Chapter 5 #2
“And what did he say?” Prince Alaric asks, and his gaze grows guarded.
“He said there isn’t a chance to escape it. That we’re meant to be together. He just thinks you’re all not done growing. That you don’t know how to treat a woman, so you’re not ready to be with me.”
Prince Lucien gives an amused laugh. “I certainly know how to treat a woman.”
“Do you?” I ask, and our gazes linger for a moment before I look away.
He certainly knew what he was doing in that kitchen. He knew just how to touch me, how to make me feel like I was on fire. But his arrogant words shattered the illusion that he was the kind of man I wanted inside of me.
“We’re not changing. This is who we are,” Prince Gareth says in an irritatingly matter-of-fact way.
I run my hands through the grass. “I certainly hope not, because I’d never be with you three the way you are right now.”
My words are met with silence.
Prince Lucien shifts closer. “You know, we don’t want to be with you either, and we sure as fuck don’t want to be in a marriage with each other.”
Interesting. “And why is that? Why do you three hate each other so much?”
No one answers me.
“You know what I think?”
I wait. Prince Alaric finally says, “What?”
“I think your parents failed you. I think they spent all their time teaching you to be such good princes, and good dragon riders, that they forgot to build your relationship. They focused on teaching you to be the best prince, to compete with each other, instead of to be a family. They forgot to show you the ways men can be soft with each other, and with women, to grow closer.”
Prince Lucien laughs. “Nothing about me is soft.”
I glance at him. “And isn’t that the problem?
Even Ebron knows how to be soft when he needs to be, and he’s a big, powerful dragon.
He seems proud that he can be soft when he chooses his mates, but you guys seem to be so incredibly fragile deep down that you have to pretend that you’re never soft or gentle. ”
“That makes no sense,” Prince Alaric says. “How can we be so fragile that we can’t be soft?”
Running my hands through the grass again, I try to make my words as elegant as Ebron’s.
“Inside, you’re fragile, but you don’t want anyone to know, so you hide that side of yourselves.
From everyone. Including each other. And you can’t have a real relationship as brothers if you’re always pretending to be someone you’re not. ”
“Bullshit,” Prince Gareth mutters.
I cock my head. “Fine. Tell us the scariest moment of your life.”
“I’m never scared,” he responds, too quickly.
I lift a brow. “You’ve never been scared. Even as a child.”
He stares down at his feet. “Never.”
Glancing at his brother, I say, “Prince Lucien?”
He puffs out his chest. “Never.”
“And you?” I direct at Prince Alaric.
He takes a minute to answer, but then says, “I am a prince. I’m never afraid.”
I shake my head and look to the sky. “May the gods help these helpless boys.”
“We’re men.” Prince Lucien looks ready for a fight.
“No, men can admit when they’re scared.”
“This whole conversation is stupid!” Prince Gareth says.
“Perhaps.” I study the three of them. “But you asked what Ebron and I were talking about, and we were talking about you three, and his mates. He doesn’t want to officially claim them until I accept the three of you. He doesn’t want me to be unhappy.”
“The dragons don’t care if we’re happy,” Prince Lucien tells me like I’m stupid.
“Ebron cares if I’m happy.”
They don’t seem to like that answer. The three of them look at each, almost helplessly, like they have no idea how to handle me or what to say. I imagine there aren’t many times in their lives where they’re faced with someone trying to make them emotionally vulnerable.
“The point is,” Prince Gareth begins, “you should not have left the academy, before the sun was even out, without telling someone. It was dangerous.”
I look at Ebron. “Who the hell is going to hurt me? You should be more worried about anyone who crosses us.”
“The Hollowborn,” Prince Alaric explains, like I’m stupid.
“They’re waiting for the king’s response to their peace talks. Why would they attack now?”
“Maybe because that’s what they were planning all along,” Prince Lucien counters angrily.
I rub my temples. “The three of you have to be the most annoying people on the planet.”
“The feeling is mutual,” Prince Gareth mutters.
It’s strangely silent. The dragons rub their bodies against each other, moving around so that the females surround Ebron. Studying the happy dragons, all the things that Ebron mentioned to me come creeping back.
“I learned another interesting fact.”
“What?” Prince Alaric asks, seeming curious.
“Ebron says he hasn’t completed his harem yet. That he’ll have more female dragons bound to him eventually. Dragons that will bond with your three and become a family together.”
“We’re going to have to share you with more men? I haven’t even accepted these two yet,” Prince Gareth asks, sounding irritated.
“It seems like it.”
“Who?” Prince Lucien asks, looking pissed.
“I don’t think he’s sure yet.”
Prince Gareth looks at the ground and kicks at the grass. “This is not going to work.”
“Ebron says it will. When you grow up a bit.”
“We don’t–” Prince Gareth begins.
“Like fuck,” Prince Lucien says at the same time.
I laugh.
All three of them stare at me.
I shrug. “Maybe we’ll find a way out of this still. Maybe there’s a world where we don’t end up forced together. But Ebron is pretty sure you just have some work to do.”
Ebron lifts his head and swings it around to face the three men. They stiffen, eyes locked onto Ebron for a long minute before my dragon looks away. But the tension doesn’t ease.
“What did he say to you?” I ask.
“Nothing,” Prince Alaric says, but he looks troubled.
Whatever Ebron said, none of the three men liked it.