Chapter 2

"M istress Scarlet, welcome back," said the butler as he took her cloak. "How was your mission?"

"It wasn't as successful as I'd hoped." Scarlet stomped mud off her boots just inside the door of the castle. Every step made her head vibrate and bob side to side as she tried to keep her head upright.

"Oh?"

"It's hard to be inconspicuous with fucking antlers, bunny ears, and a wolf's tail," Scarlet scowled.

The butler sniffed and held her cloak, "Tell me about it."

He waved his two extra arms, which were really just two feather dusters that stuck out from each side of his ribs. Even as he shook out her cloak, the dusters were busy cleaning the dirt on the door and wall.

From his hips extended a broom on one side and a dust pan on the other, which also didn't stop moving.

Scarlet sighed and a stab of guilt made her stomach twist. "I'm sorry, Hobbs. I know this curse is hard for you too."

He smiled and nodded his head to the wide hallway. "They're in the library, miss. I'll send in some refreshments."

"Thank you," she said, the weight of responsibility added to the heaviness of her antlers. She might have more curses than the others, but she was the one who'd been appointed to solve the problem. They were all relying on her, even though most of the others avoided her.

She walked down the wide, marble hallway. In the past six months, the haunted Hartsgrove castle had been cleaned and rebuilt from an attack by the skeletal dragon.

Now it shined good as new, thanks to Hobbs and the castle's ghost, Leopol. She looked around but didn't see the wispy man as she entered the library.

Her brother, Knox, stood behind his wife, massaging her shoulders. Eirwyn sat in one of the plush chairs in front of the fireplace, feet propped up with a forgotten book in her lap.

Her family turned at the sound of her boots on the floor and smiled. They were so damn happy and content together.

She didn't envy them, she really didn't. She'd never wanted to live the domesticated life, barefoot, pregnant, and reliant on a man. Her dad had raised her to be independent. Plus, there was her love for adventure and that sense of fulfillment from a job well done.

Even if that job was slicing the throat of some noble scum or making an abuser disappear. She was a hired Hunter, but she had standards.

The past few years, the hunt had been getting stale, though. She didn't want a home or babes, but she did want someone to have her back. She was so lonely, especially with these fucking curses.

They'd put a stop to almost all of it. Now she had responsibilities. People relied on her. She pushed down the rage that burned in her soul at the injustice of the curses and fear of failure at being unable to break them.

Knox smiled. "Scarlet, you're back! How was the trip? Did you have any trouble?" His smile turned into a worried frown as she stepped closer.

She sank into the opposite cushioned chair, turning sideways and dangling her legs over the armrest.

"Of course I had trouble. I can hardly ride through the forest without getting this fucking rack tangled in the trees, much less meet with the other Hunters."

She sighed, knowing they would think she had no propriety when in reality, this was just the most comfortable position for her giant-ass antlers.

The housekeeper, Helga, came into the room pushing a cart and swiping her tea leaf hair out of her face.

Eirwyn shifted on the seat to sit up. "Oh, tea is here. This will make you feel better. I'm sure you're hungry after getting all tangled up and traveling all this way."

Knox put his hand on her shoulder and shook his head. "No, you stay here. I'll serve."

Helga fussed, and Scarlet pulled out her dagger to pick at her nails. They weren't dirty, but making Helga glare at her put a smile back on Scarlet's face.

The housekeeper's hair kept falling into her face, and she kept blowing it away. But the tea leaves had a mind of their own.

Eirwyn had confided a few months ago that Helga had taken scissors to them repeatedly, but they always grew back like weeds overnight. So she'd put her curse to work and had packaged tea into bags to transport to the other two new villages in the forest.

Scarlet sighed and sat up, taking the offered tea from Knox. At least the tea leaf hair made a relaxing drink, she thought as she sipped.

"How is the little dragonling and the queen?" Scarlet asked.

Knox pulled up another chair as Helga parked the cart at Eirwyn's elbow.

Eirwyn rubbed her stomach protectively, shadows and light swirling around her as her nerves went higher. "Eh, as well as expected I suppose. Lailant says it's going well, but I would feel better with more information. We have read almost every book in this castle, and Leopol has been very helpful."

