Page 52 of The Prince from a Cruel Summer
"That must be it, then." She puts down her glass and returns her attention to me, her blunt, direct stare making my heart pound.
Fuck, with her looking at me like that, I can’t concentrate. I’m getting married tomorrow. I can’t be seen flirting with the most famous woman in Faerie, but I lean in without meaning to. “How do you know where my mark is?”
“Isn’t that common knowledge?”
“No.” I shake my head, and the corners of my mouth twitch. “And you’ve answered all my questions with questions.”
“Did I?” a secret smile passes over her lips, and the teasing edge of her voice sparks a fire in my blood.
“Answer me. Please.”
She opens and closes her mouth. “I’m not sure how.”
A heavy silence falls between us. “Try.”
“To tell you the truth, I feel like I’m about to faint.” She braces her hand on my arm to steady herself, and I suck in air.
Her skin is cool, smooth, and perfect. My fire bristles at the simple touch, my magic thrashing within me, desperate to engulf her.
Elizabeth bites her bottom lip, her cheeks flushed, and her gaze drifts to my hip again, right where my birthmark lies. Her index finger moves in her lap, as though tracing invisible lines. The sight is arousing as fuck. Blood rushes to my groin as I shift awkwardly, well-aware that I’m trapped here at this table until I manage to simmer down.
I feel hot and cold, more certain than ever that something is amiss, but Elio and his wife Lori return to the table, forcing my attention away from Elizabeth.
“Aidan. Quick question. Will the King of Light be here tomorrow? I was pleasantly surprised to see he wasn’t around tonight,” he asks, sitting beside me.
I blink away the fog of desire. “He should attend, in theory, but ever since my father died, he hasn’t set foot in Augustus.”
Elio despises his father, and the feeling is mutual. The whole subject is sore between us, considering how close I was with his brother before he vanished, but some things are better left unmentioned.
In a few days, I’ll be the only member of my family left standing, and the thought is sobering to say the least. Father, Willow, and now Mother…
“Do you expect any further trouble with the Tidecallers?” Elio asks grimly, aware of the queen’s dreadful poisoning at the hands of the rebels.
“We’ve heard loud rumblings about the Lord of the Tides’ incursions into the continent. According to our intel, he’s particularly active at our borders with the Red Forest, the Solar Cliffs, and Wintermere, recruiting new members and gaining support among the population.”
The Winter King and Queen exchange an anxious glance.
“Do you know who he is?” I say quickly.
Elio presses his lips together. “Maybe. We suspect that the man who led the attacks on the Frost Peaks is actually the Storm King’s youngest son.”
“Seth?” My fists curl at my side as I recall Seth Devine’s rebellious antics and complete disregard for traditions. “I knew that treacherous weed had ignored my invitation for a reason.”
“Not Seth,” Lori explains with a wince. “Seth actually went missing trying to reason with his younger brother.” I open my mouth to argue, but she adds, “Thorald Storm has a third son, one he’s been keeping secret.”
Lori might be a darkling, and a mortal at that, but I trust Elio, and my brows raise. “Why? What could have been so wrong about him that he was denied the opportunity to enroll in the academy?”
“He vanished before he could enroll. We’re still piecing out the story, but Luther Storm was manipulated—or seduced—by Morrigan Quinn, and Seth has been looking for him for a couple of years,” Elio says.
“But then, he’s too young to be Lord of the Tides. Mentions of the title date back a decade at least, and this young Fae prince couldn’t be older than twenty.”
Lori takes a long sip of cider before she asks, “Are we sure the Lord of the Tides is not Morrigan herself?”
I deny her hypothesis with a confident shake of my head. “My sources assure me it’s a man. He’s often been seen around the seediest taverns and brothels, riling up the common folks.”
I glance at the busy room around us, full of High Fae and royals, and congratulate myself for holding the wedding here, and not at the capital. Eterna would have been a good place to stage a coup. Augustus is safer, but considering everything that happened, I feel increasingly uneasy.
“I might be able to learn more if you allowed me access to my brother,” Lori says with a stiff nod.
