“How all the best men are gay,” Kedra replied.
He muttered, “I wish.”
The evening passed in a haze of conversation, though the heavy talk of Sirens and danger had ceased in Gideon’s presence. Evan was thankful for the respite.
One by one their companions retired to their bedrooms, until at last it was only Evan and Gideon. Wordlessly, he moved to sit beside her. His eyes never left hers. When his lips lifted in a small smile, Evan’s breath caught in her throat.
They sat this way for a long moment before footsteps behind them drew their attention. Gideon was on his feet in an instant, positioning himself between Evan and whoever approached. It was only a maid, but Gideon’s action struck Evan with a pang of sadness, a longing for Triton. Many guards had reacted the same way through the years.
Her eyes filled with tears, but Gideon was beside her again, wiping them away as he held her cheeks in his hands. She put her hands on top of his, holding them in place. She leaned forward, drawn towards him, unable and unwilling to stop herself.
“Will you be needing anything else from me tonight?” the maid called.
Evan looked up, meeting the woman’s eyes. She could see from the girl’s expression that she hadn’t been paying attention to what was happening in the other part of the room and was only now realizing that she was interrupting something.
Gideon dropped his hands and scooted to put some distance between them, Evan forced a smile and answered, “No, I think we’re good.”
The woman nodded and turned to leave, but Gideon said, “Actually, it’s probably time for Evannia to get some rest.”
Evan turned back to him, confused. “I’m fine.”
He smiled again, but didn’t meet her gaze. “You’ve been through a lot tonight.”
Evan sighed, but nodded in agreement. Now that she thought about it, she was tired. She stifled a yawn as she asked, “Will I see you tomorrow?”
“Do you want to?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll do my best.”
Evan smiled as she followed the maid out of the room. When they were out of earshot the maid said, “I am so sorry for interrupting you.”
“It’s fine,” Evan said. In truth, she wasn’t exactly sure what the maid had interrupted. Was she really going to kiss this man she just met? She’d already done that once this week.
Evan didn’t register anything more than the bed in the room where the maid took her. She sat on the edge of the bed to take off her shoes and within seconds was slumped over, fast asleep.
When Evan opened her eyes, bright bands of sunlight were streaming through the blinds. She stretched, arching her back, trying to force the stiffness from her muscles.
Evan walked to the balcony door and stepped into a warm breeze. She heard a stream of laughter below and looked down to see Celia and Will in the pool with Lucy, teaching her to swim. Evan turned back to the bedroom, planning to go down and join them. The maid stood by the door.
“Oh, hello,” Evan said, startled.
“Hello,” the girl said.
“Do you need something?”
“No, miss, but I thought you might. I started your bath. Is there anything else you need?” Evan shook her head, but the maid eyed her salt-stained pants and said, “Your sister sent some clothes for you. They’re in the closet. Anything specific for breakfast?”
“Bacon,” Evan said.
The girl lingered, seeming to try to decide whether or not to say something. Staring at the floor she said, “I just wanted to tell you again how sorry I am about last night.”
Evan smiled. “What’s your name?”
“Poppy.”
“Well, Poppy, I must admit I was a little upset I didn’t get to kiss that handsome fellow. Wouldn’t you have been?”
She laughed. “I would’ve killed the person who interrupted me.”
“It was an accident. Let’s just hope it won’t be my only opportunity.”
“Didn’t you see the way he was looking at you?”
Evan shrugged, but she couldn’t fight the smile spreading across her face.
After cleaning up, Evan went downstairs to the kitchen. Kedra was there with a dripping wet Lucy, sharing a plate of fries and a bowl of fruit.
“Hey girl,” Kedra said.
“Hi,” Evan replied. “Where is everyone else?”
“Malcolm is working, Celia and Will are cleaning up, and Miss Lucy and I are right here.”
“No sign of Gideon?”
Kedra huffed. “Not yet, but if he’s coming by, my butt is staying right here.”
Evan followed the smell of bacon to a silver-lidded tray. She lifted the lid and stared down, her mind too full of Gideon to register the food on the plate.
What is wrong with me? she thought. He’s a stranger.
But reasoning with herself didn’t stop her attraction to him. It was only physical, she knew—there hadn’t been enough time to get to know the man. But he was temptation itself, and she couldn’t fight his magnetism.
She thought of Rafe and the secret relationship she’d had with him. Last week she thought she loved him, now she knew it had been the dreams of a foolish girl.
Then there was handsome, well-mannered Judas. She wanted to be interested in him, but he was her friend, and that’s all she saw when she looked at him.
Prince Calix. Gross.
Jove Lostone. Worse than gross.
Then there was the gray-eyed stranger who spun her around the dance floor and made her feel like the only person in the room. He could give Gideon a run for his money. But she didn’t know who he was and he’d run from the guards, so that couldn’t be good.
All these men popping in and out of her life, but none lingered to build anything worthwhile. Distractions, the lot of them, she thought. So why did Gideon feel so different?
Sixteen
Evan was seated in the library when Celia and Will burst into the room. Evan tossed her book aside, eager to hear what news they might have of Caspian.
They were not alone.
