Page 4 of Dragon Cursed
"Who are you?"His voice was deep, rough, and unused, like stones grinding together.But there was something else too — an odd cadence, an accent she couldn't place.Ancient.Utterly foreign.He took a step forward, his bare foot silent on the mossy ground."Why are you here?"
Poppy found herself smiling — a genuine, unguarded smile that seemed to catch him off guard.She understood his confusion.She really should be running, screaming in terror, begging the big bad dragon man to spare her life, but the rather embarrassing fact was that she found it impossible to be afraid of him when her body was screaming for sex.Hot.Sweaty.Dirty sex.With him.All night.
And the images in her head were getting more X-rated the longer he stood there.What was he asking?Would she like to strip right there and go at it on the forest floor?Yes.Yes.Yes.
No!No!No!Stop fantasizing!He wants to know who you are and what you’re doing here!Get it together!
She tore her eyes away, coughing against the sudden tightness in her throat."I'm Poppy Brightwood."She gestured to the glowing flowers, a little breathless."I'm here for these.They're for the sick children in my grandmother’s village.They have the fever."
The man's brow furrowed, deep lines carving his forehead."This place is forbidden.No humans are allowed here."
"Well, no one toldmethat."Poppy's fingers gently plucked another glowing blossom, her movements a little shaky."Besides, the forest called to me.And these flowers need to be harvested.We can't let all their healing magic go to waste, can we?"
She reached into her satchel for her collection supplies, seemingly at ease, as if she were discussing wildflowers with a fellow herbalist rather than kneeling before a naked, mythical dragon shifter who shouldn’t exist.The scent of grass and flowers and something wilder clung to him — ancient stone and distant storms.She found it oddly comforting.
"Leave."His voice dropped lower, the command vibrating through the air."Now.And never return."
Poppy took her time before looking up, her smile dimming as she met his gaze.She took the time to see past the harsh exterior to the pain beneath, and her heart softened.The lines around his eyes weren't from anger.They were from centuries of squinting against a burden no one should have to carry.
"You've been alone for a very long time, haven't you?"Her voice was gentle.
The man flinched as if she'd struck him.His broad shoulders tensed."I said leave."
"And I will."Poppy's tone stayed gentle."As soon as I've gathered what I came for.It won't take long.Then you can go back to being all broody and mysterious by yourself."
Before he could respond, she turned back to the Aos-sí-blooms, humming softly as she worked.The flowers seemed to glow brighter in her hands, their silver veins pulsing in time with her heartbeat.She settled the blossoms, carefully wrapped in cloth, into the satchel, keeping the fragile petals loose so they wouldn’t bruise before she could steep them.She wanted to take all of them, but collected only what she absolutely needed, careful not to take more than one in twenty.
His eyes stayed on her — a heavy weight that should have been threatening but instead felt strangely protective.The air between them hummed with unspoken questions, a silent conversation that transcended words.
As she worked, a subtle change moved through the forest around them.The brittle leaves regained a hint of vibrancy.The acrid scent in the air lessened, replaced by the clean, fresh smell of rain, as if the forest itself responded to her presence.To the inner light and happiness she carried within her.
"There."She secured the straps on her satchel."All done.Thank you for letting me borrow your flowers."
"Steal, you mean."His distinct growl almost made her laugh.
She rose, brushed dirt from her knees, and offered him another bright smile."I'll be going now.You don't have to walk me out or anything.I'm pretty good with directions."
She hitched the satchel higher onto her shoulder and stepped back from the clearing, though her body resisted every inch of distance she tried to put between them.Her pulse knocked hard beneath her ribs, uneven and restless.
Part of her wanted to stay.
To ask questions she had no business asking.To peel back the silence wrapped around him and uncover what could wound something ancient enough to shake the forest with its grief.
The wiser part of her knew she was standing far too close to something dangerous.Dangerous and forbidden.
She had seen him — a real dragon wearing the shape of a man, with old sorrow clinging to him like smoke.
And now she carried the one thing creatures like him were never meant to let humans keep.
Knowledge.
His secret.
The stories her grandmother used to whisper beside the fire rose sharply through her mind.His kind lived hidden among humans, every law built around secrecy and survival.
Cold slid beneath her skin.
Is he really going to let you walk away?
