Chapter 63
CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE
Evelyn woke to the sensation of someone gently wiggling her foot. She smelled coffee. She cracked an eye to see she was back aboard the Rising Dawn in the quarters she shared with Aiden. He was standing next to the bed, latte in hand, smiling down at her.
“Please tell me I didn’t dream the last twenty-four hours, and I don’t have to go through them again,” she said.
She pushed herself up on her elbows before reaching out for the mug Aiden held.
Someone had removed the pins and braids from her hair, and it was cascading down her shoulders. He tucked a lock behind her ear.
“You didn’t dream the last twenty-four hours, Your Highness,” he said, winking at her.
Evelyn groaned. “Oh, for fuck’s sake. This is going to get real old, real quick.”
He laughed as he walked around to his side of the bed. He hopped in and extended an arm for her to cuddle under. She scooted over gingerly, careful not to spill her drink.
“Vinnie’s ship landed last night after you were out. She hit the ground running, coordinating all the inaugural activities. She’s posed some interesting questions as to when to thaw out the rest of your family.”
“I bet.”
“Elenor very politely told her to fuck off. She said you’re queen, you get to decide if you want her touching anything.”
Evelyn’s chest swelled. Her emotions were a twister.
That Elenor was looking out for her best interests while she slept was overwhelmingly kind.
She was thrilled they’d all made it out of the night relatively unscathed.
She was dying to get more information about the whole Veselko/Pearl situation.
She dreaded seeing her family. She could not wait to see her family.
And horror at what she’d done to Emil was starting to sink in.
The tower of responsibilities looming over her was daunting, to say the least. Life was easier when you could bury your nose in a book. Now she was expected to make decisions that would affect a planet’s worth of people.
I am not qualified for this.
She sipped her coffee, organizing her thoughts. Swallowing, she rested her head against Aiden’s shoulder.
“Lots to do,” she said.
“Mmm. I believe Nannette has a list of suggestions,” Aiden said. “You’ve also received a few transmissions.”
“Last chance to back out,” she offered.
Aiden snorted. “Dollface, that ship has sailed.”
Evelyn smiled and scooted over to place her coffee cup on the nightstand. She settled back in the cradle of his arms and took his hand in both of hers. She traced the map of veins on the back of it, savoring the feel of his skin under her fingertips.
Be brave.
“I love you,” she said, and joy blossomed in her chest. She loved him.
Head over heels, burn down the world for you, love.
The admission made her feel lighter than air, like she was floating on the power of her happiness alone.
Then she realized she wasn’t touching the surface of the mattress anymore.
Aiden maneuvered her above him, taking a firm grip on her hips as he settled her atop him. The grin on his face was wider than she’d ever seen it, and those lethal eye crinkles were on full display.
“What was that? I seem to have had a momentary fit of deafness.”
Evelyn leaned down and braced her hands against his chest. She lowered her face, their noses almost touching.
How’s this for eye contact?
“I love you.”
“And I love you,” he replied. His hands slid up her sides, and he pulled her down into a kiss that made her head spin. His lips left hers to trail kisses across her jaw, to her ear. “Endlessly, Evelyn. I love you endlessly.”
Evelyn had called a meeting in the lobby of the Rising Dawn. For one, she had no idea what the state of the receiving room in the Tanalian palace was at this point. The last she remembered, it had been sort of aflame in places. The rug needed a thorough steam cleaning, at the very least.
For another, there was an espresso machine on the ship.
The crew was almost entirely in attendance, as well as Mathias and Corvinia. Veselko was still medicated and resting in his quarters. Nannette had given Pearl what amounted to a cavity search and had allowed her to wait at his bedside while he slept.
Evelyn and Veronique had dragged the tables into a big circle, and Aiden had wheeled out his much-loved whiteboard.
Tariel had found more pastries in the depths of the ship’s kitchen.
They sat around the table, nibbled on croissants and sipped espresso.
Elenor and Lillian glared at Corvinia. Nannette refused to make eye contact with Mathias, but also kept stealing glances at him.
Oh, shit. I have to call this stupid meeting to order.
Evelyn cleared her throat. They all stopped chatting and slurping their drinks and looked to her. Elenor gave her an encouraging smile. Aiden gripped her thigh under the table. Her cheeks warmed.
“Right,” she said. “Corrie, you once gave me a really good piece of advice. You told me to think things all the way through, not to get hung up on the little bumps. I’ve been doing a lot of that.”
Corvinia gave her an unsure smile. Evelyn returned it.
She hated the simmering tension between them.
She wasn’t even all that upset with Corvinia for choosing the well-being of the planet over her personal safety.
It actually was a huge testament to how much faith she had in Evelyn.
But the lack of trust in her had hurt. Not knowing the whole plan was a slight that couldn’t be ignored.
She couldn’t be a child in Corrie’s eyes one moment and an equal the next.
But that was a conversation for another day.
