Page 31 of The Cursed Queen

Not wanting to fall behind, I jogged to catch up with the rest of the group. The torches mounted on the stone walls lit up as we walked through the narrow corridor. Outsiders would never realize it, but Mount Dragon's Peak was completely hollowed out. It was why we remained in hiding for so long. It was nearly impossible to reach the top of the mountains without wings, and even then, the expanse of our den inside the mountains was colossal.

"Where are we going?" Virgil asked, looking around inquisitively.

"Be quiet, druid," Ladon snapped. "Just be grateful you're allowed to venture inside."

Virgil whipped his head back with a scowl. "That's quite the attitude you have towards someone who saved your ass."

"Oh, so I'm supposed to be grateful when it was your kind who captured and manipulated my mind in the first place?"

"That's enough, you two," Lord Igneel growled, then in a softer voice, said, "We're heading into my cave where wecan discuss the princess' current condition. Hopefully, we can uncover the truth of her bloodline."

Virgil seemed to accept that answer and remained quiet for the rest of the trip. When we reached the end of the corridor, Virgil gasped as he took in the sight of our den. It was roughly the size of a small village, made completely of stone. The walls expanded out, leading to several halls and cave entrances. Torches scattered throughout to light up the interior as shifters, both in human and dragon forms, carried about. In the center of it all stood the obsidian dais where Lord Igneel's throne sat. It was long, rectangular, and reached up to eight feet. The back splat was bare with an intricately carved top rail over it was an arrow tip-shaped design that held a circle in the middle. Inside the circle was a serpentine dragon turned to the side with its head facing up with its body looping to form an S shape. A pair of silver chains dangled from the top, one on each side. The dais itself was a flat surface with a set of steps leading to the throne. Two dragon statues were set on either side of the seat, the eyes glowing violet from the amethyst crystals embedded into the slots.

"Amazing," Virgil breathed out in awe. "I did not know such a place existed."

"That's the point," Ladon grumbled, but said no more when Andriel shot a glare at him.

"Our kind needed to remain secluded from the world so as not to risk complete extinction," Lord Igneel explained.

"I understand. Sera may not be here to say it, but she's already expressed how much she regrets what our people have done to yours. As for me, I clearly have a lot to unlearn from what I've been raised to believe. I sincerely apologize as well for all the trouble the Zeffari Kingdom has caused your den. Hopefully, we can soon rectify that and save the rest of the shifters."

"That is my hope as well," Lord Igneel said, then gestured for us to continue following him. He led us through the walkway along the outer walls on the right. We trailed up and around, our path leading higher, and circled the dais until we stopped at the cave behind the throne. We could've easily shifted and flew over to where it was located, but out of respect for our guest, who had no wings of his own, our dragon lord walked.

Lord Igneel pulled the drape back used to conceal the entryway and ushered us all inside. All the caves hidden within the mountains were roughly the same size as a human bedroom. There was no need for much more than a place to nest. We traveled out of the mountains to hunt for meat, or to the fields to harvest herbs and greens. The little dragonlings also had their own caves close to their parents; smaller in the beginning, but would be worked on making them bigger as they grew.

For our dragon lord, his cave was the size of two caves. A square desk set in the cave's heart with his bed set off to the far right. His walls were stacked with shelves full of books and tomes. A pillar was located over the left side, and a ceramic jar filled with ashes was placed on top. I bowed my head slightly in respect when my eyes landed on it. The ashes of the queen, Lord Igneel's mate.

Lord Igneel went around his desk and sat in the chair facing us. The cave wasn't too crowded, thankfully. Everyone stepped inside and scattered about to make room. I moved to the left, leaning against the bookcase with Ryu at my side. Ladon remained close to the entryway, and Andriel and Virgil remained where they stood in front of our lord's desk.

Lord Igneel cleared his throat. "Now, Andriel, you said you have a theory about the princess' bloodline?"

Andriel nodded. "Yes, my lord. I could be wrong about this, so please forgive me if it sounds impossible, but I believe the princess could be Daenerys."

The dragon lord's body stiffened at the sound of the name. My brow furrowed in confusion.

"Are you mad?" Ladon balked. "Why would you bring up that name? There's no way the princess could be Daenerys."

Ladon seemed to know the name, but I didn't. I looked at Ryu questioningly, but even he seemed equally perplexed.

Echoing my question, Virgil asked, "Um, who's Daenerys?"

Lord Igneel rested his elbows on the desk, his fingers interlocked as he leaned forward and rested his forehead against them. A sigh escaped his lips, and a wave of sadness permeated off him in waves. "Daenerys was the name of my daughter."

I gaped in surprise. This was the first I'd heard of Lord Igneel having a daughter. I'd often wondered about the dragon lord and Queen Calida. About why they never sired an heir before the queen's passing, or why Lord Igneel never mated again. Now the threads of information and theories connected themselves; revealing a web that completed the story. Well, maybe not the entire story because a few threads were missing to fit the overall picture.

Virgil seemed just as confused as I was. "That... can't be possible. Seraphina was born in the Zeffari Kingdom."

"She may have been known in the Zeffari Kingdom, but I don't think she was born there," Andriel said.

"You're not making any sense, Andriel. How could the druid princess be our lost princess?" Ladon asked, not liking the insinuation.

"It's the only thing that makes sense," Andriel turned to face him, scowling. "You don't think I also considered how unlikely it sounds? There are too many coincidences for Sera not to be Daenerys. How else could you explain her bloodline?"

"I don't know. Maybe the queen used her enchantment to manipulate one of her enslaved shifters to bed with her and gave birth to the bastard princess."

"How dare you," Virgil growled, stepping toward Ladon, but Andriel stretched out an arm in front of the druid knight to stop him. I could tell he wasn't fairing any better at quelling his anger but had enough control over it.

I noticed that Lord Igneel had been silent since Andriel unveiled his theory. His eyes were down, lost in his thoughts. I didn't know what to say or do in that situation. I was just as confused as the rest of them. Was it possible? Could our mate truly be the lost princess?