The guards followed her downstairs and out the front door.
Rory cleared his throat. “May I ask where we’re going?”
“Away from here,” Evelyn answered unhelpfully.
She could sense Rory and Viviane silently communicating behind her:Should we stop her? Should we make a suggestion? Will Captain Fontaine snap our necks for this?
Much to their dismay, Evelyn approached the stables.
“I need a horse,” she told the man at the entrance.
“Three horses,” Viviane clarified.
The man both knew better than to give Evelyn a horse that day and knew better than to refuse a request from the queen. Authority won out in the end. “One moment, Your Majesty.”
“Are you sure—” Rory started to ask.
“Yes,” Evelyn said stubbornly.
The three of them mounted their horses.
Where the hell am I going?
“Evelyn!” Damien jogged toward them. “Care to explain?”
Rory stared blatantly at the clouds. Viviane busied herself with switching her dark brown hair from a bun to a ponytail.
“I need to leave,” Evelyn told Damien. “Just for a while.”
“And go where?”
She didn’t have an answer. Damien climbed onto the horse and took the reins from Evelyn.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“Do you care?” Damien countered, urging the horse forward.
“You’re hijacking my dramatic escape.”
He laughed as they traveled up the road. “I wouldn’t have to if you had planned any part of this grand adventure.”
“I needed out.”
“I know, Princess,” he soothed. “It’s okay.”
Evelyn huffed. “I’m not a princess anymore.”
“Queens don’t throw tantrums.”
“This isn’t a tantrum!”
“Fine. Queens don’t flee their own palace.”
“Kings don’t lock their wives in a guard house,” Evelyn grumbled.
Damien lowered his voice. “He’s scared, Evelyn. Leo is terrified of something happening to you. It’s not so different from your father’s reactions. I don’t agree with his strategy, but I get it.”
“I don’t want him to look at me like I’m fragile. Having emotions doesn’t make me helpless.”
