“Yes.” Damien yawned. He snagged the plate of salad and a fork off the table.
Evelyn didn’t fight him this time. “And none of them cared that you’re covered in soot?”
“I doubt any of them noticed,” Damien said between mouthfuls. “Everyone saw the fire last night. Anyone missing a family member today was waiting for bad news. One of the wives started screaming before I could even knock on the door.”
Evelyn glanced at Leo, unsure of what to do. Damien had said it all so casually, like he’d finished a shift delivering tax bills. But his eyes told a different story.
“And how did it feel to be the god of death for a day?” Leo asked lightly.
“Better than being a prince,” Damien deadpanned.
Leo rolled his eyes. Damien set the plate and fork back on the table. Evelyn handed him a third cookie.
14
Rabbits
Damien left the hospital, returning to the long list of families he needed to talk to. Evelyn and Leo remained at the small table in her private room.
“How are you feeling?” Leo asked. “Have you regained your magic?”
Evelyn took a moment to feel for it. Her magic lived between her shoulder blades, then flowed through her arms and out her fingers. Except when she pretended to be a dragon and sent it through her throat. But she’d drained her power last night to quell the explosion.
“I could probably light a candle, at least.”
“If you feel well enough, I can take you back to the palace,” Leo offered.
Evelyn thought about it. “Could we go to the beach?”
Leo’s brows rose in surprise. “Why there?”
“I want some fresh air. Everything smells like smoke.”
And I can smell the antiseptic and burned skin from the patients here.
“Of course, Princess,” Leo agreed.
He brought Evelyn to a quiet section of shoreline. She held her skirt above her ankles and allowed the waves to rush over her feet. Starlight sparked off the ocean’s surface.
I can breathe again.
Leo dropped down on the dry sand. Evelyn could feel him watching her as the tension in her body dissolved, the stress of the past twenty-four hours washing away with the tide.
After several minutes, Evelyn sat beside Leo.
“The ball is tomorrow,” he reminded her.
She blinked. “It’s not being postponed after everything that happened?”
“Apparently not.”
“But doesn’t that feel… inappropriate?”
“I believe the goal is to lift everyone’s spirits.”
“You mean everyone who isn’t actively being treated for severe burns?”
“I’m on your side, Evelyn,” Leo said to calm her. “It wasn’t my idea to begin with, and it isn’t my decision now.”
