“No, Evelyn. It’s an illusion. The music is mine.”
“Then how can I hear it?”
“I don’t know. Maybe your Perceptual magic is kicking in.”
“Haydn once told me that he can tell when there’s an illusion, but the effect is dulled. Is that what’s happening?”
Damien stared at her intently. “Tell me what you hear.”
A series of new sounds appeared one after the other. Evelyn listed off what she heard. “Birds chirping… A piano… Thunder…Screaming—gods, Damien, you’re going to scare everyone… Laughter.” Evelyn rolled her eyes. “Trees rustling?… Dogs barking.”
Rory and Simon came in from the hallway to investigate the Auditory chaos.
“You can hear that now?” Rory asked.
Evelyn grinned. “It all sounds like I’m listening through a wall, but… yes!”
“We have to try something else,” Damien said excitedly. He took her hand and rushed out of the room.
They made their way back to the kitchen, where an amused member of staff greeted them. “Are you hungry again already? Dinner will be ready soon.”
“May I have one apple, please?” Damien asked with a heavy dose of charm.
The woman fulfilled his request and sent them to the dining room. Damien set the apple on the table and found a knife to chop it into six pieces. He had started to use his dagger, but Evelyn yelled at him about cleanliness.
“Simon, can you change these into different flavors?” Damien requested. “Strong flavors, since everything is muted for her.”
“Sure.” Simon waved his hand over the apple, which was leaking juice onto the tabletop.
Evelyn picked up one slice at a time and hesitantly took a small bite from each. “Black coffee… Oh, that one is sour!… Ugh, fish shouldn’t have that texture… Oranges… Is thatjustsalt?… This is sweet and bitter. Dark chocolate!”
Simon preened, while Rory hadn’t stopped laughing since the fish flavor.
“What’s all the fuss about?”
Leo stood in the doorway with a curious expression.
I guess he isn’t angry anymore. How does he move on so easily? He goes from mad to unbothered like it’s nothing. Do they teach that to princes?
“I can sense illusions now!” Evelyn said proudly. “I can hear Damien’s music, and Simon changed the flavor of an apple. All of it is subtle, not like what the rest of you experience, but it’s there!”
Leo cocked his head, and a striped cat materialized on the floor.
“Daffodil! She’s transparent!” Evelyn sank to her knees and the cat padded over, tail high in the air.
“You’ve met Sergeant Whiskers?” Damien asked.
“I introduced her toDaffodilbefore the wedding,” Leo said.
“It’s like she’s a ghost!” Evelyn tried and failed to pet the blurry, incorporeal creature. She looked up at Leo again. “You’re glowing!”
“I am?” Leo asked.
Evelyn stood to see him more closely. “Yes. There’s a faint, sky-blue light around you. Is that your illusion?”
The glow disappeared and the guards jumped. Instead of the blond man they were used to, Leo had his natural dark hair and blue eyes.
“What the fuck just happened?” Rory asked.
