“I don’t even report to you!” Viviane’s tone was light. She was clearly used to Damien’s crap.
“Sure you do.”
“No, I don’t. You always boss around the guards like we’re your soldiers, but we aren’t under your chain of command.”
“Then why do you all follow orders from me?”
“Because you threaten us and then sweet-talk Commander Magalie.”
Evelyn’s and Rory’s laughter had grown loud enough to be truly distracting.
Damien smiled at Evelyn, and her stomach swooped.
How does he do it? I’ve seen over a dozen dead bodies today. I set Leo’s shoes on fire. I was ready to ride a horse out of the kingdom. Even after all of that, Damien has me laughing like this is a normal day.
When they left the café, Rory and Viviane weren’t brave enough to ask about the nonexistent plan for the afternoon.
Damien pulled Evelyn aside. “What now? Back to the palace?”
Evelyn bit her lip. “Could we go to the bar? The night of the ball, you said you would take me there.”
Sadness crept into his eyes. “You think your nightmares will stop if you see that the fire is really gone?”
“I hope so,” she admitted.
Damien squeezed her hand, then yelled to the guards, “Quick detour!”
He led them to the end of a quiet, residential street at the edge of the city. The last time Evelyn had been there, the area was destroyed.
“They fixed the road already?”
Damien nodded. “They brought in Earth fae to help. No one wanted to keep a giant open pit in the neighborhood longer than necessary.”
“Even the townhouses look like nothing ever happened here.”
I know the repairs are necessary, but it feels like something more was erased in the process. Like all the pain and trauma were literally covered up.
Damien and Evelyn approached the front door of the second-to-last house on the left.
“Wait out here,” he told the guards.
The lingering smell of smoke poured out as the door swung open. Evelyn’s heart raced. She must have made a noise because Damien took her hand.
The stairway down to the basement was dark this time. Damien used some lesser magic to conjure floating lights along their path. Slowly, they walked downstairs.
The underground bar, called The Hidden Gem, looked huge when Evelyn had first seen it. Now, without three hundred people dancing and drinking, it seemed twice as massive.
Damien’s lights expanded to illuminate the space. Any furniture that survived the fire had been removed. Evelyn’s footsteps echoed on the stone floor, which was covered in ash and dark stains.
Blood.
The heat of the fire was inescapable, all-consuming. She couldn’t breathe because the smoke was too thick. Screaming drilled into her ears, drowning out the sound of her own thoughts.
Damien drew Evelyn into him. His body was warm, not burning. He smelled like coffee, not smoke. His voice was a whisper, not a scream. “It’s okay. It’s over. It’s safe.”
She repeated his words in her head until her body started to believe them.
He stroked her hair. “The Healers saved everyone who made it out. They requested more support and supplies from Aleneva. There are only a couple people left in the hospital, but they will be released in a few days.”
