57. Succession
Succession
Hannah came to Evelyn’s room at dinnertime with a tray of food for them.
They climbed on the bed and retold old stories from before their father became a king.
Like the time Hannah accidentally got drunk at a party because she didn’t realize the overly sweet flavor of the punch covered the taste of alcohol.
Turned out, she was a flirty drunk. Hannah avoided punch—and Lord Moran’s eldest son—ever since.
It feels like it’s been forever since I’ve had fun with my sister. I hope this isn’t our last chance. Now that I’m married, I’ll stay in Gryon and Hannah will go back to Carrowmore. I’m going to miss her and Rowan.
Hours passed and the sisters talked until they couldn’t stop yawning, always managing to avoid any heavy conversation. Hannah returned to her own room.
Evelyn was about to fall asleep when there was a knock. She opened the door, both hoping and dreading Leo would be in the hallway, but it was Damien. He winced at her expression.
“I so love when you look disappointed to see me,” he said, stepping into the room.
“Sorry. I thought you were Leo.”
“Leo’s not here. He left a couple hours ago. He didn’t tell you?”
A knot of anxiety formed in Evelyn’s stomach. “No. I haven’t seen him since this morning. Where did he go?”
“I don’t know. Leo spent most of the day in his office, then took off. He glared at me the one time I tried to talk to him.” Something showed on Evelyn’s face, and Damien narrowed his eyes at her. “You wouldn’t happen to know why Leo wanted to rip my head off, would you?”
“I…”
“Evelyn?”
She spoke her sins slowly. “I was angry and told him I should’ve married you instead because you respect me more than he does.”
Damien’s eyes widened, then he lowered his head to rub his temples. “Yep. That would do it.”
“And then I set his boots on fire.”
Damien glanced up again. “The boots he was wearing?”
“Yes.”
“And you’re surprised he didn’t stop by to kiss you good night?”
“Damien!”
“Sorry! You ran away earlier, too. Both of you need time to cool off,” Damien reasoned. “Get some sleep and talk to him in the morning. Leo has to come back if we’re supposed to go to Lochmatten tomorrow.”
“What if he doesn’t let me go?” Evelyn worried aloud. “What if he forces me to stay here?”
“Is setting his clothes on fire not an effective strategy to get what you want?”
“As much as I enjoyed it, I don’t think I can keep doing that.”
Damien gripped Evelyn’s shoulders. “You are a queen. If Leo tries to leave you here, find a faster ship of your own.”
“And whose ship will you be on?”
He cocked his head. “I guess we’ll find out tomorrow.”
Evelyn shrugged out of his hold.
Damien drummed his fingers on the back of the couch. “Funny that you wait until after the wedding to start spreading rumors about me.”
“I’m not spreading rumors,” Evelyn argued.
“What did you tell Viviane this afternoon? That you begged me to love you?”
“You were being an ass! She’s right, you like bossing everyone around.”
“And how often do I give bad orders? How many times have my instincts been wrong?”
“You think very highly of yourself.”
“You told your husband you want to marry me.”
Evelyn blushed. “That’s not what I said!”
Damien smirked. “I should get out of your room before the king comes home. Good night, Princess.”
“Evelyn?”
She pried her eyes open, woken from a fitful sleep. Leo was sitting on the edge of the bed, fully dressed and holding a sheet of parchment. The oil lamp on her nightstand had been lit. The dark sky glowed with the earliest hint of dawn.
Evelyn sat up. “Leo? Where have you been?”
“I want you to trust me, Evelyn. I want you to feel respected here. I know there’s a lot that I need to get better at, and I will. I thought maybe this would be a good start.” Leo handed her the parchment.
“What is this?” she asked.
“It’s my promise not to hurt you again.”
By the order of King Alexander Ducasse,
The Kingdom of Gryon will honor a change in the law of succession within the royal family.
Effective immediately, the ruling King and Queen will be granted equal rank within the kingdom.
Upon the death of one monarch, the other shall remain in power.
An heir (by blood or appointment) will not take the throne until the preceding King and Queen both die or abdicate.
At the time of this writing, the change in law means that Queen Evelyn would remain as the sole ruler of Gryon should King Alexander be returned to the gods.
Evelyn read the proclamation twice. “Is this real?”
“Yes. As soon as you sign your name.”
Four signatures had already been inked at the bottom of the parchment.
King Alexander Ducasse
Lord Nicolas Auclair
Lord Robert Barbeau
Lord Grégory Lafleur
“The lords signed it?”
“That’s where I’ve been all night,” Leo explained. “I needed the approval of at least three courts to make the change official. I skipped Lord Stuart, but I traveled to the others.”
“They all agreed to it?”
“Lord Nicolas didn’t hesitate. Lord Robert berated me for waking him up, but he liked the idea once I got him to listen. Lord Grégory had some questions, but I convinced him in the end. I just got back to the palace.”
“You did all of this in one night? But… why?”
A bit of light left Leo’s eyes. “Because I love you, Evelyn.”
“I set you on fire!”
“Yes, I remember.”
“I thought you would send me home to Carrowmore.”
“This is your home. But I made you feel like a prisoner because I was scared. This”—Leo pointed to the parchment—“means I can’t make that mistake again. You are not under my command. I’m sorry I got that so wrong yesterday.”
Tears stung her eyes.
He does care! He does want me at his side! But this… Is this too much?
Queens in Gryon have never been allowed to rule on their own.
Their power and influence only last as long as the king is alive.
That’s one of the biggest differences between the two kingdoms. Gryon requires a king, while Carrowmore’s throne is given to the eldest heir of the royal bloodline, regardless of gender.
But even in Carrowmore, a spouse would never rule after the reigning monarch’s death.
When my brother is king, the throne will pass on to his firstborn, if he has children, or to Hannah.
What Leo is offering me is unheard of on the continent.
“Will you sign it?” he asked.
“You’re handing me a kingdom! We can’t predict what will happen tomorrow or the day after that! The Kennedy family, and your brother, and your father—”
“I know. If something happens to me, I want to know the kingdom is safe in your hands.”
“I don’t know how to run a kingdom!”
“I don’t either. We’ll figure it out together, or you will. Please sign it.”
Evelyn read the words again, as if they might have reformed into something new.
I screamed at him this morning. I said horrible, awful things to him. And he’s still willing to give me this. If Leo is trusting me, I can trust him, too.
“Okay.”
Leo let out a breath, then grabbed a pen from the desk. Evelyn’s hands were shaking when she set the parchment on the nightstand and added her name.
Queen Evelyn Ducasse