Igniting Cinder (The Lost Girls, #3)

by Holly Roberds

Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Bitch is in Danger

i just fuckin belly laughed out loud LMAOOOOOOO

You can take the girl out of Midnight, but she’ll still have a weird affinity for Tim Burton aesthetics the rest of her life.

My heart rate doubles when I notice the gloved hand flexing at his side.

MR DARCYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

After several beats, the woman wearing the veil gives a nod and slips her hand into my outstretched glove. I grip her hand a little too tight as I lead her onto the dance floor, my head spinning like a top at finding her. Like discovering a gem amidst rocks. She’s really alive.

“I know everyone of course.” “You mean you’ve banged every woman here but me?” Her words come out flat and bored. They are meant to be a jab. An attack I’m more than used to. “Are you calling me a slut?” I ask in mock offense as I sweep her across the dance floor. Her lips tighten. As much as she lets me lead, Cinder's body is tense beneath my touch, her movements stiff and unyielding. She leans away slightly, maintaining a careful distance even as I guide her through our dance. “I’m well aware of my reputation,” I say to put her at ease. “I’m the one who earned it, after all. I learned early on,” maybe too early, “that everyone wants to sleep with a prince. I’m nothing if not a philanthropist, giving the people what they want.”

“I would never slut shame anyone. I’m only repeating the headlines, Your Highness.” She is somehow scathing and smug even in a monotone delivery. Sparks of excitement pop off in my chest. A woman unafraid to call me on my bullshit. How interesting.

I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from grinning. Appearances matter at events like these, and I have a specific, cultivated look. If she keeps throwing so many zingers my way, I might ruin all of that with a full belly laugh.

As a prince, I have been taught to recognize power and dominance. People think I’m important. They don’t know the meaning of the word. Cinder effortlessly exudes a force that money and status can’t buy. She undeniably knows who she is, and now I’m desperate to know her too.

I must be what everyone says, spoiled, indulgent, rash, because suddenly I can’t stop the gears running in my heat that pull Cinder into my own plans.

I find myself standing in my apartment, staring at a very confused cat who seems to be questioning my mode of entry. Sitting back, its hind leg is stuck up in a near-seductive pose. The stray black cat with malicious, glowing green eyes keeps finding its way into my apartment, no matter how many times I lock the windows.

A NORMIE<3

As the genie steps down, blending into the background from whence he came, the bar erupts into a whirlwind of activity, the Lost Girls at its heart. A whoosh of air flows over my face. Once, then twice. I turn to find the hot librarian chick fanning me with her book. “Thought you could use a cool down after that.” Hot librarian is right.

It’s as if he knows just how devastating his boyish charm mixes with his dangerous, taboo energy. He looks as though he’s stepped straight from the pages of a dark mafia romance novel, complete with the billowing shirt.

“Hey Isabelle.” I ignore the prince she is currently fanning with a book to top off her favorite prosecco though the drink is barely down an inch. “How is the bookselling business?” Belle swivels back to face me on her stool and half her mouth curves up. “Living the dream as always.” Belle owns the romance bookstore across the street. After she closes her shop, she walks over here for a nightcap and reads a few chapters before she heads home. It’s part of her routine, something she takes very seriously.

I love her<3

“Because her favorite chapter of her favorite romance book is chapter three where the female protagonist realizes the man she's lusting after is actually a prince.” Belle blushes, her cheeks turning a deep crimson. “You know me so well, Rap.” Rap gives her shy friend a tight smile. It exudes more friendliness and encouragement than I’ve ever seen her share. “That’s why we’re friends. Both business owners and badasses.” “A prince you say.” Charming perks up. “Why what a coincidence because⁠—” “He’s always hoped to find his own prince charming,” I cut in. Kaison shoots me a knowing smirk. “You know me so well,” he purrs, echoing the exchange between Belle and Rap.

I’ve decided to call my neither region “Iron Maiden” because it’s metal as fuck, and I'm sure it will remind me that I’m foreboding and untouchable.

Me as fuck lmao

My irritation turns into full-blown frustration as I reach for it, only for him to pull it out of reach. I hadn’t told the Fairy Godmother I lost one of her magical shoes and I’d been dreading it. But now it’s here and a knot in my belly loosens. I reach again, but he dodges my grasp a second time. The look in his eyes lets me know what the price will be. We need to talk. Ugggghhhhhh. I don’t wanna.

“The literal kind.” He beams. As proud as a cat who’s brought home a dead rat for their owner. “A marriage proposal.” I wait for the punch line. His silence stretches out with expectation. Har fucking har.

“You should call me Kaison, or better yet, Kai. I’m not bored, and I don’t do drugs.” His tone is suddenly serious as if it’s imperative I know he means that. Oh sure, I’ll call the Prince of the Midnight Kingdom by his first name. Next we can braid each other’s hair and watch trashy reality mage TV shows while bingeing junk food. Actually, I am overdue for a chill night in. .

There's a dance of shadows and light in his words, a delicate balance between the persona he projects and the gears turning behind the façade. And in that balance, I find a sliver of common ground. He’s offering a partnership of sorts, one with an endgame that serves us both. And though I don't trust him, there's an honesty in his plan that resonates with the part of me that wants answers. “I understand your plan,” I say slowly, going over all the angles and curves of it in my mind. “So you’ll do it?” His voice ticks up with hopefulness as he practically bounces on the balls of his feet. “Absolutely fucking not.”

“—and I encourage as many of you young ladies to court my son. Take a turn about the dance floor to impress him with your most charming. . . assets.” There’s a leer in the King’s words even as his eyes scan some of the younger attendees. Gross. The Midnight Kingdom really needed to get the smash the patriarchy memo.

“But I have an announcement,” he says, taking another commanding step forward. “I have made an unexpected love match and have chosen my bride.” I briefly wonder what other perfectly unsuitable bride he’s picked out to piss off daddy. She has to be a real piece of work. Then Kaison’s eyes find mine in the crowd, hitting me like an arrow connecting with the bullseye of a target. Oh. Oh no. A gloved hand stretches out toward me. I clench my fists into tight balls. Don’t you dare fucking do it. “Cinder Park, daughter of my father’s dearest friend Byung-He Park, has agreed to join me in holy matrimony and begin a new era in the Midnight Kingdom.”

BROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I can’t trust the undercurrent between us as the Prince proposes we join forces and share a secret, a lie, that will connect us. It would be us against everyone else in this ballroom, likely in this kingdom. His fingers close around mine. His stage smile turns into a genuine grin that makes butterflies take flight in my belly. Except all the butterflies are on fire.

Needing to sell this, I pull her to my side. The way her slight frame fits perfectly to me takes me by surprise as I feel an inaudible click at the connection. Her body is near scalding even through our clothes, making me wonder—do all humans run this hot? No, I’ve had humans before. They are significantly warmer, but Cinder is running at a near volcanic temperature. I can’t say I don’t enjoy the burn.

“We could also reap the extra benefits of our arrangement.” She barely contains her sneer. “What extra benefits?” She’s so mean. I’m obsessed.

Wow wheres my man like this<3

Prince Charming leans against the doorjamb in a tight black T-shirt and jeans. With a black eye and a split lip. My brows knit. “Holy fae fucks, what happened to you?” He brushes a thumb along the red line on his lower lip, his eyes turning unfocused.

The way i would fold i love a bloody beat up man

If this jungle kitty gets any closer, he’ll find out I have no problems smacking him on the snout.

“Does that mean I get to call you slut muffin?” I bat my eyes at him. He tilts his head as if considering it. “Perhaps best not to let that out in polite society, but in private? You can call me anything you want.”