Evelyn kicked him under the table.
Damien grunted. “I take it back.”
The rest of dinner went smoother. Leo, Moeller, and Heinrich managed to discuss only boring topics at length.Evelyn didn’t say much, feeling oddly out of place. Damien and Haydn were actually having fun retelling old stories.
I didn’t expect them to be so friendly after how badly their last encounter went. But Damien isn’t worried about protecting me right now.
I’m more surprised at how well Haydn is ignoring me. He hasn’t even glanced at me since dinner started. It’s not that I want his attention exactly, but I had expected it. Instead, Haydn is pretending I’m not even at the table.
Haydn made one exception to this charade after the dessert course was served. Evelyn’s wineglass was empty and she was about to ask Damien to pass the bottle. Without breaking his conversation with Damien or acknowledging Evelyn at all, Haydn picked up her empty glass, refilled it, and set it back down in front of her. Damien clearly noticed but didn’t comment on it.
“Thank you, Haydn,” Evelyn said quietly.
Heinrich and Moeller paused at the sound of their colleague’s first name.
Dammit. I should’ve called him Councilor Ritter in front of everyone.
Haydn flashed Evelyn a hint of a smile before continuing his story about visiting Velletri. Allegedly, he’d spent two days believing he was a bird because he upset a fae with Mind Control abilities.
Evelyn could feel Leo’s eyes on her. She reached out and held his hand under the table, but he didn’t relax.
Once they returned to their room after dinner, Leo went straight to bed. Evelyn stayed up for a while to read a book but struggled to concentrate long enough to get past a few pages.
We need out of this castle. Leo and I will only drift farther apart while we’re in Lochmatten. Wendell better translate everything soon.
62
The Tower
Evelyn woke when a hand clamped tight over her mouth. Haydn grinned like this was a perfectly normal way to get her attention. She checked on Leo, but he was sound asleep.
“Get up.”
Bargain magic forced Evelyn’s body into a sitting position. The air chilled her bare arms and legs once she left the comfort of the blankets.
“Hush.”
More magic rushed into her throat before Haydn removed his hand from her face.
Buthushisn’t the same assilence.
“What are you doing?” she hissed.
“Get up,” Haydn said again.
Involuntarily, Evelyn stood. “Why are you here? And how are you getting away with multiple commands under one wish?”
Haydn held out a hand. “Come with me.”
Evelyn’s traitorous hand took his. One gust of wind later, the two of them were inside his library. Bookshelves lined thecircular walls all the way to the top of the impossibly tall, hollow tower. It was dark, only lit by moonlight shining through the occasional window between shelves. Shadows hid beneath the ledges where you could stand to access books.
Haydn’s magic released Evelyn and she rounded on him. “You wasted a wish to show me yourlibrary?”
“It’s a great library.”
“That’s not the point!”
Haydn stepped closer. “What would you rather I use a wish on? What doyouwish for?”
