Page 68 of The Prince from a Cruel Summer
"If not Zeke, Maddox, or Damian, then the only other viable choice is—" I cut myself off, the obvious answer to my father’s wicked riddle finally staring me in the face. "You mean to marry Willow and Ezra?"
"Ethan Lightbringer will be in a gleeful mood tonight because of the hunt. It’s the perfect time to work out such arrangements. Freya’s been petitioning for her niece, but who is she kidding? Idris Lovatt’s girl is hardly a proper princess."
An emotion between relief and anxiety, both liberating and worrisome, settles in my chest. “You sabotaged me on purpose to let him win.”
“His little brother is not going to surprise us, is he?” my father asks, glossing over my comment.
“Doubtful. Elio is powerful, but the limelight doesn’t suit him.”
“Then Ezra it is. You should be glad, son. You two are already great friends, and now, you’ll be family.”
I stare down into my cider, the greenish liquid swirling in the bronze cup. Ezra and Willow… If my father is bent on marrying her before she comes of age, it’s not the worst idea.
“Ezra might not accept. I think he suspects that he’s not exactly…Willow’s type.”
The King waves away my concerns. “Ezra will do whatever his father tells him to do.”
A shiver quakes my spine at the certainty in his tone. The terror I see on Ezra's face when he knows his father is angry at him is unequaled. And the stories I managed to piece together over the years tell me Ethan Lightbringer disciplines his sons with cruel, unusual punishments.
I do not want Will to be under that man’s influence in any way whatsoever, but I trust Ezra to protect her.
My father’s valet knocks on the door before inching it open. “I’m sorry to disturb you, My King.” The forest-green coat of moss growing over the sprite’s skull has been neatly trimmed for the occasion. “The royal ball is about to begin.”
“I’ll meet you in my room in a minute.”
I check the clock on the wall. If I want to make it back to the academy in time for Beth’s performance, I have to leave now. “Am I dismissed, sir?”
He removes his jacket and shakes out his wrists, quickly unfastening the cufflinks of his hunting clothes. “Why are you so eager to leave the capital on such a momentous night?”
“Willow made me promise to attend the solstice gala. She’s organizing this year.”
He doesn’t bother to conceal his eye roll, his feelings about my love for the academy and its less glamorous traditions perfectly clear. “Oh, very well. Enjoy your night, Aidan.”
Parents seldom want their children around for the only party of the year when they can fool around with anyone but their spouses, and he doesn’t have to tell me twice. I slip out of Eterna through the mirror, the icy kiss of the sceawere leaving a trail of snowflakes on my neck, and return to the Abbey.
Ezra is fresh out of the shower and out of his bloody clothes when I get home.
“Hey,” I whisper quietly, wondering how to break the news.
He walks past me to the sofa, rubbing a white towel into his wet hair. “Blessed Flame. From the looks of you, I guess I’m about to be betrothed.”
“How?” I ask, taking a seat in front of him, flabbergasted by his insight.
Looking at the ceiling, he sinks into the cushions. “Why else would your father have sabotaged you like that, right as you were about to let your fire arrow fly, if he didn’t intend for Ethan to win?”
“But how did you bridge the gap between letting him win and being betrothed?”
Ezra springs to his feet, clearly agitated, and snatches a bottle of cider from the cooling pantry, pouring himself a cup. “Why else would he give him the win? It’s fine. I know my father was eager to get me settled. I thought Iris might be his choice, but as stunning as she is, Will and I will make a fine match, too.”
It hits me then—Ezra has never hoped to marry someone of his own choosing. If I’ve let myself forget it, it’s only because of the privilege the Mark of the Gods affords me. And now, I can’t ignore the discomfort gnawing at me as my best friend plans a life with my sister, all without the faintest clue of what’s really going on.
I peel myself off the sofa and head into my room to change. The tension in my chest increases with each breath until I return to the common room. “You should have a chat with Will before it’s announced in any formal fashion,” I muse.
I can’t tell him the truth, but he needs to know. And given the opportunity, I believe Willow will tell him herself. If only to try and get out of it.
Ezra adjusts his gold vest over his bare chest, leaving it unbuttoned, the swirl of clouds from the Sun Court’s crest sewn onto the folded lapels. “I know about Will, Aidan. That’s why I said I wasn’t her type. I’m fine with it. After the wedding, we can both come to a discreet arrangement. I’ll keep doing what I do best, and she can find herself a nice mistress that we’ll call her lady’s maid, and voilà—the perfect marriage.”
My shoulders hunch. “I know it’s not what you wanted.”
