by Lola Gabriel
Dragon Curse of Lunca
Cursed Dragon
Text Copyright © 2019 by Alexis Davie
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events or locales is entirely coincidental.
First printing, 2019
Publisher
Secret Woods Books
[email protected]
www.SecretWoodsBooks.com
1
Present Day
London, England
The last notes of the guitar faded into silence before a well-deserved applause filled the bar, occasional cheers sounding from an overzealous fan, or an intoxicated one. The middle-aged man on the stage raised his hand in gratitude before disappearing out of the spotlight with his guitar. There was a cheerful and relaxed atmosphere in Echoes that evening, and it showed on the faces of its patrons. The lights on stage faded to black and the entire bar was immersed in darkness, apart from the lights behind the bar, casting a red and green glow as the silhouette of the bartenders moved across the length of it, serving the patrons.
Nyx stepped onto the stage, the leather strap of his guitar across his back, the dark gray guitar against his chest. Perching himself up on the wooden stool, he reached for the microphone stand and brought it closer. His gaze was still cast down to the floor, and he took a deep breath as a few cheers echoed through the bar. Tiny lights from lighters and phones waved around slowly and Nyx smiled at the crowd. They knew exactly what was coming. He strummed his guitar strings and a sweet melody filled the quiet bar. He took another breath, which could also be heard through the microphone, and his soothing, deep voice filled the bar as he sang of a love he had not yet encountered. The audience was in awe, their eyes sparkling with every word he sang and their gazes frozen on him, but he was elsewhere. His eyes were closed, in his own little world, and even though it seemed as though he took no notice of his surroundings or the occasional cheers from the crowd, being on stage was the only place he truly felt at home.
The only place where he felt he belonged, which was a miracle in itself, especially after almost five thousand years of feeling out of place and searching for that sense of belonging.
Nyxon Veskovic was one of the sons of the Dragon King and Queen of Lunca, Romania, although they had not resided in Lunca for thousands of years. He was born on the same day as his three other brothers, although he was only third to hatch, making him the second youngest of the Dragon Princes. After the last Great War in Romania, and after a brief stay in Russia, they had scattered like the leaves on a windy day. They were tired of the wars, tired of the persecution, and mostly tired of having to fall in line with the orders of their father. Nyx was also tired of being associated with his father, carrying his last name as his lifelong burden.
This was why Nyx loved London, where he could hide under the gray skies and the smoke of the city, completely undetected by anyone, or anything, that might want to kill him.
Being a Veskovic definitely had its advantages, but with everything, there was always a set of equal, if not worse, disadvantages. His father had not been one of the noblest rulers in Romania, and was often seen and perceived as cruel and wicked. The Dragon King’s tolerance for disobedience was extremely low and he did not take very well to any form of defiance. Nyx was not rebellious in any way; he often purposely blended in and did as the masses were told, simply just to seem invisible. As he grew older, he had learned to develop his ability to its fullest, and it worked.
Nyx was a smoke dragon, capable of smoke-screening people into thinking he was someone he wasn’t. It came in especially handy when people knew his family, especially if those people were the Gifted Immortals—wolf shifters, vampires, witches, and all the other shifters which existed. The witches were probably the most sought after, as some of them had the ability to turn humans into shifters, which was dangerous when not controlled. There had been several instances where witches were abducted and used to make armies of Immortal Shifters, and it always ended in blood and chaos, with more casualties than intended.
The loss of lives was staggering when it came to revenge plots against another species, and Nyx shuddered thinking about it.
Instead he immersed himself in his music, even if it was only during the night. By day, Nyx’s life wasn’t nearly as interesting as the nightlife of London. Upon first glance, Nyx would not strike anyone as the musician type, nor the Immortal Dragon Prince type either. It was one of his talents as a Smoke Dragon, after all. But if there was one thing he did not need to do, it was to pretend he had an amazing singing voice. He had been told many times, by many people throughout his life, that he had an amazing musical talent.
In all other areas, he was quite ordinary, or so he made everyone else believe.
Nyx was the owner of a designer men’s clothing store. While he was impeccably dressed at work, he had a much more casual style for these types of gigs. In the smoky bar lit up by flickers of lit lighters, pouring his heart out into song, was a very different Nyx. His worn jeans were faded, contrasting against the dark gray of his T-shirt. His black boots tapped rhythmically on the floor, in perfect beat with the song he sang. They were his own words, and he knew the song so well he did not even need to think about it. It flowed so naturally from his mouth, allowing his emotions to spill out of him onto his audience. He belted out the notes, filling up with emotions he knew he’d never feel toward another person, but instead the feelings of longing assisted him with his execution.
And it worked.
He sang the last notes of the song, dropping his hand away from the strings of his guitar. There was a moment of silence before the inside of the bar erupted in applause, cheers, and whistling.
For the first time since he stepped on stage, he opened his eyes and glanced up at the crowd. His gray eyes sparkled as he scanned the room and a smile formed on his lips.
