Page 18 of Cursed with the Dragon Prince
I knew my feet had healed, but taking in the rest of me, steals my breath. The dragon fae call me theBlessed One, and this miracle does not feel like a curse.
Running my fingers along my scales, I find them everywhere. Forearms to shoulders, shoulder-bone to hip bones. They cup my breasts, sensually angling down my curves.
I’m beautiful.
I’ve never thought that before.
My former husband said I wasacceptablewhen my dowry was decided, and given my strange birthmark, acceptable had been a compliment. At least until I was found barren.
I tried not to let it bother me—I couldn’t afford unnecessary doubt. Thankfully, I’m strong and capable. Not every woman is suited to the demanding life of a fisherman’s wife. If I’ve been vain, it’s because of my strength.
Now I’m awed by my beauty. My shape is still my own—soft curves pillowing hardened muscle—but the scales armor me, the pink hues make me delicate.
I’m transfixed, trusting my body in a new way. It’s intimidating to accept that this new skin fits. There’s no logic to it, yet I can’t deny my increasing comfort in this new body.
The scaled birthmark was my beginning, and when the sea swept me overboard, I found rebirth. And if I’m to transform, grow wings, and become a dragon, there is more to come. These thoughts are strange, so I narrow my focus, scrubbing my scales clean.
Kaliyah gave me a bathing suit, and I put it on, finding it to be smaller than my underwear, showing far more skin than I’m accustomed to, but it covers the essential parts. Its color matches the darker purples of my scales, and even underdressed, with hot steam kissing my exposed skin, I feel like royalty.
By the time I return to the thermae, Kaliyah waits in the largest pool. She floats, supported by the mineral water. She is beautiful—all the dragon fae are. Her sapphire scales sparkle as she looks at peace.
Upon seeing me, she smiles. “Come on in, the water’s warm. And it’ll do your muscles some good—I can’t imagine your transformation was easy.”
Stepping down the well-worn stone steps, I slip into the water. It splashes against me, so different from the sea waves that threatened to swallow me whole. “The thermae is beautiful,” I say.
“The thermae is Wisp’s gift,” she replies. “Built during the second century of Queen Prima’s reign, long before the curse. That the thermae remain—untouched and splendid—reminds me that despite our curse, Wisp has not abandoned our clan. There is hope.”
She looks at me, her lip quivering like she’s afraid to show what my appearance, the Blessed One, might mean to her.
The sight makes me uncomfortable, yet I nod all the same, tight-lipped. Water laps around me, warm and inviting, and sucking in a heavy breath, I surrender my body to the waters. Weight falls from me, and I become buoyant.
Kaliyah leans back with a long sigh, signaling it isn’t time to talk. Not yet. First, we must rest.
At first, the silence unnerves me, and I float, unaccustomed to pausing. I’ve been struggling, drowning, transforming… I’ve shifted from a cursed woman to a Blessed One.
I don’t quite understand the details, but I know the future of this clan depends on my decision—to walk away, claim their throne, or die trying. This is not a role I’m comfortable playing. For too long, I’ve been a burden to my family, barely able to justify my existence.
Yet, like the mineral water lifting me to the surface now, I feel supported. I know I’m tied to Wisp. It’s said that the Isles of Fae aren’t magical because of the fae, but the fae are magical because of the Isles. I never understood what that meant—until now.
Wisp’s tether spreads through every single scale. She’s the voice inside me that knows this ishomeandclan.It’s a connection that should be unnerving, but after so many years of feeling lost, I welcome it. There are worse fates than becoming fae.
Here, nobody knows I’m barren. Here, it doesn’t matter. Now I’m granted a decision with the potency of life, and it’s a power I’ve sought my entire life. Finally, I can hold still. I can float… Supported by mineral water, I lose track of time, and my panic fades.
I might be cursed, but life remains within me. The clan might be cursed, but I see the evidence of their previous bounty. Once, this isle was filled with life.
At least it was, untilsomethinghappened.
I recall the violent slash upon the throne, where it is lava-red like the Maledictum that chose me, and I stand, claiming my feet in the buoyant mineral water, as I ask, “Why did Wisp curse you?”
She hums, sitting taller in the water, sorting out how to answer. “Drakon’s grandfather made a poor decision, influenced by the dragon’s rush,” she begins. “But Wisp’s tale begins long ago… A short time after Mother Ocean and Father Sky gave themselves to the act of creation, a final isle formed.”
I scrunch my brows. This isn’t the story I know. “I thought Mother Ocean and Father Sky created all the Isles of Fae.”
“Not Wisp,” she explains. “Wisp was born later, when our great volcanoes rose from the sea, forming a new isle. Like all the isles, Wisp longed for inhabitants, fae who could wield her magic. But with her late birth, after the rush of creation, Wisp missed the opportunity to create common fae. She was lonely, steadily growing the island through her volcanoes. We’re told it was then that Wisp bonded with the Nearbright Sea, her single companion, until after centuries of growth, she grew strong enough to create her own people—the dragon fae.
“Life was difficult for our ancestors. Wisp wielded the power of raw earth, forming caverns to shelter her creation, but there was no land to farm. Only fish.
“We dragon fae are hungry beasts, more so than other fae, with our fiery bodies and beastly dragon forms, and we quickly stripped the seas of their harvest. Wisp worried that she’d made a mistake, creating such a voracious fae upon her limited lands. She consulted the Nearbright Sea, who told her of rich farmlands on the other isles, where fae produced more food than they could consume.You need something to trade,the sea advised the land.
