12. Evan

12

EVAN

E van stood off to the side of the square, watching as a town crier made his way to an elevated platform.

The long hair Cato had given Evan tickled the back of his neck and got in his way all the time, but the disguise had proven effective. Vincent's patrol hadn't given him a second glance.

Sylvie threaded her arm through his elbow and leaned in close. "Do you think people think you're my husband or my father?"

Even with her hair red, her eyes green, and her face slightly rounder, Evan knew Sylvie's smile. He missed her usual face, but he was happy she was disguised and safe.

"Hear, hear!" the town crier shouted. "The false king has infiltrated our castle. His men have terrorized the castle staff, and imprisoned our true king."

Gasps rippled through the crowd.

"Vincent Savero, who was long ago banished by King Damian, has managed to get his grip on the king's council by making promises to Lord Spellman and several traitors. They attacked King Xander in a vulnerable moment. He lives but is under duress in the castle, trying to keep even worse violence from breaking out. He has fought hard for the peace we have now, and he's doing his best to keep it. "

More murmuring went through the crowd, but they were clearly riveted.

"Where is Queen Jessamin?" someone shouted.

"The new queen is at his side. She will help make this right, but she's still spreading her goodwill through town," the crier shouted.

"It's true, we received food and new clothing at Aurelia's Orphanage," a woman on the edge of the square shouted.

Murmurs of approval for Jessamin rose from the crowd and Evan blew out a sigh of relief. Sylvie squeezed his arm a little tighter.

"Vincent has claimed that he's the true king," the town crier continued, "but we know that isn't true. His own father once tried to usurp King Damian and the good king was gracious enough to banish him and his son to the eastern wastes instead of killing them, and this is the thanks he gets for it—a coup."

Evan sighed. This part was a little false history. Xander had shared exactly what had happened to Vincent and his father. The more Evan learned about Vincent's history and his fierce desire to survive, the more terrified Evan felt of his violence. For years, everything that surrounded Vincent had been veiled in mystery. In the past, when he'd asked Damian about the threat, the late king had insisted it was nothing. Evan knew better than to have taken him at face value, but he had. Still, they couldn't win by playing fair. Not when Vincent had no problem playing dirty.

The crier puffed out his chest. "Vincent's sudden tax hikes have crippled our city. Families are being forced from homes they built with their own hands, and too many of us are struggling just to feed our children. King Xander has tried to give power back to the people, and that means we are responsible for the future of our home. We must do something before Vincent Savero destroys our kingdom."

"How can we help King Xander?" a man shouted.

"What can we possibly do? We don't know how to fight," a second voice yelled.

"We can march on the castle and protest!" the crier declared. "We can spread the word and let King Xander know that the people of Argaria won't be ruled with lies and force. We can spread the word that Vincent poses a danger to us all. It's common practice for his men to pillage the farms and burn everything they can't take with them as they go. They hurt the women, too. You've seen the refugees flooding the city."

An uproar tore through the crowd, which seemed half-horrified, half-disbelieving.

"It's true. My sister's family was in Gladens, in the east, and his men rolled through and left no one alive but women who ended up wishing they were dead," a woman called, her eyes wet with tears as two women next to her squeezed her shoulders.

Sylvie shifted beside Evan. He reached for her hand, but she stepped away, walking over to the woman who'd just spoken up. Evan resisted the urge to follow her and make a scene. She was safely disguised, but ever since she'd been stabbed and nearly died, he felt panic when she was out of reach.

He watched as she spoke to the women in a low voice. Then the woman who'd spoken pulled Sylvie into a tight hug.

A moment later, Sylvie came back to stand beside him.

"What was that about?" Evan asked.

"I think I have an idea for when we know who to trust. There are a lot of women who have a score to settle, and I think we might have a surprising army of our own that we never considered. Especially with the castle losing so much staff. There will be vacancies."

The crowd grew more uproarious as one of Vincent's guards chased the crier from the stage. The crowd shouted in outrage and obstructed the guard from catching the crier as he fled. The shouting grew louder, the people coming together to demand an end to the cruel reign of the false king. The mob marched up the street toward Castle Savero's walls.

Part one of their plan was sliding into place, and Evan felt the first dangerous seeds of hope take root.

