13. Crush
Chapter 13
Crush
WONDER BOY
“ Y our trial was vicious, Aidan,” Damian says with a grin. He admires our surroundings, his keen eyes able to see past the beauty of the gardens to the traps underneath. “It’s a pity they’re clearing it out so soon. I see the marshes are already gone…” he trails off.
I keep a neutral expression. “My father wanted the labyrinth to be dealt with early this year. He’s planning to host a big party for my mother’s birthday.”
The Crow scrutinizes me for a minute longer, and I know he doesn’t buy the story I’ve tried to shove down everyone’s throats. It’s strictly true, of course, but I was the one who gave my father the idea to destroy the labyrinth so we could grow an enchanted forest in time for the queen’s birthday. No one will be able to figure out why I was truly in such a hurry to see the place destroyed, the proof of my meddling in Beth’s trial erased.
Damian finally gives up and heads toward Devi, who’s now lying down on the small beach, and Ezra takes the opportunity to join me in my shallow pool.
“I think you forgot to mention something, boo ,” he whispers. “Come on, repeat after me: I have a huge crush on Beth.”
“I have a huge crush on Beth,” I sigh.
“Wait. She’s the one you’ve been sending all those conspicuously unremarkable notes to.” His carefree smile is wiped out by a reproachful scowl. “There’s no doubt she likes you, too. But that was pretty reckless of you both today. Anyone could have?—”
“I’m lucky it was you.”
“I don’t know…” Ezra picks at his cuticles. “I’m kind of jealous. I could slip up if not for the right incentive. Maybe if you mentioned to her that I could be your third, I’d be more willing to forgive you.”
“Ezra.”
His ice-blue eyes drill holes into me. “It is just a crush, right?”
I trail my gaze back to Devi, Zeke, and Diana chatting on the beach and grit a dubious answer through clenched teeth. “I don’t know.”
Ezra slaps my bare chest with the back of his hand. “Aidan. She’s a moth. Your father would never let you court her. Or even date her. Hell, if he knew we were having this conversation, he’d find a way to send her packing. She’s only here because she happens to be engaged to Zeke and our fathers are dying to keep Damian off his throne. If that little prince gets too jealous and stupid, it will put her place here in jeopardy.”
“I know. It’s just… I’ve never felt anything like it.”
“Then get it out of your system discreetly . Take her to the cabin. But don’t sneak around in public, because I won’t take the heat for you again.”
“Thanks, mate.”
We drift to safer, easier subjects, but I’m still marinating in the emotions that Beth’s argument with Zeke dredged up. The brief joy felt under the roots has been destroyed by guilt. I pushed her, and while it allowed me to finally determine that the attraction goes both ways, it was too much, too fast.
Devi joins Damian in the pond, and Zeke flirts with Diana without a shred of shame after the scene he caused. What a jerk. My fists clench at my sides. I could kill the guy just for the way he encroached on Beth’s personal space, earlier. She clearly doesn’t want anything to do with him. Arranged marriages are the worst.
Ezra shifts in the small pool and erases Zeke from my vision. “Easy, Othello.” He climbs to his feet, spraying water all over me. “Come on, let’s go back to the loft.”
We leave the others behind and make our way back to our apartments. Ezra and I share a loft on the top floor of the south tower, a perk granted by my position. It’s still only one floor above the Crow and the fourth years, but it’s better than squeezing into an apartment with them.
When we get to the loft, the door is ajar, and Ezra slows down as we near the entrance. “See you later, boo.”
There’s only one person with enough gall to breach our sanctuary.
The sunlight streams in through the wide, arched windows of the loft, painting the floor with golden light. The view is the best on property—on one side, the endless expanse of the ocean, with a clear view of the Saffron Cove, and on the other, the coastal village of Augustus with its tiny, colorful homes and bustling streets.
“Aidan. We had an appointment, son,” my father enunciates slowly, sending shivers up my spine.
