Page 40 of The Cursed Queen

Sera

I was grateful that I was still sitting up on the bed. Had I been standing up, I likely would've collapsed to the floor. My eyes burned with fresh tears as I took in Lord Igneel's words.

My father. Lord Igneel, dragon lord of the Dragon's Peak Den, was my father.

He could've been lying, but somehow I knew he wasn't. I could feel the truth in his words, in the way he looked at me. He was struggling to keep himself composed. The tears that were building in his eyes were already falling.

I opened my mouth, not knowing what to say, but felt the need to say something. Anything. But no words were coming out. I was at a loss for words.

A hand gripped my left shoulder, and I looked to see Virgil, who gave me an encouraging nod. I turned to my right to meet Andriel's watchful gaze, seeing that he, too, nodded, urging me to speak up.

What could I possibly say to that?

I licked my lips, then tried again. "I... I don't understand."

"I know," Lord Igneel spoke softly before pressing another kiss to the back of my head.

"We should probably give the two of you some privacy so you can talk," Freya said, motioning for Andriel and Virgil to followher out. Before she exited, she rested a hand on my arm. "I'll be back to check in on you later, okay?"

"Wait, what about Virgil?" I asked, concern for my friend who wouldn't exactly be welcomed with open arms.

"I'll keep an eye on him," Andriel declared. "He'll be staying with me for the time being."

At least I knew Virgil would be protected. I relaxed at that, letting the three of them go so I'd be left with Lord Ig—my father. By the gods, it felt strange referring to him in that way. It didn't feel real, but clearly everything I believed to have been my reality was fabricated. Now that included my father supposedly passing away. The more I thought of all the lies I'd been told, the angrier I grew. So did all the questions I wanted to ask.

Lord Igneel sat at the foot of the bed, refusing to release my hand the whole time. His thumb started rubbing circles along the back of my hand, which helped to soothe some of the tension I was feeling. We sat there in relative silence, but I wasn't sure for how long. Minutes ticked by before I spoke up first.

"Are you really my father?" I asked.

Lord Igneel sighed. "Yes, and no."

I frowned at that. "What does that mean?"

"It's a very long and complicated story, but one you deserve to know," he said. "While you and I do not share blood, you are the product of my mate and her former lover, your birth father, before their passing."

"What?" I stood up straighter. "Y-Your mate and her former lover? Does that mean the woman I've been living with all this time is not my actual mother?"

"Yes and no," Lord Igneel repeated from earlier. "As I said, it's a complicated story."

"Then please explain it, because I'm more confused than I've ever been."

"I understand. You see, your father was the Zeffari Kingdom's rightful king, whereas your mother was a dragon shifter he fell in love with. This was before he married the current queen, the woman you believed to have been your mother. King Alphonse was the original dragon rider of the Zeffari Kingdom. This was back when there was a unity between the druids and the dragon shifters. King Alphonse and Lady Calida fought together to defend both their homes. Oh, how they loved each other so. Many believed they have a bond that could never be broken."

"What happened to them?" I asked, enraptured by the story.

"I found Lady Calida," Lord Igneel said. "She came from a dragon den far off into the west, so we never met before. But when we did, we felt the pull between us. We were fated mates, Princess."

My mouth fell ajar. "You took her from the king?"

"No!" he blurted. "Of course not. In fact, I was willing to let her go if she truly wanted to be with King Alphonse. I could tell she wanted to, but fate's pull between us was too hard to ignore. Druids don't have fated pairs, so your father couldn't understand what was happening, but Calida knew. She couldn't bear to leave my side now that she found me. As much as she wanted to, she knew she couldn't be with the king. And as much as he loved Calida, he knew letting her go was the right thing to do. So he did. Calida stayed with me, and we completed the mate bond. As for King Alphonse, he married Queen Verania, and the two of them ruled the Zeffari Kingdom. We thought that would be the end until we learned Calida was expecting you."

As Lord Igneel was telling the story, the more my heart ached for Alphonse and Calida, my parents. Two souls who were made for each other until fate intervened. It sounded unfair. If they truly loved one another, then they should've been allowed to be together. I couldn't even be mad at Lord Igneel since he wasalso under fate's influence. The fact that he was willing to let his mate go so she could be with King Alphonse spoke of how much he cared for her, too. Calida, my mother, was forced to choose between my father and her mate, and in the end, she chose Lord Igneel.

"Calida was pregnant with me, but King Alphonse was the father?" I asked.

Lord Igneel nodded.

"Were you mad when you found out?"