The air in the brothel was so thick with perfume, cheap wine, and sweat that Evan cringed as they stepped into the foyer. Though the lighting was dim enough to hide the dinginess of the space, Sylvie looked woefully out of place, even in her disguise.

Made You Look was a higher-end establishment, not as sleazy as Veli's Shadow Lounge several blocks away, where witches tended to clients with more extreme proclivities for fire. But even the nicest brothel in town didn't come close to paralleling the luxury in which Sylvie had grown up.

The madame perked up from her place behind the counter. She leaned forward and her scarlet dress gapped, offering a scandalous view of her ample cleavage.

Sylvie squeezed Evan's arm. She was practically vibrating with delight.

"Good evening. I'm Madame Jamie. Welcome to Made You Look, the finest brothel in Ardenis with the loveliest and most talented whores in the city. We can cater to any preference." Madame Jamie tossed her sleek, dark hair over her shoulder. "What can I interest you in?"

"Company," Evan said.

Madame Jamie looked from Evan to Sylvie. "You'll be bringing your?—"

Sylvie coughed to cover a laugh. The changes to Evan's appearance made him appear older, and Sylvie was delighted that wherever they went people couldn't help but notice the clear age gap between them.

"My friend," Evan said. "We have an appointment, with Belle."

Madame Jamie smiled knowingly. "Of course. You and your lovely friend. That will cost extra. A bit more tit for a bit more tat, if you know what I mean."

Evan nodded, handing her a few coins, wondering how exactly Sylvie had convinced him it was a good idea to bring her to a brothel. She was calmer now that she had something to focus on. She had been restless without that sense of purpose, but with it she bordered on reckless, treating every outing like an adventure .

"Upstairs, third room on the right for you," Madame Jamie said, shooing them toward the narrow stairwell. She patted Sylvie on the backside as she walked by. "Good girl."

Once they were upstairs, Evan led Sylvie into their room.

She looked around the space, her gaze sliding from the four-poster bed to the dingy, sheer curtains.

"Oh, Ev, you take me to the nicest places," Sylvie teased.

A shadow stepped out from behind a dressing screen. "If the clients who come here are looking at those hideous curtains, I haven't done my job," Mika said. "Just be glad for the low light so you can't see how truly disgusting it is." She pulled Evan into a hug.

"You work here?" Sylvie asked, her eyes bulging.

Mika shrugged. "Only when I want to. Turns out Vincent is even more of a whoremonger than his uncle was, so we spend plenty of time at the castle entertaining his soldiers. Sadly, since his little rebellion, he's not allowed me close to him."

"He has in the past?" Sylvie said, her eyes wide.

Fury descended on Mika's face. "If I'd known—gods, I would have ripped his throat out with my bare hands. I expected I would know him when I saw him."

Guilt formed a lump in Evan's throat. He'd failed her like he'd failed the rest of his friends.

Evan knew Mika's history. She'd lost the woman she loved to one of Vincent's attacks two years ago. That was when she'd first contacted him and told him she'd work for him if he ever needed a female spy. He'd been all too happy to have someone with such a gift for making men part with their secrets without them realizing. Men of the court thought whores were stupid. The more they had to drink, the more their lips loosened. Mika had long been one of Evan's most productive and talented spies. He had immense respect for her and all she sacrificed in the name of vengeance.

"I'm sorry," Evan said. "I should have paid more attention to the money trail."

Mika held up a hand. "We all missed things. It's not your fault."

"How is Cece?" Sylvie asked. "What happened to her? "

Mika sighed and shook her head. "I won't tell her story for her. You'll have to ask her yourself. Physically she's fine, but mentally she's struggling. Rainer seems determined not to remember her."

Sylvie's face fell. She looked pale in the firelight. Evan placed a hand on her shoulder, and she leaned into his touch. He couldn't imagine what was going through her mind. He still felt so angry every time he imagined Sylvie in that same scenario. It might have been years ago, and she seemed as at peace with it as she could be, but it was still fresh for Evan. Nothing had made him feel such pure and helpless hatred and rage. Since the attack on Castle Savero, Sylvie had tossed and turned, dark circles blooming beneath her eyes even in their disguise.

"So, what's the latest?" Evan asked.

"Vincent is irate with the lack of staff around the castle since your most recent smuggling mission," Mika said. "He's started having guards take over some tasks, which is making the remaining staff understandably tense and, of course, it makes our sneaking around harder."

