Page 26 of Court of Rivals
If a woman and a commoner can be a dragon rider, then they are not as special as they think. They have to acknowledge within themselves that there’s nothing truly special about them. They’re simply people who train, people who try to connect with dragons, but anyone can do that. It shakes the fragile foundation of their egos, leaving them wondering if they’re really as important as they’ve convinced themselves they are all along.
“Wow,” I say, my thoughts everywhere and nowhere all at once. “I hadn’t thought about it that way.”
Humans always fear change. Always fear a loss of power. It is in their nature.
“Thanks,” I say, “that strangely enough makes me feel better.”
Touching my face again, I wince. “This is embarrassing to admit, but I’ve never really been hurt before. As a healer, I’ve seen a lot of pain. I’ve helped a lot of people, but I haven’t really experienced pain like that before. Especially not someone hurting me.”
As a warrior, you will get better with pain. Unfortunately, it’s a part of battle. Even though I’venever had a dragon rider before, never lived this life before, I have fought many bone wyrm in my life. The first battle is always the hardest.
“Right.” I close my eyes. “So, it’ll get better. I’ll get used to this, and next time I’ll be stronger.”
Still, tears roll down my cheeks. I let the wind take them away, trying to hide my sniffles. I want Ebron to see me as a warrior worthy of him. Not a frightened, inexperienced child.
“I’ll do better. You’ll see,” I tell him, taking a deep breath.
Of course you will. I chose you because you are a great warrior already, training will only make you better.
I don’t say anything, but I hope he’s right.I have to be cut out for this. I just have to be.
12
Harper
Breakfast today is going smoother than the group meals yesterday. I’m not sure if it’s because Ebron scared the crap out of everyone, or if it’s because of the fact that I have a black eye and half my face is swollen, but no one will look at me.
Prince Alaric was the only person who’d made eye contact with me. He’d spotted me earlier when we were headed to the dining hall and zeroed in on the damage to my face. When he saw it, he had the most shocked look on his face before dropping his head and walking as fast as he could away. I don’t know what that means, but I seriously doubt he has any regrets about yesterday.
Assholes don’t have human feelings.
The bell tolls again, and the dragon riders get up in a rush and start heading out the doors. Roland waits for me again. He appears to be trying his best to help me without the other people noticing, which I’m trying not to be too offended about.
“How are you doing?” he asks, looking guilty as he studies my face. “Punching someone in the face is about the only thing people don’t typically do in the sparring ring.”
I touch it and try not to wince. “It’s not too bad. I’ll survive."
I’d put on a comfrey poultice last night, after getting more herbs with Ebron near the city. It’d help to ease the pain and reduce the swelling. I might not heal as fast as Ebron, but my skills would help me heal faster.
“I can say that not many men could handle a punch from one of the princes that well.”
“Yeah?”
He gives me a small smile. “Those guys are built like brick walls.”
“I’m guessing they get it from the king?”
The kingwasa rather large and intimidating man. Even more intimidating than his giant throne.
He nods. “That whole family line is massive. It’s one of the few ways the princes seem to be similar.”
I think of them. “They do look very different.”
“Well, none of them have the same mom so…” He looks awkward. “The king is a man who has beautiful women throwing themselves at him night and day. He chooses the ones he wants, not bothering with a queen, and then treats them royally when they become pregnant with his children. So far, there’s just the three of them, but a man’s fertility is limitless so, who knows, there may be more eventually.”
I’d heard rumors, but there’s only so much I can learn in my small town. “So, why don’t they seem all that close?”
Roland turns, and we start walking. “Well, their moms all had them fairly close in age, and from the moment they were born, they were in competition with each other. I think the king actually enjoyed it for a time, because it drove them to try to constantly be better. But in recent years, I think the king regrets them not being close. He knows that he won’t be around forever, and he worries that the kingdom will dissolve into a war between the three men, and the people that back them. He’s been looking for something to bring them together, but I can honestly saywith how much they hate each other, that I can’t see that happening.”
