“I’m a captain and I was there,” he said simply. “It was the right thing to do.”
“Did you tell them everything?”
Like that their hands had been cut off.
“Only if they wanted to know. She”—Damien pointed toward the woman—“was the only one who didn’t want details, actually.”
“Why is Leo talking to her?”
“Because he’s a better person than the rest of us.”
I think Damien really means that. I want to know more about Leo. He’s been sweet to me so far, but why does Damien hold him in such high regard?
“Why do you take orders from Leo?”
“What do you mean?” he asked, like the question was a trick somehow.
“You argue with him, but you end up doing what he says,” Evelyn explained. “Like yesterday, he told you to take me back to the palace and talk to the kings yourself. And you did.”
“Right,” he said slowly.
“But don’t you outrank him? You’re a soldier and he’s a guard. Shouldn’t Leo listen to you?”
Damien laughed. “I wouldn’t know what to do if Leo started listening to me.”
Evelyn drummed her fingers on the table until his laughter died down.
“Okay, okay,” Damien continued. “Honestly… I trust Leo. We’ve been friends since we were kids. If something is important to him, like disobeying a king’sdirect ordersso he can spend time with a certain princess, I’m willing to go along with it. But I will give him shit for it.”
Leo slid into the seat next to Evelyn. “What did I miss?”
“I was just telling the princess what a bastard you are,” Damien lied.
“I’m surprised it took you this long.” Leo noticed Evelyn staring at him. “What is it?”
“Is she okay?” Evelyn whispered.
Leo’s face fell. “No. She’s not.”
A waitress came by and took their order, lightening the mood at the table.
Once she left, Damien asked, “What is your sister like?”
“Perfect,” Evelyn snapped. “Beautiful and smart and kind and funny. Just what a prince needs.”
But maybe not what the prince wants.
“Does Hannah like the prince?” Damien questioned.
Evelyn recalled her conversations with the queen and with Hannah. “She likes theideaof him.”
“What do you mean?” Leo asked.
“Hannah was excited to become a princess. Now she has the chance to marry a prince. It’s like a fairy tale. And it would make Father proud.”
“What about Prince Alexander?” Damien went on. “Leo, you know him best. Is he enjoying a fairy tale?”
“No,” Leo replied sharply. “He’s not.”
