“I’m sorry!” Evelyn gasped. “But yourface!”
Without warning, Damien picked Evelyn up and tossed her over his shoulder.
“What are you doing?” she shrieked.
He lowered her onto the bench and sat beside her. “Are you done cackling over my imminent blood feud with Moeller?”
Evelyn had to look away so she wouldn’t start giggling again. “Thanks for teaching me, Damien. I wasn’t sure I could actually do it.”
“I knew you could. I just didn’t expect you would throw my own voice at me.”
“What does your voice sound like to other people?”
Damien cocked his head. “What do you mean?”
“The day we met, you talked about using Auditory magic in your voice to get women’s attention. How do you do it?”
“You want to know how Iflirt?” Damien raised a brow.
“With magic, yes. You were so surprised when it didn’t work on me that day. I’m curious.”
Damien stared at Evelyn for a few moments, then leaned close and spoke low in her ear. “Come to my room and I’ll show you, Princess.”
Evelyn heard the words from two different voices. She recognized Damien’s normal tone. But a second voice quietly overlapped his words, and that one held magic. It wasn’t like Bargains that compelled you to follow directions, or a Trickster fae who could override your free will. Damien’s magic was a lure, an invitation.
“Oh!” Evelyn said.
“Oh?” Damien asked.
“I can hear it now! The magic part of your voice is bait. It’s like being offered dessert. Tempting, but still a choice.”
Damien looked intrigued. “My voice istemptingto you now?”
Evelyn smacked his arm. “You know how your magic works.”
“It’s interesting to hear it from someone else’s perspective. I’ve never seen an adult discover illusions like this.”
“Growing up in opposite kingdoms makes a difference. It probably wasn’t a normal occurrence to set your siblings’ toys on fire as children.”
“Not at my house, but Daphne would’ve enjoyed that power immensely.”
“We can go to Carrowmore eventually, right? I’m allowed to visit my family?” Evelyn was only half joking.
Damien’s gaze softened. “You’re a queen. You can go wherever you want.”
“But you’ll go with me? Your sisters could come, too.”
“That sounds like fun. Is Leo invited?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t he be?”
“You two don’t seem…” Damien trailed off.
Evelyn bit her lip. “Leo isn’t happy here. Not with Haydn around.”
“Areyouhappy?”
She didn’t immediately know how to put it into words. “I thought… gods, this is stupid. I thought getting married would help us. We went so long without really committing to each other, and getting married seemed like the end to that problem.”
