Or the trouble.
He sighed heavily as he stared at the dragon. “Is your sole purpose to torment me?”
“Not mysolepurpose. Just a happy bonus.”
“Lovely.” He headed toward the village gates.
She kept pace beside him. “You didn’t answer my question, beast.”
“Because I didn’t want to.”
“But I want to know. Were you after all the ingredients to destroy them so that they couldn’t be used against you? You only asked about the wand, at first. Did you know about the others? Or was the wand the only thing you were after?”
“Oh dear gods...”
“You know, if you turned me back into a dragon, we could get there faster. I could fly.”
“Is everyone in Indara so loquacious?”
She blinked at his question. “There’s a word you don’t hear every day. Loquacious. It’s kind of fun to say, isn’t it? Loquacious.”
“Is it your sole intent to drive me to madness? Or do you just want to piss me off?”
Tanis stopped as she realized that he was getting irritated, and that really wasn’t her intent. She wanted him to answer her. “No. Definitely don’t want to upset the bogey man. I just forgot again who you were, and I did want to know about the wand. I’ll shut up now.”
Dash stopped as she pressed her lips together to stop her insane rambling. And it was only then that he fully realized why he’d tolerated her impertinence.
Over the last three days, it really had been because she’d had no idea who he was.
To her, he’d been a random unicorn. Granted, he’d been the unicorn who owned her, but she’d had no knowledge that he was the scourge of their lands.
For the whole of his life, he’d either been the crown prince or the High King.
Those around him had either hated him for it. Or kissed his ass.
How he’d love to say his title had been a blessing, but it had brought him nothing save absolute misery. His parents were a prime example of that, too.
Because of their highborn positions, they’d been unable to marry. Unable to tell anyone of their relationship for fear of the political consequences. So, his mother had left Licordia, an embittered woman who got along with no one.
Not even Dash.
She’d birthed him far away from Licordia, then sent him to his father to raise in a home with a stepmother who had no use for a bastard heir, or anything that reminded her of the fact her royal husband had cheated on her.
And because his father had been the fourth born son who’d only inherited the throne after his brothers had died without issue, he’d resented the fact that Dash was a constant reminder of a love he could never claim due to a responsibility he resented just as much.
You won’t be like my brothers.
According to his father, even though they’d been the highest born princes, they’d been wastrels. Bullies who’d expected everyone to wait on them and do as they commanded. He’d wanted his son to understand what being a king meant. To never take for granted a position his father felt he didn’t deserve.
Fucking bastard.
Till the day Dash had ended his father’s life, Dash had expected him to leave the throne to his legitimate daughter, Renata. It was, after all, his father’s favorite threat.
Honestly, he wouldn’t have cared. She’d have been the better monarch.
At least Renata had a heart. As was proven by the fact that her horn had been golden. A gold horn on a unicorn was one of the rarest of all. It’d been over three hundred years since any unicorn had grown one.
The only other horn almost as rare was his.