Although a ghost, Leopol was the only one who was an actual dragon, other than Knox. He knew what to expect from experience, if not the books in the library.

Scarlet sipped her tea as Knox stared at his wife with concern. She swallowed, the heat burning her tongue. "Yet you're still worried?"

Knox pushed a plate of olpertine closer to Eirwyn and moved a second plate between himself and Scarlet on a low side table.

He nodded. "Wouldn't you be? But everything will be fine. This has been done for thousands of years before, remember?"

Eirwyn nodded, distracted as she practically inhaled the olpertine's sugary fried dough.

Scarlet met Knox's worried gaze and understood. It was like watching her dad ride off to war, not knowing if he was going to come out unharmed or not. The reminder of her dad sent her own worry and frustration sky high.

She took a deep breath and tried to control herself. Her antlers weighed her down, causing a throbbing headache like always. Every damn day, she pushed her body, pushed past the pain and tried to live a semi-normal existence.

She could live with the tail and the nose. The antlers were the biggest problem. They spread as wide as her shoulders and had twelve points. Was it any wonder she was cranky all the time?

Not as cranky as Eirwyn. Thankfully Scarlet wasn't the one carrying a giant egg. That honor fell to her dear sister-in-law.

"Just ring if you need me, Your Majesties," Helga said, dipping a curtsy.

Knox and Eirwyn both nodded but didn't look up as she left. Scarlet smirked. She never would've thought her big brother would become king, but it suited him. He'd taken to it like a fish takes to water.

Unlike herself and the curses. She just couldn't accept that this was her life now.

Other villagers both here in Hartsgrove and over in Vidrland were cursed too, like Helga and Hobbs, but they all gave Scarlet a wide berth. She was used to setting people on edge when they found out she was a Hunter, but this was something completely different.

She'd had months to get used to these cursed changes in her body, but every time someone looked at her in horror, the hair on the back of her neck stood up. Anger seethed under her skin, making her scratch behind her long ears to find some sort of short-lived relief.

Eirwyn frowned, rubbing her stomach absently. "So what's the news in the capitol? Did you find out what's going on? Is Bella alright?"

Scarlet reached for an olpertine and popped it into her mouth to keep from snapping about the queen. The confectioners sugar dissolved on her tongue as she chewed the fried treat, and her nose twitched as if phantom whiskers were tickling her cheek. She shivered at the memory and took a drink, re-centering the weight of the antlers.

Thankfully, the whiskers hadn't made a re-appearance since that day at the castle.

She cleared her throat. "Of course I found out what's going on. I may be a freak, but I'm still the best Hunter in the land."

"You're not a freak," Knox said. "You're just cursed like nearly everyone else here."

She almost crushed the next olpertine and glared at Knox. "No one else has multiple curses here. I'm the one who sticks out in a sea of weirdness. I'm the abomination in a crowd of tea ladies and candle and clock men. Of all the people who've been merged with inanimate objects, you can't seriously think that I'm just like everyone else."

Knox crossed his arms and leaned back in the straight chair. He certainly looks royal enough with that stern stare.

"It's not like you to have a pity party, Scarlet. You know we're going to break the curse."

Scarlet drowned her rage with another olpertine and drink of tea, but the roiling emotions finally broke free. "Yeah, yeah, that's what you've said for months."

"We're not giving up," he said.

Scarlet shot back, "Easy for you to say when you look so normal."

They both glanced in surprise at each other, then burst out laughing.

Knox scratched at his temples where green and brown scales spread around the back of his head. Brown hair grew on the top which he kept in a thick braid. But for years, he'd hidden his scales beneath a cloak and stuck to the shadows of the forest, rarely going in public.

"Well, that's a first. Never heard anyone call me normal before," Knox grinned.

Scarlet chewed another olpertine. They'd fought like this as kids a lot. Quick, heated words, then a laugh, and it was over. It was good to hear him laugh about his own appearance now.

The love of a good woman would do that to a man, though. At least, that's what she'd seen in her short thirty-five years.

Scarlet swallowed and drained her tea. "Well, as normal as you'll ever be," she teased.

