Page 28 of A Thieving Curse

Lucas blushed. “Sorry. Dad says I talk too much.”

“Peter’s your father?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Not many people to talk to up here. Just Alex, my parents, and Jasper.” He shifted against the wall. The lantern swung in his hand. “Jasper isn’t much fun. There is the village, though. We got trapped there once, when it snowed. I got to talk to so many people! I made some friends—well, they’re sort of friends. We talk and spar when we visit the village. But we don’t go often enough.”

“This village.” Raelyn tried not to look too interested. “How…far is it?”

“Oh, about a half day—” His eyes narrowed. “You want to run away.”

“Of course I want to run away!” Her hand quivered, and she clenched her fist. “Yes, I like being a princess. I enjoy living in a palace, with windows and sunlight and more comfortable beds and servants and no dragon-men. And there are people counting on me.” She looked up, pleading. “Ineedto go. Please. Help me.”

Lucas shook his head. “Alex wouldn’t like that.”

“So youareafraid of him?”

“Oh, no.” He frowned. “But he’s the closest thing I have to a brother. I won’t betray him. Plus, he’s my prince. I’d think you’d understand obeying your sovereign, Princess.”

“Brother?” Her first instinct was to argue, but perhaps she should try to understand. “You truly aren’t afraid that one day he’ll turn into a dragon and eat you?”

Lucas laughed. A deep, hearty laugh that left Raelyn feeling like she had missed a joke. “Alex wouldn’t eat me! Even when he loses control, he can still manage not to kill anybody. Why are you so scared of him, anyway? He’s not that frightening.”

“To us, Lucas.” Jasper’s voice at the door made Raelyn jump. He ambled in, his hands clasped behind his hunched form. “I came to see what was taking young Lucas so long.”

“We were talking.” Lucas straightened. “But then she asked me to help her run away.”

“I see.” Jasper stopped next to Lucas. They stood about the same height, due to the curve of Jasper’s back. “Go help your mother and leave the princess alone.”

“Yes, sir.” Lucas headed for the door, then stopped. “She wanted to take a bath. Should I get the water ready, or—”

“Yes, Lucas.” Jasper nodded. “That would be helpful.”

Lucas left, but Jasper stayed. He stood, silent, while she picked at some cheese. It was unsettling. At last, she faced him.

“Did you have something to say?”

He tilted his head. “I’m trying to decide if you’ll listen. Whyareyou so afraid of Alexander, Your Grace?”

She would have assumed he was joking if not for his disappointed expression. “First, he looks—”

“Ah, but appearances can be deceiving, can’t they, Princess?” Jasper cast a pointed glance at her disheveled clothing, and her face heated. “He did not choose his curse. His appearance and his situation are not his fault. And just like you are still princess of Eynlae, even dirty in a cave, he is still human, regardless of where he lives or how the curse makes him look. He’s not a monster. Not where it matters. Not in his heart.”

Raelyn shifted and pushed her horribly tangled hair over her shoulder while she pondered Jasper’s words. The dragon-man appeared to be a monster, with his wings and growl so like the manticore’s and his snarl and fangs like the wolf that had left its mark on her ankle. But those beasts had attacked while the dragon-man had rescued her. But then he had terrified her.

“He grabbed and pushed me—”

“And he apologized,” Jasper said patiently. “Humans make mistakes, too, Your Grace. Or is everyone faultless in Eynlae?”

He reminded her of her tutors, gently but unbendingly directing her toward the correct answer. Only in this instance, she wasn’t certain his answer was right.

“Alexander is pleasant enough to talk with when you treat him like a human instead of a violent animal.” Jasper rubbed his shoulder. “I think you should speak to him. Explain your reasons for wanting to leave. Let him explain his side.”

“I tried to explain! He doesn’t care.”

“If you let him defend himself, you’ll find otherwise.”

A clattering sound echoed in the tunnel, drawing closer, and then Lucas walked in, rolling a large wooden tub in front of him with one hand and holding the lantern in the other. He deposited the tub by the fire as Meredith and Peter followed him in, bearing buckets of steaming water. They poured the water into the bath while Lucas stoked the fire.

“Back in a moment with more water,” Meredith said before they slipped out the door.

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