Page 28 of Dragon King's Cursed Mate

“You already have the answers. You just haven’t interpreted them yet,” the bat said.

The bear chimed in. “Keep the faith and be strong. There are forces helping you that will reveal themselves in the end.”

“Don’t forget to always watch and listen with an open and clear mind,” the wolf added.

They faded away and Seraphina found herself in her tent again.

She thought about what she learned. Meditation and desperately seeking answers had drained all of her energy.

“You know,” she muttered, “since they aren’t giving me anything I can use, the least they could do to make it more entertaining is to give me answers in an old American southern accent or Irish accent.”

As the oracle, she was aware of the other worlds besides the shifter world and had visited them in her mind. She was particularly fond of Scotland, although, like the shifter world, every place in the other world had its own beauty. She knew that oracles, witches, shifters, vampires, and other supernatural beings lived in the other worlds as well and often wondered what it would be like to visit.

“I guess I’d better figure out the mess in this one first.” She sighed.

The next morning at breakfast, Seraphina sat next to Dain and put her hand on his knee. “I know you won’t like this, butI must go to Wyrmhaven. There are sacred scrolls in the temple that have some of the answers you need.”

She had barely gotten the words out when Kael rushed over. “Malakar has captured eight of our people while they were out hunting for food. You know he’s going to torture them until they tell him where we’re at or they die.”

Dain stood. “You, Valon, Kade, Darius, Lucian, and I will go with some of the warriors to the area where he keeps his prisoners and rescue them. Let the others know to get ready.”

Seraphina jumped up. “I must go as well. I have to retrieve those scrolls.”

“No,” Dain said. “It’s much too dangerous for you. You have to stay here. You can tell me where the scrolls are, and I will find them for you.”

Annoyance flashed through her. She stood tall, her shoulders back and a storm flashing in her silver eyes. She crossed her arms over her chest. “You forget that I’m the Oracle. I’m able to protect myself. The only reason Malakar captured me the first time was because I allowed it. Besides, the scrolls will only reveal themselves to me.”

Kael smirked. Seraphina was pretty sure it was because he enjoyed seeing someone stand up to Dain.

Dain ran his fingers through his hair and growled. “I don’t like it, but you may join us. Otherwise, you’ll just go off on your own.”

Seraphina grinned and tilted her head to the side. “It’s like you know me, my king.”

He growled again.

The group met and decided they would enter Wyrmhaven during the day since the guards would likely be expecting them to sneak in at night. However, they would wait until night to act.

They disguised themselves and entered the kingdom through the woods where there were fewer guards as it was a particularlydifficult terrain. Wyrmhaven was situated at the base of a mountain, which was a natural barrier against outsiders—unless those outsiders happened to be dragon shifters.

The group split up and milled around, trying to learn what they could from the chatter in the marketplace and other parts of the kingdom.

Once night fell, the group gathered together at the designated spot.

“Seraphina and I will go to the temple,” Dain said. “The rest of you go to the prison camp. Of course, rescuing our people is the first priority, but if you have a chance to free the others you should.”

They split into two groups, and Seraphina and Dain carefully approached the temple ruins. She couldn’t stop the icy chill that ran down her spine when she saw the chopping block on the platform outside the temple.

It was quiet around the temple—almost too quiet. Seraphina looked around for any signs of guards or even dark magic that might be tracking them but didn’t sense anything. They slipped through the front door, and Seraphina grabbed Dain’s hand, leading him to the altar.

She knelt down and ran her fingers along the base of the altar. A small panel in the floor slid back.

The two of them quickly descended the ladder and found themselves in the musty, damp catacombs.

Seraphina walked toward an old crypt that held the remains of one of Dain’s ancestors who had died centuries ago.

“Forgive me, Lord Ashar, for disturbing you.”

She opened the crypt and pulled out an ancient mahogany box. Thin sheets of gold covered the interior of the box. The sacred scrolls were nestled inside.

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