Chapter 61
Maybe
Evelyn and Damien spent the afternoon wandering through Lochmatten’s castle. They rarely came across a locked door, and there seemed to be more libraries than bathrooms. One library had no windows and only magic-based lighting in order to protect the heavy tomes.
“These are ancient,” Damien said in awe, carefully opening one of the books. “Wendell probably wrote them as a child.”
“What language is that?” Evelyn asked.
“Hell if I know.”
Another library gave Evelyn goosebumps and an icy tingling up her spine.
The air was heavy and cold, like they were under a frozen lake without getting wet.
There were no living things inside the room, not even a neglected succulent.
But there was an overwhelming sensation of being watched.
Evelyn and Damien could have been standing in the center of a crowded arena and felt just as many eyes on them.
“Nope,” Damien decided, dragging Evelyn from the room. “That’s fucking haunted.”
They didn’t find Haydn’s tower library, but they did come across the ballroom he had shown her in a vision. Evelyn recognized the row of high windows. The polished stone floor and wood-paneled walls were cozier than the similar space at the palace.
“This might sound dumb,” Evelyn said, “but this place feels like it’s meant for drinking beer instead of wine. You know?”
Damien chuckled. “There was a lot of that during the war.”
“I can’t picture a war happening here. It’s too peaceful.”
“That’s exactly what we fought to protect. The battles were mostly along the northeastern shore. I’d be curious to see if that area has been rebuilt or abandoned.” Damien’s eyes went dark and distant with memories.
Evelyn wanted to draw him back. “And how many men and women did you seduce during your time here?”
Her teasing worked and Damien smiled. “What can I say? I’m irresistible in leather armor!”
He grabbed Evelyn’s waist and spun her around like they had danced at the ball. She laughed cheerfully and Damien beamed at her.
Music started playing, but the sound was muffled. “Where is that music coming from?”
Evelyn nearly toppled over because of how suddenly Damien stopped dancing.
“You can hear it?” he asked.
“Yes, but it’s quiet, like it’s coming from outside.”
“No, Evelyn. It’s an illusion. The music is mine.”
“Then how can I hear it?”
“I don’t know. Maybe your Perceptual magic is kicking in.”
“Haydn once told me that he can tell when there’s an illusion, but the effect is dulled. Is that what’s happening?”
Damien stared at her intently. “Tell me what you hear.”
A series of new sounds appeared one after the other. Evelyn listed off what she heard. “Birds chirping… A piano… Thunder… Screaming—gods, Damien, you’re going to scare everyone… Laughter.” Evelyn rolled her eyes. “Trees rustling?… Dogs barking.”
Rory and Simon came in from the hallway to investigate the Auditory chaos.
“You can hear that now?” Rory asked.
Evelyn grinned. “It all sounds like I’m listening through a wall, but… yes!”
“We have to try something else,” Damien said excitedly. He took her hand and rushed out of the room.
They made their way back to the kitchen, where an amused member of staff greeted them. “Are you hungry again already? Dinner will be ready soon.”
“May I have one apple, please?” Damien asked with a heavy dose of charm.
The woman fulfilled his request and sent them to the dining room. Damien set the apple on the table and found a knife to chop it into six pieces. He had started to use his dagger, but Evelyn yelled at him about cleanliness.
“Simon, can you change these into different flavors?” Damien requested. “Strong flavors, since everything is muted for her.”
“Sure.” Simon waved his hand over the apple, which was leaking juice onto the tabletop.
Evelyn picked up one slice at a time and hesitantly took a small bite from each. “Black coffee… Oh, that one is sour!… Ugh, fish shouldn’t have that texture… Oranges… Is that just salt?… This is sweet and bitter. Dark chocolate!”
Simon preened, while Rory hadn’t stopped laughing since the fish flavor.
“What’s all the fuss about?”
Leo stood in the doorway with a curious expression.
I guess he isn’t angry anymore. How does he move on so easily? He goes from mad to unbothered like it’s nothing. Do they teach that to princes?
“I can sense illusions now!” Evelyn said proudly. “I can hear Damien’s music, and Simon changed the flavor of an apple. All of it is subtle, not like what the rest of you experience, but it’s there!”
Leo cocked his head, and a striped cat materialized on the floor.
“Daffodil! She’s transparent!” Evelyn sank to her knees and the cat padded over, tail high in the air.
“You’ve met Sergeant Whiskers?” Damien asked.
“I introduced her to Daffodil before the wedding,” Leo said.
“It’s like she’s a ghost!” Evelyn tried and failed to pet the blurry, incorporeal creature. She looked up at Leo again. “You’re glowing!”
“I am?” Leo asked.
Evelyn stood to see him more closely. “Yes. There’s a faint, sky-blue light around you. Is that your illusion?”
The glow disappeared and the guards jumped. Instead of the blond man they were used to, Leo had his natural dark hair and blue eyes.
“What the fuck just happened?” Rory asked.
“I heard you could do that!” Simon accused.
“This is what I actually look like,” Leo explained. “But I have to keep up the royal appearance.”
Rory pointed to Evelyn. “This is how you’ve seen him this whole time? That explains a few things.”
“But”—Evelyn turned to Damien—“why couldn’t I see the illusions right after the wedding? Or even yesterday in Pointe-Rosemère?”
Leo frowned. “You went to the city yesterday?”
Damien shrugged. “Maybe your body needed a couple days to figure out how the illusions work. Or…” He trailed off, an odd expression overtaking his face as he thought through something.
“Damien?” Evelyn prompted.
He blinked and the expression cleared. “Maybe coming here strengthened your magic. Who knows?”
