“It can’t be true,” Tamara said softly, her gaze rooted to me. “It can’t be true.”
“You can smell me now, right? You know it’s true.”
“But…” Another woman with a gap in her teeth blinked at me, intense longing in her eyes. “The curse. If…”
I pointed at her. Clearly Dolion had only lifted the magical gag from Nyfain. “You have the magical gag, right?” She nodded. “I don’t, because I was born in one of the villages. I’m common. Basically, as a sum-up…” I glanced at the stairs and licked my lips. I doubted anyone was listening…but still. I continued in an undertone. “The curse hasn’t been broken, but the suppression has been lifted. If you are from Wyvern, I can give you access to your dragon. Or…I probably just did. But since the curse is still in effect, it might hinder your ability to shift.”
“So that’s what that feeling was,” someone muttered. “It felt like something magical had shifted or changed, but I couldn’t figure out what.”
“The prince had his wings shorn off,” said a man with a large forehead and pointy chin.
“Yes, exactly,” I said. “It doesn’t matter anyway, because if you shifted, they’d just kill you. It’s better if you keep all of this to yourself and relish in being with your dragon again. Unless your dragon is an asshole like mine, and then…sorry about the return to drama.”
You’re just as much of an asshole, my dragon thought.
Not even possible.
“He’s your true mate, but you didn’t…” Tamara bent her head a little, willing me to finish the sentence.
“Imprint? No. The curse hasn’t been broken.” I showed her my teeth, not sure how much to say. “The demons took me away before it could happen.” Close enough and mostly true.
“But, Strange Lady, why don’t you use the sword?” Vemar said, lying on his side with his head propped up on his elbow. He hadn’t stepped into the fight, but he hadn’t been able to escape my command to kneel, either.
I lifted my hands and then dropped them in defeat. “The sword was a gift. I was dealing with some trouble—from Jedrek, actually—and Nyfain was trying to help. He gave me a bunch of weapons, most of which I could use. The sword never worked for me. I can work a pocketknife like a motherfucker, but a sword? No. We didn’t have enough time to train with it. I wear it now because the demons apparently think it’s a great joke that I can’t use it.”
“No,” Tamara said softly, pain in her eyes. “You aren’t wearing it as a joke. You are wearing it to remind us of what we lost. You are wearing it because the demon king knew the effect it would have. He’s not taunting you—he is taunting us.”
Her words hit me like a sack of bricks. I sagged a little, digesting them. Faces fell around me. Tamara’s pain was shared.
I took a deep breath. Part of being a hero was building people up. Probably. It was about all I could do right now, at any rate.
“Well then,” I said with determination. “Fuck them. They don’t get to decide how we feel. Let it serve as a symbol for a future we will regain.”
Fire sparked in their eyes—all of them, hearing the call for any sort of future, not just for the Wyvern kingdom. Heads nodded. Backs straightened.
“And, hell, maybe someone can show me how to use it!”
A few people smiled, and even more chuckled. They might not have realized I was serious.
Tamara climbed to her feet, that fire still raging in her eyes.
“A villager.” She huffed out a laugh and offered me her hand. “The golden prince’s true mate is a villager.”
I could hear the irony singing through her words.
“A really poor one, too,” I replied with a grin. “The mad king is probably turning over in his grave.”
Tamara laughed. “Probably.”
“There is nothing wrong with growing up in a village,” Vemar said, and many nodded.
Tamara sobered a little. “The queen was from a village in the Flamma Kingdom. A village in a different kingdom, with a lot more status, but a village nonetheless. I wonder if she would’ve been pleased. She also wanted humility for her son. She wanted him grounded. A poor villager who unabashedly kills officers and comes in front of guards must surely keep him on his toes.”
I pinched my face without meaning to, my cheeks flaming red again. She laughed.
“So, I have a few questions,” I said to quickly change the subject.