Evan sighed heavily. That was a recipe for disaster. Even though those who remained had agreed to stay in place to help Xander, Evan didn't want them taking any unnecessary risks. He and Xander had taken pains to get to know every last servant in the months before the attack to ascertain who they could trust and who might be a spy.

Mika sat in front of the vanity, brushing her hair as she spoke. "He's more suspicious of people coming and going now. Faces the guards are familiar with, like mine, are easy. But even with your modifications," she said, waving a hand at their magically altered faces, "I'm not sure how easy it would be for you to infiltrate without some sort of obvious reason for being there."

Evan nodded. It was too risky for them all to be inside again until they knew exactly who their allies were.

"Both of your council members are working on figuring out where allegiances lie, but it's difficult considering Vincent's brutality," Mika continued. "No one is terribly willing to fess up to wanting something else. "

"It makes sense," Sylvie said. "It's not like the two of them can ask who wants things to go back."

"And even if they could, how could we trust that after our past mistakes?" Evan added.

Mika nodded, studying Sylvie's face. "Don't lose heart, Lady Brett. The rest of us have been doing this a long time now and we are figuring it out, just at a slower pace than we'd like. But a longer game is safer right now with so many moving parts. Vincent had Jess write to her mother asking for a meeting to discuss more favorable trade terms."

Evan ran a hand over his face. The real Jessamin was going to be furious about that. She was already upset enough that they had sent Isla into the castle in her stead.

"That said, he seems none the wiser about the decoy." Mika hesitated. "He also wrote to Marcos under the guise of negotiating a more solid truce and better trade terms as well."

Evan frowned. "What do you think he actually wants?"

Mika met his gaze. "To kill Marcos and take the two kingdoms for himself."

"Lovely," Sylvie huffed.

"The last letter from Marcos said that he's worried sick about all of us and his people, but he's wise enough not to take the bait of a private meeting," Evan said. "He offered us any assistance we might want, including a faux delegation or warriors made to look like diplomats for a surprise attack, but he defers to us on the best tactic."

Mika nodded. "Until we know exactly who we can trust and until Rainer remembers what's going on, we could just as easily end up in the same place with more lives lost. It's best to stay the course for now. We will keep the lines of communication open."

"We can't just do nothing," Sylvie said, her voice tight.

Evan rubbed the back of his neck. "Trust me, I know how you feel, but when we do this, it will be for good. We have to be sure we have cut all the poison out of this kingdom so that we can finally have some peace."

Sylvie sighed, leaning back in her chair and staring into the fire. Evan knew she was frustrated, but they were doing their best. They were fortunate to have the alliance with Olney and the convenience of Grimon delivering messages faster than any messenger service.

"What about Aldrena?" Evan asked.

Mika laughed. "They haven't even responded, though it's unclear if they're worried it's a trap after the fake Princess Clare tried to kill Xander. They could be concerned about retaliation, or they might be doing what they've done the past twenty years and keeping to themselves." Her eyes darted from Sylvie to Evan.

"What is it?" Evan asked.

"The boy who leaks me Vincent's correspondence told me that his letter to Marcos also requested the presence of Raven Whitewind," Mika whispered.

"The seer?" Sylvie asked, eyes wide. "What would he want with the seer?"

Mika shrugged. "Unfortunately, that was not included with the letter."

Dread washed over Evan. It was possible Vincent wanted to stay a step ahead of any adversaries or was searching for the best time to kill Xander, but he doubted an ancient witch like Raven Whitewind would subject herself to the whims of a king who usurped his throne.

"I'm sure we have nothing to worry about," Evan said. "As we learned last year, even when Cato thought he'd kidnapped her, she made sure he knew that he very much did not. She is a seer; she's likely already aware that he wants to see her. And as she told Cato, she doesn't go anywhere she doesn't want to."

Mika looked lost in thought, like she was trying to solve some complicated puzzle. "Still, it seems an interesting choice for a man who is dying to hold on to his power. I can't help but wonder if granting him access to her is wise."

Evan frowned. "I am certain that she won't offer anything that isn't in Olney's best interest and, now that there's an alliance, Argaria's as well."

Sylvie looked less certain.

Evan turned back to Mika. "You'll let me know if she arrives? "

Mika nodded. Voices rose in the hallway and the three of them stilled to listen. A door opened and closed. Footsteps faded down the fall.

