I could practically feel the scales rolling beneath my human flesh as I nodded. "But, the curse. It is impossible."
"Corvus and I have spent many years searching for a solution. A way to break this barbaric curse. You cannot contain beasts the way ours have been locked away within us. I believe we're getting closer to the answer, and we’ve recently made some progress, but we need allies. Those men of the other kingdoms, who share the same curse as we do. We must all be in agreement and work together to break it."
"I don't think we'll have any issue with that. Who wouldn't want access to such a gift at all times?" It made no sense to me. This was our birthright, who we were at our very core. Not something that could be restricted to a window of thirty days every ten years. Our beasts were a part of us, and to deny a man a part of himself was unfathomable. Especially now that I knew what it felt like to have the dragon within me—awakened.
My father's lips pressed together for a split second, but the expression disappeared just as quickly. "I'll leave it to you then? To speak with the others? After your display of strength over the last couple of days, I suspect your friends will admire you even more than they did before. I always knew you were destined for greatness, Torin. I only pushed you as hard as I did because you needed it, because I believe in you."
As much as I hated to admit it, the words he said were ones I had longed to hear from him for many years. My entire life, really. To this point, I'd often worried he saw me as a disappointment. A foolish boy who was only interested in ale and women. I'd proven myself, and while I couldn't recall the events of The Hunt, I knew whatever I'd done had to have been unforgettable.What had I accomplished to earn such praise from a man who had never freely given it to me before?
"Do not worry. I'll speak with my friends. I'll get them on board."
My father tilted his chin down. "Then I’ll leave you to clean up. Meet in the smoking room in two hours."
I bowed. "Thank you, Lord."
I watched as he marched to the door, his spirits the highest I'd ever seen.
“Father?” He looked back at me in question. “Aren’t you and the others going to shift before we leave? You must be losing your minds…”
He chuckled. “Well, we couldn’t join the hunt. That was purely for our heirs. But don’t worry, Torin. We’ll have our fun before we leave.” With that, he left me to prepare for the day.
As I washed and changed, the pain in my leg vanished, along with the wound. I had completely healed myself. There wasn't so much as a scrape upon my skin. Incredible. And yet, even though my flesh was restored, my memories were not. I tried to keep an open mind and allow them to come to me, but either I needed more time, or those memories simply belonged to the dragon.
A servant delivered a huge platter of meat and fruit, and I devoured everything on it. My stomach didn't protest once, despite being three times the amount I normally would have eaten. Was this to be the new normal? A never-ending appetite and thirst? And perhaps... flying. Whenever I desired?
After dressing, I lay on my bed and stared at the ornate ceiling. The choosing would take place in mere hours. Who would I pick? Which of the royals would get first choice? Names of the maidens filtered through my thoughts; Eliza, Becca, Belinda, Isla, Evie...
No. Not Evie. Evie was for Dair—she transformed him.
And yet, a ripple of awareness moved through my body as I pictured her face the night we'd danced together. That wildfire that lived within her, unable to be concealed.
She is not for me, I reminded myself.
A knock at the door snapped me out of my deliberations, and I rose from the bed. "Come in."
The door swung open, and there stood my friends. All of them. My brother Evander, Mosi and Taj, Alden, Ciar, and the rest of the Faolan pack. I scanned the group in search of the tallest bastard of us all and frowned when I didn't see my oldest friend.
"Where is Dair?"
"Here," his deep voice responded as he stepped around the threshold and into view.
I grinned at the other royals. "Well, boys, we did it!"
Cheers and laughter erupted from us all. "Let us not keep your father waiting," Mosi spoke above the chatter.
"Indeed." I stepped out of my room and closed the door behind me. "So, how was it?"
"Fucking amazing," Ciar boasted. "Best time of my life."
Several others chimed in, agreeing with the Faolan prince.
"Do you remember anything?" Taj asked nobody in particular.
"Just bits and pieces," Alden answered, making me feel a little better about my memory being the same.
I glanced back at my oldest and best friend. "What about you, Dair?"
His green gaze slid to mine, and his very eyes seemed to glitter. "I feel whole. As though I could do anything I wanted and succeed."
