Curse of the Undead Dragon King (Skeleton Key) (9 page)

I CAN FEEL THE
sunlight pouring into the room, but still refuse to open my eyes. I’m not ready for another day of acting as queen. My mind begs for more rest. And so I stay, knowing that any moment now, Castel will have Georgianna come wake me.

I turn over in an attempt to get more comfortable only to hit my hand across the top of the four-poster bed, causing it to make a horrible noise as it breaks apart. Only it’s not my hand. My eyes fly open. I sit up only to crush the bed entirely while managing to knock the night table over and ripping the curtains from their rods in one swift swing.

I’m not human anymore. I look down at my magenta-tipped silver scales, my heart racing as I try to turn around without hitting anything else. Not that I could do much more damage.

A loud gasp and the sound of porcelain shattering against the floor startles me. I tense up, trying not to breathe as I slowly look back at the door.

“My lady, whatever happened?” Imani asks, trying to be polite but clearly in shock.

“I’m so sorry.” I attempt a whisper, but it comes out more a roar, making the situation even more horrible. I feel more guilty by the moment.

“I will get Castel for you.” She nods, turns around, and leaves, not bothering to pick up the tray filled with food—and now broken dishes—she’d brought to serve me breakfast.

I close my eyes and try to change back into my human form, but nothing happens. A dragon I remain.

“What in dragon fire happened in here?” Castel asks, stepping into the room and assessing all the damage.

“I don’t know, Castel.” I turn my whole body so I’m facing him. Something falls to the floor and breaks behind me—something important, based on Castel’s cringe—but at least I’m no longer facing the wall. “I honestly, truly have no idea. I woke up like this and am now unable to transform back into my human form.”

“Do you think Aurelio angered whoever placed this curse upon you two?” Castel asks.

“I surely hope not. The idea was to break the curse, not switch who was human and who was dragon for the rest of our lives.”

“The people will be informed that their future queen has fallen ill and will remain in bed for the day,” Castel says before turning to my three maids who are all standing behind him, trying not to gape. “No one is to enter this room besides myself. Do you understand?”

All three women nod.

“Good.” He nods before turning back to me once again. “I’d suggest you lie low for a bit. We don’t need the people asking any questions or beginning to wonder if we’re telling them the truth at all.”

“I agree. Thank you, Castel,” I say sincerely, grateful to have him on my side.

“You’re welcome, Your Highness.” He bows his head before turning and leaving.

A warm feeling of belonging spreads within me. He called me “Highness.” He addressed me as royalty.

That moment was the best all day. Every minute afterward was spent waiting for night to fall so I could get out and eat like the dragon I was.

EVERYTHING HURTS, BUT
it’s my head that throbs, as if being beaten from the inside. It’s cold, too, which doesn’t help. I sit up, looking around. Oh, yes—Khende’s failed attempt at lifting me up so I could climb the wall.

He’s now leaning against it near my feet, shivering uncontrollably. “Do you think you could climb the wall if I lift you up?” I press my palm against the side of my head and stand.

“Frozen like ice? Surely not. I can barely move my mouth. You think I could lift my arms?” He coughs.

“And here I thought you wanted to escape as well,” I mutter under my breath, not really caring for him to hear me, but wishing I could scold him for being utterly useless in the situation.

I stretch my arms and neck, working out the cold and tiredness. I walk back against the wall, giving myself plenty of running room. After taking a couple of deep breaths, I look to each side before moving, running forward with every bit of strength I can muster.

I jump at the last possible second, barely grazing my hand across the rough section of the wall. I return to the opposite side and close my eyes, breathing heavily as I prepare myself mentally to succeed. Once I start climbing I won’t be able to rest until I reach the top. No taking a break, no jumping back down if I fail.

“Tell me, King—are you truly going to attempt climbing the wall? With no idea how far up you have to go?” Khende sounds more awake, more alert.

