“Ifyou marry me,” Haydn repeated, “you would get access to all of my magic.”
“No one even knows what kinds of magic Lochmatten has. Maybe herding cats is the most impressive thing you can do.”
“I assure you it’s much more than that.”
“Thentell mewhat you can do,” she insisted.
Haydn crossed his arms. “Marry me and find out for yourself.”
“That’s not happening. What would you even get out of thisarrangement?”
“I would gain your Fire ability, of course. Honestly, it’s a much better deal for you than it is for me.”
“If it’s not a good deal for you, why would you even offer it?”
“Because I could wake up to your sweet, scowling face every morning.” He traced a finger down Evelyn’s cheek, but she swatted his hand away and started walking again.
“You’re lying anyway,” Evelyn said over her shoulder.
“Am I? About what?” Haydn caught up to her immediately.
“Even if the hells freeze over and I do marry you, I wouldn’t get all of your abilities. That’s not how it works.”
“Why not?”
“Because kings are the ones who gain all the magic. Queens only get a piece of the kings’ original powers. You would end up with all the Elemental abilities, and I would… what? Be able to make meaningless deals?”
“You’re forgetting one very important detail, Princess.”
“Yeah? What’s that?”
Haydn snatched her wrist. “I am not a king, and you would not be a queen. The traditions you are used to would not apply. The spell royals use to share magic in the kingdoms always favors the husband. That’s why kings end up with all the power. You assumed that’s how the magic works, but the spell was written that way on purpose.”
Evelyn blinked. “No… that can’t be right. That would be intentionally limiting the queens’ powers. Why would we do that?”
“Your arcane customs have not been the focus of my research, sadly.”
“But, wait… how does it work in Lochmatten?”
“Exactly as I explained earlier. Magic exchanged through vows is fully shared. A man and hisbride”—Haydn squeezed her wrist—“have identical power.”
“How? What’s different about your spell?”
“We simply wrote it to be balanced instead of biased.”
“Could that be done here?” Evelyn’s mind reeled. “Could the spell be changed in the kingdoms?”
“Theoretically, if the king allowed it.”
“So the answer is no.”
Haydn laughed. “You do understand how things work around here!”
Evelyn stared up at him, trying to process everything he said. But also trying to detect if he was lying.
“What’s on your mind, Princess?” Haydn asked.
“I would haveallof your abilities? Whatever the hell your powers are, I would have them too?”
