Page 55 of Dragon King's Cursed Mate

Another part of the scroll seemed to pulsate, drawing her attention.Victory does not make a true king. Blood crowns him. Heart binds him.

The words should have given her a sense of peace, but they didn’t.

Would Dain be strong enough? As Valon said, he was being ripped apart from the inside. Would the darkness break his mind and his soul?

Frustration bubbled up inside of her, and she pressed her hands to her ears. She wanted to scream at the fates and gods who gave her small glimpses of information that were more riddles than anything.

“What good is being the oracle if I can’t come up with the answers? I’m useless.”

“All in due time,” the voice whispered.

“Time might be running out,” Seraphina cried out desperately.

“Time is endless,” the voice replied.

Seraphina believed in Dain with all of her heart and soul. She loved him. Would that be enough? She’d seen the prophecy of Dain standing over Malakar’s broken body. The question was whether it would be Dain as a whole man or a man broken by darkness and madness?

She noticed that there seemed to be another piece of dragon skin that was attached to the back of the first one she’d read a few days ago. Carefully, she pulled the two pieces apart.

The words instantly rearranged themselves.

“The First King, born of flame and storm, was not the last of his blood. Scattered like ash upon the wind, his line endures, hidden from friend and foe alike. They shall know each other not by name or crown — but by the fire that cannot die.”

Exhaling slowly, she tried to steady her heart and wrap her mind around what she’d just read.

“Is this talking about what I think it’s talking about? Could it be possible? The lost bloodline of the First Dragon King?”

According to legend, the lineage of the First Dragon King was broken after the Sundering—a war between the earliest dragon shifter clans that had first inhabited the Drakon Realm. History said that the bloodline of the First Dragon King ended because he died without an heir. The scroll was hinting that this might not be the case.

Seraphina sat back on her heels, stunned. Could the brotherhood itself be tied to the First Dragon King?

The more she thought about each one of them, it seemed more possible. Kael, Ronan, Xander, Kade, Lucian, Valon, Darius, Cassion, and of course, Dain seemed to have more inside of them than other dragon shifters.

It was more than strength, intelligence, or power. What they carried was so much deeper than that. They all seemed to be connected to the elements of the realm. Their loyalty, wisdom, and souls were more intrinsic than any other dragon shifter.

An idea dawned on her and she groaned. “Why didn’t I see it before? They wouldn’t have had to have been born legitimately, to the First Dragon King’s mate. They could be the children of concubines or even a simple one-night stand. He could have had sex with females from all the different clans and spawned children with all of them.”

She shook her head. “It’s what brought them all together. Their backgrounds are so very different, yet somehow, theyended up in Dain’s court, and they are, for all intents and purposes, brothers.”

The problem was that if this was true, who would be the true heir? Could it be Dain?

Another passage on the scroll said, “There will be one who will rise up against the shadow and conquer all. The True King will restore balance to the Drakon Realm.”

She pressed the palms of her hands to her eyes and sighed heavily, trying to push back the salty tears of frustration. The title of being an oracle might sound grand to many people, but the fact was that any oracle carried a weight on their shoulders. The weight of trying to see clearly through thick mud, and make sense of riddles and partial truths.

The visions and prophecies were not instructions or answers. She was certain that Dain would beat Malakar and would be the king. However, her dreams showed the madness in his eyes as he stood over his slain uncle.

She stood and carefully rolled up the scrolls, having taken as much information as she could handle for one day. They might have more to show her, but her head was pounding, her eyes burned, and her stomach churned. She couldn’t look at them anymore today.

“No matter what happens, though, I’ll be with him through the end, no matter what it brings.”

22

Dain

Dain growled in frustration. Memories of the last battle haunted him. He rubbed his face with rough hands, clenching his jaw, as he walked further into the forest.

Darkness had overtaken him again and he lost control. It’s one thing to fight enemy soldiers during a battle. It’s another to be brutal and savage about it. And for one terrifying moment, he’d enjoyed it. The power of ripping off a dragon’s wing was intoxicating.

---