38. Lessons
Chapter 38
Lessons
WONDER BOY
T he restless energy in my chest would set me ablaze if I let it, the fire that lives inside me sizzling right under the skin. I’m a ball of nerves, planning out everything I need for the enchantment Beth plans to weave.
I can only commend her for her desire to test that I’m not under some kind of influence from her siren song. If it’s something she needs to feel more comfortable, I’m all for it, but from the looks of the ingredients and instruction, the spell might take a few hours to complete. It’s a talisman-type of enchantment that wards sailors against the effects of the Sea folks’ voices. A powerful spell that was locked away in the archives of the academy and meant for our eyes only—not the type of enchantment you’d find in any glorified witch shop. It probably hasn’t been used since the Mist wars, when the Summerlands armies had to venture out through the Breach, but it’s a tried and true way to dispel any siren song and protect the wearer from any further harm or influence.
I dry off my hands on the front of my shirt, my skin growing hotter by the second. By this time tomorrow, Beth and I will be married, and once it’s done, we can find a gentle way to break the news to our parents. Even my father will have to accept my decision, given no alternative.
No one has to know that she’s part siren, and people will have plenty of time to get used to the idea of me marrying a moth before I’m called to rule.
The thought fills me with equal parts giddiness and apprehension.
I catch a glimpse of Ezra entering our kitchen from the corner of my eye as I double-check the list Beth gave me. “Hey. I need you to run interference for me. My father is probably going to swing by tomorrow morning to talk about the challenge, and I need you to tell him I’m running a quick errand, and that I’ll be back soon.”
“Alright.” Ezra peruses the gear on the counter in front of me, frown lines wrinkling his forehead. “What’s that for?”
“A spell.”
“Are you going somewhere?” he asks quietly, looking more glum than usual.
My lips quirk. “Yes, but I can’t tell you the details.”
Ezra has been struggling to adjust to married life, distancing himself from most, if not all, of the women he used to have fun with. He’s hell-bent on doing right by Willow, at least in appearances, but his newfound misery is at such a stark contrast to my current happiness that he’s been keeping me at arm’s length, too.
“Oh, come on, boo. You know you can trust your best friend. What’s going on?” His voice borders on sugary, and his eyes bore into me in a very blunt, intimate way.
Even though Ezra knows about Beth and me, I suspect he’s still hot for her, so I’ve spared him the details of our relationship.
“When I come back, after the Shadowlands challenge is settled, you and I should go somewhere together. Pick a place we’ve never been before and visit, just for fun.” I slip on my jacket, my Shadow mask safely tucked in my pocket.
“Damian has to win that challenge, right?”
I scoff at the trace of uncertainty in his tone. “Are you serious? There’s no doubt about it.”
His pale brows pull together. “You mean since your girlfriend won’t marry him?” he says in a dry, almost sarcastic quip. “Because logic dictates he’d stand a chance if she did.”
“Beth is obviously not marrying Zeke. What’s gotten into you?”
Ezra wrinkles his nose at the last of the ingredients lying across the counter. “What kind of spell calls for something as foul as myrtle seaweed? Are you planning to hunt a siren?”
I grimace at the word. “Of course not.”
“What does it have to do with your little whore of a moth, unless…”
A tingle of warning sizzles up my spine as I spread my arms on each side and let fire rise to my fists. “Flaming hell, you’re not Ezra.”
The man in front of me isn’t my best friend. The realization lands like a physical blow, hollowing out the air between us. I read it in the void of his eyes, the cruel twist of his mouth as his disguise fades. I’ve been played. Ezra melts into something sharper, colder—the King of Light.
"Quite a plan you've got there, Aidan," he drawls, his tone a study in condescension. "I’m impressed. It takes a real man to elope with a siren.”
I flinch, but his smirk only deepens. He takes a step closer, hands clasped behind his back like he’s taking a stroll through the palace grounds. “I admit, I’m not often taken off guard. I came here to make sure you'd tell her to marry Zeke, to keep Damian from the throne. But I see now that your little Sea whore wouldn’t make a suitable Shadow Queen.”
“Beth doesn’t belong with the Sea folk. She’s mine.”
“Oh, you’re so na?ve.” His eyes gleam, malicious delight dripping from every word. “You figured that once you were married, everything would be fine, right?”