Eirwyn had eaten almost her entire personal plate of olpertine and finally stopped long enough to chime in. "You're not normal, but normal is over-rated. You have to accept who you are, Scarlet. Embrace your curses and use them to your advantage, like Helga."

Scarlet arched a brow at her friend and sat her empty porcelain cup on the cart. "Queenie, some curses are easier to accept than others. I appreciate your optimism, but I need my old body back."

"And if you can't get it back?" Eirwyn asked softly. "What then?"

Scarlet stared into the fire, the food settling like a knot in her stomach as her lips pinched. Her heart pounded in her ears, too fast like the scared little rabbit she worked so hard to bury deep inside her.

She had beaten that fear within her for six months and made it her little bitch. But it was a constant, daily battle with her multiple instincts. Run like a deer, fight like a wolf, or hide like a fucking scared little rabbit.

That's what she'd been reduced to with these fucking curses. It wasn't all about the physical differences. It was about eliminating that fear for good. The only thing that had helped keep it at bay was channeling it into anger, but that anger needed a focus, a release.

Her eyes burned with rage as she turned to stare at Eirwyn.

"I'm going to kill the queen, Eirwyn. Gods help me, if she doesn't fix this, I will kill her."

The silence was only broken by the crackling of the fire in the fireplace. A tear rolled down Eirwyn's cheek, and Knox sighed, handing her a napkin from the cart.

"You can't just kill her," Knox said, the disappointment in his voice making Scarlet's stomach twist.

But she just arched a brow and crossed her arms and ankles. Stretching her legs in front of her toward the fire, she took a deep breath. Her mind wandered as Eirwyn handed her empty plate to Knox, who tidied up the cart.

The silence was tense. She needed to make them see it was a last resort but maybe the best option.

"It's not just about the curses," she said quietly. "There are other things going on in Busparia. We thought the old king was a bad ruler because of the taxes and the war with Glathen? This is worse."

Eirwyn's shoulders sank at the mention of her brother.

Knox sat forward, his tea forgotten as he frowned. "In what way?"

"The king would throw suspects into the dungeon and torture them or hold them ransom until someone paid their taxes, right?" Scarlet's spine tingled at the memory of her own time in the dungeon, but she pushed the emotions away.

She continued. "The queen doesn't. Any infraction leads to sudden and instant death."

Eirwyn gasped, and Knox took her hand.

Scarlet shook her head. "That's not all. Every town in the country has a curfew. No one roams the streets after sunset. There are reports of monsters killing anyone caught in the darkness. Cattle and livestock are found every morning slaughtered and ripped to shreds."

"Monsters?" Knox asked.

Scarlet nodded. "I didn't believe the reports at first, but my team of Hunters and I barely made it into an inn our first night on the road. We could hear the flutter of wings and the growls."

"Growlers?" Eirwyn asked.

Scarlet shook her head slowly, staring once more into the fireplace as her spine tingled. "No, I don't think so. They didn't sound like Growlers. This was something entirely different."

She looked up and met their gazes one at a time, trying to make them see how bad it was outside of the relative safety of the Feral Forest.

"The queen is wielding that fear like a double-edged sword. She claims that those who die are those who oppose her rule and break the laws. It's no coincidence that the so-called monsters only descended on the villages and valleys after the queen passed through on her grand-tour of the country."

"How can the Council just let this happen?" Eirwyn asked.

Eirwyn was the former princess of Busparia. Her brother had ruled with the Council for decades before his death six months ago. That's when their entire world was turned upside down.

Scarlet replied, "I don't think the Council has a choice. Between Bella, the General, and the Chancellor, it's practically martial law in Busparia."

She rubbed her temples, her head hurting yet again from the balancing act of antlers.

"The Chancellor is a yes-man. He'll do whatever he has to stay in power," Eirwyn said.

Scarlet nodded, "That power has finally settled in the capitol. There haven't been elaborate, fancy balls, but she has begun to wine and dine the nobles and the Council. Those who oppose her disappear, and it's not the Hunters still in Busparia responsible for it, either. Most of the Hunters who remain are no longer getting contracts. When we arrived at the Guild house, they asked us for guidance and help."

"What did you tell them?" Knox asked.

