Page 134 of The Prince from a Cruel Summer

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The decades spent in exile, all alone, before I could sing safely in front of others are tangible in the murky cargo hold. The time spent separated from all the people I loved, away from Aidan, pining over a man who didn’t even remember I existed.

If I mess this up, it’ll be my last performance, so I better make it count. I lay it all out on the line for one more song.

I never knew a love

Quite so rare as yours

Never knew a gaze

Quite so entrancing

You held out your hand

By the river bank

And asked me for a dance

“What are you—” Luther stops abruptly, his eyes glazing over as the tray slips from his hands. The bread and fruit he meant to give his brother tumble to the ground, and Seth mutters a begrudging curse.

Just one night; in lieu of forever

One chance; it was now or never

As luck had it, my star-crossed lover

I was promised to another

But I only wanted you

Aidan lets out a low whimper behind me, and Luther inches closer.

His gaze clears, as though the sun itself has just peeked through the clouds, revealing an endless sky after the storm. His pupils contract into pinholes. “May the tides have mercy. You’re a siren.”

I never knew a name

Quite so forbidden

Never knew a love

Quite as doomed from the start

We were oil and water

Sweet and sour

It was never to be

Never to be

But I only wanted you

Our captor stumbles closer, navigating over a barrage of barrels, now within arm’s reach. The inside pockets of his dark hooded cloak should be just below the holes meant for his arms.

Yours was a crown of gold

Mine only a shard of cold

A piece of coal

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