Chapter 26
Blink
“Evelyn!” Hannah shook her frantically. “You have to wake up! Something is wrong!”
“What’s going on?” Evelyn mumbled, blinking her eyes open.
“I don’t know!” Hannah cried. “Can you hear the birds?”
“Birds?”
“There’s this screeching noise that keeps repeating. It sounds like a hawk. I think it’s an alarm for the palace.”
I can’t hear it, so the noise must be an illusion, but Hannah’s description doesn’t sound good.
Based on the light coming in her windows, it was barely past dawn. Hannah was in her nightgown. Evelyn leapt out of bed, grabbed her robe, and flung the door open. Two unfamiliar Gryon guards were outside the door.
“Your Highness,” one of them said, “we need you to stay in your room with your sister.”
“What’s going on?” Evelyn demanded.
“It’s important that you stay here where you’re safe.”
Fuck that.
Evelyn sent sparks flying toward the guards. Not enough to hurt them but enough to dissuade them from arguing with her. As soon as the guards jumped back, Evelyn fled down the hallway. She was impressed when Hannah followed her instead of obeying orders.
They ran downstairs, chasing the sound of urgent shouting. The front doors were wide open. Evelyn didn’t slow down as she ran outside.
The first thing she saw was Leo, collapsed to his knees on the cobblestones facing the river. His arms were limp at his sides and his head was lowered, like he had lost a battle and was awaiting his fate.
Hannah released a horrified, instinctive scream. Evelyn jumped, then realized her sister was looking up at something, instead of down at Leo. That’s when she saw it.
A ten-foot stake had been erected in front of the river. King Gerard was impaled through his chest at the top of it. He was shirtless and in his pajama pants, like he’d been taken while sleeping. The king had been dropped on his back and his blood dripped steadily onto the ground.
Evelyn understood Leo’s look of defeat.
Long live the king.
The front lawn of the palace was in chaos. Bleary-eyed guards searched the palace grounds while shaken soldiers set up blockades on the road. No one dared get too close to the dead king. They also gave Leo a wide berth.
King Tristan came through the front doors and gasped. Hannah threw her arms around him, hiding her face. Their father didn’t take his eyes off his former friend.
A bloodcurdling scream came from an upper floor of the palace.
That sounds like Queen Camille. At least she’s alive, but I hope she doesn’t see this.
Damien appeared out of the crowd and went to his friend’s side.
“Leo,” he said quietly.
Leo didn’t move or respond.
“Alexander,” Damien tried again, a little louder.
Again, Leo didn’t react.
“Your Majesty!” Damien shouted.
Leo flinched at his father’s title.
No, wait. If the king is dead, that means Leo is the king now. He will be called Your Majesty instead of Your Highness.
Leo slowly lifted his head and glared at Damien, who stared him down.
“Get up,” Damien commanded.
Reluctantly, Leo stood.
“We have work to do,” Damien growled at him. “You need to start giving orders or let me do it.”
Leo was ready to punch Damien.
“The Connollys are here,” Damien reminded him. “Soldiers are waiting for directions. Your mother is still upstairs. What do you want to do?”
Leo took a step back, like he could physically separate from his pain. He ran his fingers through his hair. “Find General Savatier. Then send word to the four lords about what’s happened.”
Damien gave him a half-bow and ran off.
Another soldier approached Leo. “Prince… Your… Alexander, sir.” The man stumbled over what to call the prince-king. “Shall we cut him down from there?”
“No,” Leo said. “Leave him for now until we know more. We don’t want to disturb any evidence.”
The soldier also bowed and left.
Leo walked up to the Carrowmore royals. “King Tristan, I suggest sending word to your kingdom about what’s happened. Your eldest daughter may also be more comfortable back inside.” He gestured to Hannah shaking in her father’s arms.
King Tristan nodded, tearing his eyes away from King Gerard’s body. His words were automatic as he kept his emotions in check. “Please let me know how the Kingdom of Carrowmore may be of assistance to you.”
