31. Fairytales
Chapter 31
Fairytales
SONGBIRD
E zra’s voice jolts me out of a delightfully peaceful sleep. “Wakey, wakey.” Spider fingers climb up my spine and nudge me to consciousness as I stir awake, nestled in Aidan’s arms.
His solid chest is pressed to my cheek, and an annoyed grunt falls from his lips as he swats Ezra’s hand away from us. “By the Flame, mate. Don’t you knock?”
“You two should be grateful I’m not the bride, or there would be some explaining to do.” Ezra pulls the blinds wide open, the blaring light assaulting my retinas, the sun already high in the sky.
“Willow would never sneak into my room without knocking,” Aidan grumbles.
“Well, in a few hours, we’ll be brothers, and that’s what brothers do. Get used to it.”
Aidan rubs down his face, his other arm not giving me an inch to spare. “Why are you here, Ezra?”
“I’m getting married today, or have you forgotten? It’s time to get ready.”
I glance at the clock on the dresser—I was supposed to meet Willow in her room half an hour ago. I slip from Aidan’s grasp. “By the spindle! I’m late!”
“Don’t worry, I covered for you. I need to speak with you before you go,” Ezra says quickly, his gaze darting from me to Aidan. “Can I have a word in private with your girl? I need to ask her something.”
“Are you pushing me out of my own room?”
“ Please ,” Ezra adds with a throaty laugh, and from Aidan’s reaction, I figure it’s not a word he uses often.
The groom closes the door behind his pissed off friend and averts his gaze. “Willow looked wretched this morning. She says it’s just a hangover from all the cider she had last night, but I almost thought she was about to run away. Did she mention anything to you?”
“You don’t look much better,” I say instead of answering the question.
Dark circles drag down Ezra’s ice-blue eyes, the glow of his skin mute in comparison to his usual luminous complexion.
“I know I’m not her choice, and it’s killing me,” he chucks out, pulling at his platinum-blonde hair. The lapels of his dress shirt are half-opened and skewed to one side. “What should I do?”
“Oh, Ezra.” I wince, unsure if I should encourage him to put a stop to this or not.
I understand better than ever how evil his father truly is. If Ezra went along with the wedding up until now, he clearly thinks he doesn’t have a choice. He wouldn’t have let it get this far if he had another option, so I probably should assuage his worries, knowing the worst can’t be avoided.
I wrap him up in a hug and stroke his back, and he hides his face in my tangled hair.
“Willow will never love me,” he grimaces, “and we both know why. Any commitment between us is purely for politics. I was glad to get both our fathers off our backs when I thought she was alright with it, but after what she said last night…”
The mention of his father drains the blood right from my face, but I try to stay on subject. I’m not naive enough to think Willow would be allowed to disclose her sexuality and live the life she wants without burning all her bridges, not in the world we live in.
“It’s not fair to her. Or you. I’m so sorry.”
It’s not like with me and Zeke. If the Shadow Prince was a decent man, I could learn to love him, and maybe even enjoy intimacy with him, but Ezra and Willow’s sham marriage is doomed from the start.
He chokes out a tensed breath, eyes glazing with unshed tears. “I can’t believe I have to fuck her in front of all these people.”
I straighten the lapels of his shirt and button up the collar. “Then let me say this. If I had to have sex with someone I wasn’t in love with, in front of a crowd, it would be you.”
“Really?”
“No question.” I nudge his side playfully. “Come on, you’re Ezra Lightbringer.”
“That’s true,” he says with a bit of sass.
“Having sex with a friend is probably the best option after true love, and Willow trusts you. She said so last night.”
“She did?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you. That helps.”
I smooth out the intensity of the moment with a gentle chuckle. “When my turn comes with Zeke, I hope you’ll be there to give me a pep talk.”
Ezra rolls his eyes. “Be real, Lady Snow. Aidan will never let that happen.”
I give him a sad smile, knowing in my heart that he’s probably right. I can’t fathom what he must be feeling right now, about to give a part of himself to someone he didn’t choose.
“Don’t you dare send me off to war without a kiss, my lady.” He presses a quick kiss to my mouth.
A jolt of electricity raises all my hairs to attention as he lingers into the faint touch, but his lips quickly twitch in a sad, fleeting motion. He sidesteps, and I stare at his retreating back until he disappears from view.
