5. Sharp Edges
Chapter 5
Sharp Edges
WONDER BOY
“ A idan. Damian. Come.” Evelyn braces her hands on her hips. “Congratulations. Per usual, you two have a knack for ties.”
I offer her a wry grin. If I hadn’t taken Beth through the labyrinth, I would have finally beaten Damian fair and square. While I’m sure it’ll be worth it, it still stings. I could take solace in the knowledge that I know I’ve won, but the whole point was to have everyone else know I’m the best, too.
Evelyn looks down at her ledger. “Only three initiates each, and zero casualties. Great job. It’s an art to incapacitate them without killing them.”
A dark gloom sticks to Damian’s brow. “It might be funny if it wasn’t so damn sad.”
I bite the insides of my cheeks, determined not to say anything that could give me away.
“Cheer up, Damian. You still won,” Evelyn teases.
“A tie is not a win.”
“It’s almost a win.”
Damian licks his lips. “And I’m almost smiling.”
After the other two judges congratulate us on a job well done, I stop by my room to change and take a quick shower before joining the undergraduate students on the mezzanine.
I sit alone along the banister, my back pressed against the intricate metal work and prop a book in my lap. If any of my fellow guardians walk past me, they’ll assume I’m waiting for the initiates to clear out of the atrium so I can head to the afterparty. I angle my face slightly to the side to catch a glimpse of my Songbird through the space between the railings.
She takes my breath away. Even from afar, all muddied up, she’s the most beautiful woman in the room—and by far.
I can’t afford for anyone to notice my fascination with her, or they might begin to suspect what I’ve done. I especially can’t let Damian catch me staring at her, not before we’re formally introduced.
My nemesis doesn’t share my restraint and glares unabashedly at the initiates, to the point where they gossip between themselves. The familiar timbre of Willow’s voice is easy to discern from the others, and a smile ghosts over my lips.
I always knew my little sister would crush the trials. Our father will finally stop holding that over her head.
After a minute, Damian marches over to me. I pretend to be engrossed in my reading and don’t acknowledge his presence until he clears his throat.
“Hey, Damian. Great job out there,” I say in a condescending manner.
“How did she do it? Cross the marshes so fast?” he grunts, tucking his mask inside his hooded cloak.
“Who?”
“The moth.”
“How would you know how long it took?” I ask with a grin, knowing damn well that it triggers his temper when I answer his questions with questions.
“I asked Diana, and she said the moth left her section of the labyrinth with barely fifteen minutes to spare.”
A cold sensation slithers deep in my gut, but I shrug. “She got lucky.”
He squints at me, his golden, liquid gaze locking with mine. I swear the man can see inside my soul, and I hate it.
“I can’t believe you let Zeke Nocturna slip through your fingers.” I purse my lips in a dramatic pout. “Too bad. So sad.”
Damian flashes me his best hawkish, disingenuous smile. “Zeke managed to trudge through my trial because he’s shadow through and through. It still doesn’t make him strong, smart, or skilled enough to claim his father’s crown. You letting a snowflake breeze through summer is really the only shocking twist of the night.”
My eyes narrow at the overbearing disbelief tainting his voice. If one of us should be suspected of cheating, it should be him. Light Fae usually don’t fare well in shadows, and two of them managed to pass his trial.
“What about Elio? Your nightmares couldn’t take him? An inexperienced Prince of Light?” I quip.
“You’d be surprised. There’s more to him than you know.”
“And what about the Spring rose? Or were you too chicken to eliminate the headmaster’s daughter?”
He shrugs. “She’s darker than expected.”
But my questions clearly hit a nerve, and he becomes real quiet. Knowing him, he’s replaying every moment of his trial and analyzing what he could have done better. The guy is a brooding perfectionist if I’ve ever met one.
Mission accomplished. Now, he’s picking apart his mistakes instead of wondering about mine. I snap my book shut and jolt to my feet, the initiates now gone to freshen up inside their dorms.
I lurk along the main pathway between the girls’ apartments and the beach for the next half an hour and hide behind a column when Willow and the headmaster’s daughter walk past. Beth is not with them nor following behind them, and my palms get a little sweaty.
I couldn’t have missed her, could I? I hope she’s alright, and that Damian didn’t ambush her with questions about what happened in the labyrinth.
A few minutes pass as I try to determine if I should head to the north wing, but I’m not sure which floor the initiates were assigned. I’m about to enter the gardens to check when Beth finally appears at the top of the stone stairs leading down to the sea.
My heart almost jumps out of my chest. “Songbird. Hi.”
She freezes on the step, her blue eyes wide as I bridge the gap between us. “Wonder Boy…” She tucks a long strand of black hair behind her ear. The waves are slick and glossy, no longer matted together with sweat and blood. I barely resist the urge to comb my fingers through them.
I can’t stop grinning, and my chest swells with a rushed breath. It’s silly, but I’m a pack of raw nerves. I have no idea who this girl is, who her parents are, or whether she’s into me. I just know she’s got to be mine, and that’s a complicated emotion.
The rational part of my brain urges caution.
“Congratulations,” I whisper, admiring her pale skin. No one in the Summerlands could get away with a complexion like that, and I slip my fingers under the ribbon strap of her corset to caress her shoulder and trace the flesh of her arm with my thumb.
Her gaze darts to my hand, her lips parting in surprise—or perhaps warning—but she doesn’t speak. Instead, she stares at the place our skin touches.
I offer her my arm. “Let me escort you to the afterparty.”
She doesn’t move to take it, and my brows pull together.
“What’s your name?” she asks quietly.
This is not the happy reunion I’d hoped for. She looks…terrified.
“Hey, is everything alright?” I whisper, unable to understand how the girl who bravely sang my ensnarer vines to sleep and stood tall against a guardian of the labyrinth could be shaking with fear now.
Zeke Nocturna barrels down the stairs and comes to stand beside her, interrupting our conversation. I let my arms fall at my side and offer the prince a nasty scowl as he wraps an arm around her shoulders and pecks her cheek.
“Lizzie, there you are.” He lets his arm hang casually between her breasts, and my Songbird grimaces, ever-so-slightly inching away from him.
I have to sink my nails inside my palms not to push him off her, but he quickly adds, “Keep your hands to yourself, Summers. It’s my fiancée you were touching.”
My frown deepens, and I shake my head. “You’re—” My gaze burns into my temptress, a rebellious flame licking the back of my neck as I try to reign in my emotions. “You said your name was Beth.”
I’m confused as to how she managed to lie to me. All initiates are full-blooded Fae. It’s a consecrated rule.
“My name is Beth. Elizabeth,” she croaks.
I trace the arch of my brow, feeling as though some grim pixie dragged me to her lair and is using my intestines to replace her harp strings.
Elizabeth as in Liz fucking Snow. Blessed Flame. She’s the moth my father fought so hard to keep out of the academy.