Scarlet shrugged. "Exactly what you said. There's shelter in the forest for any who swear fealty to the two of you."

"And what of the war? Any word on that?" Knox put his empty tea cup on the cart and stepped behind Eirwyn to massage down her arms. Scarlet sighed, ignoring the pain in her chest as she watched the two of them together.

It was almost nauseating to watch all the love between them. The little touches. The heated glances. The tender care.

It reminded her too much of her parents and of what she would never have.

"The General is preparing more troops to launch another invasion when winter fades in a few weeks, but I wasn't able to get as close as I wanted to confirm that rumor. I had to rely on other Hunters to get in and out, as these fucking antlers kept getting in the way," Scarlet muttered, scratching where one came out of her head.

Knox murmured and began to pace. "How are we supposed to get her to break the curse and stop the war once and for all?"

Eirwyn bit her lip and her eyes watered. "Maybe we can visit her? Surely she'll see us. It's been months, and we were friends for years before—before..."

Scarlet's lips twisted. "Before the king was eliminated and she cursed everyone within a league's distance?"

Eirwyn's face nearly crumpled as she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. Scarlet's chest ached, but her friend needed to come to terms with what had happened last summer. She needed to accept her brother's death for what it was.

No one had let Scarlet wallow in grief when she'd lost either of her parents. Eirwyn had had months to process, and it was time to face the reality of life.

"You were friends before we declared the Feral Forest a separate country too," Knox said, scratching his temples again. "You know she's probably upset about that."

Eirwyn shook her head stubbornly and a tear rolled down her cheek, before she wiped it away angrily. "No, I don't think she'd care about losing this territory. She was a fair and honest woman."

"Before she got married," Scarlet said.

Eirwyn glared. "She can be again. Maybe once the devastation of my brother's death fades?"

Knox knelt in front of her, taking her hand gently. "Hey, maybe you're right. Maybe once she's back to her normal self, we can meet with her. After the egg is hatched, that is."

Scarlet shook her head. "And she'll suddenly be sane? Eirwyn, you of all people should know how grief can take a toll. You're both still in mourning. We can't rush into a meeting with her. If her emotions are too raw, who knows what might happen. I mean, last time, she cursed us, remember? And now she's controlling monsters?"

Knox rubbed his hands up and down Eirwyn's arms, and she sighed as she leaned her head on his forehead, holding her hands under her enormous stomach. Scarlet's huge ass ears meant she heard every whispered word between her step-brother and his wife.

"I know," Eirwyn said. "But she's my friend."

Knox kissed her temple. "And you want to be there for her. It's understandable, my love. But we can't go see her until after the egg has hatched. You're due to deliver any day now."

Eirwyn's shoulders seemed to wilt, and Knox brushed her long black hair over her shoulder. "First, I have to give birth to an egg. Then we have to wait for it to hatch. I'm just so tired of waiting."

Knox held her gently, nuzzling his head to hers. "According to the dragon books, it'll just be a few more months. Think of it this way. It's almost the end of winter, and we need to focus on the villages while we wait. They're relying on us to see them through when food stores run low."

Eirwyn sighed, "I'm just so tired of not being able to get things done."

Scarlet's chest tightened. She wanted to get things done too, mostly reversing the curse. Eirwyn might have been friends with the queen back in the day, but Scarlet had sworn revenge on the woman who had cursed them all.

If the evil queen wouldn't reverse the curse, Scarlet would rain down vengeance and make her wish she'd died along with the king. Then after the pain and suffering, she would die for her crimes.

As much as Scarlet loved her brother and Eirwyn, someone had to step up and take care of the situation with the queen of Busparia. Scarlet was perfectly willing to enact justice for all the lives that had been ruined. Not just those who'd been cursed, but those who'd died fleeing the curse too.

Delivering the first dragon egg in centuries was Eirwyn's primary concern. Knox could handle the villagers, and Scarlet could handle the evil queen.

Rumors flew through the villages in the forest, as no one really knew how long it would take to deliver the egg and then for it to hatch. This birth was stressing not just them but the entire tiny forest kingdom.

Scarlet sighed. "I'll keep an eye on the situation in Busparia. All you need to do is focus on the dragonling. Do you want me to get Grandma and bring her here for the birth?"

