Page 62 of A Thieving Curse

Raelyn pressed her hand to her mouth.

He shook his head. “Alex didn’t know how to use his wings. He kept flapping them awkwardly. And crying. He couldn’t stop crying.” Jasper inhaled a deep breath. “Alex tried to tell them what happened, but all he could get out was, ‘Henry was in my room.’ Eventually he said, ‘not my mother,’ over and over. The lords were terrified. And Henry kept lying about the king and queen and calling Alexander a monstrous offspring of evil and a product of black magic, all while tugging and pulling at Alex like he was a disfigured animal.” Jasper’s tone took on a vengeful edge. “Henry made him out to be a dangerous threat. A nine-year-old boy who was bound and crying and kept hitting himself with his own tail.”

“How…” Raelyn’s tongue was so dry, she had difficulty speaking.

“Henry tossed him aside to argue with the lords, and Alex finally got his wings working. He crashed through a window and found a place to hide.”

Once again, Raelyn wondered why Alexander wasn’t angrier and cruel. But she understood even more why he’d been so intent on not letting her go to the palace and marry Henry’s son.

They fell into silence as Jasper returned to aggressively churning the butter, and Raelyn was lost in her thoughts about Jasper’s story. After the dishes were finished, Raelyn turned to Meredith.

“Alexander mentioned he has a library.” Raelyn curled a strand of hair that had come free of her braid around her finger. Books always offered shelter when life became too heavy. “Could you tell me where to find it?”

Meredith smiled, her eyes shining. “Of course! Go back out into the dining room, but instead of turning toward your room, head to the left. Go down that tunnel, you’ll pass a couple little alcoves. It’s the first door on your right.”

“Thank you.”

Raelyn lit a torch in the dining cavern’s fire and headed down the other tunnel. Alexander usually came from that direction, so she guessed his room must be somewhere down that tunnel as well.I guess he wanted his little library near his room.

She passed the alcoves Meredith had mentioned and stopped at the door on the right, the first one she came across. It still amazed her the work they’d put into making the cave their home. She turned the handle and pushed the door open.

A fire blazed in a large fireplace. A narrow, short bookshelf stood directly across from the door, between a dresser and a bed. And in the middle of the floor, doing push-ups and not wearing a shirt, was Alexander.

Raelyn stopped short, momentarily frozen in place. He pushed off the floor and lifted his head as the door squeaked. His eyes widened, and he collapsed, his wings flapping to keep him from falling. She thought about him at nine, unable to control them as his uncle tortured him in front of his lords. Her heart twisted.I can’t believe I ever saw a monster.

Alexander’s wings lifted him to his feet. He looked at her, his face red. “Raelyn? Uh…” His wings refolded. “What…what are you doing…here?”

Raelyn stared mutely at his torso and lean, muscular arms. He looked just as strong as he felt while carrying her. She blinked and spun around, her cheeks burning, and not only from the heat of the fire.

“I was looking for your library.” Her voice was irritatingly high-pitched. She cleared her throat. “Meredith didn’t say your books were in your room. I would have knocked. I’m sorry.”

“No worries,” he said warmly. “Come in. You can borrow any of the books you like.”

She looked over her shoulder. He still stood in the center of the room, sweat glistening on his bare chest. “Are you…going to put on a shirt?”

“If that would make you more comfortable.” He flashed a teasing grin as he crossed over to the dresser and retrieved a shirt. Inside were stacks of black fabric.

“Why do you only wear black?”

“It compliments my wings.” He winked. “I don’t know; I like black. So Meredith gets black fabric to make my clothes. One of the few things I can choose for myself. She’s irked with you, by the way.”

“Me?” Raelyn fully turned around to face him, confused. “Why?”

“Well, really more at me, but you were part of why I lost control twice and ruined two perfectly good shirts and trousers.” Mischief flickered in his eyes. “When I choose to shift, I strip first.”

Something suddenly felt like it was lodged in her throat. She focused on the bookcase.Does he have to keep bringing that up?And why couldn’t he get dressed already? She glanced over. He was fiddling with the shirt. Undoing the buttons, she realized. He pulled the shirt over his head, but the sides flapped and hung strangely.

“If you’re going to insist that I wear a shirt, can you at least help me?” He turned around and his wings opened halfway. “Do up the buttons?”

Her gaze moved from his wings to the splits in the cloth beneath them. She took a deep breath and set down the torch just outside the door. “All…right. Just…don’t hit me with your tail.” In response, he curled his tail around his leg as she approached his back.

Raelyn reached under his right wing and pulled the fabric together. Her fingers fumbled with pushing the buttons through the eyelets. It was taking forever. Her hands were sweaty, and the crackling of the fire seemed inordinately loud.

“I have—had—servants for this kind of thing,” she mumbled. “Sorry.”

“Take your time, I’m not in a hurry.”

For some reason, that made her want to go faster. She finally finished the right side and moved to the left. Her fingertips brushed his back as she picked up the sides of the opening. She flushed and focused on fastening the buttons. Finished, she stepped back. “Done.”

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