Chapter 45
Requests
Leo and Evelyn stayed on the beach for nearly an hour. She didn’t want to go near the palace until all traces of the guard’s beheading could be removed. But eventually Leo was needed for Important King Business.
Damien was waiting in the hall when Evelyn returned to her room. “I need to talk to you.”
She glanced at the hilt of the sword over his shoulder. “I don’t want—”
“It’s not about that. You have mail.”
They went into her room and shut the door. Damien handed her an envelope, which had already been unsealed.
“Did you read it?” she accused.
“After the necklace you didn’t tell me about, yes. I told the guards that your mail needed to come to me first.”
He doesn’t even have the decency to sound sorry about it!
“You can’t go through my stuff!”
“I can, actually. Especially when it’s from Ritter.”
Curious, Evelyn opened the envelope and pulled out two pages.
My love,
I am still hopeful you will change your mind. But if you choose to go through with this tragic mistake, you deserve better than the queens who came before you.
I have included the spell used at weddings in Lochmatten. It will provide you with power equal to your husband.
Use the kingdom’s usual routine to give your magic to the King of Lies. Then have him recite this to give everything back to you. Not that Perceptual magic is all that impressive, but at least you will gain the other three Elemental abilities.
Better yet, board the next messenger ship to Lochmatten and I’ll share my own magic (and bed) with you.
-Haydn
P.S. Tell Fontaine hello for me.
Evelyn’s heart raced as she flipped to the second sheet of parchment. She skimmed the words, which seemed to be as Haydn described. “Is this real?”
“Moeller confirmed that’s the spell they use.”
“You showed this to Moeller? Did you pass my mail around the whole palace? What did the maids think of it?”
“I didn’t show him the note, but I had to know that the spell wouldn’t hurt you somehow.”
“Haydn won’t hurt me!” Evelyn insisted.
“But this involves you and Leo,” Damien argued. “Ritter didn’t make any blood oaths to your fiancé. Speaking of Leo, you really need to discuss this with him.”
“You say that like I’ve avoided it. You gave me the letter two minutes ago!”
“I’m serious, Evelyn. You can’t spring this on him tomorrow.”
“I wouldn’t do that. I’ll go find Leo right now.” She turned toward the door.
“And how are you going to explain that Ritter sent you a spell for your wedding?”
Evelyn tensed.
If Leo didn’t like the tattoo on my wrist, he definitely won’t appreciate this.
She faced Damien again. “Can I say you got it from Moeller?”
“No.”
“It’s not about Haydn! Not really. It’s about magic.”
Damien crossed his arms. “Are you saying that the wedding isn’t personal, it’s just about gaining power? Because I’m pretty sure you weren’t happy when the lords made that same argument.”
Evelyn glared at him. “This is different.”
“I’m not saying it’s a bad idea. I support you having magic equal to your husband. But you have to tell Leo the truth.”
She nodded. “I know.”
I’m going to get better at that. I swear.
Evelyn found Leo in the front entryway with King Tristan. To her surprise, Rory stepped up to them first.
“Your Majesties.” Rory bowed. “May I have a minute of your time?”
“Of course,” King Tristan agreed. “Flynn, isn’t it?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Rory Flynn.”
“What can we do for you, Rory?” Leo asked.
“I request permission to transfer my duty to the Kingdom of Gryon so that I may remain Princess Evelyn’s personal guard after she marries.”
“You don’t want to return to Carrowmore?”
“Carrowmore is my home, but I no longer have any family there. I served the Kennedy family faithfully for three centuries. Now, I wish to use my skills to protect Princess Evelyn here as she becomes a queen.”
“That’s very generous of you.” King Tristan beamed. “I think it’s a fantastic idea! Alexander?”
“I won’t say no to a loyal guard,” Leo replied. “Simon, perhaps you could show Rory to Magalie’s office? She knows better than I do what protocols are necessary.”
Simon practically bounced on his feet. “Yes, Your Majesty.”
I’m glad Simon and Rory have become friends. So much of their job is utterly boring, but I’ve caught them chuckling together.
Rory bowed again with a look at Evelyn, who smiled appreciatively at him. Then he and Simon left to find Magalie.
“Father—” Evelyn started.
“I should write to Rowan and let him know about the changes,” King Tristan said before walking away.
Evelyn’s shoulders drooped. “He’s avoiding me.”
“I’m sure he’s just busy,” Leo reassured. “There’s a lot going on.”
“What were the two of you talking about this morning?”
“Updates on the wedding preparations. Guests will begin to arrive this afternoon.”
“I wanted to talk to you about the wedding, actually.” She gestured toward the stairs. “Can we go somewhere private?”
“Should I be worried?”
“No! There’s a detail I want to discuss.”
Leo led her upstairs to his library.
The last time we were here, I held Leo as he cried over his father’s death. So why am I more nervous now?
After magically lighting the fireplace, Evelyn took a seat on the couch. She reached into the envelope and took out only the parchment with the spell, carefully avoiding the note from Haydn.
Beside her, Leo wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “What’s that?”
“It’s…” Evelyn faltered. She handed over the parchment.
Leo frowned as he read the words. “This looks like the spell we’ll use for magic at the wedding tomorrow… but it’s different.”
“If you use this spell after I share my magic with you, then I will also have all eight abilities,” Evelyn explained. She couldn’t quite read the expression he gave her.
“Where did you get this?” he asked.
“It’s what Lochmatten uses.”
“But where did you get it?”
Ugh. He wasn’t supposed to wonder about that.
“Councilor Ritter mailed it to me today,” she admitted.
Leo gritted his teeth. “Why?”
“I don’t know. He told me he would send a wedding present, but I wasn’t expecting this.”
“Do we even know if this is real?”
“Damien showed it to Moeller, and he said it was right. Also, I don’t love that Damien is reading my mail.”
Leo pivoted on the couch and held up the parchment. “Is this what you want?”
Evelyn’s cheeks reddened. “It’s not such a bad idea, is it? We agreed last night that we will do everything together. This will give us equal magic.”
“Why does Ritter care what we do?”
“This isn’t about him.”
“Isn’t it? You don’t think it’s strange that he gave you this?”
“He’s just being nice.”
“Evelyn—”
“If I had found this in a book, what would you say?”
Leo scanned the parchment again. “Do you actually want that much magic?”
“Why shouldn’t I?” Evelyn countered.
“You’ll be seen as a threat.”
“So will you!”
“But that’s expected for a king. If we both have a continent’s worth of power, the other lands may view that as a challenge.”
“We would have enough magic to defend ourselves.”
“I don’t want to put us at risk in the first place.”
Evelyn threw her hands up. “We’re already in danger! Isn’t that why we’re getting married so fast? Maybe this way I can be helpful!”
Leo let out a defeated sigh. “If this is what you want, then… Okay.”
Evelyn blinked. “Really?”
“If you’re going to be at my side, I guess this is fair. I want you to be happy here.”
She leaned forward and kissed him. “Thank you!”
Leo gripped the parchment with more force than necessary.
Does he really not want me to have more magic? Does Leo agree with the old traditions where only kings are powerful?
No. He wouldn’t think like that.