Eirwyn and Knox looked at her, Knox now sitting on the chair with Eirwyn sideways on his lap, his arms tightened around her protectively.

He nodded, "Yes, that would be helpful."

Eirwyn's lip wavered and her eyes glistened. "Yes, please. We're at an impasse with both the east and the west, I'm afraid. All we can do is prepare for spring and the baby."

Scarlet looked at Knox and tilted her head to the side in question. Before he could reply, Eirwyn struggled to stand. Knox helped, one hand on her elbow as his other pushed her up.

She finally sighed and brushed her hair back as she stood. "I'm going to the bathroom yet again. I'll be back."

Knox nodded, shifting on his feet as he watched her waddle away. He was so protective, it made Scarlet smirk.

When he looked back at Scarlet, he arched a brow. "What?"

She grinned and crossed her arms. "Nothing, it's just… you're already a great dragon king and husband, but you're going to make a great father soon too."

Knox sighed and sank into the chair again, even as his cheeks tinged pink. "You think so? You think your dad would be proud?"

Scarlet's chest tightened and a sudden knot formed in her throat. "Yeah," she said, her voice rough and low. She cleared her throat. "Yeah, he would. Now what aren't you telling me?"

She took a deep breath, despising the emotions, the vulnerability. The longing. She blinked, setting the thoughts aside.

He sighed, "While you've been scouting in Busparia in the east, our messengers from the west returned. They will agree to the trade agreement and formal recognition of the nation of the Feral Forest but only after we meet in person."

Scarlet nodded. "Which we can't do yet."

"Exactly," Knox said. "We've scheduled a meeting for the spring, after the hatchling is safely here. We hope. So in the meantime, we'll continue building the villages."

Scarlet read his aura and pursed her lips. It flared bright with jagged edges, radiating from his head. "You're more worried about the birth than you're letting on, aren't you?"

The dark circles under his eyes were deeper than normal, but she'd thought it was just because he was new to being a king. Not that he was new to leading people, as he'd led the band of merry outlaws for years without telling her. She was still mad at him about that secret.

He nodded. "I've read all the books I could find here and at the dwarves' place, but what if the birth of the egg goes wrong? What if it takes hundreds of years for the egg to hatch like it did me? What if—"

"You can't what-if this, Knox. You'll drive yourself sick with worry. Have you talked to the old medicine woman, Lailant?"

He nodded. "And the druids, and the dwarves, and Leopol. They all say it's going to be fine, that the mate bond will help her."

Helplessness made his shoulders droop, and she gave a wry smile.

"Well, you'll know soon enough."

"They think it'll be around the full moon."

"That's next week," Scarlet murmured. Knox didn't reply, both of them thinking through the possibilities, analyzing the situation and all the potential outcomes the way her father had taught them.

Scarlet sighed and looked around. A maid with leaves for hair stared at her with wide eyes from the closed glass doors to the garden. When she locked eyes with the girl jerked and turned away, sweeping the stone patio outside.

Scarlet's head pounded, and she just wanted to get away from the stares and into the peace of the forest. Not that anyone had ever called the Feral Forest peaceful before.

"I'll go get Grandma. She should be here," Scarlet said. "Between her, the other druids, and the medicine woman, Eirwyn will be fine."

Knox sighed, his shoulders lowering. "Thanks, Scarlet. I sure hope so. If anything were to happen to Eirwyn… well, let's just say that I understand how the queen could've cursed us with her grief."

Scarlet's jaw clenched. She didn't know what that worry was like. Since her dad had died years ago and she'd become a mercenary Hunter, she'd tried to shut down most emotions. Except anger and now the need for revenge, since it was what kept the fear at bay. Those drove her forward.

But for her brother, she'd put a pin in those plans. "I'll restock my supplies and head out at first light. I'll bring her back before the full moon."

The weight of responsibility was almost as bad as the weight of the antlers as he stared at her with hope. "Thanks, I owe you one."

She smirked, trying to lighten the mood as Eirwyn came back through the door. "So, what else is new?"

He chuckled, his eyes lighting up as he saw his wife come back into the room.