"You should head out," Mika whispered. "I have another client coming soon."

Evan helped Sylvie to her feet, and they made their way to the door.

"Wait," Mika called. She crossed the room to them, quickly unbuttoning and then rebuttoning Evan's shirt wrong before mussing his hair. Then, she shook her fingers through Sylvie's hair until it was believably tousled and ran a thumb over her lips to smudge the berry stain Sylvie wore.

Evan liked seeing Sylvie like that—like he'd just had his way with her and kissed that sweet berry taste right off her mouth.

"Now you're perfect. Stay safe, you two. I'll be back here same time next week for more," Mika said loudly as she shooed them into the hall. She winked at Evan before turning back and leaving them in the dim hallway.

As they stepped out into the cold evening air, Sylvie smiled at him. "Thank you for bringing me with you. It feels good to be doing something instead of sitting around worrying." A giggle burst out of her. "I can't believe I'm thanking my fiancé for taking me to a brothel."

Evan laughed, pulling her closer. "Well, if you liked it, I'm sure Mika would be happy to have us back for real once this mess is dealt with."

Sylvie arched an eyebrow. "You think I want to share you?"

"How do you know I don't want to share you?"

Her face lit up. "Really? You'd like to watch us together?"

The question brought up a compelling mental image that Evan shook off, his eyes darting around as if the one moment of distraction would be enough to bait any waiting attacker.

"Don't be distracting when we're out in the open, Syl," he whispered.

She giggled as they wove through side streets and alleyways, taking a winding path back to the Temple of Aurelia when someone in a cloak burst from a side street.

Evan had his dagger out in a second, corralling Sylvie behind him. But when the man tipped his hood back, Evan was met with familiar gray eyes.

"For fuck's sake. What are you doing here, Cato?" Evan asked, trying to keep his gaze from the temple across the street where their entourage was hiding.

They weren't supposed to meet him until the next morning to reinforce their disguises with his limited godly magic. They'd been so careful to keep those meetings far from their base, but now Cato was mere feet from their hideout.

The trickster grinned. "I told you I wanted to help, but you insisted on playing spy thinking I didn't know where you were. I've known since the beginning, but I haven't given you up. I want a chance to help."

Evan ran a hand through his hair. "Go away."

Cato held up his hands. "Listen, I know you think you don't need me right now, but I suspect when you get back to the temple you're going to want my help."

Evan froze. "What did you do?"

Sylvie took off across the street and Evan followed. He was tense as they approached the large temple doors. Shrill voices inside had Evan drawing his dagger as they pressed the door open.

"You simply cannot, Jess. I will not allow it," Maren shouted, her eyes wild, her hands clasping Jessamin's shoulders.

Evan lowered his weapon but remained frozen outside the temple.

The queen's jaw was tense. "I am in charge, Maren. Not the other way around. I may be a queen outside her castle, but you still promised me your allegiance."

"Not when you're being irrational," Maren snapped.

Evan was unsure how to navigate a lovers' spat, but Sylvie brushed by him. Cato leaned against the doorframe, looking amused.

"What's going on?" Sylvie asked .

Maren turned to Sylvie. "Finally, someone rational. What's going on is that your queen wants to march her ass behind enemy lines to talk to her husband."

Jessamin threw her hands up. "You say it like it's so unreasonable. Like I'm being chaotic and irrational when I want to have a very important conversation with my new husband face to face. Every man deserves that."

"It is out of the question," Maren said fiercely. She met Evan's gaze, her eyes pleading. "Tell her it's crazy."

Evan sighed. "It is crazy, Jess. I promised Xander I would keep you safe and I cannot do it in there. There are too many unknown factors."

Jessamin paced the center aisle. "I have done everything you've all asked of me. I've sat and stewed in my rage and worry but I cannot continue to do so simply because I'm important. These are my people now too and I need to help. Beyond that, I need to talk to Xander face to face."

"If only there was a way to do that," Cato said smugly.

"Why?"

Evan was afraid of the answer. There was only one thing he could imagine would make a pragmatic strategist like Jessamin so insistent—the same thing that would make her equally unsafe no matter where she was. The same thing that would put additional pressure on their timeline to take back the kingdom. It would also explain why Cato was so certain that they'd need his help.

Jessamin met Evan's gaze. "Because I'm pregnant."