“It’s my only option. I have to get out here. For Zanta, for Dracameveo, to prove that my will is stronger than the obstacles before me.”

“Who must you prove it to?” Khende asks, his voice edgy.

“The king who put me here, the woman I love, the kingdom I rule, and myself.” The second the last word has left my tongue, I run, taking a leap as close as I dare and extend my arms ready to grab anything I can. I grasp a large rock protruding from the wall. I reach out with my left hand and grab on to lever myself up.

I reach higher, finding another place to hold on to and pulling myself up. My arms burn, but I’m no longer so cold, and that’s a relief.

“And what am I to do, young king? Eh? I suppose you’re going to leave me here?” Khende shouts from below.

“When I reach the top, I’ll throw you a rope,” I holler, not daring to waste more energy on talking. 

I grab the next stone only for my hand to slip off. Something warm and wet covers my fingers. I try to shake it off the best I can while still holding on to the wall. A shudder crawls down my spine, and I try not to think about whatever substance it might be.  

I move up to the next section and pause, taking a deep breath and wanting nothing more than to let my muscles rest for a moment. But without a good place to hold on, I keep going. I turn my head and try to get an idea of how far I’ve come, but all I can see below is black, dark, nothingness.

I turn to face the wall once more only to be staring at a pair of large red eyes. I nearly let go, startled beyond my wits. “Welcome,” a voice says, sounding almost like a snake, the way the letters slither off its tongue. “I’ve tasted the blood of all foul creatures. The rotting dead, the cursed—I’ve had that of bird and beast. Unicorn has always been a favorite, considering all the extra power it gives. But a dragon? No, I’ve never tasted the blood of that beast. And yet, here is one right in front of me, wide-eyed, clinging to this rock for dear life.” A hand reaches out of the dark, moving toward me. The nails are pointed and long, caked with dirt and grime. But it’s the slick, wet blood that has me most worried.

Is that what I’m now covered in? The blood of whatever creature this thing just ate?

“Don’t touch me,” I say coolly, remaining calm despite the monster getting ready to feed on me.

“You are trespassing in my home, Your Highness. Why should I not feast upon your blood and harvest the powers it holds? It seems your time is almost over anyway. What hope do you have of ever reaching the top?” He leans forward, his entire face now visible, including the fanged teeth that stick out farther than the others.

“Hope is all I have left, and I will not see it vanquished so easily. You do not know what I fight for, but I promise you, my will to live is stronger than yours to feed. I warn you one more time to stay away.” My voice begins to shake with the last words, not from fear, but exhaustion. I can’t retain the same hold for much longer.

“I think not.” The bloodsucker reaches for me with both hands, grazing my shoulder as I swing away. I hit my knee as I grab on to the farthest rock I can reach. I scramble, climbing higher and faster.

His laugh echoes throughout the entire pit. I look down and see that he’s begun following me.

If I needed any more motivation, this is it. I climb faster, working on pure adrenaline now as it becomes a race. I feel across the wall with the hope that there’s something I can pull loose and use as a weapon, but it seems pointless. With a loud whooshing sound, what looks like a thousand bats swarm over me, biting and clawing at my arms.

I try to knock them away as I climb, but they stay with me. One attaches itself to my back, and several more follow. “Wrong move,” I mutter before swinging back, hitting the wall and smashing the creatures. They yelp and fly away.

“Do not think it will be so easy,” the vampire whispers.

“I warned you to stay away, and I meant it.” Breathing fire in human form is one of the most painful things a dragon shifter can ever do—so painful, I’d never do it if I thought there was a way around it.

I wait for the vampire to come closer, his bat self flying at me again. When he’s only wings’ length away I exhale fire. The creature pieces itself back together, taking its almost-human shape again before falling into the nothingness, burnt into dust.

Movement farther away catches my attention—a single white butterfly, luminescent as if it’s causing the bright white light around it.

