He cocked his head. “I do. He’s a good guard. Desirée could do a lot worse than him.”
“Then why are you being so mean?”
“I’m not. He needed to know the potential consequences.”
“Desirée will be more hurt by you scaring Rory away than by anything he’s going to do. He obviously adores her.”
Damien groaned before getting the guard’s attention again. “Rory!”
Rory hesitantly returned. Evelyn stepped away to be polite but was still close enough to listen.
“You’re off duty now, right?” Damien asked.
“Yes, sir.”
“I only told you not to hurt her. Anything else you do with your free time, I don’t want to know about.”
Rory didn’t dare smile. “Understood.”
Damien waved him off before he could change his mind.
Rory whispered something to Desirée, then they left to find a more private spot in the palace.
Evelyn grinned in victory.
Damien scowled at her. “Shut up.”
“I didn’t say anything!”
Leo wandered over to them. “It’s your last night as a princess. Is there anything special you want to do?”
Evelyn yawned. “I want to sleep. And I want you and Damien to hang out in the stables and get drunk like you used to.”
Damien froze in place, caught by surprise.
Leo furrowed his brows. “Why?”
“Because it will be fun,” Evelyn said, “and it sounds like the kind of crap men should do before they get married.”
Leo looked hopefully at Damien. “Are you up for that?”
Damien finally blinked. “Are we burning the place down again?”
“No. Although, since I’m the king now, we wouldn’t really get in trouble this time.”
“You get the wine,” Damien directed. “I’ll find a lantern.”
Leo kissed Evelyn sweetly. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” Then he left to retrieve wine.
Damien stared at Evelyn for a few moments before wrapping her in a tight hug. “None of us deserve you,” he whispered.
“Go be with your friend,” she said.
Damien ran toward the stairs, gaining a significant head start in what was apparently a race. Leo shouted about cheating and tore off after him.
They’ve earned a normal evening where they can be friends, not a king and a captain. Literally everything has been so stressful lately. I want Leo and Damien to be able to relax.
Daphne stood up from the couch and stretched. “Is the night over already?”
