Polly slept against his side, her head rested on his shoulder. Gilbert held her tight all night. He didn’t sleep, only dozed off from time to time. He had never felt so connected to another person before. He felt so… safe. It was strange for him, since he had never felt unsafe before, but this… this was a completion he couldn’t describe. He could only imagine how much better it would feel to be fully inside of her, the two of them finding their completion together.
When the sun started to rise, though, he realized he’d allowed himself to be distracted again. He sighed as he shifted slightly, moving out of Polly’s grip. This was exactly what he had thought would happen; he gave himself one excuse, one reason to not tell her, and that led to another excuse and another and another.
He needed to tell her.
Polly stretched and yawned. He gazed at her beautiful body, feeling himself tighten at the sight of her. He swallowed hard and looked away. He couldn’t let himself be distracted again, as much as he would like to hold her close again and have her ride his hand until her head fell back and her whole body shuddered and writhed with pleasure.
He cleared his throat as Polly smiled at him. “There is something that I need to tell you.”
Polly rose onto an elbow. “You look worried.”
Was it that obvious? Gilbert ran a hand through his hair, not looking at her. His mind dashed about, trying to come up with the right words. Eventually, he knew that all he could do was state the facts and hope.
“It’s not good,” he said slowly. “And it’s one of the reasons why I bought the place next to the Freemans’. I knew you lived here and I wanted to get close to you.”
Polly snorted. “Are you saying that you have been stalking me for years?”
He shrugged. He could see how it could be taken that way. “It’s… Polly, remember how you told me that you think you’re cursed?”
“I was being dramatic. I know curses aren’t real.”
“They are.” Gilbert finally allowed himself to meet her eyes. “And you are.”
Polly’s eyes widened. Her jaw hung loose. Then amusement lit up her face and she laughed. “Right. I’m really cursed.”
He couldn’t have this conversation while they were both nearly naked. He averted his gaze and tugged on his pants. Polly pulled a blanket over her chest and frowned at him.
“If you’re trying to tell me a joke, it’s not really working.”
“I’m not joking. You’re cursed.”
She sighed. “Okay… well, I know that I have been having a string of bad luck, but that’s just life. Everybody has times when it seems like everything is going against them. Things are going to turn around for me soon enough. Who knows, maybe this whole kidnapping thing is the darkest hour before the dawn.”
Gilbert closed his eyes. He lowered his head and considered the situation. Of course, she wouldn’t believe it right away. He hadn’t considered it before, though. Now he had to convince her that she was cursed and explain everything around it. It would have been easier if he had been able to talk with her mother first, get her to confirm that what he was saying was true. Then again, who knew whether she would or not? There was a reason Jessica had left the clan all those years ago. Even if it wasn’t known among the dragons, there was a reason.
“Magic isn’t common,” Gilbert said, keeping his voice even. “I know that it sounds crazy. But magic does exist, and you have been cursed. That’s why everything in your life is going wrong, even though you have an amazing job with a great employer. The curse is trying to return you to your birthplace.”
Polly giggled. She still didn’t believe him. “Oh, really? Okay, then. And how do you happen to know about this curse? You said you moved in next door because I lived here. Are you a wizard who tracked me down with this curse?”
“No.”
“How did you find me, then?”
“Because we’ve been looking for you since you were an infant.” Gilbert closed his eyes. He braced himself, then looked her in the eye. “You’re our king’s daughter. Our Queen. When we found you, I was assigned to protect you and keep an eye on you while I did my research. The king didn’t want you to find out until it was absolutely necessary. He hoped to spare you. But we don’t have any options anymore. He’s dying, and we need you to return to us.”
Polly clutched the blanket to her chest. He could almost see her pulse increase. Then, she abruptly cast the blanket aside and started gathering up her clothes. “That’s stupid.”
“Polly, please.”
“No. That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. This is real life, not some silly fairytale where the girl finds out she’s secretly a princess. I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but it’s not funny. Curses and dragon kings. That’s just… stupid!”
She started to dress, her movements angry and jerky. Gilbert watched, uncertain what to say next. It was a lot to take in. And she didn’t even know the full story yet. Should he wait until she came to grips with what he had already told her before going on further? Or would it be best to pile the rest on her now? His hands clenched, and he wanted to punch something. This whole damned situation was unfair! It was unfair that Polly had to have this thrown at her. Unfair that he was the one who had to throw it at her.
He thought about the previous night with their bodies so close, giving each other pleasure. He should never have let it go that far. Never.
“Polly, I know this is hard to hear. But there is more. The disease that is killing our king, your father—”
“You said that it was genetic.” Polly shoved her limbs into her clothes. “So, now you’re telling me that I’m going to die.”
