25. Evan

25

EVAN

E van leaned against an evergreen, glancing from the god of death to his wife-to-be. The night was cold, but the stormy weather had broken earlier in the day, leaving the old castle training grounds blanketed with snow.

"What did Xander say when you told him?" Evan asked Grimon.

"He said ‘Evan really wants to put all of us in one location at the same time. Isn't he supposed to be the strategist?' and honestly, Farlan, I'm inclined to agree," Grimon said. "You're not usually one to make impulsive decisions."

Evan sighed, meeting Sylvie's eye. "We've had too many losses. I refuse to go into another dangerous situation without officially making Sylvie my wife."

"I don't blame you. If you give her much more time, she'll realize she's too good for you," Grimon teased.

Sylvie giggled and winked at the god of death.

Evan shuddered, remembering the moment during Xander's engagement announcement when Sylvie had been stabbed in the chest. It had been weeks, but the memory was as fresh as if it happened yesterday. She'd said nothing to Evan about her time in between life and death, and he hadn't pressed. He hated to admit that it was fear that kept him from asking, not a lack of curiosity. He was just happy to have her back.

Evan had never considered himself particularly romantic. He'd never even considered getting married before meeting Sylvie. Settling down had been the farthest thing from his mind. His entire romantic history was a series of casual flings, but the moment he met Sylvie, he saw a future where he was more than just a spy for the first time ever.

Sylvie's blonde hair was curled and pulled back from her face, cascading down her back. Her lips were bright with the berry stain she loved to wear and her pale blue eyes were lined with kohl that made them look even more radiant. The priestesses at the temple had spent hours helping her primp, not that she needed help.

She was so clever and beautiful and, for some reason Evan still didn't understand, she was marrying him.

Sylvie smiled at him as if she could read his mind.

"I can see you looking for something to worry about. Cato is disguising everyone else so that the two of us can look like ourselves during the ceremony and he'll be there to help us escape if anything goes wrong," Sylvie said.

"And what if this is just an elaborate game to him?" Grimon asked.

Evan shrugged. "Then he'll be dead before his body hits the ground. I don't think he's keen to be as reckless now that he isn't immortal."

Grimon sighed, shaking his head.

Samson sidled up, throwing an arm around Sylvie. "It's a shame that you're taking this man off the market, but I hope you'll give me a call if you ever decide you're willing to share."

Evan shook his head. He had no idea why the god of lust had latched on to him, but he wasn't easily deterred, and his interest delighted Sylvie.

"I promise you'll be the first god I reach out to," she said, patting the god of lust on the shoulder before turning to Evan. "I have to go get changed into the dress I had made, and Cece is meeting me on the other side of this hill. I'll see you soon," she said, kissing him on the cheek.

He was tempted to follow her, but Cal trailed her, waving him off.

"Bad luck," Cal said with a grin.

Evan watched her disappear over the hill, then turned back to the god of death.

"How is the training going?" Grimon asked.

Evan had hoped to avoid thinking about it too much today. It was hard to put the constant worry out of his head ever since Sylvie had shared what happened to her. He felt responsible for keeping all of those women safe.

"They're better trained than I would have expected but mostly with defensive moves," Evan said. "They've made a lot of progress for such a short time, and I couldn't ask for more attentive students. They're quick studies, but I've also not trained many women. We have some in the Argarian army but I'm less familiar with the differences in fighting style."

"Don't you have a tiny goddess who could give you some pointers?" Samson asked.

Evan nodded. "Cece has been very helpful, but it's one thing to read instructions and another for the women to see them demonstrated, and unfortunately Vincent would notice if she was gone for an extended period of time. Plus, she's more valuable to Xander on the inside. She's the one who figured out that Vaughn Salvatore is also working for Vincent."

Samson shook his head. "That castle is full of more self-serving traitors than ever. What a spectacular mess."

"Hopefully soon it won't be full of any," Evan said.

The fading sunlight cast the shadows of the forest longer. Soon Sylvie would walk down their little woodland aisle. Mika had taken it upon herself to prepare the space. She fussed with the ivy along the makeshift aisle. Thanks to Grimon, Sayla—goddess of the hunt—had shown up and was working with Mika to make the old hunter training grounds beautiful. She'd pulled natural elements from the forest to make it look more like a woodland fairy tale, with a trellis made of ivy and snowdrop flowers.

Sayla turned her intense gaze on Evan, pulling her red fox fur tighter around her as she shivered. "Every time I visit Argaria I remember why I chose to be a goddess in the south."

