Chapter 72 #2
She’s alive. She needs a Healer, but she’s alive.
Haydn spun Evelyn around to face him. “Very impressive, my love.”
“You tried to kill my sister!”
“But it seems you saved her. No harm done.”
Evelyn bucked and tried to kick him, but Haydn held firm. “No, no, no, Evelyn. You need to learn not to fight me. You got lucky with Hannah, but I won’t let you save another one.”
She froze. “Don’t hurt them!”
Haydn gazed at her sympathetically, like Evelyn was a child asking him not to throw away her favorite toys. “Love, you’re upset. I think I know a way to make you feel better. You’ve been missing your brother, right?”
“Leave Rowan alone!”
“If you promise not to do anything stupid while I’m gone, I’ll promise not to hurt him.”
“Please—”
A gust of wind blew through the ballroom and Haydn vanished.
“Evelyn!” Leo cried out, earning a swift kick in the back from his captor.
“Don’t move!” Damien shouted. “None of you fucking move! This isn’t over!”
“Where the hell did he go?” Rory asked.
“He must be able to travel with magic,” Damien guessed.
Leo noticed the lack of surprise on Evelyn’s face. “You knew, didn’t you? Why didn’t you tell anyone?”
“I couldn’t—” Evelyn started.
Haydn reappeared with another gust of wind. He brought a man with him, holding the newcomer by his bright red hair.
“Rowan!”
Haydn released his grip and Prince Rowan crumpled onto the floor. He was naked except for a pair of boxers. Blood was splattered across his chest.
Evelyn kneeled in front of her brother. “Are you okay?”
Rowan blinked at her. “Evvy?”
“What happened to you? Where did all this blood come from?” Evelyn searched him for injuries but couldn’t see any.
Rowan’s eyes were dazed and terrified, like he had been woken from a nightmare. His attention shifted to Haydn, whose right hand and forearm were drenched in blood.
“He killed Emily,” Rowan said. “He tore her fucking throat out!”
Rowan watched his girlfriend die, and it’s all my fault.
Rowan leapt to his feet and blasted Fire at Haydn, but the flames faded to nothing before they could touch him. Undeterred, Rowan threw himself forward, ready to rip Haydn apart.
Evelyn grabbed her brother’s arm. “It won’t work! We can’t hurt him!”
“Good girl!” Haydn praised. “You’re learning so fast.”
Rowan finally noticed all the other people in the room. His gaze caught on the blade at his father’s throat and his half-dead sister on the floor. “Father?”
King Tristan was losing control, overwhelmed by all three of his children in danger. His captor was visibly annoyed by the king’s fidgeting. “Get your sister out of here, Rowan!”
“No!” Damien yelled again. “You’ll get us all killed!”
Rowan glanced down at where Evelyn clung to his arm. “What the fuck is happening, Evvy?”
“I’m so sorry,” Evelyn cried.
“I think this reunion has lasted long enough,” Haydn said. “Come here.”
Evelyn shook her head. “Don’t hurt him.”
Haydn cocked his head. “Everything is negotiable, love. But I’m less inclined to be generous when you refuse to follow simple directions.”
She made herself let go of Rowan and approached Haydn. He pushed a lock of hair behind her ear, then slid his fingers down her cheek and around her neck. His gentle touch smeared blood across Evelyn’s skin.
“My queen,” Haydn whispered lovingly. “Beautiful and fierce.”
Evelyn wanted to vomit on the monster in front of her, in addition to several more violent actions she had in mind.
The man who had been holding Hannah moved forward to restrain Rowan.
“Don’t fight him!” Damien warned.
Rowan fumed but allowed himself to be shoved to his knees next to Hannah. The captor pressed a sword to his throat much more aggressively than he had with the princess.
“You put the dead guards in the attic,” Damien said, his voice calm but firm. “You moved in and out with magic, like you did just now.”
“Yes. It’s also how I acquired gifts for Evelyn.” Haydn lifted the necklace out of her nightgown, and the locket shone with its usual gold and red light.
King Tristan let out an agonized cry. “That was Katrina’s!”
“And I had quite a bit of fun tearing your room apart to find it.”
Father received a report that someone had ransacked his bedroom in Carrowmore. It was Haydn searching for this necklace!
“And that’s also how you got into King Gerard’s room,” Damien added. “That’s how you were able to kill him without being seen.”
“Indeed.”
“How did you do it without waking Queen Camille?” Damien sounded genuinely curious.
Camille’s eyes brightened as fear pushed aside her anger.
“I had help with that, actually.” Haydn pivoted to Evelyn’s side and called out, “Time to say hello!”
Councilor Heinrich and his wife, Tasia, entered the ballroom. Heinrich’s expression was smug while Tasia smiled prettily, her blonde curls bouncing over her shoulders.