I raise my chin. “Nothing can nullify a Fae marriage. Not even kings.”
He inclines his body to me, hands still braced behind his back, his grin razor-sharp. “Nothing but death.”
My blood chills in my veins. Is he saying ? —
“You’re meant to become king , Aidan. Don’t you think your father would kill to make that happen? Even before I tell him about you two, he’ll be relieved to see the moth arrested, and once she’s in his custody, it’ll be all too easy to get rid of her permanently.”
Bile rises to my throat.
“He wouldn’t kill her himself, of course,” Ethan drawls out. “He’d ask, let’s say, a good friend to do it. Someone who doesn’t shy away from violence. Someone with enough power to make it seem like an accident.” He melts into a perfect copy of Beth, the vicious curl of her mouth shivering through me. “Or better yet, a suicide.”
“It won’t take a lot of work or imagination to justify the poor girls’ actions, given her soiled blood. We’ll say that she was about to stand trial and took the easy way out… Nothing too hard to fake.”
“You’re a monster,” I say, my voice sharp, cutting through the scorching air between us.
Ethan smirks, unfazed. “And yet, you know I’m right.”
My mind races, shame and rage and bitterness settling in my cramped muscles, my heart like a vulgar piece of metal held in a vice grip and beaten against a forger’s anvil. Ethan Lightbringer could easily disguise Beth’s murder as a suicide, and if I was anyone else, he’d get away with it. While it disgusts me to barter with a man that should have been arrested for his crimes against his family a lifetime ago, I might have to play along for now and make him believe he’s won.
"What do you want?” I ask, letting out an exaggerated sigh of defeat.
He straightens, misreading the slump in my shoulders and the frown on my face as signs of surrender. “Break her heart. Abandon your foolish plans, and I will let her live. This is my best offer, and I warn you, it's final.”
“How can I be sure you won’t find her in the new world? That you won’t double-cross me and get rid of her anyway?”
The hatred that coats his every word makes me doubt he would let her live her life at all, even if I did everything he asks. I can't risk him hurting Beth while I figure out a way out of this.
“If you want me to break it off with her tonight,” I say, stepping closer, “I need your solemn promise that you—nor my father or anyone within your influence—won’t hurt her.”
His astute gaze slides to the side for a split second. “That’s unnecessary?—”
“Swear it,” I interrupt, my tone hardening. “Or I’ll take my chances with fire.”
Ethan studies me, his expression unreadable. Finally, he sighs, his voice losing some of its mocking edge. “Alright, I swear. If she leaves Faerie, and you stay here, I won’t hurt her. But let me be clear—I won’t let you out of my sight until it’s done.” I glare at him, my fists clenched, but he doesn’t stop. “And while she’s running away crying, you and I will head directly to Eterna to speak to your father.”
I can't fully grasp the scope of Ethan's plan, but he certainly has one. My father might escalate these threats, but my mother would never allow her son and heir to be blackmailed by another Fae king. She’ll stand with me on this, at least, if not on the marriage.
Does Ethan think me so young and fickle that I would just grit my teeth and not fight back? That I’ll just be a good boy and stay away from Beth for the rest of time?
But again... he's used to his sons' obedience, and he's probably thinking he can control me with the same schemes. But I’m not his to control, and unlike Ezra, I don’t depend on him for anything.
Ethan smirks. “We should go. I wouldn’t want us to be late for a date with a girl as beautiful as your Beth.”
He blocks my path before we head outside, one hand braced against my chest. The touch sends a wave of disgust through me, and I fight the urge to shove him away. “On second thought,” he says, leaning in closer, his tone laced with malice, “I’ll have a little chat with her first. And when she inevitably asks for you, make sure she leaves right away. Break her heart so I don’t have to slit her throat. Deal?”
“Deal,” I grit through my teeth, the word stinging like poison on my tongue.
I bite my bottom lip hard enough to bleed, fire searing my shoulders as we head for the gardens.
Hephaistos willing, I will find a way to destroy that man and make him regret he ever stuck his nose in my affairs.
I’ll play by his rules for now, but he won’t be glued to my hip forever. As soon as he thinks he’s won, after the volatile situation with Zeke and Damian is resolved and things have died down, I’ll find Beth and we can disappear in the new world, never to be found again.