Evan bowed. "Goddess, thank you for being here and for making it look so lovely. I know Sylvie will love it."

Sayla waved a hand like it was nothing to claw spring from the depths of winter.

Evan repeated the words he wanted to say over and over in his head, patting his jacket pocket to ensure he still had the piece of parchment with his vows. He did not have a way with words, and it had taken hours for him to come up with something worthy of Sylvie.

The soft crunch of boots in the snow to their right had all of them turning as a man in a black cloak stepped out of the tree line. They all drew their weapons, but he put his hands up.

"Stand down, it's me." It was Xander's voice, but his skin had been turned ghostly pale, his hair black and streaked with gray and the angles of his face made harsher. "I brought Isla."

A woman who had to be Isla but looked nothing like her with lighter skin and light brown hair stepped out behind him. Her eyes narrowed on the area, looking along the edges of the forest like she was assessing threats.

"We should move quickly. It was hard for us to sneak away, and we need Cato to put us back to normal before we go back inside," Xander said, pulling Evan into a tight hug. "I'm excited for this. I think we all need it. Though I must admit I didn't expect grand romantic gestures from you."

Evan rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. Xander had always possessed an ease when it came to expressing himself, but Evan had no gift for it.

"I've learned my lesson," Evan said. "What we're doing is dangerous. You saw that with Magdalena." He swallowed hard and Xander nodded solemnly.

Grimon had passed along the news to them that morning and Evan still felt winded by it. Even in disguise, he could see the grief in Xander's posture.

"I wanted to make it official while I had the chance," Evan said.

Isla shifted the bag from her shoulder and glass clinked softly inside as she set it on the ground. "We brought bubble wine for a toast."

"Thank you. It's nice to officially meet you, Lady Orum," Evan said.

She smiled. "Just call me Isla."

Evan's gaze lowered to their intertwined fingers, and he arched a brow. Xander smirked in a way that Evan would have recognized no matter how Cato disguised his best friend.

"Will the queen be joining us?" Evan asked.

Xander shook his head. "I'm afraid she's having another vicious bout of nausea, but she sends her love. She also sends a brilliant idea. She thinks the best time to strike is during Rainer's wedding." He looked to Isla for approval and she nodded.

"Jess is so bored and sick stuck in our rooms, but it's given her time to come up with a strategy. We already have the element of surprise with our little army, and we have access to the Temple of Aurelia. We could easily hide our warriors in the crowd right under their noses."

"That's only a week to come up with a good plan," Evan said. He was apprehensive. A wedding for a wealthy family like the Spellmans would bring more security than most and more scrutiny.

Xander held up his hands. "I know there are so many angles to consider, but this is a good place to start. If we push much longer, we risk all of our safety anyway."

"What if Rainer remembers before then?" Evan asked.

"Then he'll pretend until we're ready," Isla said.

It wasn't ideal, but Jessamin's idea had merit. Their success relied very heavily on the element of surprise. If they could figure out a few more details about the wedding logistics, they could have a plan in place in a few days.

A throat cleared behind them and they turned to see a petite woman with dark red hair and a narrow face. On stature alone she could have only been Cecilia.

She clicked her tongue. "No plotting on your wedding day," she scolded. "Now everyone get in place. The bride is ready." She walked back into the tree line.

Isla took her place beside Cal, Grimon, Sayla, and Samson. Xander walked to the front of the aisle, standing beside Evan.

Evan's heart pounded in his chest as he turned. He suddenly felt not nervous, exactly, but overwhelmed, surprised to find himself in this moment. He wished for the parents he'd never had a chance to know, but even more than that, he wished Teddy was there. His friend would have gotten the biggest kick out of seeing him so in love.

Even in death, Teddy had gotten his way. It seemed both Evan and Xander had done exactly what their fallen friend had hoped and fallen in love.

Cecilia and Sylvie walked out of the tree line arm in arm. Evan and Sylvie had agreed to blend the wedding traditions of their two kingdoms, and he was happy she had a woman who cared about her to walk down the aisle with her.

The sight of Sylvie, her scarlet dress bright against the white snow, stole the air from Evan's lungs.

The bright red silk dress accented her fair skin and hugged her curves. She wore a matching cape that billowed before her as she walked. Beside her Cecilia was all smiles, whispering something to Sylvie, likely about the stupefied look on Evan's face.

Evan straightened, clearing his throat.

Xander patted his back. "You're a very lucky man, Ev. I'm happy for you."

