“Leo, please! You don’t need to go!”
“Bring her with us,” Damien said. “She can handle it.”
Leo kissed Evelyn’s forehead. “I’ll pack up our things from the bedroom.”
“Someone else can do that,” she argued. “I need you!”
Leo handed Evelyn off to Rory, who had moved right behind her. The guard pinned Evelyn’s arms to her sides as Leo walked out of the room. She was too stunned by the action to protest right away. Damien glanced at her apologetically, then followed.
“Leo!” Evelyn screamed at the back of her husband’s head. “You can’t leave me here!”
The door closed. “I won’t be gone long,” Leo promised from the other side.
Evelyn struggled against Rory’s hold on her. “Let me go!”
“You must stay here, Evelyn,” Rory said. “The king will return. The house needs to be searched.”
“That’s not his job!”
Evelyn heated her skin not quite enough to burn Rory, but enough to sting even through her robe. He released her arms and she ran to the door. But when she twisted the knob, the door wouldn’t budge.
He locked me in here.
“Open this fucking door!” she yelled, pounding on it with her fists.
Evelyn tried using lesser magic to unlock the door, but it didn’t work. “Why won’t it open?”
“King Alexander owns the house, so his magic can seal it,” Rory explained. “We have to wait here. Alexander needs to know that you’re safe.”
“But I’m notsafe!” Evelyn faced her guard. “Someone put dead bodies over our heads while we slept and no one fucking noticed. It’s your job to protect me and I woke up to corpses. Where the fuck were you?”
Rory’s voice remained calm. “I was asleep. So was Simon. But I don’t envy the guards on the overnight shift when Captain Fontaine gets to them.”
“Could it have been a guard?”
“I hope not, but I don’t know. I’ve seen only as much as you have, Evelyn. That’s why you need to stay here.”
“How do we know it’s safer here? I thought my bedroom was safe!”
“I am not going to let anything happen to you.”
“But nothingishappening to me!” Evelyn shrieked. “No one is trying to hurt me and I’m still surrounded by death. I wish they would try to attack me. I have magic. I can defend myself. But it’s like they’re only trying to scare me and it’s fucking working. How are you supposed to protect me from someone playing deadly games?”
Evelyn’s knees gave out. Rory caught her and settled her in the closest chair. The young queen folded her arms on the dining table and lowered her head as she cried.
How fucking dare he leave me here. I told Leo I needed him with me, but I was wrong. I need him to unlock the door, but I don’t need him.
Damien returned an hour later, carrying Evelyn’s travel bag.
She stood from the table. “Where is Leo?”
“He’s working,” Damien said. “We have to go.”
“I want to see Leo.”
I want to slap the godsdamned crown off his head.
Damien rummaged through the bag and pulled out a dress at random. “You’ll see him later, but we’re leaving now.”
