“After the necklace you didn’t tell me about, yes. I told the guards that your mail needed to come to me first.”
He doesn’t even have the decency to sound sorry about it!
“You can’t go through my stuff!”
“I can, actually. Especially when it’s from Ritter.”
Curious, Evelyn opened the envelope and pulled out two pages.
My love,
I am still hopeful you will change your mind. But if you choose to go through with this tragic mistake, you deserve better than the queens who came before you.
I have included the spell used at weddings in Lochmatten. It will provide you with power equal to your husband.
Use the kingdom’s usual routine to give your magic to the King of Lies. Then have him recite this to give everything back to you. Not that Perceptual magic is all that impressive, but at least you will gain the other three Elemental abilities.
Better yet, board the next messenger ship to Lochmatten and I’ll share my own magic (and bed) with you.
-Haydn
P.S. Tell Fontaine hello for me.
Evelyn’s heart raced as she flipped to the second sheet of parchment. She skimmed the words, which seemed to be as Haydn described. “Is this real?”
“Moeller confirmed that’s the spell they use.”
“You showed this to Moeller? Did you pass my mail around the whole palace? What did the maids think of it?”
“I didn’t show him the note, but I had to know that the spell wouldn’t hurt you somehow.”
“Haydn won’t hurt me!” Evelyn insisted.
“But this involves youandLeo,” Damien argued. “Ritter didn’t make any blood oaths to your fiancé. Speaking of Leo, you really need to discuss this with him.”
“You say that like I’ve avoided it. You gave me the letter two minutes ago!”
“I’m serious, Evelyn. You can’t spring this on him tomorrow.”
“I wouldn’t do that. I’ll go find Leo right now.” She turned toward the door.
“And how are you going to explain that Ritter sent you a spell for your wedding?”
Evelyn tensed.
If Leo didn’t like the tattoo on my wrist, he definitely won’t appreciate this.
She faced Damien again. “Can I say you got it from Moeller?”
“No.”
“It’s not about Haydn! Not really. It’s about magic.”
Damien crossed his arms. “Are you saying that the wedding isn’t personal, it’s just about gaining power? Because I’m pretty sure you weren’t happy when the lords made that same argument.”
Evelyn glared at him. “This is different.”
“I’m not saying it’s a bad idea. I support you having magic equal to your husband. But you have to tell Leo the truth.”
