Page 46 of A Thieving Curse

Raelyn tried not to look too impressed. “Show-off.”

With a grin, Alexander straightened and scratched the back of his head. “What? Not at all. Unless I need to tell the eagle he’s a show-off next time I see him diving at fish in the lake.” He winked, and she felt a strange warmth in her chest. He eyed the sky, which was deepening to a dark blue as the sun touched the horizon. “We should head back.”

She followed him back into the forest. Although the prince walked at a leisurely stroll, she had to hurry to keep up, and her skirt kept catching on shrubs. Her thoughts were everywhere. His tail and horns still looked monstrous, but looking at his wings now…

She recalled the proud, carefree smile on his face as he flew. Remembered how exciting it had been to fly on his back, even though she was terrified of the dragon beneath her. His wings didn’t seem horrible anymore.

The story of the monster prince came back to her.The son of a wicked king and evil sorceress queen.Mottled sunlight glinted off the points of his horns.His uncle was the hero in that version, after the monster prince attacked.But the beast died in that story—and it wasn’t the story Meredith told. The questions Raelyn had been holding in pressed against her tongue.

“Can I ask you something?”

He slowed and peeked over his shoulder. “Of course.”

She licked her lips. He seemed to be in a good mood. Might as well go for it. She needed to know everything.“I have some questions, but I can’t tell if you’re lying, so will you promise me—an unbreakable promise—to tell me the truth? The complete truth?”

He stopped and turned toward her, his brows pinched with confusion. “I promise.” His throat bobbed. “On my parent’s graves.”

Raelyn hadn’t been prepared for that kind of promise. Guilt pricked at her, and she dropped her gaze to the grass.I have to know. And surely he won’t break that promise.She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, then looked up. “Was your mother a sorceress?”

His head jerked back, shock and anger flashing over his face. “What? No! Lies!” His eyes glowed, and she stepped back, her heart rate rising. What if he lost control again?

“Falsehood by my uncle! She was the kindest…” He whimpered, a strangled sob that wrenched at her heart. “She got sick. The healers couldn’t figure out what was wrong. She kept getting worse, but she never stopped being kind. She would have healed herself if she were a sorceress! It’s ridiculous!”

“All right,” she said soothingly, anxiety jittering up and down her spine. “I believe you.”

“That’s what you were told?” His chest heaved with short, sharp breaths. Wisps of smoke curled from his nostrils. “My uncle spread that lie—about his own sister—all the way to Eynlae?”

She nodded as her throat constricted.

He let out a slow breath and closed his eyes. “Sorry.” When he opened them again, they’d stopped glowing. “Did you have more questions?”

Raelyn rubbed her skirt between her fingers. Maybe she should stop pushing before she angered him into turning into a dragon again. But she wasn’t trying to be mean; she just wanted the truth. “What happened to your father?”

His expression fell. “He loved my mother. Her death nearly broke him. And then…he started acting peculiar. Hallucinating. Sleep walking. My uncle spread rumors. Jasper thinks my uncle poisoned both my parents.” The prince inhaled deeply. “One day, my father went for a walk and didn’t come back. His body was mangled by crows when they found it, but he’d been stabbed through the heart. My uncle covered that up.”

“And…then he cursed you.”

Alexander nodded. “I can’t talk about…it. I physically can’t.”

“Is there anything you can tell me?” she asked gently.

He swallowed. “After… After my father’s death, the Court of Lords decided to make me king under a regent until I turned eighteen. My uncle said he should be regent. The Lords must have doubted his motives because they appointed another lord instead. Someone who could have no legitimate claim to the throne. Shortly after that, my uncle disappeared for a week. He showed up just before my coronation, claiming he had talked to someone who knew my mother had used dark magic on me. More likely, he was hunting down some witch or sorcerer or fae for the—” He choked, then snorted smoke. “I woke up in the middle of the night—” He made a strange, strangled sound in his throat and winced.

He reallycan’ttalk about it,Raelyn realized.She waited quietly. The prince ground his teeth, his frustration evident.

“The next day…” He spoke slowly, not meeting her eyes. “Henry dragged me, horns, wings, tail and all, before the Court of Lords and ranted about my parents’ wickedness, and…and…”

He turned away. His wings quaked, and his proud posture collapsed as he gasped for breath. Raelyn knew that sound. It was the sound she’d made every night for a week after she found out about the treaty. The sound of trying desperately not to cry. She recalled how he had comforted her after the minotaur. Slowly, carefully, she stepped forward and reached toward the space between his wings.

“He said…” Alexander roared and slashed at the closest aspen. Raelyn jerked back, clutching her hand to her stomach as his claws tore through the bark. Her breaths came in quick gasps as her hands shook. He roared again and fell to his knees, clutching the sides of his head. Heartbreak edged out her fear. Several moments ticked by as he breathed slowly and deeply.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured. “I relive that day enough in my nightmares.” He inhaled and exhaled slowly. “I managed to get away and hide. Thankfully, Jasper found me before my uncle did. He and the others helped me escape and have been with me ever since. That’s the truth. As much of it as I can tell you. I swear it.”

Her heart twisted. She tried to picture him as a nine-year-old boy, still mourning the loss of his parents. A boy who then found himself transformed into a monster, betrayed by his own family. Forced to leave a life of luxury and hide in the mountains as a beast. For no. Good. Reason. Henry should be the one living in a cave, suffering nightmares.

“I’m sorry.” It was an empty, ridiculous thing to say, but she didn’t know what else she could say. And she needed to say something.

“Yes, well.” Alexander stood and turned back to her. “I can fly.” His lips drew tight together, and pain darkened his countenance. “Is that all, Princess?”

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