The Dragon's Kingdom

Memories Suffocate You

"Thank you, princess." Aldon attempted a smile that looked more like a grimace.

Memories of another male calling me princess flooded my mind. Large hands clawing at my hips pinning me against the chair. "Relax, princess. I'll be gentle." I forced a polite smile onto my face, stepping towards the doorway.

Just get them to their room and then you can hide in the library. The words did little to comfort me. I could feel their eyes on me, both my siblings and the Dradan males. My palms grew clammy, and I had to do something to distract them from me.

"These tapestries have been hanging in this hall for over two-hundred years," I pointed towards the depiction of a lycan, bowing before the moon, "We aren't sure who is the lycan in the picture, but some say it is Arisian the warrior the drove the werewolves back to the mountains when our country was just being formed."

"I sometimes forget how young your kingdom is," Aldon stepped beside me, thankfully leaving a wide berth between us, "Ours has existed for well over a thousand years."

"I will admit I don't know much about your people," I replied, my voice surprisingly steady considering how badly my hands trembled, "By the time I was old enough to learn about other countries the king had already closed our borders."

"My mother has always wondered why he closed them in the first place," Aldon fell into step behind me as we continued to walk.

I stayed quiet, unsure how to respond to that without revealing more than I should to him. The hairs at the back of my neck stood on end, unnerved by the presence of the males behind me. The silence began to stretch on, adding to my already frayed nerves.

"Tell me about your people," I blurted out, my face flushing as soon as the words spilled from my lips. "Our historian met a Dradan male when she was younger, but her accounts of that time in her life are not always reliable."

"Really?" Izaak asked, stepping closer to us, "What did she say?"

I resisted the urge to chew at my lip, already regretting mentioning her, "Mostly that the male she met was very kind."

"That's all?" He raised a dark brow, red eyes narrowing at me.

"Apparently they didn't do a lot of talking." The air was sucked out of my lungs in a violent woosh when I realized what I had said.

Aldon tilted his head back and let out a loud laugh. White teeth flashing in the dying sunlight coming through the windows. There was an answering chuckle from behind me, my claws piercing through my fingertips in fear before I got ahold of myself.

"That sounds more like one of us." Izaak chuckled, clasping a hand on Aldon's shoulder. The motion sparked another memory of what Maina had told me, but I didn't want to insult them by asking.

"Izaak you make us sound so bad," Aldon scolded, rolling his eyes, "Our females wouldn't put up with something like that."

"Your females can stop a full grown male?" Their steps faltered, fiery eyes narrowing in on me, "My apologies princes, that came out wrong. Our males when they reach a certain age without a mate end up hurting themselves or others."

"Why?" Aldon's face twisted up in disgust.

"Without a bond they lose control of their lycans." I discreetly wiped my hands on my dress, "A curse from the goddess after a male tried to hurt his mate on sacred ground."

"Really?" Izaak asked, his eyes seemingly lit up with interest. His excitement was so similar to my sister's that I found myself relaxing.

"He was abusing his mate," I explained, my shoulders unknotting slightly as I launched into the familiar tale, "She ran to the goddess's sacred pool to pray for help, but her mate followed. When he reached her he attacked, spilling her blood on the goddess's land. Before he could kill her the goddess stepped in cursing him. He ended up losing his mind and tearing himself apart. She cursed all males for him spilling blood on her land. Now if a male isn't bonded by the time he is completely mature he loses his mind."