Chapter 15 #2
It is a difficult thing to forgive someone after they have betrayed you, but would it help you to know without a doubt that you are meant to be with these men? It is the magic of dragons and riders. You are fated to be together.
We dive down, and I cling to the saddle, my thoughts turning. I don’t know if it helps to know I don’t have any control in this. I’m the kind of person who likes to have complete control over her life.
His laugh is soft in my mind. No one ever has complete control over their life. There is always some element of fate at work. Humans simply do not live long enough to understand that.
Maybe.
Do you like your fated mates?
That question is more complicated than he thinks. I don’t know. Sometimes I like talking to them. Sometimes I like being around them. And sometimes I find them ridiculously attractive. But other times, I just want to punch them so hard in the nuts that they cry and shit themselves at the same time.
Humans are very strange. He sounds a bit disturbed. But it sounds like you have some good things to build on. Try to focus on that.
The thing is, I don’t know if they’re actually trying to build something between us, or if they’re up to something. That means, even if I’m on board with all this crazy mate stuff, they might not be.
Have you asked them what they are doing?
I stiffen, glancing behind me to see the three men following close behind, and the others behind them. No.
Maybe you should.
Shrugging, I say, maybe I will.
Our relationship so far hasn’t been one of trust and honesty, but if I’m going to end up being forced to marry them, it should be.
Arthur says I have many different paths in front of me.
One path certainly leads to me running away from this whole mess, but another is that I end up married to these three princes and, possibly, a Hollowborn.
I guess it wouldn’t hurt to take some steps in that direction and just see how it feels.
About tomorrow, Ebron begins.
Every muscle in my body tenses. Yes, are you ready for that?
I do not like the idea of going to a location that my enemies have selected, leaving us vulnerable, and hoping that they do not turn on us. And yet, I understood that there might be certain dangers associated with becoming a dragon at the academy, so I will do as they have asked of me.
I feel the same way, but I do think we need to have a plan.
We need to make sure that we stay close to each other and not let them separate us.
We also need to make sure they don’t surround us.
Basically, if things go south, I need to be able to jump on your back, and the two of us need to get out of there.
If they betray us, we should fight them.
Not when there’s going to be many of them and just us. You remember what it was like the last time you fought several bone wrym.
After a minute, he says, Fine. If things go wrong, we run.
We spend several hours practicing drills.
We dive down to the water, then skim right over it.
We fly straight up. Ebron leads the female dragons as they flame imaginary targets.
Before too much longer, we’re all exhausted and ready for bed.
Prince Gareth motions for me to be done, and I communicate with Ebron, sending the twelve of us back to the academy.
We land in the training yard, and I climb down from Ebron’s back.
The three female dragons land near us, and we all step back in time for them to come close to each other, rubbing their scales against one another and making strange sounds that even I recognize as sounds of longing.
It hurts a little to know that Ebron hasn’t officially claimed them as mates because of me.
The princes come to stand at my side.
Prince Alaric gives me a small smile, and it’s hard to ignore just how handsome his features are beneath the light of the torches. “You did well today.”
I lift a brow. “And here I thought you’d still be angry that Ebron is leading the team.”
Prince Gareth tucks his long dark hair behind one ear. “We’ve accepted that as long as Ebron is here, the females will only follow him. We’ve changed our tactics to accommodate a new leader.”
“I’m not sure if I should be flattered or insulted.”
Prince Lucien leans close to me, green eyes filled with amusement. “Be flattered.”
“It’s that easy?” I ask.
“It’s that easy,” he repeats.
And the way he’s looking at me… it’s far more than just a little friendly.
“I better go.”
As I start to walk away, Prince Lucien grabs my wrists, “Why not stay and have a drink with us?”
I look back at him, shocked. They want me to have a drink with them?
All three men are staring, and my stomach does a little flip.
For some reason, I feel like I might know where this drink will lead, and it scares me.
There’s just something between me and these men.
Something that I can’t escape from. Part of me wants to just dive in and figure it out, but the other part doesn’t feel like I can handle this, and whatever I’m going to face tomorrow.
“Another time,” I say, and he releases my wrist, looking disappointed.
I can feel their gazes on me as I turn down the hall and head for my room, and the feeling lingers as I walk down the dark, quiet halls.
