Marius studied her for a moment. “I don’t think you’re foolish. I think you love your parents. They’re lucky to have you.”
“They’re not the terrible people others make them out to be.”
Just like Harlow to see the best in everyone. “I get it,” he said. “Believe it or not, my mother wasn’t always awful.”
Harlow shot him a skeptical look. He supposed to those outside the royal family, she had always come across as hard and tyrannical, and he wondered how much he should share about their personal life. But Harlow of all people understood the complexities of family. He decided to trust her.
“Growing up in the palace, I had very few moments to bond with my parents. Ruling a kingdom takes time and focus. Pit training started early. As soon as I could walk—I couldn’t say how old I was. I was not the best fighter. Not at first. When I would win, my trainer would call Killian, and I’d enjoy several hours of my father’s undivided attention. We all loved my father, so those times were cherished.”
Harlow winced. “Only if you won? Your father’s presence was offered as a reward for winning?”
Marius stared at the moon and continued. “As princes, my brothers and I often sparred with one another, and in private, as whelps, there were no unwritten rules against my siblings beating me as there came to be when we competed publicly. So it wasn’t just that the winner was rewarded with Killian’s presence but that the rest of us would watch our father leave with the victor, knowing that our brother would be treated with sweets and affection while we would spend the rest of the afternoon with our studies.”
“That’s awful!” Harlow shook her head. “To treat children like that—”
“It made us tough. It made us warriors.” He raised a brow. “It made us talented pit fighters.”
Harlow’s fallen expression radiated sympathy. “I’m sorry, Marius, but I feel withholding affection from children to make them fight harder against one another is abusive. All those years I watched your matches, I had no idea…”
“You’d never treat children that way, would you?” He could picture it. Harlow would be the type to dote on her children. “You’d make a wonderful mother.”
A blush warmed her cheeks, and she glanced away. “You were saying… about Eleanor.”
“Right. One afternoon, I lost to Xavier. I lost a lot to Xavier in the beginning.” He slanted a smile in her direction, thinking of his most stubborn brother. “I became furious. I wanted time with Killian. I wanted my father to be proud of me. I had tried my best and I was the oldest. In my young mind, I deserved to win every time. So I ran to my mother and interrupted the meeting she was in. Now, looking back, she was likely convening with foreign dignitaries. She could have had a guard carry me out and dealt with me later, but she didn’t. Eleanor excused herself without hesitation, took me by the hand, and led me to the kitchen.”
“Really? Eleanor?”
“Really. She ordered tea, and we sat at the servants’ table. For half an hour, she listened to me rant and wail about how unfair the matches were and how especially unfair it was I didn’t get time with Killian every day. It seemed easy for Xavier. I wanted it to be easy for me.”
Harlow’s eyes were saucers. “In the servants’ dining room? Eleanor? Honestly?”
He nodded. “I ranted until I simply ran out of words. And when I was done, she gestured around us. She asked me, ‘What do you see?’ I looked around and answered, ‘Servants.’ Our kitchen staff was well paid, but they worked for it. They looked worn and tired. Their clothing was not what mine was. She said, ‘What makes you better than them?’ I remember feeling so confused. I blurted, ‘I’m a prince!’ She grabbed my hands in hers and said, ‘Exactly. If you want a servant’s life, give up your throne and work here. Here, you need not follow any of the rules for princes, and you can see Killian any time you are granted a break from your work.’ ‘But I do not want to be a servant!’ I wailed. She smiled. ‘You are worth more than easy, Marius. You were born the son of a queen, but it takes training to be a prince. You can choose not to rise to the challenges before you, but you should know that if you don’t, someone else will.” Marius scraped his nail against the side of his thumb. “Believe it or not, I thought of that day when I decided to abdicate the throne and give it to Gabriel. She was right. I am worth more than easy, and the person willing to rise to the challenge should get the crown. Stepping aside was hard but absolutely the right thing to do.”
Harlow laughed. “I don’t think that’s what your mother meant. She was trying to toughen you up. She never actually thought you’d choose a servant’s life.”
“Whether she meant it or not, she taught me both sides of that lesson.”
Harlow moved closer to him, and her water-lily scent surrounded him. Goddess, she was stunning in the moonlight. “Do you regret stepping down?” she asked him softly.
He scoffed and shook his head. “Never.” He brushed a hair back from her face, his fingers lingering near her ear. “Adradys would have been an easy solution, but you’re worth more than easy too, Harlow. You made the right choice tonight.”
“You really think so?”
For the first time, he thought he understood her. She wanted to be her own champion, just like he did. Having things fixed for you, whether in the pit or at the bank, lost its appeal quickly. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned about you, it’s that you do what you set your mind to. I never thought a slip of a woman like you would best me in pit fighting, but you did. And you have one hell of a right hook. I don’t plan to experience that one again.” He rubbed his jaw. “If you say you’re going to get yourself out of this, I believe you.”
Her lips parted as she met his gaze. The moonlight reflected off a silver line along her lower lid as if she was holding back a tear. “Thank you. It means a lot to me to have someone who believes in me.”
He inclined his head and slanted her a supportive smile.
“What are you doing right now?” She arched a brow. “I have an idea.” She unbuttoned the neck of her dress, and he went completely still. Almost. A certain part of his anatomy kicked in his breeches.
“Color me intrigued.”
“Let’s shift. It’s a beautiful night. Are you up for releasing your inner dragon?” Her amber eyes flashed.
Oh, was he. He pulled his shirt over his head, smiling at the way her eyes traced his torso. She’d seen him before at practice, but this was different. When her gaze settled on his tattoos, there was nothing but appreciation in her eyes. Appreciation and… hunger. His inner dragon sent scales rippling over his skin. Shifting together, flying side by side, it was an intimate thing. This was an invitation to get closer to her. There was no way he’d refuse. “After you.”
She backed behind a bush, and soon her dress flew at him over the greenery. He swallowed hard and folded it neatly beside his shirt. He barely got his pants off in time to shift. As his silver paws landed on the moss between them, he gave himself over to the beast within.
