Her dreams, however, were not so peaceful.
Ritter interrupted the wedding and forced her to leave with him. Leo laughed when Evelyn arrived in a white dress and married Hannah instead. Evelyn wasn’t allowed to share magic or be crowned as a queen. There were so many roses everywhere that she vomited from the smell. Her father and the lords refused to let her marry Leo. Daphne and Desirée ripped her dress to pieces like evil stepsisters in a storybook.
But the worst dream started out as the sweetest. The ceremony was beautiful. But after Leo kissed her at the end, Evelyn opened her eyes and all the guests had been replaced with mutilated bodies. Half of them were missing body parts like the soldiers she’d found in the city. The other half were covered in burns, if they had any skin left. All of them stared at her, whether they had eyes or not.
Evelyn woke in a cold sweat.
It wasn’t real. None of that happened. I’m okay.
Footsteps in the hallway preceded quiet morning greetings.
Shift change for the guards?
Evelyn threw on a robe and opened her door.
Simon stifled a yawn. “Good morning, Princess.”
“Hi, Simon. Just you today?”
“So far.” He appraised her through bleary eyes. “Not to sound like an ass on your wedding day, but you don’t look like you slept a minute last night. And not in a fun way.”
Evelyn grimaced. “Bad dreams.”
“You want some tea?” Simon offered. “Or whiskey?”
“Tea would be great.”
“I’ll have some sent up. Also, Odette is assigned to you today. She’ll be along soon to help you prepare.”
“The wedding isn’t until sunset! I can’t possibly need twelve hours to get ready.”
“Hmm… have you seen your hair this morning?”
Evelyn was ready to throw something at Simon’s head until she saw his devious expression.
“Sorry, Princess, but the look on your face was worth a reprimand.”
I like this less formal side of Simon. I’m glad he spent time with us on the roof last night.
A door opening down the hall distracted them. Rory slowly backed out of a bedroom, pulling Desirée along with him because their lips seemed to be glued together. His fingers twisted in her dark hair, while she tugged at the collar of his tunic like she wanted to tear it off.
Simon cleared his throat. Desirée squeaked at the sight of her unexpected audience and darted back into the bedroom. Rory straightened into the proper posture for a guard on duty and walked over to them.
Simon chuckled. “You’re lucky Captain Fontaine hasn’t shown up yet.”
Rory ignored him. “Good morning, Princess. Did you”—he spotted the dark circles under her eyes—“sleep well?”
“I know I look like shit,” Evelyn said. “I’m going to take a bath. Simon promised to get me tea. Odette will have to fix whatever is still broken after that.”
“It’s going to be a good day,” Rory promised. “You don’t have anything to worry about.”
Evelyn smiled at him in thanks and retreated into her room. She filled the tub with hot water and sank into it.
I’m okay. Leo loves me. There will be no dead bodies at the wedding.
…That’s not a normal thing to wish for, is it?
Odette arranged Evelyn’s hair so it was swept to one side, held in place with a large, ornate barrette covered in sparkling diamonds. Evelyn tried not to squirm as Odette applied dark eyeliner and a deep red lip stain.
