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“That’s called confidence”

“My father didn’t agree He bla me”

“Ruining you? Good gracious” I watched as a plate of fish swi in a buttery yellow sauce was placed in front of me “That’s a bit extreme”

“He essentially wantedto let that happen, though, for which I a to be just as powerful as he’d hoped, he took s really a tohe did”

“By beating you?”

“By h was to get beatings”

“And did it work?” I whispered, laying down my fork My plate was clean Hannon needed to take some lessons from the cooks in this place Also, I needed to eat downstairs for dinner ood

“I was already tough He just h I turned the tables and ive ht I’d kill hiet in my way Soon after that, atfor a way out of this place”

“Why not go to her village? Why not meet people like you’d been raised?”

The next course ca sauce that I would probably dream about

“I thought about it Nearly did But…as a prince, I would’ve had to visit with royalty in the Fla allowed to travel to e Once there, I never would’ve been able to relax The wolves would’ve been nervous about the dragons rising up and going for the crown And they weren’t wrong My dad would’ve thought about it Maybe even tried to goad me into it I decided to reive two shits about shifter royalty They are ant With them, I felt halfway normal”

“What e of jealousy stole over my heart I cleared my throat and wiped my mouth in careful little dabs like he had

He reached across the table and tookto haveto offer the other, and we got on pretty well It was enough to get dooal Had I known—”

“There’s no sense in dwelling on that,” I said, entwining ers with his “You obviously knoasn’t your fault The king sounds like… There really aren’t words for him”