Chapter 49
Plot
Evelyn and Leo wandered onto the beach behind the palace, followed by Rory and Simon. Damien appeared to be asleep on the sand, but Nicolas sat beside him, reading out loud from a book. Daphne and Desirée dipped their feet in the water and were happily gossiping.
Leo lightly kicked Damien’s side. “Laziest officer in the army.”
Damien yelped, despite there being no chance that actually hurt. “The abuse I suffer at the hands of the king! Help me, Princess!”
“If only I wanted to,” Evelyn deadpanned.
“So be it! The only option left to me is treason!” Damien tackled Leo into the sand with a heavy thud.
The sisters cackled from the shoreline. Nicolas closed his book gently, unsurprised by the alleged violence. Rory and Simon refused to make eye contact in case they lost control and laughed at their king.
“Bastard!” Leo yelled once air filled his lungs again.
“Could you not injure my fiancé right before the wedding?” Evelyn requested.
Damien bowed to her. “Anything for you, my future queen.”
“At least you’ll be respectful to one of us,” Leo grumbled, getting to his feet.
“Highly unlikely, Your Majesty,” Damien replied.
The men dusted themselves off as the Fontaine sisters approached.
“You’ll get us all thrown out of court one day, dear brother,” Daphne warned.
Damien snorted. “I wish we could be so lucky.”
“Aren’t the guards supposed to protect the king?” Desirée asked, eyeing Rory and Simon. But mostly Rory.
Damien waved dismissively. “Those two are here only for Evelyn. I can do whatever I want to Alexander as long as I don’t touch the princess.”
Nicolas snickered. “Your understanding of the Royal Guard is impeccable.”
Daphne took Evelyn’s arm. “You can see why we don’t stay around the boys very long.”
Damien pointed at Leo. “Everything was fine until he showed up and brutally attacked me!”
“You knocked the wind out of me!” Leo argued.
“Self-defense.”
Daphne sighed. “It’s outrageous that either of them is old enough to get married.”
The women walked away, trailed by Evelyn’s guards.
“Are you excited about tomorrow?” Daphne asked.
“You sound as suspicious as your brother,” Evelyn quipped.
Daphne smiled, taking that as a compliment. “Well, you did manage to get engaged to a king without anyone knowing it was a possibility. It’s not that easy to surprise a kingdom.”
“Damien and Nicolas knew.”
“They absolutely don’t count.”
“Is it something scandalous?” Desirée asked excitedly. “Did you cast a love spell on him? Are you pregnant? Did you hate each other at first until you realized how attractive he is? Was there a big miscommunication that was only revealed after—”
“Desirée!” Daphne snapped. “This isn’t one of your romance books!”
“Actually,” Evelyn admitted, “that’s not far from the truth.”
The sisters stopped dead in their tracks. The confused horror on Daphne’s face contrasted with the sheer elation on Desirée’s.
“Are you pregnant?” Desirée shrieked. “I don’t usually like that as a plotline, but oh my gods, right now it would be—”
“No!” Evelyn assured her. “I’m not pregnant!”
“Then what in all hells happened with you and Alexander?” Daphne demanded.
Evelyn looked past them to see Leo and Nicolas laughing at something, which caused Damien immense mock outrage. “I didn’t know who he was.”
“What do you mean?” Desirée asked.
Evelyn hesitated. “Did you know he uses an illusion on himself?”
“He showed us a couple times,” Daphne recalled. “He has that dark hair from his mother’s side of the family and his weird blue eyes.”
“Right. But I can’t see illusions. Not sure why, but my magic blocks them.
I can only see his brown hair and blue eyes.
” Evelyn gave them a moment to process that before she continued.
“There wasn’t anyone else around when I met him, and I had no idea he was the prince.
I assumed he was a guard, and then he said his name was Leo. ”
“That’s what Damien calls him sometimes,” Daphne remembered.
Desirée clapped her hands. “Mistaken identity! Oh, I love that one! It’s like the story where the princess sneaks out of the palace and meets a commoner in the market, but he doesn’t know she’s a princess and then—”
“Desirée!” Daphne shouted. “Will you please focus?”
“Right! Sorry,” Desirée said sheepishly.
“Okay, so…” Daphne turned back to Evelyn. “When did you find out who he was?”
“Right after the ball. My father asked me about dancing with the prince, and I said I hadn’t, and it all unraveled from there.”
Desirée gasped. “Alexander didn’t even tell you himself? That’s—”
“I will burn your bookshelf if you start talking about plot twists right now,” Daphne threatened.
Desirée closed her mouth but continued bouncing gleefully.
“What did you do?” Daphne asked. “Did you punch him in the face?”
Evelyn shook her head. “No, but Damien wanted to. I mostly cried, honestly.”
“Did he declare his undying love and beg you to take him back?” Desirée’s hands were clasped together like she was praying for it to be true.
“Basically.”
Desirée squealed and Daphne glared at her.
“It’s romantic!” Desirée said. “They’ve overcome obstacles to be together.”
“That sounds really fucking stressful, Evelyn,” Daphne said. “Are you sure you want to get married tomorrow?”
“Gods, you really are like your brother. Yes, I want to marry Leo. Alexander. I love him, whatever his name is.”
Daphne snorted. “All right. You’re crazy, but all right.”
“Isn’t love always a little bit crazy?” Evelyn countered.
“Carrowmore must have even more romance books than we do.”
Desirée spun toward the guards. “Rory! Are you from Carrowmore, too?”
“Yes, Lady Desirée,” Rory called back. “I was a guard for the Kennedy family.”
“Do you have Fire magic like Evelyn?” Desirée left her sister’s side to approach him.