“I want to present Tanalia with articles to abolish the monarchy. This whole mess would never have happened if the Compromise had been updated to account for modernity. The galaxy has evolved leaps and bounds since it was written. Clinging to an archaic document allowed Emil to plunder the planet for nearly a century. It can’t be allowed to happen again.
” She paused, sipped her coffee. “Also, I don’t want to rule a planet. ”
Everyone but Aiden stared back at her in stunned silence.
He just squeezed her thigh again before reaching into his bag and pulling out a thick stack of papers.
They had spent the previous hour writing up an agenda.
How to transfer power back to the people, what order to wake her family in, how to compensate Amplifiers without elevating them to regent status.
Evelyn was immensely grateful that Aiden was a linear thinker; she could never have compiled the stacks of paper on her own in such a short time.
She’d also received a very troubling comm call, but she was going to have to deal with that one when they had a bit more privacy.
Nannette laughed. “Oh, you’re going to love my notes.”
“That being said, it’s going to take a while to get the ball rolling, and until they do, I think the whole monarch thing is going to provide us some interesting opportunities. So, consider yourselves all members of my cabinet. Pick a specialty.”
“Wait, hold on,” Corvinia said. “You want to completely restructure the government?”
“What, like it’s hard?”
Mathias had largely stayed quiet while he watched the crew kick plans around for hours, only piping up to help clarify existing Tanalian law.
Aiden’s whiteboard was full of notes, more than half coming from Nannette.
She really did have good ideas regarding the Compromise.
Every suggestion she made impressed him more than the last.
Then again, everything Nannette did impressed him.
“Let’s take a break,” Aiden said, checking his watch. “Go stretch or something for an hour or so.”
The crew got up from their seats and milled about.
Corvinia wandered up to the observation deck, Lillian and Elenor’s eyes watching her every move.
Mathias was sort of shocked they hadn’t zip-tied her to a chair, but maybe they didn’t want to ruin the finish.
Evelyn waved to Nannette and gestured for her to come sit next to her.
Being nosey, Mathias wandered over to the piano to pretend to examine the songs Tariel had left on the music rest. He had no idea how to read sheet music. The blobs with sticks were interesting, but they meant nothing to his untrained eye.
“I got a really strange message this morning,” Evelyn said to Nannette. “From someone claiming to be your father and demanding your immediate return to the Cygnus colony.”
His heart shattered as Nannette’s face went still, her faint smile fading away. Like she was suddenly carved from marble. Evelyn reached out and grabbed her hand.
“And I want you to understand that that is not something that we are going to allow to happen,” she continued softly.
“He claimed to recognize you from some clip that got picked up. From what I understand, your face didn’t trip any of the recognition software, it’s just .
. . dumb luck. I am so, so sorry. You worked so hard to keep me safe and that exposed you.
I want to return the favor. I’m willing to completely abuse my power to keep you protected, if it comes to that. ”
Mathias stopped pretending to look at the piano. The strong, smart, confident woman he’s spent the last few hours admiring was pale as a sheet. From a spitfire to a deer in the headlights in moments.
Unacceptable.
He crossed back to the table and squatted down next to their chairs.
“I think I know how we’re going to fix this,” he said. He looked at Nannette. “You’re going to hate it.”
Cairn piloted the jump ship for Evelyn and Aiden later that night. They were headed to an orchard miles from the capital. Evelyn had memories of watching the apples swell to life as her father walked the rows of trees with the farmers who owned them.
The ship landed gently, without fanfare. Leave it to smugglers to know how to get around a planet without causing a stir.
Aiden followed Evelyn off the jump ship.
Cairn stayed behind, preferring to read the last few chapters of the novel he had started last week.
Aiden wondered if Cairn ever would get used to the casual use of psychic skills in those around him.
If he was going to be around Tanalians for any length of time, he was going to have to let go of that particular misgiving.
Exposure therapy might be good for him.
Evelyn strolled through the alleys between the trees, reaching out to graze a branch every so often.
Aiden was content to walk with her in silence.
The night air was crisp, scented by the apple blossoms on the trees and the earthy musk of the rich soil beneath their feet.
There was no light pollution out here, and the stars shone brightly, their glow illuminating the path with ease.
“This feels like as good a place as any.” She stopped walking and knelt in the alley, pressing her hands into the soil.
Aiden watched as she was illuminated with that telltale golden glow she emitted when she worked with energy.
Her entire body shimmered as a faint stream of golden light poured from her palms into the ground beneath her.
He watched as Evelyn gave Emil to Tanalia.
The pride he had in his woman, his warrior, his queen was immeasurable.
Eventually, the light faded. The glow dimmed, and Evelyn was merely kneeling in the ground surrounded by lush apple trees, their boughs suddenly heavy with fruit.
The grass that lined the alleys was taller than it had been when Cairn had landed moments ago.
Evelyn rose, brushing off the dirt from her hands and knees.
“You ready to go home, dollface?” Aiden reached out his hand to her.
She grabbed it, smiling up at him as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
“I already am,” she whispered against his lips.
So was he.