“When did it start?” Leo asked.
“I was dancing with Damien and I could hear the music he made,” Evelyn recounted.
“Why were you dancing with Damien?”
Shit. I should have modified that story.
“She was being a brat, so I made her dizzy as punishment,” Damien lied. “I think that means I get all the credit for her Perceptual magic developing today.”
“No, you don’t,” Evelyn argued.
“Why not? You were touching me when your magic kicked in. I must be something special.”
“Maybe it was a warning to stay away from you!”
“You would miss me.”
“You just called me a brat!”
“You are a brat.”
“You’re an asshole,” Evelyn snapped.
Damien smirked. “Love you too, Princess.”
“Fontaine,” Leo warned.
Evelyn blushed, having forgotten her husband was there.
Being a wife is not coming to me as naturally as I’d hoped.
Leo was glowing again, the illusion hiding his true features but not his frustration.
Damien was unapologetic. “Yes, Your Majesty?”
“We haven’t tried Aromatic magic yet,” Simon interrupted. “Josephine could help us with that.”
“That’s a great idea!” Evelyn agreed. “Leo?”
The king was still glaring at a grinning Damien.
“Leo!” Evelyn repeated. “Let’s go!”
The five of them went to find Josephine. She filled the air with the scents of flowers, garbage, and roasting meat. Evelyn could smell all of it, albeit faintly.
Someone on staff notified them that it was time for dinner and led them back to the dining room. Damien decided he was invited to the formal meal since Leo wasn’t actively threatening him anymore. Moeller, Heinrich, and Haydn sat on one side of the table, with Leo, Evelyn, and Damien on the other.
“Where are the Councilwomen?” Evelyn asked.
“In a different part of the castle,” Heinrich said. “They rarely deign to eat with us.”
“I knew they were smart,” Damien said through a mouthful of food.
Heinrich eyed Evelyn’s gold necklace. “The women on this isle have always been clever.”
Evelyn bristled under his gaze and fidgeted with the chain around her neck. The locket was still humming almost imperceptibly.
“You can meet the Legislative Council tomorrow,” Moeller announced.
Leo straightened. “Will they be helping us figure out the symbols?”
“No,” Moeller said flatly. “They have better things to do.”
“What about Wendell?” Evelyn asked. “Will he climb out of his hidey-hole in the morning?”
Haydn snorted and Heinrich choked on his bite of food.
Moeller leaned back in his chair and raised his glass to her. “Here’s to hoping. If not, we can throw you in with him.”
“We just want this matter resolved,” Leo said tactfully. “We are putting our faith in you and Councilor Wendell.”
“He will translate what you brought us,” Moeller assured them. “The sooner he does, the sooner you can all return to your own kingdom. Everybody wins.”
“How charitable of you,” Evelyn grumbled.
Moeller lifted a brow at her. “I was going to offer to teach you and the king how to wield your seven new magical abilities. But perhaps you don’t want my help.”
Evelyn’s cheeks reddened and she bit her tongue.
“What’s the point?” Heinrich laughed. “Kings keep dying on that continent. Why spend time teaching them magic when there will be a new king next week? I swear, the kingdoms spin in circles like a dog chasing its tail.”
How much trouble it would cause if the napkin in his lap caught fire?
“There won’t be a new king,” Leo said firmly. “If I’m killed, Evelyn will remain in power.”
All three councilors stared directly at Leo.
That seems like a bad sign.
“How could that be?” Moeller asked.
“We made some changes,” Leo explained. “Queen Evelyn has equal rank on the throne. She inherits the kingdom if something happens to me.”
Heinrich glanced at Haydn, who wore a devilish smile.
Is Haydn happy for me? Or is that reaction something else?
“That’s very progressive of you,” Moeller said, but his words were more question than compliment.
“Evelyn is an excellent queen,” Leo said.
“When she’s quiet,” Damien muttered.
Evelyn kicked him under the table.
Damien grunted. “I take it back.”
The rest of dinner went smoother. Leo, Moeller, and Heinrich managed to discuss only boring topics at length. Evelyn didn’t say much, feeling oddly out of place. Damien and Haydn were actually having fun retelling old stories.
I didn’t expect them to be so friendly after how badly their last encounter went. But Damien isn’t worried about protecting me right now.
I’m more surprised at how well Haydn is ignoring me. He hasn’t even glanced at me since dinner started. It’s not that I want his attention exactly, but I had expected it. Instead, Haydn is pretending I’m not even at the table.
Haydn made one exception to this charade after the dessert course was served.
Evelyn’s wineglass was empty and she was about to ask Damien to pass the bottle.
Without breaking his conversation with Damien or acknowledging Evelyn at all, Haydn picked up her empty glass, refilled it, and set it back down in front of her.
Damien clearly noticed but didn’t comment on it.
“Thank you, Haydn,” Evelyn said quietly.
Heinrich and Moeller paused at the sound of their colleague’s first name.
Dammit. I should’ve called him Councilor Ritter in front of everyone.
Haydn flashed Evelyn a hint of a smile before continuing his story about visiting Velletri. Allegedly, he’d spent two days believing he was a bird because he upset a fae with Mind Control abilities.
Evelyn could feel Leo’s eyes on her. She reached out and held his hand under the table, but he didn’t relax.
Once they returned to their room after dinner, Leo went straight to bed. Evelyn stayed up for a while to read a book but struggled to concentrate long enough to get past a few pages.
We need out of this castle. Leo and I will only drift farther apart while we’re in Lochmatten. Wendell better translate everything soon.