“The Phantom is a menace. It’d be best for everyone if he was caught. He impedes the justice system in this city,” Ethan rattled off. “The sooner he’s put behind bars, the better.”
“He saved my life!” I shouted.
“So have I— twice now. It’s really not anything special,” Ethan said. “The whole school will probably get a chance before you graduate.”
I felt my face turn red. “It doesn’t matter. The Phantom and I— we have a connection.”
Ethan paused. “What do you mean?”
The words were coming out of my mouth before I could stop them. “I felt the bond. He and I are mates.”
A horrified expression crossed Ethan’s face. That was before he suddenly broke out into an insulting laugh. “Mates? You can’t be serious. Dream on, Emma.”
“I am serious.”
Ethan stopped laughing and shook his head. “Okay, this isn’t funny. The Phantom is mixed up in some really shady business. If you go looking for him, you could get hurt.”
“Well, apparently I’m good at that, right?” I snapped back.
He frowned. “That’s not what I meant. I’m just saying… I know the Phantom. Not personally, but I knowwhathe is. And there’s a darkness in him that you don’t want to mess with.”
“You don’t know a damn thing.” He could fuck right off. The spires of the school were coming into view now. Ethan and I crossed through the west gate. The moment we did, I made sure to separate myself from him further.
Ethan took a steadying breath. “All I’m saying is, don’t go chasing after fairy tales when reality is right in front of you.”
Oh, this guy was rich. Was hejealousof the Phantom? It was sad.
I tried to contain my fury before I said, “Whatever happens between the Phantom and I is none of your damn business.”
I ran off before he could say anything more, and shoved my shoulder into the double doors so I could get away from him. The guy was a judgmental jerk.
Ethan was wrong. I wasn’t going to stay away from the Phantom. If anything, I was going to run toward him.
And nothing anyone could do or say would stop me from seeing him again.
Chapter Eleven
Ethan
Emma thought she was in love with the Phantom. She didn’t realize that she was truly in love withme.
When we’d touched as I was in disguise as the Phantom, the mating bond fell in place— and it couldn’t have come at a worse time. We’d brushed each other before, in Monster Hunting 101, but this was different. Holding hands after we’d been in a life-or-death situation together was intimate. It provoked the magic to come out and seal our souls together forever.
But how could we truly be in love? We barely knew each other. She’d only been in my life for a few weeks. She didn’t know me yet— who I truly was. I wanted more between us than just primal instinct.
If we were going to be together, I wanted her to like me for me. I wanted us to be real. I didn’t want us to be together because some magical bond told us we had to be. And I had to get to know her better, too.
I’d made the Phantom out to be a villain when she brought him up. I had to disapprove of the Phantom in public as much as possible, to lead away any suspicion that it was me, but with Emma I was over the top about it. I told her those things because I wanted her to stay away from me. The Phantom and Prince Ethan were two totally different beings. They lived in different worlds, one light and the other dark.
Of course, it had to be the tortured side of me that she fell for. And not the man underneath the mask.
I was walking a very thin line here. If Emma tried getting in contact with the Phantom again… it would lead to consequences for her. I had enemies. The Black Claw knew I was onto them, and if anyone guessed that the Phantom had someone in his personal life he was close to…
She’d become a target. For both the Black Claw, and the police. If she found out who I was and kept my identity a secret for me, she’d risk getting accused of charges herself for conspiring with me. That is, if I ever got caught.
Then there was the matter of the King’s Contest. I still didn’t know what I was going to do about that. The Contest was quickly approaching, but I didn’t know if I should make my bond with Emma clear, or protect her by choosing another girl as my queen— someone stronger and more likely to survive, someone who didn’t mind risking their lives for a chance to be in the monarchy. It wasn’t uncommon for Marked or Companions to perish in the Contest. And I wasn’t sure I could sign Emma up for that, especially if she didn’t want what I was offering.
Everything I was doing was putting Emma in danger. And that’s why I needed to keep pushing her away— so she could be safe. It would be far better to for me to pine for her for the rest of my days than it would be to grieve her death.
