“Mind the bar,” I told Frito, then grabbed a baseball bat from where it was kept underneath the counter, a relic from when humans had inhabited the Arcane Isles. We’d organized an inner-clan softball league a few years back and still playedfrom time to time, but more often the bat came in handy for dealing with rowdier types.
I didn’t see the pair of them when I walked out front, so I looked to Frankie, who jerked his thumb to the side of the building. “Be prepared to back me up,” I said.
“You got it, boss,” was his reply.
Stalking around the corner, I found the two of them in the middle of a heated argument. Rather than interrupt, I hung back and listened in for a spell. Skylar was trying to keep his voice down, but my hearing was exceptional. He had every right to have it out with this jerk, and I wasn’t going to interfere unless the other man got nasty.
“...I told you before, Cedrych, it’s over between us. You’re going to be married soon, and I don’t want to be your piece on the side. I’m worth more than that,” Skylar said.
“You’re overreacting, Sky, as usual. It’s a diplomatic arrangement that my mother is forcing upon me. I doubt I’ll even be fucking him, and if I do, I definitely won’t enjoy it. The only person Iwantto be fucking is you.”
“Exactly! That’s all it ever was between us. You, wanting a convenient place to park your dick when the mood suited you. I want more out of life than to be your paid whore. I want someone I can build a life with. Maybe even start a family.”
That last bit got me right in my feelings.
“Start a family? You? Since when?” Cedrych scoffed, sounding appalled. Lord, did I want to knock his block off.
“Since now. The fact that you never even considered it is proof enough that you were never really serious about me. I want a man who’s going to take care of me long-term, not just for as long as I keep his dick wet.”
“But, but… I’m a prince,” Cedrych spluttered, clearly stupefied by the rejection.
Hold up, did he just say…
“I don’t care who you are. That’s not going to work this time,” Skylar said tartly.
“And I never treated you like a whore, Skylar. I always respected you, despite your past.”
“Despite being a guildless, unremarkable bit of fae trash?” Skylar hissed.
“I never said that. My mother is… my mother. I always defended you to her.”
“Did you, Cedrych? Or did you hide me away like your dirty little secret? You never invited me to any formal events at the palace, never introduced me to your friends. Goddess knows, when we’d pass each other in the square, you’d act as if you didn’t even know me. Do you know how hurtful that was? To watch you walk by without even a greeting, then have you come to my apartment right after and demandeverythingof me.”
The pain in Skylar’s voice made me want to soothe him, and I knew just the man to give him what he needed. (It was me. I was that man.)
“What else could I do?” the prince simpered. “It was a scandal even being seen with you. TheDaily Scrollswere all over it. My mother was constantly haranguing me about you.”
“You could have made me legitimate,” Skylar said, practically pleading with him now. “You could have announced to society that we were together, but you chose not to. For two long years you made promises, and you never kept them.”
Huffing, the prince countered, “I put you up in that nice apartment. Bought you all those expensive clothes and jewelry–”
“You used money to control me, Cedrych, which is why I left all of that behind. I owe younothing. You can give those gifts to your next lover or burn them for all I care. I don’t want them. I’m done with you and your mother.”
Good for you,I silently cheered.Kick that pompous prince straight to the curb.
“What do you think the Guild is going to do when I tell them you’ve run off with the prince’s property?” Cedrych said in a low, threatening voice.
“What property could you possibly mean?” Skylar asked.
“My heart, Skylar,” he wailed. Good Lord, this man was a manipulative shit. I peeked around the corner to see if the theatrics were working on Skylar, but he seemed just as pissed off as before.
“You are so full of shit, Cedrych. And you’d better not threaten me or anyone here. You never loved me. I don’t think you’re even capable of it.”
“Are you fucking someone else?” Cedrych asked.
“That is none of your business.”
The prince grabbed Skylar’s arm roughly, and by then, I’d had just about enough of his bullshit. I rounded the corner of the building, bat in hand, and slammed it against the stone wall beside Cedrych’s head. The prince startled and pivoted away, drawing his sword with the ease of a trained soldier. I’d need to have a talk with Frankie about somehow missing the huge hunk of steel stashed under the prince’s cloak.
