Page 76 of A Beautifully Crafted Lie

“You never thought to tell me about him?” Odhran asks, taking off his jacket and rolling up his sleeves. “Fuck! Bryn, dragons are famously selfish! Devious! What does he want from you? What have you promised? Tell me you’ve made no bargains with it!”

“You never thought to tell me I’m your… what did you call it? MATE!” I shove him so hard that he almost loses his balance. “I don’t have any idea what that even means, but I know you have no right to be upset.”

“Whatever it wants from you, it will come at a substantial cost to you. You shouldn’t trust it.” His lips press into a thin line.

“The same could be said about you, yet here I am.” I glare back. He winces, the action slight enough that one could miss it, but I don’t. I’ve memorised every line on his face, every expression reflected in his eyes.

“It knows my name, Bryn. My real name. Do you understand what this could mean?” A flicker of despair mars his features.

“I never asked you to tell me.” I take a step back.

“You truly are the bane of my blight. My ultimate ruin.” He closes the distance between us.

“And you are the most infuriating bastard I’ve ever met.” I bite down on my teeth.

“Does the timing truly matter?”

I know he’s referring to this mate thing. It sounds like the pairing of livestock. I don’t like it one bit.

“Omissions are lies too, Odhran.” I glare up at him. “Don’t you dare get upset with me when you’re guilty yourself.”

“Are we going to talk about it?” His tone softens.

“No,” I blurt a little too harshly.

He releases a tortured sigh, pushing his fingers through his hair. “Just… be careful of the dragon. Don’t promise it anything. And keep it away from me.”

I’ve already made Aed a promise. There’s nothing I can do about it now. Nothing that can change my fate. “Alright.” The mark of my bargain with Aed itches under my skin, my lie only making it worse.

PART SIX

There once was a girl who had only half of a soul.

Where one side was soft,

the other was hard as coal.

There once was a girl who ceased to care.

She threw caution to the wind

and lay herself bare.

There once was a girl who lived for herself.

She took what she needed

and found true wealth.

-The Diary of Glynis Ashglo

THE PAST

Despite his best efforts, ten-year-old Prince Odhran always seemed to come up short in his sword matches. Regardless of his status as a bastard, it wasn’t an acceptable outcome for someone with royal blood. No one bothered to inquire about the circumstances that led to his poor performance. There were no factors that could lessen the impact. No retries to be granted. In this game, there were only two possibilities: winning or losing, and the price of losing was high, affecting his meals, his freedom, and his self-worth.

They often paired him with older, more experienced boys who were ruthless in their determination to draw blood from the young bastard prince. It was widely believed that King Darragh had a bastard child, cruelly abandoned by his own mother. But this bastard prince belonged to their queen, fathered by an even greater king.

“Blades up!” His guardian looked at him with a straight-lipped expression. The order resonated in his ears. Odhran’s arms buckled, struggling to support his massive sword, feeling the strain in his arms. His stomach growled with hunger and sweat beaded his brow. There were many cruelties in Réimse an Sìoraigh, the Realm of Forever, the worst dealt by the hands who were meant to care for him. In the courtyard, amidst training sessions, young Odhran lost track of time. While staring at his opponent, the thirteen-year-old son of a warrior, time moved too fast and too slow all at once.