Page 31 of A Thieving Curse

His mouth cut into a deep frown. “Good day, Princess.” He walked around her, and she grasped for something, anything, to change his mind.

“If that’s true, how can you hide here?” She turned to face him. “You have to tell your Court of Lords—”

The dragon-man barked a laugh that ended in a snarl. “You don’t understand!” His eyes glowed like rubies tossed into a fire. He bared his teeth, the two fangs more terrifying in the daylight. She drew into herself, wishing she could vanish. “Or you do. Clearly.”

“…understand?”

He sighed, and his wings drooped. “I faced the Court of Lords at nine. I’d spent my entire life around them, but after I…changed, they looked at me and saw a monster. They weren’t sure what to do with me. Try to find a cure? Send me away? Lock me up? Kill me? But making me king wasn’t an option. No one wants a monster as king.” He lowered his head, and golden light haloed his horns. “Besides, if I go back, my uncle will kill me before I have a chance to explain anything.”

She chewed on her lip, searching for an alternative. “What if you tell me what to explain—”

“No!” His head snapped up and his burning eyes fixed on her. Her lungs seized. “They don’t want me! Will my people plead their case to a monster? Will they swear their fealty to a demon?”

His speech grew deeper and smoke curled out of his mouth and nose. “Will other kingdoms continue to trade with us? Or might they decide Rethalyon needs liberated from its dragon ruler? Would your father have kept the treaty withme? Would he!”

“No,” she whispered. And she would have refused.

“The Court knows that. Henry can’t know I’m alive. He’ll kill me and Jasper and Peter and Meredith for helping me.” His tail pounded the earth. “I’m not letting you put yourself and Rethalyon’s peace in danger by walking right into Henry’s hands. And I’m not risking you telling and endangering my family. If I return you, we will spend the rest of our lives looking over our shoulders.”

“And what about my family? They—”

“You want to prevent a war, Princess? You want your family safe? Stay here.” He started toward the cave.

“Please! I won’t tell, I swear. I won’t say a word. Just take me to the pass—”

“No!”

“You…you monster!” She rubbed her watering eyes.

He spun around, his shoulders rising and falling. “I’m. Not. A. Monster.”

“You act like one!”

“Shut up.” His wings jerked, and his cheeks turned red.

“Why?” Raelyn’s voice shook despite her attempt to control it. If she had to be miserable wondering about her family, he could be miserable, too. Perhaps she could annoy him into wanting her gone. “What will you do? Eat me? Burn me? Cut me with your claws? You’re horrid! Growling and snarling like a beast while pretending you’re preventing me from getting safely to my parents for noble reasons you probably made up! You can’t decide my fate for me, you have no right! You’re nothing but a cruel, selfish monster!”

He sneered and moved so close his breath heated her face. “Oh, I’m starting to be glad I’m not stuck marryingyou.”

She recoiled. “You’reglad? I’d rather die than marry a demon.”

“Because the son of a murderous throne-stealer is a better alternative?” Mockery dripped from his gravelly voice.

Raelyn clenched her fists, shaking with rage. “Are you even Prince Alexander? Maybe everything you say is a lie. Like the Serpent of Hularn who lied to travelers to trap them.” The wounded fury that twisted his face pricked her conscience, but she was too angry to care. “You’ll spread stories of your captive maiden to lure knights in and eat them until one finally kills you. You’re no prince; you’re not even human! You’re a dragon—”

The monster threw his head back and roared flames. When he looked back, his pupils and nose had become reptilian. Behind her, someone shouted.

“A dragon?” His voice rasped as smoke poured from his lips. He winced and fell onto all fours. “You’re getting a dragon, Princess.”

She stood transfixed as his entire body twitched. His face contorted and lengthened. Black and blood-red scales covered every inch of visible skin. He groaned. His clothes tore as rippling muscles swelled.

The beast’s wings grew larger and unfolded, and its tail elongated and broadened. Its spiraling horns widened as they extended. The dragon’s body shuddered, then it raised a head large enough to crush her. Claws as long as her hand from wrist to fingertip curved from scaled paws. It snapped its enormous maw, rows of sharp teeth glinting in the sun.

“Now I’m a monster, Princess.” The low, resounding voice vibrated her bones. “Now I want to eat you.” A forked tongue flicked toward her.

Raelyn collapsed to her knees, trembling uncontrollably. The dragon roared, throwing fire into the sky. Wings beat the air, creating a strong wind that stung her eyes as the creature rose and flew away.

“What happened?” Meredith asked as she knelt next to Raelyn.

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