Judas stood behind them casting nervous glances around the room. He was haggard, far from the dashing nobleman Evan knew. His blue eyes were ringed with dark circles, his hair dirty and disheveled, and his beard unkempt.
His eyes darted to hers and he bowed his head. Clearing his throat and said, “Lovely to see you, Princess.”
Evan frowned and said, “We’re friends. You’re not supposed to call me that.”
“Sorry, Evan,” Judas said, running a hand through his dark hair. “I wasn’t sure you’d be happy with me.”
She chided, “For abandoning me?”
He pressed his lips together in a frown. “I knew you were safe and I needed to try to shed some light on the situation.”
“But I wasn’t safe.”
He nodded. “Celia told me about the Siren. I should’ve been there for you.”
Evan sighed. “You couldn’t have stopped it.”
“Maybe not,” Judas said, wiping his hand over his face. “Or maybe it wouldn’t have happened in the first place if I’d been there.”
Celia said, “Don’t do that. You can’t go through the list of maybes and wonder what could’ve happened. It doesn’t help.”
Judas shrugged. “I still feel guilty.”
“You should, you sonuvabitch.” Malcolm stood in the doorframe, his lips curled in a look of disgust, his lightless eyes full of fury.
Will stepped between them, putting his hands on Malcolm’s shoulders to draw his attention. “Hey man, calm down.”
But Malcolm’s fists were shaking at his side.
Celia joined her husband, her words coming quick: “We didn’t have anywhere else to take him. Look at him. He’s exhausted.”
“I. Don’t. Care.” Malcolm forced through gritted teeth.
Evan stared from Malcolm to Judas. Despite Malcolm’s anger, Judas’ eyes remained sad. His voice was little more than a whisper as he said, “Let him pass
, Celia. This is his home.”
Malcolm winced at the words. He opened his mouth to speak, then shook his head and swallowed his words. After a moment he tried again, voice breaking as he said, “It was our home. Until I woke up one morning and you were gone.”
Judas didn’t speak, at least, not with words. His eyes carried the guilt and shame, the sheer agony his words could not. Malcolm continued, in a voice that carried such pain it sent shivers down Evan’s back. She was thankful her powers weren’t with her in this moment. She had no desire to feel these emotions.
Malcolm said, “Do you know how worried I was? I didn’t know if you were alive or dead.”
“I know,” Judas whispered.
“You don’t know! You will never know. And now that I’ve started to feel numb to the sound of your name, when I’m finally sleeping through the night instead of waking up to wander around the house looking for any sign of you, Evan shows up,” he yelled, throwing his hand in her direction, “and she tells us about you saving her from Sirens. You were on land, but didn’t have the decency to contact anyone.”
“I’m sorry.”
Malcolm looked at him, his eyes brimming with tears. “Do you even know what it means to be sorry?”
“If I’d told you where I was going, you would have stopped me. I would’ve seen how afraid it made you, and I would’ve lost my nerve.”
“Better to hurt me?” Malcolm asked.
“Not better, just easier. I didn’t have to see it.”
Malcolm scoffed. “At least you’re being honest.”
“I don’t want you to hurt, Malcolm. I love you.”
Malcolm searched Judas’ face. “But love isn’t enough. You aren’t staying.”
“I can’t.”
“You can, you just don’t want to.”
Judas frowned when he said, “I have a duty to my people.”
“What about your duty to me?” Malcolm asked. “Or have you forgotten the promises we made to one another?”
“I will come back to you,” Judas said. It was a promise.
“Why are you here now?” Celia asked.
Judas jumped at the sound of her voice, as if he’d forgotten she was there. He said, “To help Evan. To make amends.”
“Amends?” Evan asked.
He nodded. “I went home when I got word the Sirens had captured my mother. They’d been holding her captive, hoping to use her nobility to infiltrate the castle.”
Evan said, “They knew the queen would call the nobles, for one reason or another.”
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Will asked. “We could’ve helped you.”
Judas smiled grimly and said, “You would’ve tried. But in the end, I would’ve chickened out for fear you’d all get hurt. Instead, Caspian and I made a plan.”
“Cas was in on this?” Celia asked, bitterness coloring her tone. “The bastard helped us look for you when you disappeared.”
“That was his part. To keep you on land, distracted.”
“I guess you didn’t think about my family and how we were in danger?” Evan asked.
Judas shook his head. “There are so many guards. It never crossed my mind that they’d actually be able to get to you.”
“And it obviously didn’t go too badly for you,” Evan said, eyes narrowing.
Judas said, “Yes. I was coming to that.”
“Coming to what?” Will asked, looking back and forth between Judas and Evan.
“He started working with the Sirens,” Evan said.
He sighed. “I didn’t have a choice.”
“What did you do?” Celia asked.
“The noble’s dinner,” Evan said. “The night we met.”
Judas nodded. “They charged me with entertaining you. They wanted me to get you away from everyone else.”
“You escorted me to the door where the kidnapper waited for me. The same one who tailed us yesterday.”
“I’m sorry for putting you in danger, Princess. I truly am.”
She stared at him, eyes hard. “Your words don’t make it right.”
