Page 64 of The Prince from a Cruel Summer
Near the end of our session, Ezra sneaks into the music room just as I finish the last verse, and my cheeks turn red. His ice-blue eyes dance under the soft light of the chandeliers while he makes his way over, hands tucked inside his pockets.
Elio slams the piano cover shut with a loudthud, the melody cutting off abruptly. “What do you want?”
“I was actually looking for Lady Snow.” Ezra slinks closer, an elusive smile playing at the corners of his lips. “Your voice could topple empires, milady.”
Elio crams his music sheets together. “See you tomorrow, Beth. Goodnight.”
Elio leaves with his jaw tight and his eyes narrowed, and I throw his brother a tired look. “What did you do?”
“Who said I did something?” Ezra muses.
“Hrmph.”
He leans on the piano lid with his chin propped in his hand. “They’re tallying up the points of the initiation challenge for the results to be presented tomorrow. I heard that you’re dead last.”
I slap my thighs and climb to my feet. “I don’t care.”
Not in the mood for one of his enigmatic, dubious pieces of advice, I head to the bibliotheca, but Ezra falls into step with me.
“You know the loser has to suffer the whims of the fourth-years for the rest of the year, right?” he says.
“Yes, but it was rigged from the start.” I wave dismissively. “My very first challenge was impossible, so I made my peace with it.”
“What did Diana give you?”
“She wanted me to find out Aidan’s full initials.”
Ezra stops walking. “An almost impossible task, indeed. Aidan himself wouldn’t share his full initials, but his handsome best friend who’s got a crush on you… that’s another story.”
I turn around, the prince looking perfectly evil in the dimly lit corridor. “You’re Aidan’s best friend?” I say in jest.
Ezra gives me a genuine laugh, something rare and elusive as we enter the bibliotheca through the back door, the tall mahogany stacks towering above our heads.
Even though I’ve got my hands full with my fiancé and an Aidan-shaped hole in my heart, it’s hard not to feel anything at all when a man like Ezra lets you glimpse at the real person hiding behind his thick Fae prince veneer.
“Now, why do you snicker and snort when your real laugh is so much better?” I ask.
His gaze darts to the ceiling as he slides past me along the narrow path between the stacks and spins around, walking backwards. “Keep stroking my ego like that, and I might give you what you want.”
I pry the book I started earlier off the shelf. “Be nicer to Elio, and I might just start thinking of you as a friend.”
“Haven’t you heard? I don’t have any female friends. I have groupies. And lovers. And lover-groupies.”
I reach out to pinch his arm, but he slips out of reach, laughing.
“Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
I shake my head.
Ezra sinks to the ground, his back propped against the heavy books near the floor. “Then you don’t know what it’s like. I love Elio to death, but he and I have to quarrel. It’s how it’s always been.”
He looks so defeated and remorseful that I slide down next to him, pressing my butt down to prevent my tartan skirt from riding up. “How do you know Aidan’s initials?”
The wicked glint in his eyes flickers to life once more. “I caught a glimpse of them while I was skulking around our dorm, back when he didn’t know I could become invisible.”
I barely hold in a gasp. “You can become invisible?”
“Elio and I have trained ourselves to disappear with a glow as feeble as a candle flame. It’s a life skill we developed pretty early. Evelyn said she’s never seen such a flawless iteration of that power. I’m not supposed to use it inside the academy walls unless I have her permission.”
