Haydn opened his arms and she melted into him.
“Kiss me,” Evelyn whispered.
Haydn leaned down and?—
Evelyn woke up.
“Do you still want a kiss?”
Haydn was lying beside her where Leo should have been sleeping.
Evelyn jumped out of bed. “What the fuck are you doing here? Where is Leo?”
Haydn smirked. “I thought we were having a nice time.”
“Were you in my head? What the hell was that?” Evelyn’s heart thundered in her chest. “Was Leo screaming for me? Is that what I heard in my dream?”
“I’ve always loved how clever you are.”
“Did you hurt him? I swear, Haydn?—”
“He’s fine. I’ll explain everything as soon as we get to the ballroom.”
Evelyn ran, not caring that she was only in a short nightgown and no shoes. She practically flew down the stairs. There weren’t any guards in the hallways, but she didn’t have time to worry about that.
Something is wrong. I need to find Leo.
Evelyn came to a dead stop when she reached the ballroom. Damien, Leo, Simon, Rory, Camille, King Tristan, and Hannah were kneeling on the hard floor, spaced just out of arm’s reach from one another. Behind each of them stood a man holding a sword against their necks. The captors snickered at Evelyn’s shocked expression.
No. No, no, no. This isn’t real. What has Haydn done?
“Run, Evelyn!” Leo shouted.
Before she could move, Haydn grabbed her wrist. He positioned them so Evelyn faced her captive loved ones, with her back to the patio doors.
“What are you doing?” Evelyn had meant to yell, but the Bargain magic forced her to be pleasant while other people were watching.
Haydn squeezed her wrist tighter. “I need some assurances from you, my love. I need to know you won’t run away.”
The appropriate answer was“Fuck you!”but Evelyn wasn’t allowed to say that. “You need to let them go, Haydn.”
He clicked his tongue. “You overestimate how much power you have tonight. Or did you not notice that everyone you care about is seconds away from bleeding out? Those men take orders from me, not you.”
Evelyn went pale. Her friends and family had been dragged out of bed in the middle of the night. Hannah and her father were terrified. Camille was furious. Rory and Simon were clearly trying to find a way out of this. Leo was panicking, and Evelyn worried he would cut his own neck by accident if he didn’t calm down. Damien was in uniform—Does he sleep in it? Where was he before this?—but his weapons had been removed. His face was stoic until their eyes met. Damien gave Evelyn a small, reassuring smile.
“I won’t run. I’m not leaving them.”
Haydn released her. “Excellent.”
“Let her go!” Leo demanded. “I’ll stay. Let everyone else go.”
“What would be the fun in that?” Haydn laughed. “We just got here.”
Evelyn dared to ask another question. “Whyare we all here?”
“Oh, I don’t want to talk about that yet.” Haydn drew his thumb across Evelyn’s lip. “Let’s play a game, shall we?”
She would have bit him if the deal hadn’t been holding her still. “What kind of game?”