“I know,” he whispered. After a moment, he cleared his throat and continued. “While they went after you, I got my mother out through a servants’ passage. She’s safe in Glauca with her sister.”
“How do you know she wasn’t followed?” Celia asked.
“Because he went back to the Sirens,” Evan said.
Judas smirked at her and said, “You’re astute, aren’t you?”
“Why would you go back to them?” Malcolm asked.
“If they had me, they didn’t need my mother. She’d stay safe.”
“I can’t believe they didn’t kill you,” Celia said.
“They still needed me. I was their way to the Princess.”
Evan said, “But Mother insisted I go to the Protean Ball. She wouldn’t risk looking weak, even to protect me.”
“When they found out you were going to the ball, everything changed. I was expendable. They already had someone inside the Protean Palace.”
“But you were there anyway,” Evan said.
“Most of them headed to Protea, leaving only a couple behind to kill me and the servants. But we banded together and fought them off.”
“You had a black eye,” Evan said, remembering.
He nodded. “I wasn’t on the guest list, but I paid a smuggler to get me in. I was trying to slip some guards when I ran into you and they assumed I was part of your entourage. Fortunately for me, they had other things to deal with that night.”
Evan jolted at his words. He witnessed her dance with the stranger. Her cheeks went red. She pressed her tongue to the roof of her mouth for a second, then said, “Yes, the stranger who found me after my talk with Prince Calix. We danced.”
“And then he ran,” Judas added.
Evan looked at Judas, silently thanking him for leaving out the fact that the man had kissed her. “Yes, he did.”
“Why? Who was he?” Celia asked.
“I never found out,” Evan said.
“Why didn’t you tell us about him before?” Malcolm asked.
“I didn’t think it was important,” Evan said with a shrug.
“The Sirens are hunting you. Everything that happens is important. For all you know, that man could be one too,” Celia said.
“After he ran,” Judas said, interrupting the sisters, “the guards took you out of the ballroom. I snuck away as well, planning to intercept you and tell you everything, to beg your forgiveness. But when I found you, it was too late.”
Evan shook her head. “No, it was just in time. Rafe couldn’t have gone much farther. If you hadn’t been there, I have no doubt I would be in the Siren’s custody right now.”
“I should’ve gone to your guards as soon as I got to the palace. I just wasn’t sure if they were trustworthy or if some of them could be helping the Sirens. That’s why I wanted to speak with you privately. I thought if I could get you alone for a few minutes, I could explain everything and atone for what I’d done.”
Evan walked to the window, chewing on his words. Although Judas had been conspiring with the Sirens, he was only doing it to protect his mother. What would she do for those she loved? She turned back to him and said, “Where did you go after you left me with Caspian?”
Judas said, “Back to Protea.”
“Why?” Celia asked, her eyes narrowing.
“To get information about what was happening, what they want with you.”
“Did you find what you were looking for?” Will asked.
Judas shook his head. “Not really. The only thing I learned is your guards are imprisoned.”
“Why?” Evan asked.
“The Protean Royals claim it was your guards who were in the process of handing you off to the Sirens.”
“Lies,” Evan said with a snarl.
They claim you were rescued by one of their people and they have you secreted away for your own protection. They’ve contacted your mother to come
for you.”
“We have to warn her,” Celia said.
Evan shook her head. “She won’t go. Queen Astraea is no fool. Not even where her daughter is concerned.”
“I’m sure she’s worried sick about you,” Celia said.
Evan pursed her lips and said, “I’m sure.”
“Evan is right, though. She may be worried, but she’s smart enough to stay away,” Judas said.
“So what happens now?” Will asked.
Judas shrugged. “I don’t know.”
Malcolm stood and paced the room. Every step seemed to carry the weight of the world. Finally, he stopped and looked at Judas. “I don’t like the way things happened. It was sloppy and hurtful.”
“You’re right,” Judas said.
Malcolm waved his words away, saying, “You put yourself in danger, and everyone in this room has suffered because of it. But we can’t go back and change it, and even if we could, we don’t know that we could do anything differently. The only thing to do now, in this moment, is move forward. We need a plan.”
“A plan for what?” Evan asked.
When Malcolm met her eyes, Evan shuddered at what she saw. All the warmth had drained from his face. With his voice unnaturally flat, Malcolm said, “A plan to kill the Sirens.”
Seventeen
One fruitless idea after another was presented over the next several hours. They knew the Sirens were after Evan, but they didn’t know why. Celia wanted to know more, Malcolm and Judas thought the why didn’t matter, and Will rode the fence between the two arguments.
When Kedra and Lucy arrived in early evening, the discussion was tabled for later. Lucy had conned Kedra into taking her to the toy store, and her new doll occupied the conversation.
Evan was grateful for the distraction. The constant exchange revolving around her had been exhausting and left her feeling frayed around her edges. While the others were preoccupied, she excused herself and tiptoed through the house. She ran into Poppy in the hallway and instructed her to tell the other she was napping if they asked. But instead of going to her room, she headed for the back door.
Outside she breathed in the tangy salt air, letting the smell of the sea fill her. Evan had no intention of leaving the grounds or the safety of Malcolm’s home, but at the least she could see the water. Surely it wouldn’t hurt to look.
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