Page 79 of The Cursed Queen

Dammit, why was I so weak?

I gave myself a few moments to remain in control after Ryu and Virgil took off. Not wanting to waste time after feeling calmer, I ran out of my cave to search for Baxus. I called out his name while maneuvering around the crowd in search of him. For a moment I thought he wasn't here, that he might have snuck up on Sera and the others for a sneak attack, but for Baxus to issue a challenge, he needed to be here.

I went to search in his cave, but it was empty. He also wasn't training outside, so he had to be inside the mountain somewhere. Before I felt the urge to explode, I spotted him. He hid in the crowd facing the front of the dais. I shoved and punched my way to the front, pissing off a few of my brethren in the process, but I didn't care. When Baxus was within reach, I stretched my hand forward and gripped his shoulder to get his attention.

"Baxus!" I shouted his name, finally reaching him.

He turned to see me and grinned wickedly. "Hey, there you are! You're just in time to witness my moment of greatness."

"Did you tell the princess and her mates that Lord Igneel wanted them to hunt?" I asked, choosing to ignore his need to hype himself up.

His grin widened as he snickered. "I did, and I had something waiting for them when they arrived. Judging from thefact the old fool was pacing and wondering where they were, I assume that means my trap worked."

So, I was right. Baxus had set something up for them. "What did you do, Baxus?"

Before I could get him to tell me, the crowd hushed itself as Lord Igneel stepped onto the dais. He stood tall and proud, his scepter beside him. Everyone, me included, dropped to one knee and bowed our heads.

"Rise, my brothers and sisters," Lord Igneel commanded.

We did, then Lord Igneel took a seat on his throne.

"Happy Summer Solstice, everyone. As you know, we've had a lot of life-changing events that have taken place within the last several weeks. For the first time since we first felt the loss of our comrades at the hands of the druids, we've had many of our brethren return home safely."

Everyone cheered at that, delighted that some shifters who were held captive and forced into doing the druids' bidding could return home to their families. I returned to silence and isolation.

Lord Igneel continued. "And speaking of druids, we've had two of them staying with us. One being ahalf-dragon shifter. And if not for the two of them, none of our den members would've made it home in the first place."

The second round of applause lacked the energy of the first one. Most were still unsure what to make of the two druids in question. Baxus snickered in delight.

"I know many of you have questions, and I intend to answer them all. I was originally planning on having—"

"Wait!" a woman's voice in the distance cut in.

I recognized it right away, princess Sera's voice. Everyone looked up at the sound of a chorus of dragons above us. Three dragons descended, knowing it was the guys returning. Sera was mounted on Andriel while Virgil rode on Ryu's back. Reliefwashed over me at seeing them back in one piece. I shook the troubled thoughts out of my head, then looked to Baxus. His piercing glare was on the princess and her company. Visibly, he looked pissed but refrained from speaking out.

The guys shifted back, then stepped off to the side of the dais with Sera. Lord Igneel brightened at seeing her daughter return safely. Now that she was back, Lord Igneel could crown her.

And that was what he did.

"As I was saying, I intend to answer all the questions you have about the druid princess and her knight companion. As many of you know, I had a daughter. One that I presumed dead. But it turns out, she was very much alive, and in the hands of the druid queen herself. But soon she realized that the world of dragons was not what she expected."

"What?" Baxus whispered in a mix of anger and shock.

I secretly smirked at his reaction. The rest of the crowd began mumbling in disbelief, seeming to put all the pieces together before Lord Igneel could finish.

"My daughter found her way here, back to her home, where she belongs. This was where she learned the truth. The truth about herself and the world she lived in. And now, she's prepared to fight and to help set the rest of our brethren free. I'm sure you all have figured out where I'm going with this, but first, I'd like to introduce you all to someone."

Lord Igneel reached out his hand to the princess, signaling her to walk over to him. She smiled softly and stepped forward. Sera was still in her strange half-shifted form, a physical display of hybrid genes clashing together, but she didn't let that slow her down. Her black, taloned hand rested over Lord Igneel's, and the dragon lord gently pulled her closer to him.

"This is Princess Seraphina Warbrook of the Zeffari Kingdom. However, that's not all she is. This is DaenerysStormsummer, my daughter and dragon princess of the Dragon's Peak Den," he stated proudly.

The crowd gasped in surprise, some in outrage, but others clapped, delighted to see our dragon lord's missing heir returned to him.

"There's no way she can be the old man's daughter!" Baxus shouted in disbelief.

"Did you know about this?" he asked me.

"I didn't," I lied. "He must've revealed it after I declared I wouldn't be her mate."