I shudder, thinking of what the undead king said to me. A drop of light. Could he mean the butterfly? I turn back so I’m facing the wall once again, resting my forehead on the cool rock and closing my eyes, just breathing for a moment. How did it come to this? What happened that I—or anyone—deserved this fate? Lost, alone, fending off undead creatures, fighting to survive.

A part of me says to let go, fall back, give up. What if the vampire was right? What if there is no hope left? What if it’s all for nothing? What am I fighting for?

I think of the people I’ve lost. Father and Mother and all that they sacrificed for me. All the things they did for me that I might one day be a great ruler. I think of Zanta and the life we’d been planning. I think of Uncle Castel and all the people of the kingdom.

Tears spill out on the rocks below me as I think of Zanta and Castel waiting for my return, believing I can break the curse, having faith that I will come back to them.

Slowly, I reach and grab hold of the rock. I pull myself up another few feet. One hand over the other, I make progress. Slowly but surely. Up and up and up.

“I’m coming, Zanta. Don’t give up on me just yet,” I say aloud to give myself strength. No matter how hard my arms shake, no matter how much my legs cramp or how hard my heart is beating, I continue onward. I can’t give up now.

I extend my hand, feeling for the next rock to grab onto, but there’s nothing there. No wall, rough or smooth. I bend my wrist and continue feeling. It feels as if I’ve reached the top. I push, propelling myself upward, grabbing at a nearby tree root as I pull myself over the edge.

I lie facedown and allow my body to rest just for a moment. Somehow, though it felt near impossible, I’ve reached the top.

“Don’t just lie there, lazy bones. Get up. You’ve reached the top. That means you’ve broken the curse, yes?” Khende’s voice seems oddly close if he’s supposed to be at the bottom of the pit. 

I lift my head and open a single eye. The satyr isn’t in the pit. He’s standing beside me on a grassy patch, kicking me in the side to wake me.

“How did you get up here?” I groan as I work myself up to my feet.

“I fell asleep in that hole where you left me, and then suddenly, I awoke standing here beside you. You were snoring.” He harrumphs and folds his arms across his chest.

“I think I earned that right, considering I climbed the wall and fought a vampire.” Along with my own personal demons, but I don’t mention that aloud. “And apparently, I freed you as well.”

“Well done, young king.” A deep voice I’d hoped never to hear again says from above.

The king of the undead lands on the grassy hill before us. His smirk is unsettling and sets me on edge.

“I got out of there on my own. Now release me. Break the curse and let me go home,” I demand, placing my hands on either hip.

“As I said before, you are free to leave at any time. However, without completing the challenges I’ve set for you, you will go home a dragon, and a dragon you will remain.”

I feel the transformation happening as he’s speaking, but I wish to ignore it, not wanting to change against my will yet another time. But I do, going from human to dragon. I now stand at his same height.

“Tell me, King, why do you do this? Why must I suffer? Break the curse and return to Dracameveo with me. We will find you a home, and you will never need to curse another again,” I suggest, hoping despite how little hope there is left, that he takes up the offer.

Instead, he laughs, throwing his head back. “I do not know which I find funnier, Aurelio—that you think it is a home I seek, or that it is I who has cursed you. No matter—the answer is the same. You will go to your new prison and remain there. For how long is up to you. Answer me this—how did your father escape? Only he can tell you. But get the answer quickly, for time is short, and when it’s gone, you’ll be undead too.”

“No. Don’t! You are not better than me, or anyone. You have no right to do this,” I yell, feeling myself being dragged away once again.

“I never said I was better, or that I wished to this. Again, this is not my curse.” That is the last thing I hear before he disappears from view entirely.

When the shadows disappear I find myself in a barren room with four solid walls and no door in sight. How did I come to be in here when there seems to be no way out? I try not to think about it as I lie down on the cold floor. So tired, I just wish for some rest. A quick nap. But something tells me that if I give in, I may never wake. Or if I do, it will be as the king of the undead rather than Aurelio, the king who will return home.