Rory did the same, abandoning a visibly annoyed Simon. “No, I have Water magic.”
“Can you show me?” Desirée’s smile was audible in her voice.
The professional facade slipped from Rory’s face.
He raised a hand and a stream of water coiled around Desirée like a snake.
The water stilled and stayed in place without actually touching her.
She ran her fingers through the twists of water, playing with the gravity-defying surface tension.
Rory released the magic, causing the water to splash at her feet.
Desirée jumped in surprise before falling into a fit of laughter.
Rory couldn’t smile any wider if he tried.
“I know they just met,” Evelyn whispered to Daphne, “but I think he would give her the whole ocean if she wanted it.”
Daphne pursed her lips. “That’s a dangerous game to play with Damien nearby.”
Evelyn glanced at Damien, who was indeed watching the pair carefully. “What will he do?”
“That depends on Rory. He’s your guard. Do you trust him?”
“Of course.”
“Then as long as he doesn’t do anything stupid, he’ll be fine.”
Rory gathered more water and split it into several fist-sized portions, which transformed into fish and swam through the air around Desirée.
Daphne tsked. “That girl will fall for anything. She acts like she hasn’t grown up around illusions. This is just Vision magic that will get her dress wet!”
“You aren’t even a little bit impressed?” Evelyn asked.
“I like your Fire magic better. What can you even do with Water?”
“Wash away debris, or bring something toward you in a wave. Weaken porous materials so you can break through them. Create a distraction while you escape. Drown or desiccate your enemies, depending on which way the water is flowing.”
Daphne was appalled. “What are they teaching princesses in your kingdom?”
Evelyn shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. But Carrowmore armies rely on magic more than yours do. Damien could beat any of our soldiers with a sword, but only if he can get out of a flooding pit or past a fiery tornado.”
“Maybe don’t mention to Damien how many different ways Rory could kill Desirée with Water magic.”
“Maybe he should know how many ways Rory can protect her with Water.”
Rory’s water-fish changed into small birds that fluttered overhead. Desirée gazed up at them, but Rory’s eyes stayed on her.
“Can you hear Auditory illusions?” Daphne asked.
“No, I can’t sense any illusions. Why?”
“Desirée is making the birds sing.”
“Oh! I wish I could hear it. They look happy, don’t they?”
Daphne put a hand on her hip. “I don’t think I’ve ever watched people fall in love before. It’s weird, right?”
“It’s sweet,” Evelyn mused. “I doubt they even remember we’re here.”
Rory continued to dazzle Desirée. He briefly surrounded them with a wall of swirling water but must’ve felt Damien’s glare burn through it. The spectacle changed into ascending rain droplets, allowing clear sightlines around them.
Leo, Damien, and Nicolas approached Evelyn and Daphne. They snagged Simon on the way, pulling him into the group.
“We seem to be down a guard and a lady all of a sudden,” Nicolas said.
“We’ll see how long that lasts,” Damien grumbled.
“Let them have their fun,” Daphne insisted. “Of all the people Desirée might need your protection from, I don’t think Rory is one of them.”
“I don’t know. You can’t trust anyone from Carrowmore.”
Evelyn shot sparks in Damien’s direction.
He smirked at her. “Thank you for making my point.”
Leo wrapped an arm around Evelyn. “Don’t upset your queen, Captain Fontaine.”
“She’s not a queen yet. Not until tomorrow. I’ll harass guests as I please.”
“Could you wait until I’m off duty to threaten the princess?” Simon begged. “I’m on my own here.”
“Don’t act like you wouldn’t be just as useless if Josephine were on this beach,” Damien said.
A hint of a smile crossed Simon’s face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I take my responsibilities seriously.”
“Should I call for her so we can test my theory? I’m pretty sure she’s stationed at the front door today.”
“Who is Josephine?” Evelyn asked.
“One of the female guards,” Damien said. “Not sure how Simon got so lucky with that one.”
Simon winked. “You’d be surprised what Taste magic can do.”
Daphne had to turn away to get her giggling under control.
“Apparently, not as much as godsdamned Water.” Damien scowled at Rory and Desirée again.
“Tell Rory to get back to work if you’re so upset about it,” Nicolas suggested.
“I can’t,” Damien whined. “Do you see how happy Desirée looks? It’s disgusting.”
Rory had gathered enough water in Desirée’s hair that it floated around her like she was submerged.
“Damien,” Evelyn said innocently, “can your Auditory magic make a lady feel like a mermaid?”
“You don’t get an opinion. You can’t even hear my illusions.” Damien straightened. “Wait, how is that going to work when you get married? You’re taking all of Leo’s magic, right? What are you going to do with Perceptual magic when you can’t see illusions?”
“What do you mean she’s taking his magic?” Daphne asked. “I thought only kings did that?”
“We found a spell that makes it go both ways,” Evelyn explained. “He will get Elemental magic and I’ll get Perceptual magic. But… that’s a good point. I’m not sure how illusions will work.”
“Does that mean you will get all of the Elemental abilities, too, since Alexander will have them?” Nicolas asked.
Evelyn nodded. “Even if I can’t actually use illusions, I’ll still add Water, Air, and Earth.”
Damien sighed. “Not more Water magic.”
“That’s amazing!” Daphne said. “Evelyn, did you mention having a brother in Carrowmore?”
“No,” Damien growled.
“It’s just a question!”
“No. No way. It was a mistake introducing the two of you.”
Evelyn smiled conspiratorially at Daphne. “Too late now.”
Desirée’s laughter carried over to them, and Damien hung his head in defeat.
Is this what my life will be like after the wedding? Laughing with Nicolas, Damien, and his sisters. Teasing my guards as they fall in love, too. I think I’ll be happy here.