Page 74 of The Prince from a Cruel Summer
Ezra leans closer. “Aidan left right as you stepped off stage. He took the shortcut toward the forest.”
I whisper a quick, “Thank you,” and slip off my heels before heading into the dark.
If Aidan whisked Devi away to celebrate the solstice, I need to see it—to cure myself of these half-formed fantasies. But as I run down the well-beaten path to the forest and catch sight of his lonely silhouette, my heart pounds harder with each step.
His hands are tucked deep inside his pockets.
He hears me before he sees me and spins around, squinting at the darkness. A hint of fire flares in his fists, and he crouches into a fighting stance, probably thinking a wild beast is stalking him. I skid to a stop, catching my breath, and wonder why I came—why I’m so happy to find him alone. So…deliriously relieved.
You know why,that pesky inner voice quips.
A hint of moonlight streams between the clouds, and with a grunt of acknowledgment, Aidan turns his back to me and continues his trek toward the short wooden bridge crossing the creek, a couple of tall pines now encroaching on the path. “That song… You think I’m some weak-minded fool, but that’s simply not true.”
Across the bridge, the grassy field gives way to a soft carpet of long pine needles and cushy moss. I skip forward, gaining ground on him with the help of my perfect night vision. “I didn’t write it.”
“I know,” he shouts, weaving carefully between the trees as the forest grows denser with every step. The rumbling creek widens and slows beyond the bridge, its waters flowing between the hills toward the ocean.
Aidan halts at the base of a massive white oak, its colossal trunk gleaming under the silvery moonlight spilling through the canopy above. The light bathes him in an otherworldly glow, and a pulse of magic hums through the air, beckoning me deeper into the forest—urgent, electric.
The scent of damp earth and crushed leaves hangs thick in the humid air, mingling with the sharp tang of pine sap and the sweetness of night-blooming jasmine. Crickets sing in a steady rhythm, their chorus accompanied by the low murmur of the wind whispering secrets only Aidan can hear.
His fingers trail over the oak’s rough bark. “I’m trying to do the right thing here.” He scans the path behind us with his lips pursed. “You should go. I’m waiting for someone.”
I cross my arms over my chest, the need to scratch his face for his flawed logic rising in my blood. “Doing the right thing by whom?”
“You,” he says as though it’s obvious.
“And why in the seven hells would you sleep with Devi to pleaseme?”
He doubles back, feral, bridging the distance between us. “Is that why you chased me here? I can’t have you, but I can’t have anyone else, either. Is that it?”
I scoff, digging the balls of my feet into the ground, recoiling from the implications of his statement. “Please, do whatever you want.”
His eyes narrow, taking stock of my bare feet. “Why did you run after me if you don’t care?”
“I had to see it for myself.”
He grins dryly, as if this is all a cruel joke. “I can’t lie, yet you don’t believe me when I tell you the only woman I want is you.”
“Because it doesn’t make sense. Devi’s more powerful, more beautiful.Andshe’s a princess.”
He rubs the bottom half of his face, avoiding my gaze. “Are you playing matchmaker now?”
I tip my chin up. Whatever he says, he still chose to be with someone else. Nobody forced him to proposition anyone, let alone the most sexual woman alive. “You’re the one who asked her to meet you here. And it wasn’t to talk or play cards.”
“Stop with that wounded look.” He gestures at the space between my brows. “I asked Devi to meet me here and shoot me with an arrow. To see if it could… cure me.”
“Cure you of what?”
He cups one side of my face. “Of my love for you.”
“You…love me?” I shudder at his touch, stretching to feel his heat, reeling from the weight of his confession.
“I thought I’d made that clear when I said I couldn’t think of anyone or anything but you. Hell, I had to admit it in front ofeveryone.”
“But— She said it was dangerous.”
“I’m at my wits’ end. After seeing you on that stage and hearing you sing… I have to trysomething.” He turns away, but I tug on the golden lapels of his vest for him to look at me.
