Chapter 4
The Library
“Dammit!”
Evelyn cursed at the scent of roses in her room again. She whipped a stream of fire toward the offending bouquet. The glass vase shattered while the roses burned.
I need out of here. I’ll explore a bit until that disgusting smell goes away. If I’m going to be in the palace for a while, I should know where things are.
Evelyn stormed into the hallway and slammed the door shut behind her. She walked down to the second floor but paused when she heard voices floating up from the first floor.
“Where the hell is he?” a voice demanded.
Is that King Gerard? Who shit in his soup?
“I’m sure he’s working,” a gentler voice soothed.
That’s Queen Camille. I can’t even imagine her getting angry.
“I’m sure he’s out drinking with the Fontaine boy!” the king countered.
“So what if he is?” The queen tried. “They’re young! They should be having fun.”
“Alexander is over two hundred years old. He’s not a child!”
“He’s also not a king yet. He’s adjusting to his new role as the heir.”
“What is there to adjust to? All he’s supposed to do is come home on time and talk to a girl!”
Is that what the king thinks of Hannah? That she’s just some girl for the prince to use? What an asshole!
“He’s met her twice already,” Queen Camille reminded her husband. “Alexander and Princess Hannah got along well at breakfast this morning, and then they toured the garden this afternoon.”
King Gerard scoffed. “If that’s all he needs to make a decision, then he should propose. Otherwise, Alexander needs to be at the palace and put in a little effort.”
“He only missed dinner.”
“Two nights in a row!”
“I’ll talk to him when—”
“No,” the king interrupted. “I’ll do it. You have always been too soft with him.”
Evelyn heard heavy footsteps ascending the stairs. She ducked through the first doorway she came to. Oil lamps magically flickered to life.
Oh, it’s a library. Not a huge one, more like the size of my bedroom, but still.
Bookshelves lined every inch of the wall, except where a fireplace featured prominently across from the door.
A low, plush couch faced the fireplace with two oversized chairs on each side of it.
One end of the room had a small wooden table and hard-backed chairs for serious studying instead of lazy reading.
Evelyn traced her hand along the spines of books as she made her way around the perimeter of the room.
Many of the books were histories of Gryon and the other lands.
Lochmatten was full of academics who studied magic.
Brevig was famous for its dragons but was also the greatest source of agriculture.
Trasmyr had fae with shapeshifting abilities, while the Tricksters in Velletri had all sorts of mental magic.
Healers trained in Aleneva, and Neskowin specialized in enchanting objects.
Seldovia was the only kingdom dedicated to humans, but most vampires also called it home.
Evelyn came across a dusty shelf of mythology and grabbed a text that appeared newer than the others. Settling into one of the comfortable armchairs, she used her magic to light the fireplace and lost herself in legends.
Some time later, Evelyn heard a commotion right before the library door flew open.
The man from last night, Leo, pushed into the room and immediately turned to shut and lock the door.
He balled his hands into fists and pounded on the door once before leaning against it, braced by his forearms. His back rose and fell as he steadied his breathing.
What’s got him riled up? And would he care if I slid between him and the door? Damn, he has sexy shoulders.
“Do you need me to set someone on fire?” she offered.
Leo spun around. His differently colored eyes were wide. Evelyn was filled with immense satisfaction from his surprise.
That’s what he gets for sneaking up on me yesterday.
“What are you doing in here?” Leo asked.
She gestured to the open book in her lap. “Reading.”
Leo stared at it. She could have been holding an iguana based on the confusion lingering on his face.
“I like it here,” Evelyn continued. “Being surrounded by books makes me feel like a dragon with a treasure hoard.”
To emphasize the point, Evelyn blew a thin stream of flame toward him like the dragons she had seen in paintings from Brevig.
Leo let his tense shoulders drop. “I don’t think arsonists belong in libraries.”
“I would never hurt the books!”
Leo gave his head a shake like it would clear whatever was bothering him. Then he sat down in the armchair across from her. “What are you reading?”
“Stories of the old gods. Heceta, Siletz, Coquille, and the like.”
“Who is your favorite?”
