The Dragon's curse

Chapter 36

With great difficulty, I managed to convince Zayden to go with my plan. I assured him Rex would never let anyone hurt me.

The plan is clear: I will fly Rex to the entrance and distract everybody while Zayden secretly enters the underground tunnels which lead to the dungeons.

As simple as it sounds, it has a lot of dangers. I could not bring myself to tell Zayden about the secret of the engagement ring either. He would never let me do this if I did.

As we reach the border of Davel, I summon Rex. I nod at Zayden as I climb onto Rex.

"Remember the signal," he says.

"I will."

I hold onto Rex as he takes off.

Rex cries out loud as we approach Xander's mansion. Einri. Nersim and a few servants run out and start looking in our direction. I breathe out loud and tell myself I can do this. I have to do this for Xander.

"Is that a dragon?" I hear the outcries of other townsfolk gathering around. It was part of our plan too. Einri can't hurt me when so many people are watching.

"It has been over a decade since we last saw one," another person murmurs.

"Is the curse being lifted?" comes another voice.

"People of Davel, I am Zoe of House Doryu!" I announce. As I look down, I notice that I have seen none of these people at our engagement party, and then it hits me. The people at the party, none of them were real. It was an illusion.

My head spins at this realization, but I have no time for it. I need to get Zayden and Xander out of here safely, and for that, I need to distract Einri and his people for long enough.

Everybody is looking at me eagerly for me to speak. I turn to Einri, and his face loses colour. I am getting to him.

I see the smoke from a distance. Zayden made it. I need to get out of here and meet them.

I hear whispers, but nobody moves.

"I need to make an announcement," I yell as I lock eyes with Einri.