Page 49 of Dragon King's Cursed Mate

The wind picked up, rustling through the trees. She wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly feeling cold.

Dain stepped closer, his warmth driving away the chill. “Let’s get back to the ruins and maybe get some sleep.”

She held out her hand that had held the stone. It was covered in blisters that were already starting to ooze.

Dain gasped and stared at her swollen hand. The wounds pulsed faintly, as though they were alive. Her hand throbbed painfully.

“Xander, I wonder if I could bother you for a favor. It was the obsidian that caused these burns. As you know, obsidian is associated with power and protection, and you would be able to draw out the poison. Where obsidian cuts, obsidian heals.”

“Of course, Oracle.”

Xander quickly undressed and shifted into his dragon form. He put one claw under her hand and one above it, not quite touching the blisters. She shivered as she felt a warmthspread through her hand and arm. His black scales glowed and shimmered as though they held all colors within them.

Her hand tingled as Xander muttered words in a language she didn’t understand. She could feel the remnants of evil trying to hold on and burn brighter even as Xander pushed it away.

Suddenly, her hand cooled and the blisters disappeared, leaving behind red, raw skin.

Xander shifted back and quickly dressed.

She smiled at him. “Thank you.”

He nodded.

They made it back to the ruins just as the sun was coming up. Seraphina managed to get a couple hours of restless sleep. When she woke, her eyes felt gritty and her brain was foggy.

Rubbing her eyes, she thought,I’ve got to start getting more sleep. I’m going to turn into a zombie.

Grace arrived soon after Seraphina stumbled into the courtyard and was fed a breakfast burrito by a very sympathetic Jasmina.

Dain and the rest of the brotherhood came out of the temple to hear what news the spy brought.

“Last night, in the middle of the night, Malakar woke up everyone in the castle. He was in a lot of pain last night and accused his chef of poisoning him. He had him beheaded on the spot.”

Seraphina shook her head. “I’m sorry for the chef and his family. Did Malakar realize that he wasn’t poisoned?”

“Yes. He finally asked his magicians, who told him that it wasn’t the food. Instead, some kind of magical force had been used against him.” Grace paused. “The magicians told him that part of his power might have been hurt, although they assured him that he was still very strong and had nothing to worry about.”

“Did any of the magicians know the source of the magic or why Malakar was hurt?” Dain asked.

Grace shook her head. “Not to my knowledge. They might have said something after I left, but I wanted to bring you word that something had happened.”

She looked hopefully at Dain, wanting praise that she’d done a good job. He didn’t disappoint her.

“Thank you, Grace. I appreciate it, and I assure you we’ll rescue your children as soon as we safely can.”

“Thank you, King.” Grace bowed and retreated to her tent.

Dain grinned. “This is good news. It lets Malakar know that he’s not invincible. I want the magicians to tell him exactly what happened.” He sighed. “Every small step we achieve is something.”

They went back to working on the temple, and Seraphina wandered outside of the ruins to her favorite meditating spot.

She was glad that she was able to do something to help Dain get closer to the throne. Frustration gnawed at her. There had to be more she could do. She was the Oracle. But all the fates and gods would tell her was to be patient and that everything would come clear after the storm.

“If I liked riddles, I would have become a damned sphinx instead of an oracle,” she muttered aloud.

She spent the rest of the day talking to the people, telling them about lost loved ones, who’d either passed or been separated, telling them about their futures, and other basic questions that most people went to the oracle for.

Later that night, once everyone had settled in for the night, Seraphina felt a tug on her soul. “Dain.”

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