39. Black, Black Heart
Chapter 39
Black, Black Heart
SONGBIRD
T he moon hangs low in the sky by the time I make it to the gardens. Somewhere far off, a fountain burbles, its song blending with the rustle of leaves swaying in the night breeze. My pulse quickens as I make my way toward the secluded corner where Aidan and I agreed to meet, my steps muffled against the moss-covered stones. The air is cool, crisp, and charged with a nervous energy that makes my skin prickle. The rendezvous point is quiet but for the crickets and the occasional lazy hoot of a white-bearded owl.
Aidan beelines directly for me, the spell ingredients he promised to bring nowhere in sight.
A strange light flickers in his eyes as he wordlessly leans in. I wrap my arms around his neck out of instinct, but his kiss is not soft or sweet or even passionate, but vicious.
Aidan grips both sides of my face, his nails digging into my neck as his tongue spears itself inside my mouth. He tastes of tears and roses, overly sweet and yet with a tang of steely, dry iron. It’s all wrong, and my blood freezes right in the veins.
I tear myself away, gripping the man’s shoulders as strongly as I can to hold him off. “Stop! You’re not Aidan.”
The edges of my lover blur into someone else, into the form of the only man I know to be wicked enough to deceive me in this way. Long strands of platinum blonde hair shine in the dark, and my heart drops past my feet, my mouth full of ash.
“Where is he?” I search the garden behind Ethan for an answer.
The King of Light grins from ear to ear. “Aidan is terribly sorry, but he sent me in his place. He came around to my point of view, in the end, that your silly infatuation for each other wasn’t the most important thing in the worlds.”
Fae can’t lie, but I won’t trust a word coming out of this man’s mouth.
A branch snaps under the balls of my feet as I step backward. “I don’t believe you.”
“I know your dirty little secret.” He holds his hand to his chest in a show of fake outrage. “Jayden would never forgive himself that a woman of your sort was able to soil his precious academy, slipping in right under his nose and seducing his son. The poor man will faint when he learns of how you planned to cheat your way to his crown.” He raises a delighted brow, all smiles. “Imagine my surprise when I realized we’re not so different, you and me—both using our magic to smooth things over with our most reluctant lovers…”
“I didn’t enchant Aidan. I love him, and he loves me. That’s all,” I answer with more conviction than I possess.
If Ethan Lightbringer knows about my siren heritage, I’m finished. I dig my heels into the ground, unwilling to turn my back on a predator as powerful as the King of Light when every muscle in my body urges me to run.
Ethan shrugs as if the truth holds no significance, one way or the other. “In matters of crowns and marriages, love is rarely all there is to it, sweetheart. And it’s never enough, regardless of what anyone says.” He veers to the side, examining a bush of white anemone flowers. “Do you know what will happen if Aidan marries you? Do you really think his parents will just…welcome you into the family?” He snaps one flower off its stem. “That he’ll live up to his potential with a Sea mutt like you forever attached to his name? Is that what you want for him?” Ethan crushes the flower inside his fist. Wrinkled white petals fall to the ground as he opens his hand again, the flower falling to pieces at his feet.
“He’s old enough to make his own choice, and he chose me.”
“Did he? You’re not married yet, are you? What if he came to his senses?”
“I’d have to hear it from his lips.”
Ethan nods happily at that, as though it was part of his plan from the start. “Good thing I brought him along, then. Aidan. You can come out now.”
My stomach twists in pain, and the betrayal of knowing Aidan allowed this wretched man within two feet of me stings beyond belief.
He stalks out of the nearest path, the crestfallen grimace on his face spelling out the end of our love.
“Give us a bit of space,” he grinds through his clenched teeth.
Ethan smirks but doesn’t move an inch, and Aidan’s fists ball at his sides. His gaze flies to the ground and up to my cheeks, before settling on the chain around my neck. “I’m so sorry, Songbird. I have to let you go.”
“Let me go?” I repeat, so full of shock and disbelief that I can barely believe this is real life. “Is that what he asked you to do?”
“Yes.” Aidan grips the side of my arm. “Now that he knows the truth about you being a siren, you’re in danger. You wouldn’t have passed the academy trials if not for your siren’s song. If Ethan reveals what you are, what you’ve done, you’ll be arrested. Being a Sea mutt is one thing, but using your song to cheat your way into the Royal Academy—into my heart—could mean death.”
“Are you saying you only love me because of my song?” I squeak.
Sometimes, when fear is too raw, it becomes an unshakable ghost.
Aidan’s jaw ticks. “The optics aren’t good, Beth. People would never believe me if I vouched for you. You have to leave Faerie. I’ll make sure Ethan and my father keep your secret.”
“Why would they do that?” I ask, my voice hollow.
“My father would agree to it just to save the academy from scandal,” he answers quietly, his new plan apparently all figured out.
“Speak louder, please,” Ethan orders. “I don’t want to miss anything.”
“You need to leave tonight, or they’ll arrest you,” Aidan says louder, a mere puppet to the monster standing behind him, and my heart breaks into a million pieces.
“Leave Faerie, little mutt. Aidan understands the stakes. He won’t come after you,” Ethan adds, twisting the knife where it hurts most.
This is the end of us. We’ve stretched the fantasy as far as we could, but it ends tonight in a cloud of ash. There’s no but or maybe about it. Aidan is saying goodbye. For good.