing the door, I enchanted a lock spell on the door to buy us more time. The dragon riders were still going at it while trying to apprehend two of the dragons. One was missing, and my heart sank to the pit of my stomach when I noticed who was absent.

"Andriel!" I screamed for him, looking around but not seeing him.

My eyes burned with unshed tears as panic festered, thinking about the worst-case scenario.

"Sera!" I heard the faintest sound of my name from a distance, so I hobbled to the metal rails and looked out. It sounded like Virgil, but where was he? My answer came for both him and Andriel when I saw my mate diving through the clouds like an arrow, narrowly avoiding bursts of dragons' flames. Virgil was riding on Andriel's back like a naturally trained dragon rider, only Virgil wasn't using magic to control Andriel. No, Andriel was in control, whereas Virgil was merely a passenger, and acting as an extra set of eyes while Andriel was flying.

Nowthatwas a true dragon rider.

"Over here!" I shouted, raising my arms up.

Andriel looped over a volley of flames, narrowly avoiding contact. Flipping himself around to right himself up, he tackled the dragon rider, who tried to hit him. Meanwhile, Virgilunsheathed his sword and jumped off Andriel, shakily making it on top of the enemy dragon. The knight barely had time to draw his own sword before Virgil pierced through the man's armor and stabbed straight through the heart. I watched as the faint glow of magic fogging the enemy dragon's eyes faded. With the druid knight dead, the spell over the dragon was gone.

Virgil kicked the now-dead druid off his sword, letting the corpse fall from the sky and onto the ground. Now free from the mind control, Andriel released the dragon he'd been fighting with just as Virgil jumped back onto his back. I was so enraptured by what was happening with them I was startled by another dragon rider, this one hovering in front of me. I gasped as Vivienne and I stepped back. Vivienne put herself in front of me despite my protest.

"Sorry, Princess, but I have to follow orders," the druid rider said before muttering another enchantment. The dragon he was on whined and shuddered, but then opened its elongated mouth as he readied to breathe fire over us.

"No!" I tried to get Vivienne to move out of the way, but she held firm in trying to protect me. If she took the full force of a dragon's fire, she'd die. I didn't want to lose her. Not when we were this close to freedom.

The dragon reared its head back, ready to fire, but another dragon tackled it from the side. I recognized my savior as the slim, blue-green dragon who was unconscious the morning he and Andriel were brought to the castle. He was in the same stable as Andriel's, but I hadn't paid him nearly as much attention as I should've. I would have to rectify that once we were free and away from here.

"Princess!" Virgil and Andriel finally made it over to it, hovering low enough for Vivienne and me to jump on top of Andriel's back.

"Come on, we must leave now." Virgil stuck out his hand to me.

"Go. You go first." Vivienne urged me forward.

I shook my head while grabbing hold of Virgil. "What about you?" I asked as Virgil helped me up.