The Cursed Dragon

Chapter 27: A Celebration

Hello lovely readers, thank you for being here. Its 5am right now for me and I most definitely should be asleep, but I had a nap earlier and then was really inspired to write.

I hope you enjoy this chapter.

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Pain bloomed across Cadimus chest and he jerked awake with a growl, the pain and adrenaline from the dream putting him on high alert.

When he looked across the room he saw Airne staring at him.

"What?" he demanded.

"Are you alright?"

"Of course I am," he snapped and threw his legs over the side of the bed.

"You're bleeding."

"I am fine."

"But-"

"Hush!" his power lashed out from him unintentionally and cracked at her. It did not touch or hurt her, but she fell silent and he immediately felt bad about having lost control even for a split second. He was better than that. She deserved better than that. He needed to protect her, even if only from himself.

"What did you see?" he asked, his voice suddenly low and much more calm.

"You were having a nightmare..."

He nodded without looking at her and went over to his side drawer pulling out the salve he had used on the cuts before he had fallen asleep. That was the real reason why he kept in there in the bedside table. Not for the occasional blow from his father that needed tending, but from the harm he sometimes inflicted on himself in his nightmares.

Because of him, the voice inside reminded.

The nightmares were mostly because of his father. Mostly. Some of them were from the things he had seen Abeloth do. He looked down at the mark on his wrist and the metal fangs embedded there. Poison sitting just beneath the skin ready to plunge into him and kill him at Abeloth's slightest command or desire. That critical insurance of obedience.

It was one of the things that gave Cadimus nightmares.

To think his father still wanted him to be a viper. Not to long ago he had felt the same. Until he had seen Abeloth burn someone alive one inch at a time. The screams still echoed in Cadimus' head.

Like her screams, Airne's screams while his uncle had tortured her.

Pull yourself together, he ordered himself and rubbed the balm across his chest to close the small cuts he had clawed into himself. Thank god he had been wearing his ring. He could only imagine what kind of damage his actual claws would do if he ever had a nightmare while looking like 'Jacob'

"Cadimus, you don't have to hide from me," her voice was quiet. "People have nightmares. I have them too."

Her voice was so gentle, so kind. It felt worse than nails clawing at his skin.

He pulled one of his other rings on, one he had not used in a while and walked back over to her. Holding his hand up in front of her face.

"Forget what you saw, forget the nightmare."

She blinked and he watched her fight it for a moment, and then her eyes went fuzzy for a moment. He let his hand fall slowly.

"What...?" she blinked at him.

"You should go to sleep," he said and waved his hand gently.

He caught her before she could fall fully, and placed her gently on her nest of blankets, knowing that was where she would be most comfortable, then he went down to the kitchen to get himself something to drink.