“No… not exactly.” Gilbert’s shoulders hunched as she turned a hopeful gaze on him. “I’m so sorry. Polly… I wish I could take it all away from you, so you didn’t have to carry this burden.”
He told her everything. Nothing was left out, even when her eyes widened with fear and her chest started heaving. She clutched at her stomach, staring at him with such fear in her eyes, that he wanted to scream. Helplessness washed over him. After all his years of searching and fighting to find a cure, he never thought that his failure would look so frightening.
“It will be years before it starts degenerating your body,” he told her. “I swear, I can find a cure by then, I’m so close. We just don’t have time—”
“I’m not your princess or queen or whatever it is.”
“Queen daughter. The heir is the Queen daughter or King son. Second only to their parents in power. If we had other princesses or princes, they’d be able to take this role. But we don’t. You’re our only hope.”
“I’m not a dragon.”
“Part of the curse prevents dragons from being able to shift. I know it’s a lot to take in—”
Polly snarled. “If you wanted to get me out, all you had to do was ask. You didn’t have to make up all this nonsense. Goodbye, Gilbert.”
She fairly ran from the room, ignoring him when he called after her.
***
Gilbert had his head in his hands, feeling like his heart was being ripped from his chest, when Shane knocked on his door. His expression was understanding and sympathetic. Gilbert straightened. Even though Shane was a friend of his, he didn’t want the other dragon to see him so weak.
Had Polly told him anything about what had happened?
“I overheard Polly talking to Kayla and Bernie. So, you told her.”
Gilbert averted his gaze and grunted. “She doesn’t believe me.”
“Yes, she does. She’s just terrified. And I guess there is a mix of you should have told her before having sex last night.”
Heat rushed to his face and Gilbert snarled at the unspoken accusation. “We didn’t have sex. Not… not fully, at least. But I did tell her and she just ran away like—”
“Like she was terrified out of her wits?”
Gilbert scowled but nodded. It only made sense that she was afraid.
Shane let out a heavy sigh. “Look… I might be able to help you with this.”
“You know the dig I’m funding for Esther Doron?”
“Where you met Kayla, and Tyler met Bernie?”
Shane nodded. “Esther’s mate, Bryant… he’s always at the dig. He might be able to help.”
Gilbert frowned. He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at Shane. “Okay…. Going to tell me how he can do that or are you just going to be cryptic and unhelpful? How is this Bryant meant to help me convince Polly about who she is… or protect her against her destiny?”
Shane squeezed the back of his neck and shook his head. “I can’t tell you more than that. Just, go to the dig, talk with Bryant and tell him what’s going on. I can’t guarantee you that he can help, but I don’t want to see Polly hurt, either. She’s been working for us for years and I care about her.”
There was something in his eyes that made Gilbert believe him. Shane had a strong protective streak; it could be a bit annoying, really, but at the heart of him was someone who would fight to protect the people he cared about. Polly had been in his life for years; he helped her with her finances and Gilbert knew that he saw her as a little sister.
That was when he realized what he was seeing in Shane’s eyes. Helplessness. The same helplessness that streaked through his own bones, the feeling that he was useless because he didn’t know how to fix this yet.
Gilbert nodded. “Okay. I’ll do that. It will probably be good to get Polly away from here, too. If I fly us over there—it’s in Canada, right?”
“Yeah. British Columbia.”
Gilbert nodded again. “I can fly Polly over there. If we go by night, then this Claire Perry won’t even know that we left.”
Shane hesitated, but nodded. “Tyler and I will go with you, in case something goes wrong. We’ll have to come right back, though. I won’t leave Kayla alone here when they might attack again, and I know Tyler won’t either.”
It would be crazy to turn down help when Polly’s life was in danger. Gilbert inclined his head, accepting that. Shane squeezed his shoulder briefly before saying that he would go tell Polly about the plan. Gilbert felt off-balance as he glanced around his room, wondering what he could take with him. The spikes on his spine would make it impossible for Polly to ride him, and they were so sharp they’d tear through any sort of pack they tried to rig up for him.
Not that it really mattered. He could just buy everything they needed wherever they went once they met with Bryant. Gilbert frowned slightly as he considered the name… had he heard it before?
Wait… He had heard it before! A couple years ago, before Shane and Kayla got together. Bryant had locked them both up in an old castle, that Shane had had to break them out of. Gilbert’s hands clenched as he turned to stare at the door that Shane had left through.
Why would he be sending them off to someone who had kidnapped him and Kayla and held them prisoner?