“Neotsu, of course. She’s a badass.”
“She burned a city to the ground.”
“They deserved it!”
Leo smiled at her.
“Why did you come crashing in here, anyway?” Evelyn asked. “You interrupted my reading.”
“Apologies for that,” Leo said. “This place is usually empty.”
“It’s a decent hiding spot.”
“Not for you. I’ve run into you twice now and both times you’ve been in places you shouldn’t be.”
“Let’s not forget that you didn’t run into me yesterday. You fully stalked me to the beach.”
“I wasn’t stalking you.” Leo laughed. “I was making sure you weren’t lighting anything else on fire.”
“I promised I wouldn’t!”
“So you haven’t set any fires since I saw you last?”
Evelyn hesitated, remembering the flowers in her room earlier.
Leo cocked his head. “Really?”
“It was tiny. It’s fine. You didn’t answer my question.”
“What question?”
“Why you ran in here like you were fleeing a monster?”
“Who says that’s not what I was doing?”
Evelyn frowned. “Did the king take his anger out on you?”
Leo blinked. “Why do you ask that?”
“I heard him and Queen Camille arguing earlier. He’s not very happy that Alexander isn’t courting Hannah every hour of the day. Like a prince wouldn’t have anything better to do. I thought maybe you ran into him before he could yell at the prince, and he blew up at you instead.”
“That’s… not too far off, actually,” Leo admitted. “What about you? It’s past midnight. Why are you hiding in the library?”
Evelyn shrugged. “I don’t like my room.”
“Why not?”
She fidgeted with a lock of her curly hair. “It’s silly. It’s not important.”
Leo abruptly moved to the couch, taking the seat closest to her. “Tell me what’s wrong with your room.”
Evelyn sighed. “If I tell you, please don’t laugh.”
“I won’t,” Leo promised.
“It’s the roses.”
“Roses?”
“Every evening, there are roses in my room. I can’t stand the scent. I burn them and open the windows, but I can still smell it.”
Evelyn expected Leo to roll his eyes. But his expression held empathy.
“I don’t like them either,” he said. “There were roses everywhere at m—at Prince Christopher’s funeral. They smell like death to me now.”
“Exactly!” Evelyn cried out. “It was the same at King Nolan’s funeral. It’s always roses. Hannah loves them. She says the sweet smell makes sad moments better, but I hate it.”
“What do you like instead?”
“Lavender. As a child, my nanny would put lavender flowers under my pillow to help me sleep.”
Leo gave her a small smile. “I’ll talk to the staff. No more roses.”
“Thank you.”
I guess it pays to be friends with the super attractive not-quite Commander of the Royal Guard.
“Did you say you burned the flowers that were in your room?”
“Yes. I got a bit carried away tonight and accidentally broke the vase. There’s probably glass everywhere.” Evelyn groaned.
Leo stood up. “I’ll take care of it.”
“You don’t have to—”
“It’s fine. Let me walk you to your room, and I’ll clean it up. You can take the book with you. No one will mind.”
Evelyn rose off the couch.
I am actually tired now.
“Wait!” Leo stopped her. “Are my eyes still different colors to you?”
“Yes. I guess your illusion magic hasn’t improved yet.”
Leo nodded. For a moment, he looked like he might ask another question but changed his mind.
There’s something he’s not telling me. But it’s just his eye color. How bad could it be? Maybe he’s insecure about his eyes not matching. I like them, especially when he looks at me like I’m… I don’t know… worth looking at. Everyone is so focused on Hannah and I feel like I’m tagging along.
They left the library together. As they entered her room, a burnt smell greeted them.
Shit! I forgot to open a window before I ran out earlier.
She hurried over, carefully avoiding shards of glass on the floor.
Leo used lesser magic to reform the shattered vase. It was discolored, blackened from smoke, but a bit more magic wiped that away.
“Thank you,” Evelyn said, embarrassed at needing help cleaning up her tantrum.
“Get some sleep now, Princess.” Leo bowed. His eyes lingered on Evelyn for a few moments before he left.
At least he didn’t laugh at me. He didn’t judge me. Does that mean I can trust him?