He lifted his left arm, and Alden and I both gasped at the weird way his arm seemed to bend just above his wrist.
"Oh fuck," I cursed. "Did I do that to you? I'm so sorry."
He shook his head. "No. It happened when I jumped down."
Alden's eyes slid to mine and then back to his brother. "You mean you still caught us... with your arm snapped like that?" He pointed at the injury. "Goddess, I don't think I can look at it. I think I'm going to vomit." He covered his mouth. "Yes, that's happening." He raced to a bush and puked everywhere. The sounds of his retching made it hard to keep control of my own stomach.
"It's just a broken arm," Dair stated, pushing himself up with his good arm.
Alden wiped his mouth with his shirt. "It's the most unnatural sight I've ever laid eyes on!" Gagging again, he lost more of his dinner in the bushes.
"You could've said something," I murmured to him as I began removing my shirt. "Here, let me wrap that up."
"You two are acting like I broke my neck or something. It'll heal. It's really not that big of a deal."
I huffed. "I'm not returning to the castle without that wrapped. Our asses are already going to be in so much trouble." The very thought of telling my father what we'd done was enough to make me want to disappear within the forest, for real.
Dair was silent as I wrapped his forearm before we began the walk back. "Go on in front, Alden. The path isn't wide enough for three."
We were nearly back, Alden far ahead of us, when Dair spoke. "I'm not going to tell anyone that you and Alden were in the tree."
I abruptly stopped and turned to my friend. "What do you mean?"
"I saw the marks on your back, Torin. I've seen bruises and stuff, ya know, over the years."
My face burned. "I don't know what you mean."
"That's fine. I'm just saying that I've seen it, and even if you don't want to talk to me about it yet, I'll not give that man kindling for the fire."
He spun and took off after his brother, leaving me to stare after them both. When I felt wetness on my face, I looked to the sky, which was completely clear of clouds. Shakily, I brought my hand to my cheek and wiped away a couple of tears.
And he never brought it up again. We didn't speak of the abuse again until two years later when I finally broke down and let it all out in a drunken stupor. But even now, it was not something we would discuss. He has told me I have nothing to feel ashamed about, but I couldn't help that feeling of never being good enough. My father could offer praise to every person he meets, including peasants and strangers, but to give one word of encouragement to his eldest son? Impossible.
Which was why I was so shocked after The Hunt. The way he'd smiled at me and actually said those words I had wanted to hear from him my entire nineteen years. He was proud of me. He finally saw me as a man. As a ruler, as an equal who could be trusted to help him achieve his goals and maintain his legacy. There was no way I could let him down now.
I needed to think about who my top choices were for the ceremony. The ones who stood out to me that I actually remembered from the ball were Eliza, the saucy one who had lured me into the alcove to make-out; Belinda, the beautiful one with the large family and no father; Isla, the smallest woman of the entire group, who was one of Evie's friends; and Evie, of course. The woman who tripped me, talked with her mouth full, and wasn’t intimidated by me in the slightest. I'd have to find Dair before the ceremony to talk to him about working together to break the curse anyway, but I needed to know where his head was with Evie. I still thought they would be a good match, but if he wasn't in agreement, it wouldn't be the end of the world to get paired with her.
I sat on my bed and pulled on my socks, stopping for a second to look at where that knife wound had been. My fingertips traced the completely smooth skin there, and I remembered how it felt when that guard had plunged his knife into my leg. I'd plucked him from the water like a bird snatching a mouse from an open field. The only thought that I'd had was that I had to kill them all. This dark and primal instinct drove me to commit atrocities I never would have as a man. The worst memory, though, was lighting Evie's guard on fire. In the moment, there was no thought. No hesitation. I knew my duty, and my nature as a dragon was demanding death. It was as though the beast was angered at being caged for so long, and the only way he would be sated was with bloodshed.
It was strange, having the memories of what I did being a part of me now. I could see everything through the eyes of my dragon. Hell, I could feel what he had felt. Powerful. Indestructible. Wronged. He had been wronged by this curse and, as an extension, that feeling carried over into me. I still felt it. How dare someone try to restrain our power? All those people—the women, the guards—were the ones who were paying the price, Recurrence after Recurrence, Hunt after Hunt.
No more. With the curse gone, we would be free to shift as we pleased. We could return to the ways of the past when the gifts of our bloodlines weren't a secret. When we could be proud of who we were and what we were capable of.
A knock at the door pulled me from my thoughts. "Enter."
The door swung open, revealing my younger brother. "Are you ready?"
"Yeah, just putting on my shoes. Are you? Have you thought about who you would like to choose?"
His cheeks flushed at the question, and I chuckled. "I have."
"Not going to share with your big brother?" I teased, walking over to Evander and slinging my arm over his shoulder. "Have you gotten taller overnight, dear brother?"
"Maybe you just shrunk," he fired back.
"Mmhmm." We entered the hall and headed for the Great Hall. "You'll need to be smart in who you choose. You're the second in line to the throne until I have an heir. If something should happen to me, you'll need a strong woman at your side."
He huffed. "Like anything would ever happen to you."
