Page 29 of Court of Rivals
“Taste?” he asks, looking confused.
“Defeat,” I say, licking my dry lips. “How does it taste?”
Fury colors his face. I turn away from him, dropping the flag, and head back towards the crowd of men, who are all silent now. All of them staring at me. I suddenly don’t like the tension that moves between us. My steps slow, and I adjust my path to walk around them, feeling threatened without a single one touching me, which is unsettling.
“Hey Cock Sucker?” Prince Lucien calls from behind me.
I don’t slow.
“Want to meet me in my room later, so I can teach you a lesson about who’s really in charge out here?”
Keeping my pace even, I call back over my shoulder. “If I wanted to be disappointed, I’d bet on you defeating me in the obstacle course next time.”
As I walk past, I catch Roland’s eye. He gives me a silent look of worry before glancing down at his shoes.It’s good to know I shouldn’t count on support there. Or anywhere here.
I guess if I’m going to become a dragon rider, I’m going to do it alone.
13
Harper
We’ve finished lunch, and the men have completely ignored me. The ones surrounding me at the table made a point to not include me in any of the conversation, and even catching their eyes resulted in glares. It’s weird. I’ve never been treated like this in my life. In Pennyvale, everyone loves me. They’re constantly grateful to me for helping them with their healing needs. They laugh at my stories. They seek me out for gifts and conversation.
I have to keep reminding myself that this isn’t about me. This is about their fragile male egos. Me just existing is enough to rock their pathetic worlds. So they can treat me like shit. They can leave me out. But nothing they do is going to make me forget that I’m Harper Fucking Nightborne. Daughter of two strong parents. Sister to four crazy brothers.
I’m tougher than anyone they’ve ever encountered before.
The princes are seated separately throughout the room. All of them constantly being pulled into conversation by the other dragon riders. Prince Lucien seems to be the center of attention, always having some kind of antidote or story that sends the whole group of men laughing. Prince Alaric seems to offer a lotof advice and direction, which the men listen to earnestly. And Prince Gareth seems quiet, but speaks to the others when he’s pulled into the conversation.
Three such different men.How could they possibly be brothers?
Except that they all seem to be in equal agreement that they don’t like me. Which, again, is weird. Men usually seem to like me.
I try not to stare at them. To even look in their directions. But there’s just something about them… something that makes me feel connected to them in a way that I don’t understand. It’s like our hearts are all beating in the same rhythm, but it’s the only thing we have in common. This weird connection, this string between us.
I’ve never felt this way before… it makes me uneasy.
Prince Lucien is laughing at something. Light dances in his piercing green eyes, making him even more handsome. Our gazes catch and hold. His smile vanishes, and for a long second we just look at each other, before he glances away.
A shiver rolls down my spine, and I release a deep breath.
Prince Alaric glances in my direction, his spine stiffens, and he looks away frantically. I wonder what he sees that makes him so reluctant to make eye contact with me. Maybe my bruised up face? But whatever it is, it doesn’t stop his gaze from swinging back to me over and over again.
For Prince Gareth’s part, he doesn’t look in my direction, but is it weird that I think he senses me? His back is straight. His hand is clenched around his fork, and there are small lines at the corners of his eyes that suggest he’s feeling tense.
I’m just thankful that hedoesn’tlook in my direction, because usnotlooking at each other feels really intense already.
Thankfully, lunch finishes. We go out to the practice yards and the men start removing their shirts like they always do. Asmuch as I hate all of them, it’s not a bad sight. Especially the princes. All this practicing might have made their brains small, but it’s done a lot for their muscles.They don’t make men like them in Pennyvale.
And maybe that’s a good thing.
Prince Gareth stands on a lifting bench. “Today, we’ll be running training sessions with our dragons. Remember, we can have fun out there, but you need to take this seriously. Today it’s just us in the sky, but one day it’ll be us with the Hollowborn.”
I’m not one hundred percent sure what training in the sky looks like. Whatever we did last time certainly just seemed to piss them off. Today, I’ll make sure Ebron and I fall back and learn what we need to learn. I might be feeling competitive with these guys, but first and foremost I’m here to learn how to fight the Hollowborn. I told Ebron I would be the warrior he needs, and I plan to follow through with my word.
“Call your dragons to you!” Prince Gareth orders.
I’m about to start shouting when I remember that I can communicate with him through my mind by directing my thoughts. Right. That’s a thing.
