I was summoned to be interrogated by a jealous dragon (Part 4)

“I jumped to conclusions too quickly,” I said and looked up, “and for that, I am… sorry.”

“Good girl,” he smiled.

My heart skipped a beat.

“Now that we have cleared the air between us, we can finally talk about the main issue. I called you here because I had some questions for you,” he said.

The guilt of the crime of breaking into his chamber crept right up my back. I lowered my eyes again, hoping he wouldn't see the guilt in my eyes.

“Please, feel free to ask…” I squeaked like a mouse.

“How is it possible you were outside of the castle and were not turned into an animal?”

I looked at him, surprised. There was genuine curiosity in his eyes.

“I do not know,” I said. “I kinda thought the rooftop does not count as a stepping out of the castle.”

“I do not think so, but even if it did, you were already outside the castle today, and you were able to return as a human. How is that possible? Are you some kind of sorceress?”

“I… have no idea. I did not even know about the curse before Korvan told me about it. Do you know how the original cursing sounded?”

“It says that each bride who wants to leave the dragon will be turned into the last animal she saw before she was sacrificed to me.”

“Leave the dragon does not mean leave the castle,” I countered.

“In this case, it means to leave the castle, which is my home. At least that is how we understood the curse, up until now. Vesna left the castle and was turned into a black cat right after crossing the doorstep. Maybe it is more complicated.”

“Or the opposite, maybe it is even simpler than you thought,” I said.

“Why do you think that?”

“I did not want to leave you,” I said frankly. “So it does not matter if I am outside of the castle or sitting on the rooftop.”

He looked at me, surprised. I could see a soft pink color blooming on his cheeks, creeping behind, staining his ears. I was getting a second-hand embarrassment just from his reaction. I realized what I had just said may have sounded a little bit bold, so I hurried to correct myself.

“Didn’t I tell you before that I am not leaving this castle?” I said.

“Vesna said the same thing before,” he replied after a while. “And yet, when she stepped out of the castle, she was cursed immediately.”

The confidence in his voice was gone. Now, he sounded like a small boy, sharing his biggest fear. It made my heart ache. I knew nothing about this man, and yet I judged him so harshly.

“Well…” I wanted to continue, but I didn’t really know what to say.

The curse was not working on me, because in my heart, I never wanted to leave the castle. I genuinely did not believe I could survive here without a proper roof above my head and food cooked by Korvan.

I wanted to ask about his wife, I wanted to ask about Vesna, the curse, and everything else that happened. But it was only my second day here, and I was a complete stranger to him. I could not bring myself to ask him these things.

“Anyway,” he said after a while. “We cannot be sure how the curse works, so it is better to stay in the castle.”

“I did not turn into any animal,” I stated. “Does that not mean that I am safe?”

“It is not worth taking the risk.”

“But what if there will be another incident like the one today?”

“Then I will take care of it, as I said.”

I looked at him with raised eyebrows. He cannot be serious. He is not trying to protect some random girl, right?

It did not make sense. He believed the curse would activate even if I climbed up the rooftop of the castle tower. He wanted me to be on the safe side, and yet he was calling me here now to talk. If he wanted to prevent the curse, he could talk to me anywhere else, even in the study below us.

Is he trying to protect me or curse me? Is he hiding something?

“Is there something else you want to tell me, Mr. Not-good-with-words?”

“No, you just need to be careful. That's all.”

I put my hand into the apron pocket and took out the small wooden box.

“I wonder how the magical crystal bead works. Korvan said that it will show you evil if you look through it. Are lies considered evil? If I use it to look at you through it, will it tell me if you are being honest?”

I was just messing with him, not planning to use the bead. But he turned to me, catching the wrist of my hand that held the tiny wooden box. Surprised by his sudden movement, I lost my balance and sprawled over the roof, hitting my head. The small wooden box fell out of my hand, gliding down the shingles.

But he did not care about it one bit. Instead, he looked at me. He was now towering over me, still holding my wrist above my head. He leaned closer, and I could feel the rush of blood coloring my cheeks. His second hand moved towards my body, and I jerked away, closing my eyes. I thought he was going to touch me, but instead I could feel how he reached into my pocket and took something out. He let go of my wrist.

I opened my eyes slowly. He was now holding a firebird feather in his hand, the exact one I was gifted just a few minutes ago.

“Why do you have this?” he asked.

“I got it as a gift,” I answered. “Probably because I saved that falcon.”

“You don’t need to save anybody, and especially not someone from the Firebird Prince’s court.”

“It was my fault that it broke its wing.”

“It was its fault that it went to steal something that was not theirs.”

“That reminded me,” I remembered, “that someone lied to that poor bird that the bead originally belonged to the Firebird Prince.”

“Prince probably told him it's his.”

I shook my head. “No, that is not right. He knew it was rightfully yours. So it must have been someone else.”

“That does not matter anymore,” he shrugged. “The bead is home. And you are home, too.”