Evelyn and Leo wandered onto the beach behind the palace, followed by Rory and Simon. Damien appeared to be asleep on the sand, but Nicolas sat beside him, reading out loud from a book. Daphne and Desirée dipped their feet in the water and were happily gossiping.
Leo lightly kicked Damien’s side. “Laziest officer in the army.”
Damien yelped, despite there being no chance that actually hurt. “The abuse I suffer at the hands of the king! Help me, Princess!”
“If only I wanted to,” Evelyn deadpanned.
“So be it! The only option left to me is treason!” Damien tackled Leo into the sand with a heavy thud.
The sisters cackled from the shoreline. Nicolas closed his book gently, unsurprised by the alleged violence. Rory and Simon refused to make eye contact in case they lost control and laughed at their king.
“Bastard!” Leo yelled once air filled his lungs again.
“Could you not injure my fiancé right before the wedding?” Evelyn requested.
Damien bowed to her. “Anything for you, my future queen.”
“At least you’ll be respectful to one of us,” Leo grumbled, getting to his feet.
“Highly unlikely, Your Majesty,” Damien replied.
The men dusted themselves off as the Fontaine sisters approached.
“You’ll get us all thrown out of court one day, dear brother,” Daphne warned.
Damien snorted. “I wish we could be so lucky.”
“Aren’t the guards supposed to protect the king?” Desirée asked, eyeing Rory and Simon. But mostly Rory.
Damien waved dismissively. “Those two are here only for Evelyn. I can do whatever I want to Alexander as long as I don’t touch the princess.”
Nicolas snickered. “Your understanding of the Royal Guard is impeccable.”
Daphne took Evelyn’s arm. “You can see why we don’t stay around the boys very long.”
Damien pointed at Leo. “Everything was fine until he showed up andbrutallyattacked me!”
“You knocked the wind out of me!” Leo argued.
“Self-defense.”
Daphne sighed. “It’s outrageous that either of them is old enough to get married.”
The women walked away, trailed by Evelyn’s guards.
“Are you excited about tomorrow?” Daphne asked.
“You sound as suspicious as your brother,” Evelyn quipped.
Daphne smiled, taking that as a compliment. “Well, you did manage to get engaged to a king without anyone knowing it was a possibility. It’s not that easy to surprise a kingdom.”
“Damien and Nicolas knew.”
“They absolutely don’t count.”
“Is it something scandalous?” Desirée asked excitedly. “Did you cast a love spell on him? Are you pregnant? Did you hate each other at first until you realized how attractive he is? Was there a big miscommunication that was only revealed after?—”
“Desirée!” Daphne snapped. “This isn’t one of your romance books!”