“Thank you. Thank you so much,” he spoke into the microphone and winked at the audience. “I’ll be back soon.”
Nyx ran his free hand through his hair as he retreated off the small stage and placed his guitar in its case, before heading to the bar. The bartender, Josh, stood behind the bar as Nyx approached and grinned at him.
“Nice song, Nyx,” he told him.
Nyx gave him a nod and placed his hands on the bar. “Thanks. Did it sound okay? I felt a little off-pitch tonight.”
Josh rolled his eyes. “Oh, please. You can’t sound off-pitch even if you tried.”
Nyx shrugged and looked down at the bar.
“What’ll it be, Nyx?” Josh asked.
Nyx would be naturally inclined to order himself a whiskey, or a bourbon, or even a tequila—any hard liquor, in fact—but after his rapid decline into an alcohol-induced downward spiral, Nyx had vowed that he would never go down that road again. It had been three months since his last drink and although he missed it, he knew that his life was better off without it. Being sober was difficult, but living in a constant state where he did not give a fuck was not so good either. He was better than that, he knew it. He just had to push through.
Josh handed him a bottle of water and he sat down by the bar. Echoes was filling up fast as people came in from the outside, attracted to the music inside like moths to a flame.
The following act, a young woman with a soft and shy voice, started to sing, and Nyx quietly sat at the bar, drinking his water as he gazed somewhere into the distance, pensively clenching and unclenching his jaw.
His eyes fell on a young couple sitting at a table close to the stage. The guy had his arms wrapped lovingly around his girlfriend from behind, and her head rested against his chest. They wore goofy
and dreamy smiles as they listened to the young blonde woman on stage. Angelic sounds filled the bar, which created a soothing atmosphere. Lit lighters and mobile phones swayed around in the dark as the patrons inside Echoes fully appreciated the undiscovered talents on its stage.
That was what Nyx loved about the people who frequented Echoes. Their appreciation for talent. Their support for the undiscovered. Their love for music. Their commitment to being there every Thursday night.
Nyx’s gaze lowered to nothing in particular and he took another sip of water. It had been such a long time since he had embraced someone the way the guy was holding his girlfriend, but then again, Nyx had never truly felt enough for anyone to keep them that close. Nyx did not have trouble getting the attention of women, as he was a good-looking young man who looked like he was in his mid-twenties. He had light gray eyes which reflected light in the most amazing way, almost like a rainbow of emotions inside his mind. His eyes were mostly in correlation with the emotions he felt at a specific moment. His eyes would turn stormy and dark when he felt angry or frustrated, or a bright gray like the skies of London on a winter’s morning. His pensive stares were frequent, especially lately, as he tried to figure himself out.
To people who knew him, although they were very few and far between, he was an open book, but to most he was difficult to figure out.
Nyx had loved music even before he could properly talk, as his mother had sung to him when the nights were dark and the shadows were threatening. Her voice was what soothed him back to a peaceful sleep, into the clear skies of his dreams.
Reality was not always so perfect, especially after his family had to retreat to Russia, where he and his brothers had numerous encounters with the wolves. It had certainly not been a smooth ride, but Nyx was content in the life he had now.
There was, however, one area that was lacking, and this frustrated him.
As much as Nyx wanted to find someone to share his life with, it was not possible, as a witch had ensured this would not happen.
Rhaena the Wicked, a descendant of Livia Ambrosias, one of the most powerful witches in the world since the beginning of time, had cursed the four Dragon Princes when they were still encased in their dragon eggs, five thousand years ago. Since the Dragon King had ensured that her coven was destroyed, Rhaena had decided the same fate should rest upon his family. There had been numerous attempts to destroy the four eggs, but she had not succeeded. During a stormy evening, Rhaena cast a powerful spell over the Dragon King and Queen’s palace in Lunca, causing fire to rain down from the sky and conjuring specters to destroy the palace, as the king had destroyed her coven.
Rhaena managed to make her way to the royal hatchery, where the four eggs lay, nestled in a golden nest. She was interrupted by the Dragon Queen, who then sacrificed her Life Thread to save her four sons. The very essence of her being and her immortality were shortened by thousands of years, but the Dragon Queen could not think of a worthier cause than her children. Rhaena did manage to place a powerful curse upon them, a curse which lasted five thousand years, but also never truly vanished. For five thousand years, each of the four Dragon Princes would not find their True Mate, the person they would spend the rest of their lives with, the person they would instantly bond with, instantly fall in love with, and would instantly do anything to keep them safe. And even if the princes did manage to find their True Mates after the five millennia passed, they would still be at risk of hurting or even killing them in the process.
Nyx was determined to stay single for eternity. Even though five thousand years had passed, the curse made finding his True Mate very unappealing, especially having to wait so long to find his True Mate, only to kill her accidentally. It just wasn’t worth it, no matter how lonely Nyx felt. In the past, he’d simply drown his sorrows in liquor, but now that he had put that life behind him, there was only his music to fill that hole, and even then, it was only temporary.
