Chapter One
Princess Evelyne Lucia Martina Lidia had been summoned to her father’s office often in her almost twenty-four years. It was never a good thing.
Still, today, she was lighter than usual.
Because tonight, her brother was to be married.
And a royal wedding for the heir meant a respite for Evelyne.
Whatever complaints her father levied against her this morning, whatever punishments for petty infractions about to be doled out, they were small prices to pay for a little bit of freedom.
It wouldn’t last forever. No doubt Father would be back to scheming her into the marriage mart soon enough—but Alexandre’s wedding, and hopefully a royal baby soon after, should take the heat off for at least a year.
Within a years’ time, she could convince Jordi to either stand up to her father or run away with her. He loved her. Said so all the time. As a royal aide, she knew he had a deep fear of upsetting her father, and who could blame him? King Enzo was a volatile, violent, evil man.
But with enough time, Evelyne was sure…she was sure she could convince Jordi to be as brave as she was willing to be.
For love, she thought dreamily.
But all dreams died when walking into King Enzo’s grand office.
Luxurious, gleaming gold that always gave her a headache, and her father always dressed in some uniform or another.
He’d never actually trained or served in the Alis military, but he liked to stomp around in his role as leader as though he had.
Mostly, it was to intimidate. Such was Enzo’s way.
No one loved or respected the king, his children included.
He was a mean, petty man full of spite, hate, and obsessed with retribution.
Evelyne did not remember her mother as she’d been told the queen died in childbirth, but Evelyne wouldn’t have been surprised to find Enzo had killed her.
He was that horrible. And on those occasions he beat her—something she knew her brother did his level best to stop—she could see it in his eyes.
The fact was he would kill, given the right opportunity.
Evelyne would have run away long ago, but her father was powerful, and his little spies were scattered across their small country.
He ruled with the iron fist of a dictator, and everyone fell into line. Even her.
For now, she told herself.
All who existed in their little country waited for the day that King Enzo would die, and Prince Alexandre would take the throne. There was no doubt in Evelyne’s mind that Alexandre was the best man in the world, and everything would be all right once her brother was the king.
Whether it be true or not didn’t matter. What mattered was hope.
But for this morning, as she walked into her father’s office, she found her hope a little unsteady.
Because yes, her father was there in his usual military uniform with his usual smug expression on his face, but Alexandre was here as well.
He was not yet dressed for his wedding, nor did he wear an expression fit for a soon-to-be-groom.
His mouth was in a grim line, his dark eyes flat.
She knew he did not love his fiancée. He was doing his duty. That was Alexandre. She might have hated him for being so good, so perfect, but in doing his duty, he often protected her from whatever plans their father had for her.
Still, she felt sorry for Ines, because it was unclear whether the soon-to-be-bride believed her marriage into the Lidia royal family was one based on money and power, or one based on love.
There was no love in this kingdom as long as Evelyne’s father ruled.
Father glanced at the large watch on his wrist. “I summoned you ten minutes ago, child.”
She didn’t point out that the palace was huge, that it took time to get from one end of it to the other. She’d learned her lesson about arguing with him as a young girl.
Eventually.
“My apologies, sir.” She gave a regal curtsey. Mostly for Alexandre’s benefit. Because he was here and it was his wedding day, and she knew her father was just itching to punish her in some way to make Alexandre’s day even more miserable.
Father eyed her, which would have been enough for the warning alarms in her head to sound, but then he eyed Alexandre, and smiled.
“On this happy day where Alexandre submits to his duty and marries, I would like to inform you that you will soon follow.”
Evelyne did not allow herself to react outwardly. She kept her expression placid and bland. She did not look Alexandre’s way like she wanted to. She didn’t even dare clasp her hands together or demand to know what he meant. She stood, settled into her regal bearing and waited for the bomb to drop.
“I have long sought the right man for you to marry, Evelyne. It has been quite the ordeal since you prefer to be so…rebellious.”
Evelyne couldn’t remember the last time she’d rebelled against him, unless he knew about Jordi. Which made her cold all the way through.
“He must be strong, of course. Powerful. Someone worthy of being the father of royal children, but someone who would not simply do whatever you told him to do.” Father came around to rest a hip on his desk.