The otherwise jovial air of my little world is thick with unspoken grievances. My father stands by the window, his broad back to me as he gazes out at the horizon. His presence fills the room, commanding attention and subservience even in silence. He might only be king consort, but he’s still king.
And he hates to be kept waiting.
“I apologize, Sir. I completely forgot,” I say, using my best repentant voice.
He makes this sound with his lips and tongue that’s equal part disappointment and resignation, like he expected nothing better of me. “It’s your last year in school. You have to start thinking about your future beyond the academy.”
He doesn’t mean my future as king, because he still can’t confront that he and mum will die someday, and I raise a worried brow. “Are you saying you want me to choose a wife?”
A genuine grin pierces his mighty exterior. “Blessed Flame, no! Your mother and I think it’s best for you to wait and enjoy your unattached bachelor status for as long as you want. You already wear the Mark of the Gods, my boy. You have nothing to prove. And until you’re ready to start thinking about kids, you don’t have to commit to anyone.”
Relief washes over me. “What did you mean, then?”
He crosses the room, the sleek hardwood floorboards creaking under his shiny boots, and stops beside a tall bookcase. “I thought you might want to start shadowing me and learning the ropes of politics. We could start with negotiating your sister’s marriage contract.”
I stiffen back tenfold at the news and try to mask my reaction with an awkward stretch. “Willow is to be married? Now? She just got into the academy?—”
I stop myself and press my lips together, knowing better than to ramble in my father’s presence. He’s not asking me my opinion, he’s telling me what he plans to do, and I know that expression of his well enough to know he’s determined to see this through.
He nods, his brows furrowed. “Yes, and that improved her horizons. She doesn’t have the same advantages you do. She wants to be queen, so we’ll have to arrange it for her.”
“Does she really?”
My little sister being thrust into marriage doesn’t sit well with me, but arguing against my father’s wishes will accomplish nothing other than to put him in a foul mood.
“Son, every Summers wants to rule. It’s the fire in our blood. We have trouble following orders.”
I’ve been trying to hide my discomfort, but he reads me too well. His gaze sharpens, his tone bordering on anger. “I was not asking if she should marry. Merely for you to help me choose her husband.”
A metallic taste fills my mouth, my tongue parched and dry. “Who do you have in mind?”
“Ezekiel Nocturna.”
“What? Are you joking?” I can’t hide my anger or incredulity, my guarded face losing all semblance of reverence. “Are you so desperate to keep Beth out of school?”
His amber eyes burn, the flames within them barely contained. “Beth?”
Fuck-fuck-fuck.
“Everybody is talking about the new girl’s engagement to Zeke, and how it earned her an invitation to the trials,” I backpedal. “She’s all everyone has been talking about.”
“Yes, it was quite clever on the Shadow King’s part. He asked for Willow first, of course, but I didn’t want to agree to anything before his son was admitted into the academy. You know what the rumors were about him. Given his performance, I might have dismissed him too quickly. With your sister’s magic, he might just win his throne after all. Unless Damian marries, too, of course.”
“Damian thinks himself above such things as marriage.” The scope of my father’s plan slowly comes into focus. “So Willow gets a throne, and you get rid of the moth as a bonus.”
“Moths do not belong in our Royal Academy. This sort of precedent is dangerous. I thought I had taken care of it, but she was more resourceful than I’d expected.”
“What do you mean?”
“When I caught wind of how powerful she was, I enchanted a tile to make sure she’d be in the last group. Less than ten percent of applicants entering last make it through in time, so the moth had almost no chance of success.”
I bite down on my tongue not to make a scene.
“Oh, spare me that look, son.” He waves his hand dismissively. “Are you too immature to handle the truth?”
I struggle to keep my flames under control, the heat of my emotions flaring just beneath the surface.
“You are not allowed to tell anyone about this. Or Willow’s wedding. Not until things are settled. Swear it, or by Hephaistos, I will throw you in a holding cell until you do.”
I give him an insolent bow. “I swear I won’t tell, Your Majesty,” I reply, though my mind is already racing for a way out.