“What is this about?” Leo asked.
“Some of you already know that Tasia is from Velletri,” Haydn said. “She controls sleep and dreams. Camille slept through her husband’s brutal murder because Tasia kept her locked in a nightmare.”
Camille’s complexion soured and she swayed in place, leaning too close to the sword at her neck.
“Dreams?” Evelyn’s voice was barely a whisper, but it brought Haydn’s attention back to her.
“That’s how we were able to rip Leo out of your bed tonight without waking you,” he explained. Then he added in a low tone only she could hear, “And how I was able to fuck you in my library in Lochmatten.”
Bile rose in Evelyn’s throat.
I knew that wasn’t a normal dream.
“Did you wonder why no one is coming to your rescue?” Tasia asked, her voice like a song. “All of your guards are asleep! Anyone who isn’t in this room is trapped in a dream.”
“Clever,” Damien complimented. “Your treachery went undetected and you’ve isolated us. Tricksters are finally figuring out strategy.”
Tasia scowled at him, displeased that he wasn’t flirting with her anymore.
“You’ve always had a smart mouth, Fontaine,” Haydn said. “Is that why you like him so much, Evelyn?”
“Damien doesn’t hold my friends and family hostage,” Evelyn sneered.
“Remind me to show you how much blood he spilled during the war. Did Fontaine tell you that he murdered my cousins? They were only children.”
“I was fighting for Lochmatten,” Damien argued. “You know that!”
“And if you make it out of here alive, I’ll find a way to use your skills again.”
“The four dead soldiers,” Evelyn said. “Was that you, too?”
Haydn shrugged. “Of course.”
“What about the messages you left in blood?” Damien asked. “They were behind illusions, but you don’t have that magic.”
“I don’t, but there’s no shortage of Vision fae around here. Do they count as allies if I threaten their lives?” Haydn chuckled at the memory.
“Gods, help us,” King Tristan whispered.
Haydn turned to him. “You should be grateful, Your Majesty. You wouldn’t have a crown if I hadn’t killed the Kennedys.”
The blood drained from King Tristan’s face.
“They were a family!” Evelyn yelled. “King Nolan and Queen Sophia, the twin princes and… the girls were only children!”
“I would’ve done it sooner if I’d known you were waiting for me,” Haydn said sweetly.
“Why?” Evelyn asked. “What’s the point in all of this? What do you want?”
“I want the continent. I want the kingdoms under my rule. And I want you at my side, gorgeous.”
“What about Heinrich?” Damien interrupted. “Why is he here?”
“Heinrich has a particular talent for explosive magic,” Haydn explained. “He didn’t quite kill everyone in the bar that night, but his efforts were a success overall.”
“You caused the explosion in the city?” Leo asked, horrified.
To demonstrate, Heinrich clapped his hands once and all the glass windows along the back wall shattered. The patio was burning with fire that would soon spread to the garden.
Evelyn flinched at the cuts along her arms and legs from falling glass. Haydn waved a hand over her, removing shards of glass from her hair and skin. He even cleaned up the broken glass around her feet so she wouldn’t step on it.
Sweat rolled down King Tristan’s forehead. “Councilor Heinrich, our lands are allies. Stop this now!”
“I’m afraid I won’t be doing that, Your Majesty,” Heinrich said, the royal title dripping in acid.
“Is the entire High Council behind this?” Leo asked, his eyes flitting between Haydn and Heinrich.
“Of course not.” Heinrich scoffed. “Moeller and Wendell are too…”
“Boring,” Tasia finished for him. “They would sit with their books until the end of time while Lochmatten wasted away.”
“Exactly,” Heinrich said. “But Ritter and I agree that our isle cannot simply be a satellite of the kingdoms any longer. Lochmatten needs to come into its own power, which means bringing the kingdoms to heel.”
Damien strained against the sword in front of his neck. “This is about the war? Heinrich, the kingdoms came to Lochmatten’s aid. Our armies fought side by side for you! Without the kingdoms’ intervention, Lochmatten would be Trasmyr’s leashed pet. Why in all the hells would you want revenge on us?”
Heinrich waved his hand dismissively. “Yes, yes. You gallantly rode in and saved the day, but with flames and earthquakes. The kingdoms’ armies broke the siege, but half of Oberhorn burned.
Entire districts were flattened or flooded.
We lost labs and libraries that had been in use for thousands of years!
There are entire forms of new magic at the bottom of a sinkhole! I’m sure you remember that, Fontaine.”
“Not to mention the damage created by illusions that went too far,” Tasia added. “Vitzner has been abandoned since the war. Thanks to Gryon, any cow that eats grass from that valley gives milk that tastes like spoiled radishes. And the vineyards that used to be there? Ugh. Such a waste.”
“Things would have been worse if Trasmyr won!” Damien said incredulously.