Page 9 of Prince of Ruin

My mouth drops open. I can feel my brows climb up my forehead as I stare down at him “Clav, huh?” I ask, deciding to humor him. Because, gods, maybe I like pretending like he truly is an innocent human and not some evil king bent on power and revenge. “You shortened your name.”

“Who thefuckdo you think you are?”

“Your ex.” My fists clench. “Whom you tried to kill.”

He chokes on a high-picked laugh. “Bro. You’re high.” Seriously, now he’s trying way too hard to make me believe he’s not the bastard I know he is. “Probably should go home and sleep off some of that weed, huh?”

What the—

He turns and strides away from me, but I’m not letting him go so easily. I came here with words that need to be said, and I’ll say them, dammit. Trotting to catch up, I fall into step beside him. By the way he shakes his hands by his side, as if resisting throwing a punch at me, I can tell I’m finally getting to him. Good. He must be nervous that I’ll blow his cover. Sorry,bro, it’s already blown. Everyone in the faelands knows he’s a liar. Still, it’s a smart move for him to walk away. He knows if he chooses to fight me in his mortal form, he’s not any better than a squashed grape on the bottom of a boot.

“Your life seems perfect here,Clav. Simple.” I gesture with long, jeweled fingers, attempting to keep my voice calm to show him that I’m not looking for a fight, just a bargain. “Stay home, little king, and enjoy the life of ease in the mortal realms that have been gifted to you.”

“Great. Thanks for the advice, Merlin.”

“It’s Tarsus,” I say with a huff. “And I know Abaddon is sending his folk to bring you back, but you needn’t return. I have everything under contro—”

“Wait, what?” He stops short, turning sharply to face me, and there it is—that same cold rage I saw in his eyes all those years ago when he tried to kill me. “You know aboutthemcoming to my house?” His voice comes out in a hoarse whisper. “Are you—are you in on the prank?”

“Prank?” Okay, this is getting old, and my patience is wearing thin. “Listen here, you little shit.” I jab my finger into his chest, surprised when he stumbles back so easily. Gods, he’s so fragile, but I can’t let his weakness fool me. “Don’t come back, because if you do, you’ll not find any mercy from me the next time I see you. Actually, you know what? I hope the bat-folk come back and convince you toreturn. Because then at least I can kill you without breaking my bargain to leave you alone as long as you stayed in the human realms. Did you actually think that you could fool us?”

He stiffens. “Us?” His hands clench into fists at his sides as he bares his teeth, and there he is. The Prince of Ruin, the King of Destruction, ready to destroy the world. I’m not sure whether to be relieved or terrified. “Look, I get it.” He punches each word out. “Pranks are fun. Ha ha. Let’s visit the local haunted house and aggravate the old man who lives there, who thinks he’s a demon hunter. I get that it’s funny to you and your pals.” He jabs his finger into the center of my chest so hard that it’s my turn to stumble back. Damn, I didn’t know his human form could possess that sort of strength. “But you better stay the fuck away from us, or it will be the police you’ll deal with. Understand,Babe?”

“I’ll stay the fuck away,” I say, smacking his finger off my chest. “Only if you stay away from my boyfriend.”

He releases that high-pitched, clueless laugh again. “Bro, I don’t even know who your boyfriendis.”

“I believe you met him this morning. He goes by Aden.”

His gray eyes begin to simmer like steam over a geyser, his mouth dropping open, then closing, then opening again.

“He’sa part of this too?” His voice is lethally low now. Heart-pounding, labored-breathing, fist-clenchingragecomes off him in waves. It would make me cower if he had any of his fae powers. But he doesn’t. He’s cursed with a weak human body and not a weapon to his name. His eyes dart around the faire, as if looking for Aden. So he could kill him, no doubt.

“If you touch him,” I warn, “You’ll be dead before you can blink.”

His feral eyes meet mine, and he bares his teeth. “Stay the fuck away from me.”

“Quit pretending to be a clueless loser. Gods, surely even your human father raised you better than be a chronic liar.”

His eyes darken. “Don’t talk about my father.”

“I suppose he’s not yourrealfather, is he?” I look him over and curl my lips in disgust. “Since you’re a bastard-born--”

He pulls his fist back and throws a punch, and though I flinch, I grab his wrist mid-air, my own irritation slipping as I squeeze his mortal arm until he winces. I’m sure I’ll leave bruises. Gods, I would break him if it wouldn’t cause a scene. Still, he needs to know how much stronger I am than him, how he should certainly not cross me in his human form. I squeeze harder, twisting his arm until he falls to his knees. His face is bright red now, a sheen of tears blurring his pupils while he glares up at me throughthose black-rimmed glasses, teeth bared. And I almost feel bad for him. I do. Because I catch a glimpse of the boy I used to know, the boy I fell in love with before he sold his soul to his Shadow.

It's an act.And I’ll not have my heart broken by him again.

I bend down until I’m inches from his face. “There you are, Sovereign Clavicle,” I mutter in his ear, a sneer tugging at my lips. People are stopping to stare now, clearly wondering if we’re putting on a show or if this is a real fight. “I knew you hadn’t forgotten.” His face scrunches up in pain. I might be crushing his bones, I don’t know, and I don’t really care. “If you have any slice of humanity in that mortal body of yours, stay the fuck away from the faerie realms, stay away from me, and if you care anything about your own life, stay the fuck away from Aden.”

When I release him, he curls into a ball. “Okay.” His whimper makes his fear almost believable. “I—I’ll stay away.Christ.”

But that’s not good enough for me. I hunch before him and jut my pinky in front of his tear-streaked face. “Pinky-swear.”

His eyes flash to mine in disbelief. “Are you for real right now?”

“Pinky-swear, or I swear to gods, I’ll fuckingendyou—”

His pinky quickly curls around mine, and I try, really try, to ignore the jolt of excitement from his mere touch. “I pinky swear I’ll stay away from…faerie…or whatever the fuck it is.”

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