Chapter 68 #2
“I knew you could. I just didn’t expect you would throw my own voice at me.”
“What does your voice sound like to other people?”
Damien cocked his head. “What do you mean?”
“The day we met, you talked about using Auditory magic in your voice to get women’s attention. How do you do it?”
“You want to know how I flirt?” Damien raised a brow.
“With magic, yes. You were so surprised when it didn’t work on me that day. I’m curious.”
Damien stared at Evelyn for a few moments, then leaned close and spoke low in her ear. “Come to my room and I’ll show you, Princess.”
Evelyn heard the words from two different voices.
She recognized Damien’s normal tone. But a second voice quietly overlapped his words, and that one held magic.
It wasn’t like Bargains that compelled you to follow directions, or a Trickster fae who could override your free will.
Damien’s magic was a lure, an invitation.
“Oh!” Evelyn said.
“Oh?” Damien asked.
“I can hear it now! The magic part of your voice is bait. It’s like being offered dessert. Tempting, but still a choice.”
Damien looked intrigued. “My voice is tempting to you now?”
Evelyn smacked his arm. “You know how your magic works.”
“It’s interesting to hear it from someone else’s perspective. I’ve never seen an adult discover illusions like this.”
“Growing up in opposite kingdoms makes a difference. It probably wasn’t a normal occurrence to set your siblings’ toys on fire as children.”
“Not at my house, but Daphne would’ve enjoyed that power immensely.”
“We can go to Carrowmore eventually, right? I’m allowed to visit my family?” Evelyn was only half joking.
Damien’s gaze softened. “You’re a queen. You can go wherever you want.”
“But you’ll go with me? Your sisters could come, too.”
“That sounds like fun. Is Leo invited?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t he be?”
“You two don’t seem…” Damien trailed off.
Evelyn bit her lip. “Leo isn’t happy here. Not with Haydn around.”
“Are you happy?”
She didn’t immediately know how to put it into words. “I thought… gods, this is stupid. I thought getting married would help us. We went so long without really committing to each other, and getting married seemed like the end to that problem.”
“But commitment wasn’t the only issue?”
“No. It turns out that crap like trust and communication are also important.”
“Who knew?” Damien teased.
“But we’re trying!” Evelyn’s bracelet cooled, so she rephrased with a little more honesty. “We’re working on trusting each other. Leo gave me the kingdom! I know he loves me. He wants everything to be okay.”
“But something is still wrong.”
“It feels like we don’t fit anymore. Like we’re pieces in different puzzles. I love Leo! I do! But being with him doesn’t feel easy like it used to.”
“When was the last time it felt easy?”
Evelyn pointed at her guards, who were lost in conversation. “In the beginning, I thought we were like Rory and Desirée.”
Damien furrowed his brows at the mention of his sister. “How so?”
“They’re effortless. Rory and Desirée were drawn together that first day. It wasn’t planned or forced. They just knew they wanted to be with each other. That’s what it was like with Leo. It felt right to be with him.”
Damien followed her gaze to where the guards were laughing about something. “Desirée is the daughter of a lord, and Rory is a guard for the royal family. That’s what you wanted with Leo.”
“That’s what I thought we were! I truly believed he was a palace guard. I never cared about being a princess, and I wasn’t looking for a prince.”
“Leo never liked being a prince, and he definitely didn’t want to rule. The two of you have that much in common.”
Evelyn slumped in her seat. “Then why do we feel so different now? If we could fall in love as a guard and lord’s daughter, why can’t we figure out how to love each other as a king and queen?”
“That’s just it, Evelyn. You fell in love with a future king pretending to be a guard. You fell for Leo, and now you’re married to Alexander. Of course that feels different.”
Evelyn had to sit with those words for a few moments, but she knew he was right.
“It goes both ways,” Damien added. “You aren’t the same person Leo fell in love with, either. Queen Evelyn is not the same woman as Lord Tristan’s youngest daughter.”
“What do you mean?”
Damien twisted on the bench to face her directly. “Do you remember the day we found the missing soldiers in the city?”
Evelyn huffed. “I would give all the gold in the kingdom to forget finding four dismembered bodies in an abandoned shop.”
“After that, Evelyn,” Damien said gently. “The first thing Leo did was order me to take you back to the palace. You offered to stay and help, but he said no. So you left with me without arguing.”
“Leo wanted to make sure I was safe.”
“That’s what he said after you found the bodies in the attic, too.”
Evelyn blinked. “That was different.”
“No, it wasn’t. Both in Pointe-Rosemère and at the river house, you discovered dead bodies and Leo sent you away. But the first time it happened, you agreed to it. And the second time, you set his shoes on fire.”
Leo had the same response. Only my reaction changed.
“I trusted Leo in Pointe-Rosemère,” she said. “I knew he was protecting me.”
“You allowed him to make the decision. That isn’t a bad thing, but it isn’t who you are anymore.”
“Except that’s who Leo fell in love with,” Evelyn realized. “The girl who followed directions, not the one who screamed in his face.”
“If Leo just wanted someone compliant, he would’ve married Hannah. He loves you because you’re smart and brave and powerful. But I think you also scare him because he doesn’t know how to protect you anymore.”
“You’re protective of me without locking me in a room.”
“Leo and I have very different definitions of protection. He wants to hide you away from danger, where I want to hand you a sword so you can fight. Metaphorically, of course. I’m absolutely not giving you a sword.”
“Fire is a much better weapon, anyway.”
Damien leaned back on the bench. “Leo has it backward. You’re a hell of a lot more fun now. I like the new Evelyn who sets men on fire when they piss her off.”
She channeled her inner dragon and blew a stream of Fire past her lips.
Damien jerked out of the way before the flames reached his face. “Hey! You’re going to burn my fucking eyebrows off!”
“You said you like my Fire magic.”
“Not against me! I didn’t do anything to deserve being attacked.”
“Except this whole conversation is you saying I told you so about me marrying Leo.”
Damien had the decency to look guilty.
“Dammit,” Evelyn whispered. “What am I supposed to do? We’re already married! I have to fix this.”
“You’re a queen no matter what. Let’s figure out the mystery deaths in the kingdom first, then you can worry about your husband.”
“Leo won’t have a reason to send me away anymore if we stop finding bodies.”
“Love the optimism. Now come on.” Damien held out a hand for her. “Let’s go find Wendell. Maybe the old bastard knows something by now.”