“Thank you,” Leo said shortly.
King Tristan guided Hannah into the palace just as Queen Camille came running outside. A splash of blood across her neck stained the top of her nightgown, but she didn’t appear to have any injuries of her own.
Was she asleep beside the king when he was murdered? Why didn’t she wake up? Did someone drug her? Or maybe someone with Auditory magic shielded all the noise? No, surely there would’ve been enough movement on the bed to wake her. But whose magic could do that? And why?
At the sight of her husband’s body, the queen let out a scream that was pure agony turned into sound.
Leo didn’t glance at his mother. It was easy to assume that would have broken him entirely.
“Simon,” Leo said, getting a nearby guard’s attention.
“Sir?” the guard responded.
“Take the queen inside. Put her in one of the guest rooms. Station guards outside the door, then find a Healer to give her a calming potion.” Leo gave the orders without any emotion in his voice.
“Yes, sir,” Simon agreed.
Queen Camille continued screaming through her tears. At Simon’s direction, two other guards each took her by an arm and gently pulled the queen back into the palace.
Leo’s eyes were wide, but he kept blinking, like his mind was arguing with his vision.
Blink.
This is a dream.
Blink.
No, it’s not.
Blink.
No, gods, this isn’t real.
Blink.
It is. He’s dead.
Blink.
I have to wake up.
Blink.
You are awake.
Blink.
No!
Blink.
Finally, Leo went to Evelyn. He reached for her, then thought better of it and dropped his hand. “I know you’re angry with me—”
“It’s okay,” she interrupted, shaking her head. “Please don’t think about that right now. What can I do?”
Utter heartbreak flashed across Leo’s eyes before he blinked it away. “I need your help. I’m worried there may be something hidden, like with the four soldiers in the city. I need you to tell me what you see.”
Evelyn’s stomach lurched at the prospect of describing the king’s corpse to his son. “Okay.”
Leo led her closer to the river, but his eyes never left the ground. “Is there only one body?”
“Yes,” Evelyn said. “Just him.”
“Does he have any other injuries?”
Other than being impaled? Isn’t that enough?
“Um…” Evelyn took a few steps to the right side and then the left. “There’s blood on his head. But I can’t tell why. He’s too high up.”
“Is there anything else that stands out? What about on the ground or nearby?”
Evelyn glanced around. “No, everything else seems normal.”
General Savatier arrived then, obviously trying to maintain composure while observing the scene. He was a bit disheveled; his jacket wasn’t buttoned and his shoelaces had been hastily tied.
“Prince Alexander.” The general bowed. “Captain Fontaine filled me in. There’s no hint as to who did this?”
Leo shook his head, not making eye contact.
A guard ran out the front doors and bowed clumsily, catching his breath. “Sir, we’ve found something upstairs.”
“What is it?” General Savatier asked.
“Blood. In the king’s bedroom. There’s a lot of blood. And—” The guard gagged and held a hand over his mouth.
Leo rushed inside, General Savatier and Evelyn at his heels.
Gods, what could be worse than what’s already outside?
They hurried up to the fourth floor, then veered left and entered the king’s apartment at the end of the hall.
The bed was drenched in blood. Splatters of red painted the floor and walls. Two small spheres covered in gore sat together on the left side of the bed.
Holy fuck. Those are King Gerard’s eyes.
Leo stumbled out of the room and Evelyn heard vomit splash on the hallway’s marble floor. General Savatier stared at the bed in horror.
Evelyn’s attention moved to the dark wood headboard, and she gasped.
Leo reappeared. “What is it? Do you see something?”
“There’s another message,” Evelyn whispered. She wouldn’t take her eyes off the bloody words in case they vanished.
“Like the one you saw before?” the general asked.
“What does it say?” Leo put a hand on her shoulder.
“The kingdoms will fall,” Evelyn read.
