Damien shrugged. “It’s been done. For a long time, monarchs were encouraged to marry someone from the opposite kingdom for exactly this reason. But it hasn’t happened in recent memory, at least the last ten thousand years. Gerard and Camille are both from Gryon and they married for love. Your parents grew up in Carrowmore, right?”
“Yes. And the Kennedys…” Evelyn trailed off, trying to remember the story. “Queen Sophia was the Kennedy heir. Her brother was supposed to inherit the throne, but he refused when their father died. She quickly married Nolan, then he became the king and took her name.”
“That sounds like quite the scandal.”
“It was,” Evelyn agreed. “So, wait… can it beanyonefrom the other kingdom? Like, Alexander doesn’t have to marry Hannah just because she’s a princess. He could marry anyone from Carrowmore?”
Damien frowned. “Based on magic, yes. But would King Gerard allow the prince to marry just anyone?”
“No,” Evelyn conceded. “Especially when Hannah is already here.”
“One way or another, Prince Alexander is set to become the most powerful king the continent has seen in millennia.”
Leo reached under the table and took Evelyn’s hand in his. She laced their fingers together.
I need a moment alone with Leo. I want to know why this conversation is so upsetting for him. But, selfishly, I like that he can find comfort in me, if only in little ways like this.
An arrogant male voice interrupted Evelyn’s thoughts.
“Well, they shouldn’t have been stupid enough to get murdered!” the drunk man said too loudly.
Evelyn, Leo, and Damien glared at the booth across from theirs. Two men sat there with several empty beer tankards.
“Oh yeah?” the second man challenged. “What would you have done?”
“I would’ve punched the bastard attacking me!” The loud man threw a fake punch that went wildly off course.
“You don’t think the four soldiers tried that before they died?”
“Not good enough or they wouldn’t be dead right now.”
The widow of the Auditory soldier ran out of the tavern in tears. Her mother left some gold on the table and followed after her with the child.
“What an asshole!” Evelyn whispered. “Does he really think the soldiers let themselves be killed?”
Damien calmly unrolled a cloth napkin and let the silverware spill onto the table. He picked up the sharp meat knife and stood.
“No!” Leo warned.
Damien ignored him and walked over to the drunk men. Without hesitation, Damien snatched the offending man’s arm, held it against the tabletop, and plunged his knife through the man’s palm. The knife embedded into the wood, pinning the man’s hand in place. It took that long for the man to realize anything was happening, and another few seconds before he screamed. His friend sat utterly still, hoping to avoid Damien’snotice. Damien leaned over and yanked on the injured man’s hair, cutting off his wailing.
“If you say another word about the fallen soldiers,” Damien quietly threatened, “every knife in this tavern will find its way into your body, and you won’t be able to reach all of them. You think you would’ve survived what they went through, Lamar? Should I remind everyone that you were kicked out of training during your first week as a guard? You arenothing.”
Damien released the man, who vomited all over the table and his hand. He yowled and squirmed as the bile burned his open wound. Damien simply returned to his seat across from Leo and Evelyn.
“Fuck, Damien,” Leo chided. “You can’t do that.”
“He deserved worse,” Evelyn said.
Damien smirked at her. “I might like you, Princess.”
The owner of the tavern appeared and yelled at the drunk men. He used magic to remove the knife from the man’s hand, which sounded extremely painful, and then chased the men out of the tavern. Another staff member showed up to magically clean the mess they had left.
The waitress reappeared with concern etched on her face.
Damien smiled up at her. “I seem to have misplaced my knife. Would you mind getting me another one?”
“Of course, Captain,” she agreed, eager to avoid confrontation, and hurried off.