A hint of magic swirls through the air to seal my promise, reassuring him that I’m not about to go rogue and rat him out to the faculty, but I can’t keep this from Beth. She has to know that our cheating in the labyrinth only nullified my father’s meddling.
As for the wedding, Willow might skin me alive for keeping the secret, but I’m not sure what good telling her would do, aside from robbing her of her last precious weeks of carefreeness.
The king sits down on one of the three sofas, crossing his leg and laying his ankle over the opposite knee. “Damian Sombra and his prick of a father are about to get a lesson in the importance of politics. That’s why we come out on top, Aidan. We don’t minimize the role of alliances. The Gods bestow power upon us, but it’s up to us to cater to that power so that it doesn’t wither and dry like a fruit on the vine.”
I sit in the armchair beside him and meet his gaze. “Can I speak plainly, Sir?”
“Go on.”
“Zeke is a fool. It’s a miracle he passed the trials in the first place, and Willow… You know I love her, but even their magic combined wouldn’t be strong enough to best Damian.”
His lips thin as he scratches his thick sideburn. “I don’t want Damian Sombra to be king. He’s too strong, and not malleable enough to be of any use to us.”
I lean forward, trying to exude as much confidence and poise as I can muster. “Then leave Zeke to the moth. She’s the strongest darkling I’ve ever met and managed to ice the pond I created for the trials.”
My father raises an eyebrow, clearly rattled by the news. “She froze the water in your section of the labyrinth?”
“Yes.” I pause, munching on my next words carefully. Am I arguing for Beth to marry Zeke? The thought unsettles me, but I don’t want her to leave school, and my little sister deserves better than Zeke Nocturna. “Given the strength of the moth’s powers, she’s not a trail-blazer, but the exception to confirm the rule. And once she’s tucked away in the Shadowlands, no one will give her a second thought.”
Sweat pearls on my brow from the effort of phrasing that. I do think Beth is exceptional, which allowed me not to lie, but the overall message was on the cusp of dishonesty.
A thoughtful smile appears on the King’s lips. “I trust you, son, so I will take your advice into consideration. Now, if Zeke is not the man for her, we still have to get your sister settled. I do have another idea.”
“Why so fast, though?” I ask, trying to keep the conversation going.
I’m beginning to win him over.
He leans back in his seat, sinking deep into the cushions, his leg jittering over his knee. “Aidan… You’re a man now, so I will stop protecting you from hard truths. Your sister has certain….quirks that will only become more and more problematic now that she’s at the academy. You understand what I mean, right?”
“Yes,” I answer through clenched teeth, feeling like my mouth is full of burning, boiling sand.
“And those quirks will get out, eventually. We need to get her married before then.”
“You mean to entrap a future king of Faerie?”
“Everyone walks down the aisle with secrets, son. It’s just how life works.”
The conversation lingers in the air, heavy and unresolved, as I turn my gaze back to the ocean. The waves crash relentlessly over the beach, each new undertow stealing a bit of its red sand and dragging it toward the sea. My father’s words buzz in my ears, and I can’t help but feel like I’m being pulled under, too. Except instead of being slowly eroded by the sea, my soul and beliefs are going to be chipped, chiseled, or burnished away by the thousands of rules and expectations that define my life.
For a crown of fiery amber I’m not sure I even want.
I thought I did, but now… I want Beth more.
She’s in my head.
The way she held my hand in the labyrinth. How tightly she wrapped her thighs around me. The sweet taste of her lips.
I want it all .
I hang back at the loft for a couple of hours, trying and failing to think of anything else. Night has fallen by the time I snap out of my Beth-induced fantasies, joining Ezra and most of the fourth years at the Saffron Cove. The festivities are already in full swing, empty bottles of cider already piled next to the fire.
A silvery glow bathes the dark crimson hues of the secluded beach. The ocean gently laps at the shore in a rhythmic, soothing pattern. The night air is warm, carrying the salty scent of the sea and the strong aromas of burning wood and smoke from the crackling fire.