A strong presence beside Nyx caused him to focus more intently. He knew exactly who it was, without even having to look. The blue eyes of Raine, a good friend of his who happened to be a wolf shifter, glistened in the darkness like two sapphires on a pedestal. His dark hair was swept to the side and his sideburns seemed bushier than before.
“Hey, Nyx.”
“Raine,” Nyx greeted him, his shoulders tensed.
Nyx knew that the only time Raine visited him at the bar was when there was something going down that was causing trouble in the underground. The underground was their code name for everything happening between the Gifted Immortals in the city. Raine had the ability of foresight, and had predicted many unfortunate occurrences and situations concerning the Immortals, and he had a good understanding of how everything worked and how everyone was behaving.
This was why Nyx felt uneasy while in his presence. He also had Raine vow to not tell him of anything that concerned him, except when his life was in danger, of course. Other things, he did not want to know about.
Especially not if he was going to meet his mate. Now that five thousand years had passed since the curse, he was particularly nervous about this happening.
He wanted it to be natural, just like it was supposed to be. Anything that happened when it was nudged or contrived deflected Nyx’s attention away from it, and he did not want it to feel forced at all.
Like the surprise visit from his mother a short while back, which gave him reason to believe that something was going on.
The Dragon Queen was considered one of the most prestigious members of what was called the Immortal Elite. The Immortal Elite was a group of immortals, specifically dragons, who each ruled one of the Seven Nations over ten thousand years ago. Romania was their family nation, and the Dragon Queen was very much like an ambassador for that nation. Together with six other Dragon Kings and Queens, his mother was born for that role, and because of her and the other six, there had not been a Great War for three thousand years between the Immortals.
The humans had had quite a few wars, but that was beyond the reach of the Immortal Elite. Great Wars annihilated the majority of the world, and another could divide the alliances the Immortal Elite had been securing for many, many years. Restoring the peace and order of the world was their forte, and they fought greatly to keep it that way.
The Dragon Queen was devoted to the Immortal Elites, and for her to leave their domain in Iceland was a pretty big deal, which of course made Nyx believe that there was another reason for her visit. Of course she denied it with every ounce of energy she had, insisting that everything was fine and that she merely missed her sons, but something still did not sit right with Nyx. He was not particularly close with his mother, or father, for that matter, but he felt something.
Something bad.
Tragic, even.
Nyx did not have the emotional capabilities which his other brothers had, so he couldn't really figure out what it was, but he prepared himself for something.
“What brings you here this time, Raine?” Nyx asked after a long pause between the two friends.
“I have a bit of news, but I’m not sure whether it’s at all relevant or not,” Raine replied.
“Tell me.”
“I was out in the countryside, just a few miles from Stonehenge, with Blaze, and we saw two bears retreating into the trees at Grovely Wood, like they were running from something.”
“Bears?” Nyx whispered and his jaw clenched. “Are you sure? There are no bears anywhere in England.”
“There are at the zoo,” Raine pointed out coyly.
Nyx took a deep breath. “How sure are you?”
“I’m completely and utterly sure,” Raine answered confidently in his strong English accent.
It had taken a while for Nyx to adapt his own accent, but he now spoke it as though he had been living in London his entire life. He knew it would irritate his brothers to no end, but he did not care. He liked it, and thought it was better than his previous Romanian accent.
“And there were only
two?”
“One was larger than the other, which suggests either a big age difference, or a rank difference. It could be that one is the leader accompanied by his, or her, subordinate.”
Nyx pouted his lips and lowered his hands onto the counter of the bar.
“It could be nothing. Maybe it’s just a couple of them having sex in the woods or something,” Raine suggested lightheartedly. “It’s fun, right?”
“Sex in the woods is never fun,” Nyx mumbled.
“Then you haven’t been to the right woods,” Raine chuckled, but his smile vanished when Nyx’s stormy gray eyes burrowed into his soul. “Right, I’ll stop talking now.”
Nyx responded in a monotone voice without emotion. “Keep an eye out for them. If they come closer to the city, or you spot them doing something they shouldn’t be doing, or killing someone, let me know.”
“I’ll come by here if I hear or see anything,” Raine confirmed with a nod.
“Just don’t do anything stupid,” Nyx warned.
“I’ve learned my lesson after the last time. Don’t you worry,” Raine assured him and stood from the barstool.
“You can stay if you want. I’m only going up in a bit.”
“Nah, I know you can sing well. You don’t have to rub my face in it, you know,” Raine smirked. “I’ll see you later, Nyx.”
“Look after yourself,” Nyx said solemnly.
“Right,” Raine nodded and made his way to the entrance of Echoes.
Raine was the only true friend Nyx had at this stage, after the whole situation with his drinking problem, and he was the only one who had stuck around through it all. They understood one another, and most times, they could simply be present with one another and not even say a word. Their friendship was unusual, as their interactions were brief, but their bond was deep and strong.
