The Summer King Bundle 3 Stories - Jennifer L. Armentrout Page 0,102

face.”

“She was his lover, and his would-be mate.”

I sucked in air. Another fiancée?

“’His little bird’ is what he called her. Because she was as light as air and just as constant and steady. Always perched on his shoulder when they were young. And she would sing—oh, she sang so beautifully.” Aric chuckled lowly. “I can see you didn’t know that.”

Pressing my lips together, I said nothing because there was nothing to say. The King wasn’t Caden to me any longer. Pretty sure he’d driven that point home the last time I saw him. Blood rushed to my cheeks, making the skin prick with the reminder of that humiliation. He was just the King to me now, and I didn’t care if he’d been engaged once or five times.

“Siobhan was his soulmate. His one, true love. They grew up together, were promised to one another from birth. She was groomed to be his Queen. They shared their lives and their bodies for well over two hundred years. She was beautiful. A stunning creature, tall, and full of grace. She had blond hair like you, like spun sunlight.” His lips curved into a taunting smile as my body jerked. “That’s the only thing you share in common with her. Other than the hair, you’re…pathetically, uninspiringly human.”

I didn’t care. The sting that crawled up the back of my throat had nothing to do with anything Aric was saying. “I don’t think uninspiringly is a word.”

His smile was tight-lipped. “Do you know what happened to Caden’s little bird?”

“No, but I’m betting you’re going to tell me.”

“I snapped her wings and plucked all her feathers.” His upper lip curled.

Revulsion morphed into sudden understanding. This was the loved one the King had spoken about losing. This was why he wanted Aric for himself. Not because the psycho was trying to bring the Queen back to the mortal world or because he’d stabbed him in battle. Because the bastard had killed his fiancée. And I could understand the King’s need for revenge. I totally did because of what this monster had cost me.

“It’s what led to the war between our Courts,” Aric continued. “Well, one of many, but this was the big one. We had years of peace. The Otherworld was thriving, but my Queen…she wanted this world, and she needed Caden for that. You know the prophecy.”

Of course, I did. The child of the Prince and a halfling—who happened to be Ivy—would undo the spells that kept all the doors to the Otherworld sealed. Because the ideology, the basic fundamentals of our world and the Otherworld, would be challenged, and, therefore, collapse because a halfling shouldn’t exist, and a Prince was never supposed to be in our world. It was the whole insane baby prophecy that had been hard to believe when I first heard about it.

Aric unfolded his arms as he walked away from me and moved toward the wall near the door. “My job was to goad the Prince into war, where he’d be weakened in battle. I knew exactly what would provoke him. Taking Siobhan was a part of getting the job done.” Aric reached out, running his fingers over a vine. The thick, ropey strand blanched and withered under his touch. “But one I thoroughly enjoyed.”

“You’re messed up,” I snarled. “Seriously. A one hundred percent psychopath, but I’m not the King’s little bird. I’m not anything to him, so I don’t know why you’re telling me any of this. It doesn’t hurt me.” A lie. “At all.”

“True,” Aric murmured, looking over his shoulder at me. “You’ll never mean to him what Siobhan did.”

I flinched, hating myself for it—hating him for it.

“Perhaps you don’t mean much to him. You are human, after all, but you mean something.” Lowering his hand, he faced me. “Enough that I’m sure I’ll also enjoy our time together even though you won’t last nearly as long as Siobhan.”

Nausea twisted my stomach as he took a step toward me. The chain practically hummed against my palms.

“And when I’m done with you, I’ll make sure Caden knows exactly where you’ve been and what was done to you, even if he doesn’t realize you’re missing.”

Just a few steps closer. That was all.

“And if he doesn’t care now, he will,” the Ancient continued, his voice low and taunting. “Because when I’m done with you, all he will be reminded of is his little—”

Snapping forward, I lifted the chain above my head, prepared to wrap it around the bastard’s neck and squeeze until