Ezra is playing poker with a bunch of the other guys over a flat rock, while Willow lounges on her stomach, chatting animatedly with Iris, Sean, and a couple of second-years. Beth is not among them, and my nails dig into my palms as I pass by a couple lying on a blanket. Zeke has his tongue so far down Diana’s throat, I fear she might choke.
I do my best to ignore them and sit beside Ezra on the sand, joining in as he deals the next round.
"Nice of you to finally join us. Did the old man keep you all this time?" he says the last part softly, so the others don’t hear.
I shake my head and offer a small shrug. My relationship with my father might be tense, but Ezra’s is far worse. It seems petty to complain to him about it.
When Diana finally leaves Zeke behind, the Shadow Prince joins our circle. He’s all flushed, and Ezra raises a pointed brow at him.
“Where’s your fiancée, Nocturna? Or do you still have one?” Ezra muses, a smirk creeping onto his face. “It’s hard to believe you gave me such grief for touching your girl this morning. What’s the matter? Did your lady dump you for your jealous fit, as she rightly should have done?”
“Beth is mine. But that doesn’t stop me from having some fun,” Zeke replies, a glimmer of defiance in his eyes.
“And she’s on board with your appalling behavior?”
Zeke crosses his arms with a faux air of indifference. “Please… the last thing I need is a lecture on loyalty from someone who can’t even keep track of which girl he’s sleeping with.”
Ezra chuckles, a sharp edge to his laughter. “Better to be a rake than a prince whose crown is only as secure as his fiancée’s affection.”
Zeke straightens his cards and sits on the log on the opposite side of the fire, his legs sprawled. “Beth is lucky I didn’t tell my father how... frigid she is.” He cracks a devious smile and elbows the fourth-year sitting next to him. “I shouldn’t have expected anything different from a moth, right?”
“That’s not something a real man should say. Ever,” I clip over the rumble of the bonfire.
“Hear, hear!” Ezra chimes in. “You might have the name and pedigree, but she’s got the looks, the brains, and the power, Zippy. I’d be careful if I were you. I’d think you have just as much to lose if she rescinded her promise—if not more.”
“Settle down. It’s just us guys,” Zeke scoffs.
The satisfied smile on his lips jolts me to my feet. “I won’t settle down.”
The bum rolls his eyes. “Oh, you think she’s so great, huh? Well, maybe you should try to fuck her. Maybe she needs a little fire in her cunt. Your renowned, almighty cock might spark her engine to life or something?—”
Thwack.
I shake off my knuckles, the impact of my fist on Zeke’s face followed by a spray of blood.
He covers his nose with both hands. “You broke my nose!”
Loud gossip buzzes across the beach, and I can’t make out the words, but I know they’re talking about us. I draw in a shaky breath, trying to ground myself. The stares of my peers tingle across my spine, unrelenting. By the Flame. What have I done?
Zeke still clutches his nose, his shock morphing into rage as he wipes the blood from his face. “You’ll pay for this, Summers.”
“Try me.”
Zeke pushes me backward toward the fire, and I stagger to keep upright, lost in the haze of my own actions for a moment before he sends a lash of shadows my way, cutting my leg. I sidestep to avoid his incoming right hook, but he shakes off the failed attack and sharpens his magic into a dagger at his side.
Is he serious?
The fire behind me stretches to meet my own, and I block Zeke’s weapon with my bare hands, my flames spreading across the blade and then latching onto his clothes. He yells in a mix of surprise and pain and runs off toward the sea.
By now, everyone has stopped drinking and talking to watch, and my pulse spikes as I lock eyes with Beth. Her wide-eyed gaze reflects shock—and something more dangerous: murderous fury. Her lips are parted in disbelief, and I can almost see the wheels turning in her head, calculating the fallout of my actions.
Heat churns in my blood. I’ve crossed a line I can’t uncross. I’m not defending her honor—I’m putting everything at risk.
Her expression hardens, and I know I’ve messed up. Badly.