Silence fell over the room. The scent of blood was overwhelming.
“Kingdoms,” Savatier repeated. “Plural?”
“Yes,” Evelyn said, trying not to cry.
That means Gryon and Carrowmore. That means my home and my family are in danger. Who is doing this? What the hell do they want?
“Is there anything else?” Leo asked. “Blood, eyes, and the message. Is that all?”
Evelyn turned in a very slow circle to make sure. “I don’t see anything else.”
Leo left the room. Evelyn reread the message on the headboard.
The kingdoms will fall.
“We should go, Princess,” Savatier advised. “Nothing can be done here.”
Evelyn and the general exited the apartment and found Leo at the top of the stairs. He held the railing, his gaze unfocused.
“Alexander,” the general said tentatively.
“What happens now?” Leo asked gruffly.
“The army will use every resource we have to find out who is responsible. The lords of the four courts will arrive soon to formally announce you as the new king. I recommend moving you, your mother, and the Connolly family to a different location. The royal residence on base would—”
“No,” Leo said. “I’m not leaving.”
“But, sir—”
“I’m not running away. We can figure out security, but this is my home. King Tristan and my mother are free to make their own decisions. I will be here.”
“I’ll stay with you,” Evelyn told him.
I may be angry about him lying to me, but this is so much bigger than that. I can’t even imagine what he’s going through today. Leo and I were friends, and we could be again. I can’t leave now.
Leo didn’t say anything, but his grip on the railing tightened.
“We will need to bring in Spell Breakers, at the very least,” Savatier added. “Ideally, we would request assistance directly from Lochmatten.”
“Send word to them now,” Leo said. “And send Commander Magalie up here.”
“Yes, sir,” the general agreed before descending the stairs.
Leo and Evelyn were alone for the first time since their fight on the beach.
“Did you mean it?” he asked, staring at his shoes. “Will you stay?”
“Yes,” Evelyn reassured. “I’ll be right here with you.”
Leo held her hands. “I’m truly sorry, Evelyn.”
“I know,” she said, squeezing his hands. “Me too.”
I would promise anything to make the pain in his eyes go away.
A tall woman with blonde hair in a tight bun reached the top of the stairs, flanked by several Gryon guards.
Leo let go of Evelyn. “Princess, this is Magalie Bourdillon. She is the Commander of the Royal Guard.”
Commander Magalie bowed. “It’s nice to meet you, Princess Evelyn.”
Evelyn curtsied to her. “I’m surprised we haven’t met before this.”
“My work is mostly behind the scenes, organization and logistics. If my guards are doing what they are supposed to do, I’m not generally needed in person.”
“Magalie is a bit of an omen around here,” Leo joked, but there wasn’t any light in his eyes.
“We have an additional problem, Alexander,” the commander said, niceties over.
Leo looked nauseous again. “What is it?”
“The guards who were on duty outside last night are missing. Anyone who was assigned to patrol the grounds or external doors overnight is gone.”
“Someone removed the guards so they could kill my father without being interrupted?”
“It would appear so. The scene outside was only discovered when the morning shift arrived at dawn.”
“How many guards are missing?”
“Seventeen, sir.”
“How is that even possible? Where the hell did they go?”
“We don’t know yet. We’re working on it.”
Leo tugged on his hair and took in a breath. “I need one guard assigned to Princess Evelyn and another to Princess Hannah at all times.”
Magalie pointed to one guard who immediately rushed downstairs, presumably to find Hannah. Then she pointed to another guard Evelyn recognized from outside. He had messy brown hair and a neat beard.
“This is Simon,” Magalie said to Evelyn. “He will be with you for now.”
Simon moved closer to Evelyn and bowed.
Leo brushed a curl away from her face. “Simon is going to take you back to your room so you can get dressed. When you are ready, please meet us downstairs.”
Evelyn blushed, realizing she was still in her nightgown, robe, and slippers. “What will you be doing?”
“Waiting for you.”