Page 142 of The Prince from a Cruel Summer
Malon’s resentful pout morphs into a full-blown sneer. “Bet or no bet, we’re not letting that fucker slip through our fins,” she growls.
Melisandra’s eyes gleam with mischief. “Shush, daughter. He might be our enemy, but he’s in love with one of us.”
“We can’t let him go, for tides’ sake. And she’snotone of us,” Malon says begrudgingly, rubbing down her burnt throat.
“The salt of the sea runs in her veins.” Melisandra’s tone softens. “A sister on the throne of Summer… I never thought I’d see the day. With her as queen, we might finally end this vicious cycle of violence and death. We might finally be allowed to walk the beaches of the continent again.”
Tears mist the corners of her eyes.
“The Lord of the Tides said—” the younger siren argues, but her mother cuts her off almost immediately.
“The Lord of the Tides is an earthling. I don’t care what he promised us, he will never know what it’s like to be hunted for his song.”
“But who’s to say that man will marry her, in the end? That he won’t simply change his mind? Why should we trust him?” Malon adds.
Aidan links our fingers, his sharp tone cutting through the tension between the two women. “You don’t have to trust me or take my word for it. I’ll marry her now.”
A delighted gasp whistles out of Melisandra. “You will?”
He holds her baring gaze. “Yes. It’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
“What do you say, daughter of the sea? Will you take him?” she asks me.
My head spins. “Err— Now?”
“Will you let us ensure that we’re not passing up on the opportunity to kill the next Summer King for nothing?” Melisandra says with a pointed look, clearly hinting for me to take her up on her generous offer.
My gaze flicks from Melisandra to Malon, the younger siren looking disgusted by the idea, and to Aidan, who gazes down at me expectantly, his bottom lip tucked between his teeth.
I squeeze his hand with a profound, almost visceral determination. “I will. Yes.”
The captain’scabin near the bow is stifling, the air thick with the smell of damp wood and the faint, sharp tang of the sea that clings to the walls. The low groan of the ship’s timbers beneath us is a constant reminder of our precarious situation, but there’s something almost comforting in it, too.
I play with my fingers, my heart racing. “We don’t have to do this, not if you don’t want to. I could still talk to Melisandra. Maybe?—”
I had asked to speak privately with Aidan while Melisandra summoned the rest of her clan, insisting on a proper Sea wedding.
Aidan covers my hands, forcing them to a standstill. “Songbird. I want to marry you.”
My gaze flies up to meet his. “Yes?”
“I would have done so a long time ago,” he says, his eyes darkening, “if not for Ethan and my parents thinking they could blatantly overwrite my free will.”
We always talked about getting married, about finding a way to make it work, but this—this feels like a dream twisted into something darker. There’s a quiet thrill between us. We’re finally going to do this, but it’s shrouded by the knowledge that it’s not for us, at least not in the way we wanted. It’s an obligation, a fulfillment of a murderous stranger’s agenda, and a sharp edge of unease cuts through me.
“What about Heather?” I ask, unable to leave well-enough alone.
“Heather arrived at the academy the year after you left. She became Will’s friend and spent tons of time with her at the castle.”
“And you two grew close. I get it,” I say, crestfallen.
Aidan kisses my knuckles, one at a time. “Heather was Will’s lover, Beth. Not mine. After Will died, she became my best friend. I figured, since I had never been able to fall in love, Heather would make the finest queen I could hope for and proposed.”
“Oh.”
I can’t deny the flutter in my chest when Aidan catches my gaze, his hand resting on mine like it’s meant to be this way. We’ve wanted this, wanted each other, for so long. Is it foolish—or even dangerous—for me to go along with these crazy circumstances?
The ship rocks beneath us, but in this small, suffocating cabin, it’s just us—and for once, I feel a fragile sense of peace.
