Page 15 of A Thieving Curse

“What are you?” Her voice quivered, and she didn’t stop cowering. She had nothing to defend herself with if he attacked, and she wouldn’t get far on her ankle. Her hands wouldn’t stop shaking.

“I’m Alexander.” The beast offered a tight-lipped, tense smile. “And you are…?”

Petrified.She stared at the monster who seemed to think the nameAlexandertold her what it was. She couldn’t maintain eye contact with his red eyes, but when she looked anywhere else—at the wings so similar to the manticore’s, at the tail that curled next to his foot, at the horns on his head, at the wicked claws on his otherwise human hands—she felt ill. So she fixated on her knees instead.

The demon sighed. “I suppose I don’t really need your name, since you won’t be here long.”

Not long…oh… No, please, no.Gulping, she examined the room for anything that could be used as a weapon and came up empty. She grasped a frail hope.Maybe a monster with a name can be reasoned with.“Please d—don’t eat me.”

“Eat…I—”

“I can get you gold!” She wrapped her arms around her knees, trying to stop trembling. She forced herself to look at him but focused on his nose instead of those glinting red eyes. “Jewels or—”

“Oh, hush.” The monster’s tail flicked as he pursed his lips.

Raelyn looked down at her dirt-stained, ripped dress and touched her fingertips to the knotted ends of her hair. He must think her either lying or insane.

“I’m not lying!” Tears gathered in the corner of her eyes. “If you let me go—”

“Iamletting you go.” She snapped her head up. The demon stepped aside and swept his arm toward the door, but his face was pinched, and his voice had lost a little of its smoothness. “Iwasgoing to ask where you were headed and offer to take you there, but never mind. Just go.”

“Alex,” Jasper said, his tone gentle.

The monster huffed and dropped his arm. “Jasper says you were traveling with your family? How were you separated?”

The silkiness of the creature’s voice relaxed the clenched muscles in her neck and back, then made her uncomfortable. Raelyn shivered.Is he trying to cast a spell on me?

She mustered all her courage and looked at the demon. Sometimes, in stories, illusions could be countered by truth. Perhaps if she could see his true nature, he wouldn’t be able to enchant her.

“We were attacked by a manticore in Thetlane Pass.” She cringed at the squeak in her voice. “My horse spooked and ran away.”

The monster tilted his head. “Thet—oh, you mean Gonah Way.” Understanding crossed his face. “You’re from Eynlae.”

“Yes.” She eyed the open door.

“Were you headed into or out of Rethalyon?”

“To Rethalyon.” Raelyn took deep breaths to calm herself. She could leave. He’d said she could. But she had no idea how to find the pass. She’d be lost in the woods. “I want to leave now.”

The monster nodded. “If you’re up to traveling.”

“I…” She rubbed her arm and looked to Jasper, who watched her with kind eyes. “I don’t know the way.” Would asking for a map do her any good? Maps weren’t always accurate, and she didn’t really know how to navigate by one.

The beast grunted and ruffled the hair between his horns. “Where were you headed?”

Raelyn thought of stories of princesses captured and hidden away by monsters. Would he change his mind about letting her go if she told the truth? Or be more willing to help if he knew the reward waiting at the end? Perhaps a half-truth. “Hathlon, but my family is on the pass.”

The dragon-man stiffened, watching her like a serpent considering whether to strike. “The royal town. Why?”

“Does it matter?” She sat taller in an attempt at regal confidence. “If my family survived, they will be looking for me near the pass. If you take me to them, you’ll be rewarded.” The thought of spending more time in the presence of this monster made her shudder, but she would never make it on her own. “Gold…gems…whatever you want.”

The demon growled, too close to the snarls of the wolves for her anxious heart. The red of his eyes brightened, glowing. “And I’d want gold because I’m a dragon?”

He is a dragon-man. I’m not insane.She tucked her chin behind her knees again, feeling more like a child than a princess. “N-no. Because you’re…a man. Men…like riches.” A horrifying thought occurred to her, and she gripped her skirts.And one other thing.

“What do you desire?” She took a deep breath to steady her warbling voice. “We weren’t travelling with much gold, but we can get more. I swear it. Whatever you want, you’ll have it.”Unless it’s me.The beast glared, eyes slitted as if he didn’t believe her. “Please. Once we arrive at the palace—”

Smoke curled out of the dragon-man’s nose as his lips pulled back and he snarled. She whimpered but fought the urge to cower again. She couldn’t let him intimidate her so easily.

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