Aidan reenters the room almost immediately. A forlorn pout pulls at his mouth. “What did he want?”
I shake off the strange aftershocks of Ezra’s chaste, almost fearful kiss. “Um, he needed a little encouragement, that’s all.”
Aidan wraps me up in his arms, but I recoil from his embrace. It’s all so clear in the daylight. If I can’t tell Aidan the truth about me, I can’t continue to lean on him. I have to choose between the fear of losing him forever and the fear of being outed for what I am.
“You’re pulling away from me,” he breathes, his arms falling at his sides. “Is it because of Ezra?”
By the spindle... Willow first, and now Aidan? “Not at all.”
He cups my cheek and angles my face toward his, his thumb hot on the corner of my mouth, tempting me to push aside my dilemma and give in to the magnetic pull of his kiss. But I dig my nails into the underside of his wrist.
“Tell me if something’s going on between you two. I beg you.”
I press my cheek to his palm, holding his inquisitive gaze. “Nothing is going on between me and Ezra. I swear.”
The clear-cut answer seems to put him at ease, and his shoulders relax. “I’m sorry. I’m acting like a jealous creep. I’ll do better, I promise.”
I tear myself away. “Nonetheless, I have to go.”
“Beth. Talk to me. What are you hiding?”
“I have to go,” I repeat, the ice from last night returning full force.
If I don’t hurry, I’ll be late to the ceremony, and when Willow asks where in the seven hells I’ve been, I can’t admit to spending the night in her brother's arms.
I take a deep breath, trying to push aside the guilt that coils in my chest. But I can't afford to let the truth slip now—not when everything is so fragile, not when one wrong word could shatter it all.
Willow's wedding dress, though delicate and elegant, carries an unexpected strength in its design. Metallic accents glimmer in the twilight, strategically placed across her bodice and waist, resembling the armor of a soldier heading into battle. The rubies in her tiara mirror the sheen of polished weapons, and the metallic threads woven through the gown’s layers hint at an unspoken resilience.
Ezra traded his wings in favor of a white, pristine cloak that drapes around him like a living thing. The fabric shimmers with an opalescent glow, its delicate folds soft like clouds but carrying the weight of something much stronger underneath. His matching waistcoat and pants are adorned with golden accents, reminiscent of the Solar Cliffs' hawthorn.
Officiating the ceremony, Mabel recites her lines in a voice that raises goosebumps on my neck. “Mortal love wanes, but Fae love burns to the bone.”
The wedding ceremony is similar to the ones we hold in Wintermere, with a few key differences, starting with the ruby-encrusted blade being purified over a pyre symbolizing the Flame of Fate.
The Summerlands are still using a version of the vows that accounts for their old religion, and I find the difference enthralling. Tears well up in Thera’s eyes, everyone so consumed by the ceremony that they don’t notice how Aidan only has eyes for me.
I’m about to melt into nothingness, leaving behind only a ruined puddle of unfulfilled dreams and gnawing hunger on the marble, as he digs his gaze into every inch of bare skin exposed by my studded, fire-and-amber dress—an ensemble that perfectly matches his suit.
By Thanatos, my cheeks must be red as flames.
I need a dip in freezing water—or a slap in the face.
The most striking and surreal view in all the realms has filled my head with fairy tales that are harder to shake than the most powerful of enchantments. From the other side of the altar, Aidan’s eyes drift to me every so often as Mabel recites lines that speak of passion, love, and giving yourself fully to another by the mutual spilling of blood. Ezra and Willow conceal their nervousness to a T, and if I didn’t know them, I could almost believe they were in love.
The pointy end of the Summer’s ruby dagger shines, more enticing than a spindle atop a cursed spinning wheel.
Aidan’s chest rises and falls faster as he unfurls his fingers, his hands trembling slightly. The impossible, seductive fantasy of us standing together in much the same way at our wedding takes a life of its own. His amber irises thin, the black fire burning behind them all-consuming, starving for more than just one more night.
I would gladly forget my tainted Sea Fae blood, my humble past, and all matters of logic if it meant I could claim Aidan as my own forever. I’d cut myself deep and never look back. From the dark, hungry gaze he gives me, I know he’s contemplating the same thing.