Page 27 of Taming the Kraken

Alexa shook her head in confusion. This wasn’t making any sense to her. “I don’t understand. Curse? I’m cursed?”

“I wasn’t sure at first, but it’s there. Just like the Moon Goddess said it would be.”

“Selene said I’m cursed? How? When?”

“Erebus planned on you cutting him. He’d prepared his blood in order to curse you. It isn’t a regular curse. This one is meant to hurt those around you once it takes full effect.”

“I’m fairy royalty. Can’t my family remove the curse?” Alexa's family has dealt with curses before. She didn’t see why they couldn’t help her out with this one. Maybe she could even purify it herself.

The dragon shook her head, her mane dancing in the breeze. There was a beautiful elegance to her that was simply breathtaking. “This was done with blood. But … as you can see, I’m not a normal dragon. I am referred to as a crystal dragon. I can purify your blood, but unfortunately, you’ll have to come to me.”

A blood purifier? That would be a powerful dragon to have around. She imagined this dragon was heavily sought after by many, to be killed or kept for their own greed. No wonder she usually just worked through dreams. Someone like her would be hunted. Just like how Ciana was in hiding because she was a light dragon.

“How do I find you?” Alexa watched the dragon take a step closer to her. Then she breathed a blast of warm air on her.

“I instilled the memory in your mind. When I’m fully rested, it’ll guide you.”

“You won’t just tell me?” Alexa watched as the dragon turned her head slightly.

“I don’t want to risk it. Even having you come to find me is terrifying.” The crystal dragon shifted her gaze back to Alexa.

“Thank you for doing this for me. I’m very grateful for your help. My name is Alexa, by the way. What is your name?”

“Bella.”

“So, Bella, how exactly does this work? You’re telling me I will know when the time comes? And then what? I can just start walking and know where to go?

“Precisely. You’ll feel a gentle tug that will lead you in the direction you need to go.”

Alexa chuckled and shook her head. Of course that bastard would curse her. Because obviously, that’s how you love someone, right? Headline news: Ladies don’t want flowers and chocolates. Nope. If you want to show them you love them, you act crazy and place a curse on them. That’s all the rave.

There was one more problem she had to think about. She was under lockdown. She would have to travel with a full escort in order to find Bella. But that wouldn’t be fair. Bella was obviously scared about having others around, and the more that traveled with Alexa, the more attention they would attract. She would need to think about what she wanted to do with this information. And for now, it looked like she would have a little time to think, since she needed to wait until Bella was rested enough.

“How long do I have with the curse? Before it starts taking effect?”

“Well, for anyone else, it would have already started. But your body has trapped it. It won’t be able to hold it for more than a month, I’d say. I should only need a few days to a week to recover. It drains me to jump into dreams, but I don’t stay down long.” Bella looked at Alexa and nodded her head. “But it is time to send you back now. I’ve already kept you too long in a forced dream state. Your body is handling it very well, though. You must live in a volcano to keep your body so regulated.”

“I live with a walking volcano.” Alexa chuckled. She figured Brian was probably heating her up during all of this.

“Well, because of that, we had a few extra moments. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to tell you anything after trying to remove the curse. Oh, one more thing. It may take you some time to recover after this. Your energy is being drained too. I don’t know how it will affect you, but I often lose touch with my dragon. Don’t panic. It will come back with time. I will see you soon, Alexa.”

A strong breeze shot over Alexa as the dragon flapped its wings. The next moment, everything was dark again, and warmth radiated over her. She knew who it was but she couldn’t smell him, not like she should be able to. Her eyes opened slowly. Her head was on Brian’s lap while Mikah held her hand tightly. She met her parents’ blue eyes, and relief washed over them.

“Alexa, how are you feeling? Are you okay?” Reiya knelt beside the bed as she smoothed her daughter’s hair back.

Alexa slowly nodded. She couldn’t feel her connection to her dragon form, or to Yuki. It seemed the link was exhausted. The dream state had put a lot of strain on her.

“What happened? Was it a premonition? What did you see?” Lee leaned down beside Reiya as he rested his concerned gaze on his daughter.

“It wasn’t a premonition,” Alexa whispered as she tried to sit up. Brian helped her up and she gave him an appreciative smile. She looked up to see her parents’ expectant eyes on her. She decided she would only give them vague details, because they would know if things didn’t add up entirely. She wasn’t trying to outsmart a child but a deity and the fairy queen.

“I was in the dream world. I met a dream jumper.”

“And?” Lee asked as he raised his brows.

Alexa looked at her hand and summoned a small ball of ice. She was relieved she didn’t lose that power. “It looks like I’ve lost my connection to my dragon and wolf temporarily. I think they have both been drained to exhaustion.” She was trying to throw them off the scent. She glanced up and could see her parents weren’t jumping from the topic.

“And that is all I can say about this for now. I promise to tell you all about it soon.” Soon, as in as soon as I get back from meeting Bella. Alexa could see her parents were not pleased hearing this, but they couldn’t force her to speak. They could be upset about it, but it was better for them not to know.