Page 108 of The Prince from a Cruel Summer
There he is, my Summer Prince on his knees, not desperate to keep me by his side foronemore night, but forallof them. Not hungry for my body, but for me. Forever.
His fist turns red and orange, and he dusts off a feminine, perfectly transparent glass ring and holds it in the dim streak of moonlight that penetrates the glass tunnel.
“Marry me, Songbird.”
My lips part, my head spinning with the weight of everything he’s offering. He’s there on one knee as though it’s as simple as that. As though a proposal from him is something he can give out in the spur of the moment. It solidifies my worst fear—that I enchanted him. That he’s not quite right in his mind.
“I’m a moth. Your mother would never approve. By the spindle, your father would probably kick me out of the Summerlands forever if he knew we were even considering this.”
He opens his mouth to argue, but hesitates. “Then we’ll just see each other in secret until you’re ready to elope with me. I’m not a patient man, but I can be patient for you.”
“Aidan…”
“I saw your expression on that altar. You’re as hungry for this as I am.”
I don’t have it in me to fight anymore, not when he’s right on all counts. I pat down the lapels of his jacket, praying that he’ll understand, or at least not destroy me for my honesty. This might be the last time he looks at me this way. As if he’d cut off his own heart to heal mine.
“We can’t marry because I’m a siren.”
His expression darkens, his brows pulling together. “What?”
“When we first met, I had no idea, but I accidentally enchanted you,” I blurt out. “That’s why you broke the rules to help me. I found out very recently that I have siren blood, so when I sang, you feltcompelledto help me.”
“Siren blood—That’s impossible.”
“I couldn’t believe it either, at first, but my father confirmed it. I’m a siren, Aidan. A Sea mutt. A soiled, hybrid creature that belongs far away from the continent. Fromyou.”
And I cry. I cry like I did the night I read my mother’s letter and realized Aidan might not actually love me. I let it all go and fall at his feet, toppled over by the weight of my own shame.
“Hey, hey. It’s alright.” He falls to his knees, too, and wraps me up in his arms.
“I promise you I had no idea. I would never have violated your free will like that. Never.”
“I know you wouldn’t.”
I rub my eyes and inch away from him. “But don’t you see? It was my fault you cheated. And maybe it’s still affecting you.” My chin trembles. “When I sang, it made you fall for me, but it’s not real. None of it is.”
“Shh. It’s alright.” He envelops me in his arms once more while I weep and weep on his shoulder, the stress and doubts that overshadowed the last few months condensing into heavy, torrential pain.
“You don’t believe me,” I say on a sniffle, thinking he’s acting way too affectionate to have heard me right.
“I do, truly. It makes sense.”
“How?”
“I threw a contest for you after hearing you sing, I can connect the dots. But it doesn’t matter.”
“How can you say that? I enchanted you; manipulated you.”
“Songbird. It’s not your fault if you didn’t know.”
“How can you be so calm about this?” I squeak.
A smile tugs at the corners of his mouth. "I’d love you if you were a harpy, Beth Snow. Haven’t you figured it out by now?" He cups my cheeks and presses a kiss to my nose. "A siren’s song never lingers past a good night’s sleep, and I count hundreds of cold, lonely mornings since we’ve met. I love you, Songbird. And not because you can bewitch men with a song."
I shake my head. There are so few reliable references about the Sea Fae. I can’t bring myself to believe the 'cured by dawn' folklore is as simple as that. "But how can you be sure?"
"Feel my heartbeat." He presses my palm to his chest. "This isn’t the result of some siren song. I’ve studied the legends. I’ve read the stories of sailors rushing to their deaths. The ones who survive wake groggy in the morning, but by lunchtime, they’re ready to reach for their harpoons—not shop for centerpieces and matching rings. If your song inspired me to help you in the labyrinth, I’m glad, because it brought us together."
