Page 124 of The Prince from a Cruel Summer
I grimace at the word. “Of course not.”
“What does it have to do with your little whore of a moth, unless…”
A tingle of warning sizzles up my spine as I spread my arms on each side and let fire rise to my fists. “Flaming hell, you’re not Ezra.”
The man in front of me isn’t my best friend. The realization lands like a physical blow, hollowing out the air between us. I read it in the void of his eyes, the cruel twist of his mouth as his disguise fades. I’ve been played. Ezra melts into something sharper, colder—the King of Light.
"Quite a plan you've got there, Aidan," he drawls, his tone a study in condescension. "I’m impressed. It takes a real man to elope with a siren.”
I flinch, but his smirk only deepens. He takes a step closer, hands clasped behind his back like he’s taking a stroll through the palace grounds. “I admit, I’m not often taken off guard. I came here to make sure you'd tell her to marry Zeke, to keep Damian from the throne. But I see now that your little Sea whore wouldn’t make a suitable Shadow Queen.”
“Beth doesn’t belong with the Sea folk. She’s mine.”
“Oh, you’re so naïve.” His eyes gleam, malicious delight dripping from every word. “You figured that once you were married, everything would be fine, right?”
I raise my chin. “Nothing can nullify a Fae marriage. Not even kings.”
He inclines his body to me, hands still braced behind his back, his grin razor-sharp. “Nothing but death.”
My blood chills in my veins.Is he saying?—
“You’re meant to becomeking, Aidan. Don’t you think your father wouldkillto make that happen? Even before I tell him about you two, he’ll be relieved to see the moth arrested, and once she’s in his custody, it’ll be all too easy to get rid of her permanently.”
Bile rises to my throat.
“He wouldn’t kill her himself, of course,” Ethan drawls out. “He’d ask, let’s say, a good friend to do it. Someone who doesn’t shy away from violence. Someone with enough power to make it seem like an accident.” He melts into a perfect copy of Beth, the vicious curl of her mouth shivering through me. “Or better yet, a suicide.”
“It won’t take a lot of work or imagination to justify the poor girls’ actions, given her soiled blood. We’ll say that she was about to stand trial and took the easy way out… Nothing too hard to fake.”
“You’re a monster,” I say, my voice sharp, cutting through the scorching air between us.
Ethan smirks, unfazed. “And yet, you know I’m right.”
My mind races, shame and rage and bitterness settling in my cramped muscles, my heart like a vulgar piece of metal held in a vice grip and beaten against a forger’s anvil. Ethan Lightbringer could easily disguise Beth’s murder as a suicide, and if I was anyone else, he’d get away with it. While it disgusts me to barter with a man that should have been arrested for his crimes against his family a lifetime ago, I might have to play along for now and make him believe he’s won.
"What do you want?” I ask, letting out an exaggerated sigh of defeat.
He straightens, misreading the slump in my shoulders and the frown on my face as signs of surrender. “Break her heart. Abandon your foolish plans, and I will let her live. This is my best offer, and I warn you, it's final.”
“How can I be sure you won’t find her in the new world? That you won’t double-cross me and get rid of her anyway?”
The hatred that coats his every word makes me doubt he would let her live her life at all, even if I did everything he asks. I can't risk him hurting Beth while I figure out a way out of this.
“If you want me to break it off with her tonight,” I say, stepping closer, “I need your solemn promise that you—nor my father or anyone within your influence—won’t hurt her.”
His astute gaze slides to the side for a split second. “That’s unnecessary?—”
“Swear it,” I interrupt, my tone hardening. “Or I’ll take my chances with fire.”
Ethan studies me, his expression unreadable. Finally, he sighs, his voice losing some of its mocking edge. “Alright, I swear. If she leaves Faerie, and you stay here, I won’t hurt her. But let me be clear—I won’t let you out of my sight until it’s done.” I glare at him, my fists clenched, but he doesn’t stop. “And while she’s running away crying, you and I will head directly to Eterna to speak to your father.”
I can't fully grasp the scope of Ethan's plan, but he certainly has one. My father might escalate these threats, but my mother would never allow her son and heir to be blackmailed by another Fae king. She’ll stand with me on this, at least, if not on the marriage.
Does Ethan think me so young and fickle that I would just grit my teeth and not fight back? That I’ll just be a good boy and stay away from Beth for the rest of time?
But again... he's used to his sons' obedience, and he's probably thinking he can control me with the same schemes. But I’m not his to control, and unlike Ezra, I don’t depend on him for anything.
Ethan smirks. “We should go. I wouldn’t want us to be late for a date with a girl as beautiful as your Beth.”
