Page 35 of A Thieving Curse

“And if, in this scenario, the crown prince fell into your hands, would you lead him straight to your cousin and say, ‘here you go, blessings on your union?’”

“Well, probably not, but—”

“Then what would you do?”

She opened her mouth, then closed it. “I…don’t know.”

“Honestly? Me neither.” He traced a claw through the dirt, sounding sad and frustrated. “But I’m not sending you to my cousin and uncle. I won’t let them steal or destroy anything else.”

“I don’t belong to you,” she said unsteadily.

“I’m not saying you do,” the prince snapped. He exhaled heavily. “The treaty doesn’t apply to me anymore. I’m prince by blood only. But it should never have applied to my cousin. More importantly, I won’t send an innocent girl to the son of a murderer. I meant what I said. Henry is dangerous. He’ll gladly hurt anyone if it benefits him. And frankly, Jasper was surprised Henry signed your father’s treaty. Henry had always opposed the original treaty. Said it wasn’t profitable enough, that it took advantage of Rethalyon.”

Raelyn curled up tighter against the cold air. What if he was right? What if her entire future was built on the lies of a murderer? If Henry would use her to threaten her father, maybe she should be glad the dragon prince had rescued her…

A new thought occurred to her. “How did you know I needed saved?” She peered at him. “From the wolves?”

The dragon-man rubbed his bare shoulder. “I happened to be awake and decided to stretch my wings. I’m not some nocturnal beast prowling the night for prey, if that’s what you were thinking. I…” He took a deep breath and looked at the sky. “I have nightmares, sometimes.”

Nightmares?She massaged her aching ankle.Someone so frightening has nightmares?But then, suddenly sprouting monstrous appendages could give anyone nightmares. Meredith had said Raelyn had been more unkind than she knew.I threw his suffering in his face.

His tail rustled over the ground. “And if you’re wondering, after I got back and the others told me you ran away, I went looking for you. I was afraid I’d be too late.”

“You…were?”

“I told you. I don’t want you to die.” He looked at her. “Can I ask something of you, Princess?”

She regarded him suspiciously. “You can ask. I won’t promise an answer.”

The cursed prince laughed. “Fair enough. Can you give me another chance? Can you try to see past the dragon to Alexander? Give me a chance to show you I’m not just a monster?”

She was starting to realize he wasn’t. Not entirely, anyway, and certainly not by choice. She couldn’t survive on the mountain without him and being friendly might help him change his mind about finding her family.

“If you’re willing to grant me another chance, as well. I’m not typically so…rude.” Raelyn bit her lip as she thought of facing Lucas. He was probably going to give her an earful—if he would even talk to her after she yelled at him.

“Second chances all around.” The dragon prince stood, his wings swaying awkwardly to keep himself covered. “Ready to go back?”

“The cave is better than here.” She stood.

He cleared his throat. “This is awkward, but…I’m naked.”

“I noticed.” Heat immediately flooded her face and neck. “I—I—”

His laugh rippled with mirth. “Sorry to make you uncomfortable. Unfortunate side effect of shifting.” He backed away from her. “But I don’t want to walk all the way back naked. Between trying to stay decent and the branches, it would be a long and miserable walk. So brace yourself, Princess.”

13

THE PRINCE MOANED and fell onto all fours, shaking. His wings unfurled, and Raelyn was thankful she couldn’t see his naked body clearly in the dark. Scales emerged through his skin and his shape grew bigger, bulkier, transforming into a dragon. A gigantic, fiery reptilian eye fixed on her. He knelt on his front legs and angled his wings away from his shoulders.

“Climb on.” The rumble of his voice resonated through her boots.

She startled. “What?”

“It’s that or I pick you up with my paws and carry you.”

Her gut twisted. Neither of those options seemed pleasant.

“Choose quickly, Princess. I’m growing impatient.”

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