The Fated Curse

Chapter 6

Valencia

He snores, I giggled to myself. The sexy dragon was bound to have a flaw. It could have been worse. I patched him up last night in the aid tent when he was knocked out cold. The wound was pretty deep, but I had watched him fight as though he had no injuries. He was impressive. I would give him that. After realizing he was likely not to wake, I had several of his warriors carry him back to the castle and put him in his bed.

I went to check on him this morning and to replace his bandages. As soon as I opened the door, there was loud snoring. It might have been because he was sleeping on his stomach, but it was a lot. I rolled my cart into the room and set up my station. He must have sensed someone in the room as the snoring stopped, and he started to lift himself from the bed. I pushed him down knowing he would regret that decision if he got up.

We talked as I rebandaged his wound, but I could see the exhaustion taking hold of him again. Once I finished, I left him to rest. I made my way back through the castle and out the doors, heading towards the aid stations. I noticed the coven was with several warriors discussing the best positions for the barriers. As I made my way to the aid tent, someone grabbed my arm. I turned around and was face to face with one of the witches.

"Can I help you?"

"Sorry child, I did not mean to startle you. I just sensed darkness following you and needed to take a closer look." She was an older woman, she had long gray hair that was pulled back into a braid, and she wore a simple black dress.

"You don't need to worry about my darkness, but thank you for your concern."

"But child, it is a death omen." Her eyes widened when I didn't seem the least bit surprised. She continued, "but you knew that already, didn't you?"

"Yes," I placed my hand on hers and squeezed gently. "As I said, thank you for your concern. But you need not concern yourself with my darkness." I went to pull away from her, but she stopped me.

"Please, let me do a reading. See if there is a chance for you." I knew she wouldn't leave me alone unless I agreed. I nodded and she took my hand in hers. She began examining my palm.

"Hmm."

"What is it?"

"To start, palms change as you get older depending on your life experiences so no one path is set in stone. Your palm is interesting. Your life, fate, and love lines are all disconnected. They start out short, then there is a space, and then they are long. As it is right now, they are still cut off, but that a potential continuation line exists at all means there is still a chance to connect the lines and live a long happy life. Whatever it is that could connect them hasn't happened yet, but there is a chance."

"I already knew that. But that 'something' that could connect them is impossible at this point. It wont happen."

"No dear. That the lines are present at all means there is still a chance." She let go of my and left me to my thoughts. There was no way there was still a chance. There were less than 8 months left. How was I supposed to meet and then fall in love with a potential fated mate, and then they chose to mark be despite the unknown in less than 8 months. Not happening. Palmistry is not an exact science. I dismissed the notion all together.

I found Gertrude in one of the tents and helped her restock our supplies. There was no telling when the demons would strike again, so we needed to be prepared. "How is the prince doing?" she asked.

"Well, but tired, which is expected, but he should heal nicely. It will likely leave a scar but no lasting effects or mobility issues."

"That's good to hear. Still wonder how he didn't even feel it the whole time he was fighting."

"Stubbornness is my guess." Gertrude chuckled at that.

There was suddenly a commotion. One of the warriors ran up to us and let us know there was another swarm of demons spotted, and they would be upon us in minutes. Gertrude and I rushed to the front of the encampment and got everyone prepared for the incoming injured.

I saw the witches in the distance casting the spell for the barriers, but they would need some time to get them up. The warriors would have to buy them time. I saw the dragons engage the demons. This swarm was larger than the last, and there were fewer warriors who were able to fight.

I watched in horror as the first dragon plummeted from the sky covered in demons. Myself and one other responded and ran to where the warrior would have landed. The other dragons were attacking the demons that fell with him. The injured warrior was a young kid, probably recently 18 and just able to join the fight. He had a gaping wound across his chest and several other injuries across his body. He looked terrified.

I pressed down onto his wound to try and stop the bleeding while my partner and a warrior helped to get him on a gurney. We got the boy back to the aid tent as quickly as possible. He was losing a lot of blood and I couldn't pack the wound fast enough. The boy lost consciousness. I tried to find the source of the bleeding, but we were too late. The boy died. The dragons could feel the loss of one of their own and a loud roar echoed through the sky.

I turned toward the palace where the roar came from, and a large black dragon was flying towards the front line. It didn't take a genius to know who that was. The i***t, his wounds probably weren't even healed yet. But I could tell there was no stopping him. One of his people died, and he was out for blood.

The skies were utter chaos, there was no telling who was who. We would see bodies drop and had to decipher friend from foe. Somewhere behind us, we heard a witch yell that they only needed 5 more minutes and the barrier would be up. The demons caught on to what was happening, and made a beeline towards the witches. The dragons had their hands full holding off the swarms and no one could get away to stop the demons.

"Hold down the fort," I yelled to Gertrude before shifting into my wolf and running to cut the demons off before they reached the witches. My father made sure I was a well-trained warrior and could protect myself when I went to dangerous places. As the demons swooped down on the witches, I leaped and caught the first one by the throat, tearing it out. I caught the next by the leg, tearing them from the sky and ripped my claws through them. There were two more and about to attack the witch line. I barreled after them, but I wasn't going to make it in time. Suddenly, black wings soared in front of me and Gideon's dragon caught the other two before they could disrupt the witches.

As if on cue, the witches completed the barrier and the demons couldn't enter the territory. The black dragon nodded his head in thanks and I return to the aid tent to treat the wounded. Someone handed me some clothes to wear since I had torn mine. The barrier was up, but the battle was far from over.