Page 24 of The Prince from a Cruel Summer
But these? These are all-you-can-eat high-end, fancy delicacies.
It’s so good. I could get used to this.
“Don’t eat too much, moth, or you won’t be able to take flight anymore,” Iris teases as she jogs over to get a glass of cider.
Judging by her tiny waist, the girl must watch her figure closely.
I make a big show of licking my fingers and throw her an asinine smile. But she’s partly right. I should be more careful about eating in front of the other students, and not because of some fat butterfly nonsense. I shouldn’t give them a reason to be reminded that I’m not one of them. That I’m not used to these luxuries. Same thing as with the princes. I can’t show I’m not used to dealing with drop-dead-gorgeous, powerful men. I have to take it all in stride so that they never question if I belong here.
The fourth-year Red Fae that made a speech earlier joins me by the wide array of food. She’s thin with auburn hair that falls in soft waves, a sharp pointy nose reminiscent of the witches she descends from, and brown eyes that glimmer with mischief.
“Hey, moth.”
“Diana, right?”
“It’s Big Bad Bitch to you. I was the guardian of the Autumn trial. I saw you leave with all that blood sprayed on your chest and boy, you really blew through Summer.” Her unfriendly grin widens. “I thought of the perfect challenge for you. I want you to find out Aidan’s full initials. He’ll be the judge of your success or failure, of course. I wouldn’t dream of having you blab away something so personal.”
“Are you joking? He’s never going to tell me.” I risk a glance in his direction.
My skin warms as Aidan glances in our direction, as if he’s heard his name.
“Hey, Johan.” Diana motions her friend over, and the man creates a welcomed barrier between me and Aidan. “How many points would you give the moth if she managed to find out Aidan’s initials?”
The boy raises both brows high at the scandalous proposition. “I’d say it’s worth three times as much as the hardest challenge we came up with.”
“I agree. See? This way, you get to fail and keep face. No one will expect you to succeed.”
She pats my arm in a condescending manner as she leaves, and I bite my tongue not to reply.Deep breaths and rise above.I don’t care about some stupid initiation contest, anyway. For all I know, Aidan himself put her up to this.
Our first official meeting doused some much-needed icy water over the possibility of repeating that kiss. Aidan might be real, but his interest in me certainly isn’t. And after his... revealing performance earlier, I know he’s just playing with me. This must be the kind of game princes play to keep themselves entertained.
It should be a relief, but I can’t dismiss the heaviness hovering beneath my breast bone or the itch at the back of my throat.
I feel terribly stupid.
Aidan broke the rules and roped me into his little scheme, and I fell for it hook, line, and sinker. A man so imbued with his own self-importance will expect nothing less than unfailing obedience from a moth in return for his help, and I’ll be lucky if all he wants to use is my body.
The pressure of his gaze is a quite literal line of fire crawling across my neck. Not enough to make my skin blister, but the heat quickly becomes suffocating. The sand beneath my feet warms as I refuse to acknowledge him.
If there’s one thing I know about my standing here at the academy, it’s that I should study hard, keep from talking about the trials, and not make waves.
Being caught in a dalliance with the most infamous bachelor in Faerie would ruin me—destroying my credibility with Zeke’s father and my chances of graduating faster than if I openly admitted to cheating at the trials.
A cup of Nether cider in hand, Aidan approaches the buffet under the guise of serving himself a refill. “You’re engaged,” he says on a sigh.
“Yes,” I answer without looking, wrapping an arm around my frame.
“You should have told me.”
My eyes bulge, and I glance over my shoulder to see if he’s serious. “I thought you were merely a fever dream.”
A rogue, arrogant smile warms his face, his gaze focused on the liquid foaming over his cup. “Am I that handsome?”
“Ugh.” I move to leave, but Aidan grabs my lower arm, his fire snaking along my skin. It’s warm and enticing. I can’t look away.
“We have to chat. Privately.”
I pull away from his grasp so I can concentrate, the gentle sting of the flames too damn distracting for me to keep my head. “We can’t be caught speaking in private.”
