Dragon Lake

One more kill—and then I’m free.

If only it were that simple.

Ancient curses call for desperate measures, and to escape mine, I’ve become a murderer. But ‘freedom’ trades one chain for another, and I’ll be damned if I’m marrying that filthy sorcerer.

Unfortunately, a girl who turns into a dragon doesn’t have many options. Even if I did, who could love a monster?

Certainly not the prince in front of me.

The handsome prince in front of me—who I’m meant to kill.

Could my last target be my final chance?

Men are foolish, predictable creatures.

This one was no different.

I peered out from the tree concealing me and waited, scanning the moonlit forest for the prince that believed he chased a helpless, innocent maiden.

I was neither.

The dragon within me writhed as she always did at night, clawing and scraping at my insides even harder now that my target was near. He’d fallen behind and wouldn’t be able to make out details through the mist.

He wouldn’t be able to tell the dragon was me.

I gathered my dress in my fists. Silver embroidery trailed up the sleeves and the garment wasn’t cumbersome—a rare find. The minute I shifted, it would be ruined like all the others. If I took it off while still in one piece, I could retrieve it later...and surely I deserved such a luxury on my final mission. Once this was done, I’d be free of the dragon forever.

Bunching the skirt, I threw it over my head and pulled. And pulled. How many layers did this damn thing have? It’d felt light while I was running, but perhaps that was just excitement flooding through my veins. The dragon thrashed against my ribcage, making my task no easier.
And now my arms were stuck. I gritted my teeth and swore, yanking despite the discomfort. I couldn’t see, and the prince’s voice was getting louder. Closer.

My petty desire was proving to be a fatal mistake.

The fabric gave way at long last. My shoulders popped free, and my arms soon followed. As the dress floated to the ground and the prince’s silhouette became visible through the mist, my dragon came alive.

The act of shifting wasn’t as painful as it was cathartic. Talons were first to sprout, bursting through the ends of my fingers and toes with such violence that splatters of crimson flecked the ground. Though the still-human part of me wanted to scream, I bit my tongue. The same moment hair retreated into my scalp, wings burst from my spine, and this time I couldn’t stifle the guttural shriek that tore from my throat. Bones twisted, popped and snapped, and through my blurring vision, the world shrank until even the tallest oaks became little more than twigs. The pain subsided, and my sight went from hazy to razor-focused. I pinpointed the prince chasing after me. I heard his elevated heart rate clear as a war drum. I smelled his exhilaration turned to fear the moment he glimpsed me.

I yearned next to taste his blood.

He staggered backward, and a draconian laugh quaked the ground beneath our feet. The beast took over when he started to run. Snarling, I stepped forward to crush a handful of trees. Trunks and other carnage fell in his path, and he screamed before darting to find an exit.
There was one thing I loathed about this body; it was cumbersome. I could fight and kill in each of my forms, but the beast better concealed my identity, and when the dragon took over, things like emotion never got in the way. The dragon yearned for blood; nothing more, and nothing less. The human in me, no matter how much I tried to shut her out, felt things...so I needed to make this quick.

The sooner this ended, the better for all involved. Once I finished him, I could go home for good. Ten princes, ten kills, and I would never be tormented by the dragon again. That was the deal Rothbart and I had made…well, most of it. There was still the matter of my master’s other demands, but the dragon shoved those thoughts aside.

I had a prince to devour.