Torches flicker on the walls, creating pockets of light and pockets of shadows.
My gaze darts around the shadows that dance in all directions, while my mind wanders back to the princes.
Should I have gone with them? Should I have had that drink?
Regret flows through me. I pause and almost take a step back, then shake my head. I made my decision. I need to stick to it. It’s already late, and I need to be in top shape for tomorrow.
My thoughts slip back into a warm place, a place where I had that drink with the princes. And then maybe a few more drinks. I wonder what they’d be like drunk. Maybe Prince Gareth would smile. Maybe Prince Alaric would loosen up. And Prince Lucien? He’d definitely make me laugh.
Someone grabs me and throws me against the wall. I go to reach for the dagger at my hip, but there’s already a knife pressed against my throat. I blink, feeling stupid. If I hadn’t been so lost in my own thoughts… fuck!
The torch light flickers and moves, and Tesson’s face comes into shape before me. The harsh lines of his face that everyone back in Pennyvale thinks makes him look so handsome. The darkness in his gaze that has always held a cruel, sharp edge.
“What are you doing?” I ask him calmly.
Too often I’ve found myself in dangerous situations, but I often didn’t know what I was dealing with or who I was facing.
In this situation though, I know exactly who I’m dealing with.
Someone without a moral compass. Someone whose soul is as dark as tar.
It’s not just that I think he’s capable of hurting me, I know he is.
“Fuck you,” he tells me, gritting his teeth so loud I can hear it.
“Okay. Fair enough.”
“You’ve embarrassed me for the last time, Harper. You know that? I’m not going to put up with it ever again.”
I keep my voice steady. “I hadn’t realized I’d embarrassed you.”
He scowls. “You’ve been traipsing around with the princes, denying me as your fiancé, making an absolute fool of me. I’ve told everyone who will listen that you’re mine, but not a damn one of them respects that I’m the man who owns you. They all see the princes’ claims as the valid ones.”
“I’m sorry you feel that way,” I say quietly.
“I don’t just feel that way. That’s what’s been happening,” he tells me, scraping the blade against my throat while I try not to flinch. “You saw the chance to climb the ranks to ‘princess,’ and being the gold digging whore that you are, you went right for it, leaving me in the dust.”
“Tesson, you know my parents were clear about us no longer being engaged long before I became engaged to the princes. Even before that, you know that I didn’t want to be engaged. Nobody has misled you.”
“The fuck you haven’t!” he shouts. Then he quiets his voice as he looks to both sides of us.
“You’ve become the lone female dragon rider.
A woman of legend. But you’re my woman. No dragon claim is going to change that.
” Then he presses the knife closer to my throat.
“And don’t even think about calling out to that dragon of yours.
I’ll kill you the second I get a whiff of him. ”
I bite my lip, trying to decide what to say. “So, what do you plan to do?”
He flashes the knife. “I plan to take you to a chapel in the city, marry you, consummate the marriage, and then everyone will just have to accept that I’m your husband.”
His plan is completely insane. First of all, I can’t think of a scenario where I would ever actually say marriage vows with Tesson.
After all I’ve been through, Tesson is hardly as big and bad as he thinks he is.
And that’s ignoring the fact that no one in their right mind would marry us when they saw the knife to my throat.
What’s more, when I get far enough from the academy to put some space between me and Ebron, so he doesn’t lose it and do something crazy, I will absolutely reach out to my dragon and tell him what’s going on, and then have him tell the princes.
Which will lead to them charging in and killing Tesson before he even knows what’s happening.
And that’s if I don’t kill him first.
There are just… so many ways this won’t work out the way Tesson thinks.
And even in some crazy world where he got away with his whole plan, the king would just kill him and marry me to the princes anyway.
Regardless, this is only going to end badly for Tesson.
I’d just prefer to be the one to handle him rather than getting others involved.
I just need to think of a way to get a little space between myself and his dagger, and then I’ll be free.
Grabbing me by the arm, he starts dragging me down the hall, dagger near my throat. “It won’t be long now, Harper. Then, you’ll be mine. Finally.”
I try to ignore the pressure in my chest. This is an insane plan. As stupid as Tesson is, he won’t get away with it… I just have to wait for my opportunity to strike.