Page 89 of A Thieving Curse

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GARETH SAW HER settled in, although Raelyn suspected he was just ensuring Tristan left. She wanted to tell Gareth the truth, to beg him to help her dissuade Tristan. But Henry’s warnings stopped her. What if Gareth thought she was enchanted? They’d leave her alone with Henry. The idea twisted her insides. Once they were far away from Henry, she’d tell him.

They departed early the next morning, while the sun was still low on the horizon. Henry watched the party of thirty knights, soldiers, and hunters ride out of the courtyard. His gaze lingered on Raelyn, chilling her to her core.

She had hoped her parents would arrive before they left, but Tristan was impatient to set out. Not knowing where they were made her nervous about whether they’d traveled safely back through the pass.

The proximity of so many listening ears provided no opportunity for Raelyn to talk to Gareth. Tristan kept close to her, further complicating her plan to speak with Gareth in private. What would she do if they reached Klainar, and she hadn’t been able to tell Gareth about Alexander?

They entered the foothills on the second day after their departure, and after another day arrived at Mount Liran. As the closest to the pass of the highest peaks, Tristan had decided to start searching there. As they scoured the mountain for signs of a dragon or cave, Raelyn kept catching sight of Mount Klainar, the next peak over. Its closeness terrified her, and in her panic, she simply said “no” every time Tristan inquired if she recognized anything. By nightfall, he was frustrated and on edge.

“Is it worth spending another day on Liran?” Tristan asked as they scrutinized a map that night.

“Surely we would have spotted a cave large enough for a dragon.” Gareth rubbed the side of his neck. “And Raelyn didn’t recognize anything.”

“Agreed.” Tristan tapped the next tall peak on the map. “We’ll head to Mount Klainar in the morning.”

Raelyn’s chest burned. She had to do something. After supper, she took advantage of Tristan’s temporary absence to pull Gareth aside. “I need to talk to you.” She looked around and dropped her voice to a whisper. “Outside of camp.”

“Why…” Gareth’s eyes widened. Glowering, he grabbed her hand and led her into the trees nearby, away from the crackling fires and laughing men. “What happened? Did Tristan do something? One of the knights?”

“What? No.” She shook her head as Gareth’s hard expression eased into relief. “I know this is going to sound insane, but you need to call off the hunt. You can’t kill the dragon.”

He blinked several times. “Why not?”

“Because…I can’t let you.” Raelyn gulped and tried to calm her frantic thoughts enough to offer a coherent argument. “I wasn’t held captive by a dragon, exactly. After my horse threw me, I was attacked by wolves, but this man rescued me—”

“A man?” Gareth gritted his teeth as his hand went to his sword. “Did he hurt you?”

“No, he would never. He was kind and sweet.”

Suspicion crept into his eyes. “Did he”—Gareth cleared his throat—“seduce you?”

“No!” Heat flooded her face. “He wasn’t like that.”

Gareth scowled, but at least he released his sword. “Then…was the dragon a lie?”

This was the difficult part. Raelyn licked her lips. “No… He, um, is the dragon. A dragon-man. He was cursed, so he has dragon features like wings and claws and can turn into an actual dragon, but—”

“So you’re saying this man rescued you, then turned into a dragon and kept you captive?”

“No, not exactly—”

“But you said a massive dragon held you prisoner in a cave while you feared for yourlife. You told me you had to escape and wandered in the mountains. Are you saying you…” His neck corded. “You lied to me?”

“Yes, but I had to—”

“Rae?” The hurt in Gareth’s tone filled her with guilt. “We tell each other the truth. Always.”

“I know.” She reached toward him, but he pulled away, sending a pang through her chest. “I wanted to explain sooner, but Tristan was always around, and…it’s complicated,” she said weakly.

“So un-complicate it.” He gripped her shoulders. “Rae, you’re scaring me. I don’t believe you would stay with a dragon-man unless it forced you, and I can’t accept you’d defend a monster that held you captive. I don’t understand why you lied to me. Help me understand.”

She hadn’t wanted to explain everything, not when she could risk someone overhearing, but there wasn’t a way around it. She glanced toward the camp but didn’t see anyone. “He kept me in the mountains to protect me, because he believes Henry is violent and might threaten or hurt me to manipulate Father. But when I heard you were being held prisoner, I asked him to take me to the palace, and he did, even though—”

“Asked?” Gareth’s hands fell from her shoulders. “Why didn’t you ask before that? You turned your back on us? On Eynlae? I thought you were dead, our parents think you’re dead, and you only had to ask?”

“No! Gareth, I swear, I wanted to come back—”

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