I smile, staring at my dragon. “You’re right. These three are definitely hot turds.”
They bristle.
Prince Gareth repeats, “Hot turds?”
I nod. “Ebron and I were just talking about you three, and about how all of this is supposed to work between us.”
“Were you?” Prince Alaric asks, and I can’t tell what he’s thinking.
“Yes, I wondered if there was any chance that the four of us wouldn’t end up together.”
“And what did he say?” Prince Alaric asks, and his gaze grows guarded.
“He said there isn’t a chance to escape it. That we’re meant to be together. He just thinks you’re all not done growing. That you don’t know how to treat a woman, so you’re not ready to be with me.”
Prince Lucien gives an amused laugh. “Icertainly know how to treat a woman.”
“Do you?” I ask, and our gazes linger for a moment before I look away.
He certainly knew what he was doing in that kitchen. He knew just how to touch me, how to make me feel like I was on fire. But his arrogant words shattered the illusion that he was the kind of man I wanted inside of me.
“We’re not changing. This is who we are,” Prince Gareth says in an irritatingly matter-of-fact way.
I run my hands through the grass. “I certainly hope not, because I’d never be with you three the way you are right now.”
My words are met with silence.
Prince Lucien shifts closer. “You know, we don’t want to be with you either, and we sure as fuck don’t want to be in a marriage with each other.”
Interesting.“And why is that? Why do you three hate each other so much?”
No one answers me.
“You know what I think?”
I wait. Prince Alaric finally says, “What?”
“I think your parents failed you. I think they spent all their time teaching you to be such good princes, and good dragon riders, that they forgot to build your relationship. They focused on teaching you to be the best prince, to compete with eachother, instead of to be a family. They forgot to show you the ways men can be soft with each other, and with women, to grow closer.”
Prince Lucien laughs. “Nothing about me is soft.”
I glance at him. “And isn’t that the problem? Even Ebron knows how to be soft when he needs to be, and he’s a big, powerful dragon. He seems proud that he can be soft when he chooses his mates, but you guys seem to be so incredibly fragile deep down that you have to pretend that you’re never soft or gentle.”
“That makes no sense,” Prince Alaric says. “How can we be so fragile that we can’t be soft?”
Running my hands through the grass again, I try to make my words as elegant as Ebron’s. “Inside, you’re fragile, but you don’t want anyone to know, so you hide that side of yourselves. From everyone. Including each other. And you can’t have a real relationship as brothers if you’re always pretending to be someone you’re not.”
“Bullshit,” Prince Gareth mutters.
I cock my head. “Fine. Tell us the scariest moment of your life.”
“I’m never scared,” he responds, too quickly.
I lift a brow. “You’veneverbeen scared. Even as a child.”
He stares down at his feet. “Never.”
Glancing at his brother, I say, “Prince Lucien?”
