“So you haven’t set any fires since I saw you last?”
Evelyn hesitated, remembering the flowers in her room earlier.
Leo cocked his head. “Really?”
“It was tiny. It’s fine. You didn’t answer my question.”
“What question?”
“Why you ran in here like you were fleeing a monster?”
“Who says that’s not what I was doing?”
Evelyn frowned. “Did the king take his anger out on you?”
Leo blinked. “Why do you ask that?”
“I heard him and Queen Camille arguing earlier. He’s not very happy that Alexander isn’t courting Hannah every hour of the day. Like a prince wouldn’t have anything better to do. I thought maybe you ran into him before he could yell at the prince, and he blew up at you instead.”
“That’s… not too far off, actually,” Leo admitted. “What about you? It’s past midnight. Why are you hiding in the library?”
Evelyn shrugged. “I don’t like my room.”
“Why not?”
She fidgeted with a lock of her curly hair. “It’s silly. It’s not important.”
Leo abruptly moved to the couch, taking the seat closest to her. “Tell me what’s wrong with your room.”
Evelyn sighed. “If I tell you, please don’t laugh.”
“I won’t,” Leo promised.
“It’s the roses.”
“Roses?”
“Every evening, there are roses in my room. I can’t stand the scent. I burn them and open the windows, but I can still smell it.”
Evelyn expected Leo to roll his eyes. But his expression held empathy.
“I don’t like them either,” he said. “There were roses everywhere at m—at Prince Christopher’s funeral. They smell like death to me now.”
“Exactly!” Evelyn cried out. “It was the same at King Nolan’s funeral. It’salwaysroses. Hannah loves them. She says the sweet smell makes sad moments better, but I hate it.”
“What do you like instead?”
“Lavender. As a child, my nanny would put lavender flowers under my pillow to help me sleep.”
Leo gave her a small smile. “I’ll talk to the staff. No more roses.”
“Thank you.”
I guess it pays to be friends with the super attractive not-quite Commander of the Royal Guard.
“Did you say youburnedthe flowers that were in your room?”
“Yes. I got a bit carried away tonight and accidentally broke the vase. There’s probably glass everywhere.” Evelyn groaned.
