Page 61 of The Lost Princess

“Didn’t you hear me? Change back, and I’ll let you out.”

A growl rumbled from my chest, and I met his pompous attitude with a vicious one of my own.

“And then what? Everything will go back to the way it was? Just like that?” I snapped my claws together for emphasis.

A benevolent smile softened his features.

“If you would like,” he said softly. He took a few steps closer, one hand reaching out toward me. “You have a choice to make. You can live like … that.” His lips twisted in mockery at my draken form. “Or you can continue your life as a princess. Your husband will never have to know you are a beast. No one ever has to know.”

I blinked. “”My husband?”

Alfred’s grin stretched his entire face. “Of course! I have spent all my time and energy beating the courtiers off you for decades. It is your turn to pay up. I have been offered the ransom of a small kingdom for your hand several times over. I’m sure I can have you wedded and bedded within a fortnight.”

My inner draken raged, dying to break free and rip his smile from his smug face.No one would ever touch us other than our mate!The thought of being permanently shackled to anyone else made my blood boil. I never wanted to feel any other man on me. No one except Nasi!

I sucked in a breath and closed my eyes. The thought of Nasi’s arms around me, his tongue battling with mine, calmed me momentarily. I thought of the way he pinned me against the stone wall and how his need pressed in against my core. I remembered how he’d covered me with furs and given me everything he’d had even if it was next to nothing.

My draken settled.Mate, she seemed to whisper.

I wasn’t terribly surprised. I’d tried to give myself to him twice, after all. But had I been in earnest those times, or simply afraid? I’d been desperate for direction—for the guidance of someone older and stronger. I’d been a lost, little princess grasping out blindly in the dark for the first hand she could find.

Alfred was right. I did have a choice to make. Either I could continue to be a lost little girl for the rest of my life or I could be … something else. Nasi had spoken of the female draken warriors with respect and admiration in his voice. I wanted that. I wanted it so badly.

But I’d already alienated him. And Alfred.

“Damnit,” I whispered, realizing what an idiot I was. I never should have left that cave. I should have argued further with Nasi—pushed us to talk it out, or figure out another solution.

Alfred chuckled darkly, misinterpreting. “You see the seriousness of the situation then.”

I bunched my hands into fists.

“Seeing you there brings it all back,” Alfred added, his voice wistful as if we were taking a stroll down memory lane together while on the balcony sipping tea.

He was a lunatic. It hurt that I hadn’t seen it until now.

“My mother wasn’t a monster,” I hissed. “She was a sentient being. There’s an entire race of them. They’re—we—are called drakens,” I insisted, desperate to get through to him.

Alfred rolled his eyes at me. “She was a spoil of war like any other slave or exotic creature we’d come across. Cantrada gifted her to me from across the mountains for not getting involved in their little conflict. I thought it odd, but it was a nice gesture.”

My jaw dropped. My mother’s life was a nice gesture?

The air was hard to breathe. It felt like someone was slowly squeezing my throat while someone else sat on my chest.

“Enough of this dark talk. It’s so off-putting.” His hand waved dismissively as if such topics weren’t worthy of his time; like my mother hadn’t been worthy of his time.

“Why go through all of this?” I demanded, frustration leaking into my voice. “Why insist I’m your daughter? Why lie?”

Alfred sighed deeply, leaning against a tall pillar. He put a hand to his chest, as if the mere memories brought him pain. He was quite a talented actor, I’d give him that. I was pissed I hadn’t caught on until now.

“When you were born, I was the first thing you saw. You came out a creature just like her; she was already dead of course. I took you away before you could see anything. I grabbed you and let the servants handle everything else. You took one look at me—the first living creature you’d ever seen, and you changed.”

He blinked rapidly as if the moment had meant something to him. I paused. I couldn’t tell if he was sincere now or if it was another act.

Alfred cleared his throat. “Instead of a foul little beast, I now held a beautiful baby girl in my hands—one with pale skin that shimmered and flaxen hair. Your eyes were the most beguiling mix of blue and purple. My wife, the queen, had just died in childbirth hours earlier, taking the babe with her. Only a handful of servants and I knew.”

My jaw dropped. “You swapped me out like a fucking vegetable.”

Alfred laughed cruelly. “Two birds, one stone eh?” His eyes narrowed. “Obviously I was mistaken.”

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