“Yes, sire. And…sire…” She squeezed her hands together before minutely rolling her shoulders. She’d had a good act going up until now, but suddenly her nerves were showing. It made me feel a bit better about the way my bowels twisted into knots every time I had to talk directly to the dragon prince. “Marcus—the boy there—is quite tall for his age. He’s taller than his father was. We have a few more boys and girls like that. Taller than the others. Stubborn youths, some of them. I wonder…” She lost steam, her words fading away.
The honey badger shifted back into her human form, putting on her robe before taking up the thread of the conversation.
“Folklore suggests that when a people are in great peril, a swell of dragons are born to defend them. It is the goddess’s way of defending her people.”
“Wolves can defend just as well,” someone grumbled, then grunted, probably elbowed to shut up. I would’ve agreed with him…if wolves could fly. Or breathe fire. The dragons had us there, and they knew it, the arrogant bastards.
“In times of peril, the dragons will rise,” someone murmured.
“Most of these youths were already born when the curse came into effect, though,” someone said.
The master slid his gaze my way.
I lifted my eyebrows in question, not able to read his…anything, really. I never knew what he was thinking.
“This kingdom was in turmoil long before the curse,” he finally said, swinging his golden gaze back to them. “We’ll know the truth of it soon.”
“Yes, sire,” the woman said, and she and her friend both curtsied. The gangly boy got shoved back the way he had come.
“Come.” The master turned and strode back toward the horses.
It was the first time he’d given me an actual command all day.
I nearly fell over myself to do as he said. “Yes, sir. Right at your— Somewhat behind your heels, sir. Should I call you sire now? I’m not sure where we stand with the whole don’t antagonize the demons with your title situation. I mean, you’ve killed most of the ones in the castle, so it hardly matters what they think…”
“Hannon, Finley’s brother,” he said after mounting, as though he hadn’t heard a word I’d spoken.
“Yes…sire?”
But I didn’t get an answer. He kept riding until we reached the stables at the castle, then put out his hand for the stable boy to bring his stallion. The boy scurried away to do just that.
“He is taller than his father, isn’t he?”
I blinked a few times, thinking, then shook my head. “I don’t think I ever saw them next to each other. He’s big, though. Tall, broad. He’s the biggest in their village, I think. And Finley was the tallest girl. I remember her saying that. She was tall for a guy in her village, even.”
He grunted as his stallion came. In a moment, he swung onto its back before guiding it around and looking down at me.
“I’ll need you shadowing me tonight,” he said, and I was pretty sure my balls shriveled up into my body. “Finley has been anxious for the last couple days. She hasn’t been punished for…whatever it is they punish her for. Right now, she is practically jumping out of her skin. I’ll need to be available to help her should she require assistance. You can watch for the demons’ creations while I’m…indisposed.”
“But…” He walked on, and I had to scramble onto Bella’s back and hurry her after him. “But sir, how can I keep up with a dragon?”
“You are a wolf, are you not? Don’t wolves always pride themselves on how quickly and quietly they can get through a wood?”
“But I can’t—” I gritted my teeth and internally swore. I could shift, apparently. Those village people had said so. And while generally that would’ve been an amazing thing, it wasn’t so great if it meant I’d been forced to spend even more time in the moody prince’s company.
“I can help you through the shift, if you’re rusty,” he said, suddenly chatty as shit. When it came to doling out terrible news, he was apparently full of things to say. “I can give you a boost of power to make sure the transition is easy.”
“What about Urien?” That was his trusty valet, a relic from a time when people did the job they were trained for, and did it well.
“He’s always on hand, but tonight…I want another set of eyes. You’re doing it for Finley, Hadriel. Something tells me that tonight…” His voice turned into a hard growl. “Whatever is happening tonight…she’ll need all the support she can get.”