The Fated Curse

Chapter 5

Gideon

The whole time she was going over her methodology I couldn't pay attention to a single word she was saying. I was too busy admiring her body and her lips. Hades wasn't helping by telling me that her mouth would look perfect around my c**k. Dragons, I internally rolled my eyes.

What made it better was that she was clearly being affected by my gaze. Every time I traced my finger over my lips her eyes snapped directly to the motion. She even licked her lips in response several times. I don't think she was even aware of the action, which just made it better.

Once she finished talking, I knew we had work to do, but I couldn't help myself. I initiated contact with her, gauging her reactions, and it was clear she wanted me. I proposed a 'stress relief' session and she obliged. And, damn, she was perfect. The sounds she made and the way she tasted drove me crazy. After we were done, and she was on her way out the door, she commented that next time she would be on her knees for me. I almost stopped her from leaving as I wanted that right now.

With unfortunate timing, I received a mind link from one of our patrols. Prince Gideon, there is an emergency.

What is happening?

A swarm of demons sir. There has to be 50,000 of them. s**t, looks like they are making their play. I linked my father immediately, letting him know then started linking other troops to meet at the front. I ran out of the castle and shifted, taking flight to meet my men at the front. I wasn't a ruler that would remain in the safety of my home while my men died for me. I would fight alongside them.

As I reached the front, the foundation already had several aid tents set up and were ready for injuries. I noticed a certain she-wolf running towards them, but I pushed her to the back of my mind. I needed to focus. My men had already engaged with the demons. For now, we have to face them alone. My father had called upon a coven we were friendly with and who owed us a favor. They promised they would help us raise barriers, but they wouldn't be able to get here until tomorrow. A number of other shifters we had alliances with also promised their support, but to rally their forces and get them here could take another week. We had to make due with what we had until back-up arrived.

I soared towards one of my men that had demons crawling all over him as he plummeted from the sky. I let out my dragon breath, frying the demons. Our breath can't hurt other dragons. The warrior had regained his bearings and nodded his head in thanks before we both headed into the fray.

We had 50 warriors in the fight. The rest were patrolling our other borders in case this was a distraction, and they intend a full-frontal attack from another direction. If we needed more units, we could pull away from the patrols.

The benefit of a dragon's size is that we can easily crush and bite into opponents. The downside to our size was that smaller enemies could get onto our backs, and we couldn't maneuver to attack them. Because of this, we typically fought in pairs, so one could knock or fry the enemies off of the others' back. The demons are aware of this tactic and were strategically trying to separate us from each other. I was maneuvering through the battlefield trying to help herd us back together.

During my flight, a demon landed on my back and slashed me with his claws. I roared at the pain. Demons' claws had a toxin that inhibited dragons' accelerated healing abilities. If not careful, an injury we would otherwise survive may become fatal from blood loss. A nearby warrior swooped by and knocked the demon from my back. The wound stung, but nothing to worry about. The battle lasted for several hours and my troops were exhausted. Thankfully, we had taken out enough of the demon troops, and they retreated for the night.

I landed near the aid tents and someone handed me a pair of shorts to put on. I met with my head warrior, Rick, to assess the damage. Thankfully, no deaths, but several critical injuries that could prove fatal if the wound becomes infected. They are being moved to Yggdrasil's hospital. The rest of the warriors had varying degrees of wounds which were slow to heal.

"Your highness, you should get the cut on your back cleaned and bandaged up." Rick said.

"It will be fine."

"Respectfully, sir, not even royals are immune to their toxins. I urge you to get it cleaned out, so it can heal, and you are at full strength for the next fight."

I was about to protest but all the nearby warriors were staring me down as well. They might even hold me down if I refused treatment. "Fine, I will get it looked at." I conceded.

I made my way through the tents, the exhaustion settling in my bones. I went to the check-in table and a member of the foundation directed me to a bed and had me lie down on my stomach and said that someone would be by in a moment to clean the wound and stitch me up.

I hadn't realized how tired I was until I laid down. I must have fallen asleep instantly. I stirred a bit from the antiseptic cleaning out my wound and the feel of the stitches being placed but was too tired to wake. I am not sure how long I slept for. I found myself asleep in my own bed. Someone must have moved me while I was out. Sunlight was peaking in through my windows. I tried to rise, but gentle hands pushed me back down.

"Easy there," came a voice I recognized. "The wound was deeper than you thought. You were likely running on pure adrenaline through that whole fight."

I took inventory of my body and my back was in excruciating pain. I groaned once I felt the injury. No wonder my soldiers insisted I be looked at. I couldn't see how bad it was.

"We administered an antidote for the toxin. It should finish removing it from your system within the next few hours. Then your dragon will be able to heal the wound. You should be back on your feet by evening," Valencia said.

"Good, but I have to ask, what are you doing in my room?"

"Changing your bandages," she said and tapped on a cart. I turned to look at her and saw she had a little medical cart and had fresh bandages. "You had been sleeping like the dead, so I figured I could get in, change your bandages, and get out before you even woke."

"Trying to hide from me?"

"Hahahaha, never. Just wanted to let you rest."

"Hmmm, I still recall a promise of you on your knees."

She poured antiseptic over my wound and it burned. I groaned at the stinging. "The only promise you are getting right now is that you will have none of that until this wound is healed."

I sighed, point taken. "Any new attacks?"

"Nothing yet. The coven you called for just arrived a few minutes ago though. I saw them on my way up here."

"Thats good. If we got hit by another swarm like yesterday with our fighters in their current conditions, we would be in rough shape."

"You all held your own pretty well yesterday. It was impressive watching the dragons fight together."

"We train vigorously in preparation for exactly what is happening now to avoid fatalities. Speaking of, did anyone not make it through the night?"

"Two fighters are still touch and go, but we are optimistic. The others pulled through."

My body relaxed at that. Valencia finished bandaging my wound and I felt myself falling back asleep. She placed a hand on my shoulder and said quietly, "get some sleep." And I passed out.