He surveyed her with analyzing eyes. “Someone unafraid to use whatever methods might keep you in line.”
Might. In line. This time Evelyne could not resist looking back at her brother. Who stood exactly as he had been, but his expression had moved far closer to fury than it had been.
“General Sergi Vinyes has expressed an interest in you, my dear.”
If she thought she’d been cold before, now her blood was nothing but ice. She couldn’t breathe. General Sergi Vinyes was a monster, as bad as her father if not worse. She knew she could not say that to her father, but she also couldn’t hold her tongue completely.
“He’s more than twice my age, Father.” And known for his brutal tactics on the military fields—not with enemies, mind you. Because despite Enzo’s blood lust, he had not engaged in a full-on war yet. The general was known for his cruelty with his own men.
“What of it? I was more than twice your mother’s age when we married.” He smiled as if this was a positive, something to brag about.
Evelyne wanted to retch.
“Father,” Alex said in that calm, firm voice of his that allowed Evelyne to think there was some hope of getting out of this.
“I am getting married tonight. And, with any luck, there will be a royal baby announced by next year. There is no need to rush Evelyne into marriage. She is young, and it is best to spread the pomp and circumstance out a bit, don’t you think? ”
“She will accept Sergi’s proposal when it is offered. End of story.”
He turned his back on both of them, a sign of dismissal. But Evelyne…
“I will not marry him.” Could not. Would not. There was no arguing with her father, but she could not marry the violent general twice her age.
Very slowly, Father turned to look at her with that icy blue gaze of his. She felt Alexandre come to stand behind her, but she knew… Even two against one they would not win.
“You will,” Father said very quietly. “It is not your decision to make.”
Alexandre put his hand on her shoulder. “Evelyne, let this rest for now,” he murmured in her ear.
“I will kill myself before I marry him.” And she meant it. She would not suffer through that. It was bad enough the way her father treated her, the punishments she was subjected to. She would not be bartered off into even more violence.
“Ah, Evelyne.” Father tsked. “You will not have the chance.”
She saw it so clearly. She would not have the chance.
She thought she’d been about to experience some modicum of freedom, and instead she was sentenced—far earlier than expected—to an even worse jail than the one she’d imagined.
No. No, she wouldn’t take it. She wouldn’t. She turned on a heel and ran.
She ignored Alexandre calling her name. She had to find Jordi. He was her only hope. And she still had hope. They would run away together. He would take her away. France. Spain. The end of the world, she didn’t care. Just away.
Since Jordi was one of Alexandre’s aides, he was quite busy with wedding preparations. But that meant Evelyne knew exactly where to find him. With just hours before the wedding, he would be in the ceremony hall, dealing with last minute details.
She ran down hallways, upstairs, and when at last she found him in the ballroom double-checking seating assignments, she ran right to him, grabbed his arm. “Jordi.”
“Evelyne, calm down.” He gave her a scowl—she’d called it handsome on more than one occasion, perhaps perversely enjoying his occasional disapproval.
Because sometimes he did not approve or agree, but he loved her just the same. Regardless. She did not have to be anyone but herself with Jordi.
“Jordi,” she repeated, breathless from running. “Father has insisted I accept a proposal from General Vinyes. We must run away! We’ll run away together. It’s the only way.”
Jordi looked at her like she was speaking in tongues, but he patted her hand. “Calm down, Evelyne.”
“Calm down? Are you listening to me? General Vinyes. I cannot marry him. We must leave the palace at once.”
“Your brother’s wedding…”
“That is why we must go now. Alexandre will understand. Come.” She tugged on his arm, but he did not budge.
“Evelyne… I cannot go against your father. He is a king. Do you know what he’ll do to me?”
“That’s why we’ll run away.” Panic had big, heavy wings now, beating against her chest. Why wasn’t he rushing to help her? Why wasn’t he rushing to agree? Why was he looking down at her with something close to pity?
“Don’t you understand?” she implored him. “He won’t change his mind. We must…” It dawned on her then. “You were never going to marry me.”
“Evelyne, come now.”
Which was neither agreement nor rebuttal. Which made her realize that all the plans they’d made had been…hers. And he’d never disagreed with her, never told her she was fanciful or in the wrong.