“Not too long. What’s with the plant?” Leo eyed it skeptically.
“Oh, it’s a wedding present,” Evelyn lied. “It represents hope or luck or something in Lochmatten.”
“Let’s have that sent to your room.” Leo got the attention of a guard, who took the plant from Evelyn. Then Leo looped her arm in his. “Come on.”
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll see. It’s not far.”
They left through the front door and walked past the garden. The sun had gone down and the rushing sound of the river seemed amplified in the dark.
The silence that fell between them was awkward. Evelyn struggled to think of something to say.
It was never this hard before. Talking with Leo was always easy.
“Did you speak with Hannah?” she asked.
Leo winced. “Briefly. I apologized for… everything. Did you talk to Ritter?”
The Bargain magic forced Evelyn’s grimace into a smile. “I did. He said he’ll send us a wedding present.”
He also threatened to destroy my reputation, but that’s not important.
“Huh.” Leo kicked at a pebble. “I guess I imagined him having a bigger reaction.”
They went quiet again.
Why does this feel so wrong? I don’t feel like I’m about to get married. Did I make a mistake?
“I don’t know how to do this with you,” Evelyn blurted.
Leo stopped to face her. “What do you mean?”
“Doesn’t this feel weird? We’ve only been a secret before and now we’re together? Just like that?”
“Isn’t that what you wanted?”
“Yes, but… this isn’t what I thought it would feel like. This isn’t how I pictured us.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I thought you were a guard!” Her voice came out louder than she intended. “Two weeks isn’t enough time to go from flirting with a guard to marrying a king.”
Evelyn’s heart pounded and she fought the instinct to run.
Gods, what is happening? Everything was fine and now it feels like I’m trapped.
Leo put his hands on her shoulders. “Evelyn, it’s still me. I didn’t change.”
She shook out of his grasp. “But you did! You aren’t the same person who made me tea in the middle of the night.”
Do I even know who I agreed to marry? We’ve only had one normal conversation since our fight on the beach, and it was the day his father died. This week has been a nightmare.
“You changed too.” Leo’s voice was gentle, but his pain was clear. “You don’t look at me the way you used to. And I know that’s my fault. I broke your trust and I hurt you.”
Evelyn squeezed her eyes shut and clamped a hand over her mouth, trying to block the unexpected tidal wave of emotion.
Why do I feel like I’m drowning? Like everything I’m worried about is pulling me under.