Evan nodded, his chest tight with surprising emotion as Sylvie stepped up beside him. Cecilia kissed her and Evan on their cheeks and stepped aside to huddle with the rest of their friends.

"What a wonderful thing to be here in the middle of the chaos to see two of our dearest friends profess their love to each other. It seems that chaotic weddings are our thing," Xander said, grinning at Cecilia. "I'm delighted to be here tonight to marry Evan Balor Farlan and Sylvie Rose Brett."

Evan could hardly hear Xander over the beating of his heart. He gripped Sylvie's cold hands in his, and she anchored him to the moment. The calm in her eyes seemed to bleed into him, his shoulders settling, the vigilance in his body replaced by love for her.

Xander had made up the ceremony on his own, insisting that as the king of Argaria he could blend their traditions with Olney's while keeping it short and sweet since such a gathering was dangerous.

"It's in moments of great joy that we pause and remember great grief as well. Let us take a moment of silence for all those who aren't with us here today," Xander said.

They bowed their heads and Evan thought of Teddy, of the parents he'd never known, and even of King Damian, who was flawed but gave Evan a good life. Finally, he thought of Magdalena, the healer who'd also known him his entire life, who'd healed his wounds when he was injured in training. Where joy walked, grief followed, but that was the price of caring about people.

Without Xander and Teddy—without Sylvie, Evan would be sleepwalking through his life, blindly listening to whatever the king told him to do. That was no way to live a life. Especially now that he knew there was something better.

"As is done in Olney tradition, the couple will speak their own vows," Xander said.

Sylvie met Evan's gaze, her eyes already glassy with tears. "Evan, men have looked at me my whole life—admired, complimented, tried to woo me—but you are the first man who has ever actually seen me underneath. You have loved me for my mind. You've allowed me to grow. You've encouraged me to be my most confident and strategic self, and rather than feeling threatened by it, you've been delighted. I'm lucky to be the person who gets to try to make you laugh when you're being too serious, come to bed when you're working to late, and make your codependent king think for himself so that you can have a life of your own."

Xander chuckled quietly .

Sylvie squeezed Evan's hands as she continued. "I'm very happy to be your partner in life, like I have been in everything else so far. I love you very much. I promise to love you when you're broody and worried. I promise to help you strategize and work through problems as often as I make you laugh and have fun."

When she finished, Evan swallowed hard. His words suddenly seemed too small for the moment.

"Sylvie, I'm a man of few words so I hope you'll forgive me for having so few to express what you mean to me. From the first moment we met, I was taken with the way you assessed everything around you, and when I saw your fury for the first time, I think that's when I really fell in love, though I much prefer when it's not directed at me."

Sylvie blew out a breathless laugh.

"I've not had many good examples of love in my life. I didn't grow up with a family of my own, but I know what it is to choose a family, and I choose you. Today and every day after. I choose you for your mind that is as complex and beautiful as your heart. I choose you because from the first time I saw you trick a man into thinking your idea was his, I didn't think ‘I need to stay away from that woman.' I thought, ‘I need to keep her close.' You are beautiful and kind and I'm to be the man you choose as a partner. I love you and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life beside you."

He brushed tears from her cheeks. "I promise to love you as much when you're angry as I do when you're happy. I promise to always listen to your wise advice, even if I don't always take it. When I don't, I promise to let you say you told me so."

Sylvie laughed.

"Most of all I promise to love you in every moment of growth, for all that you are now and all you will become."

Sylvie's smile lit up her whole face. Evan's relief was profound. She deserved the world, but what he'd given her was clearly good enough.

"What you have joined here together today, let no man or god tear apart. By the power of—well, me—I pronounce you married. You may kiss," Xander said.

Evan pulled his wife into a kiss, dipping her dramatically as their little crowd cheered.

When he set her back on her feet, she grinned at him, flashing her rings to the crowd.

Isla handed out glasses and the group of them stood in a circle, passing the bottles of bubble wine until everyone had some in their glasses.

Evan looked around the circle at his closest friends, shivering in the moonlight, breath coming out in puffs of mist. They were quirky and strange, but they were a family. Not the one he was born with, but the one he chose for himself—the one he'd learned to make time and space for outside of his duty—and he had Xander and Teddy to thank for starting it and Sylvie to thank for keeping it going.

"Before we depart I thought we could all give some well-wishes to our happy couple with a group toast. I'm king, so I go first," Xander said. "I wish you both more good days than bad, more love than you know what to do with, and a lifetime of peace after all of our struggles."

He elbowed Isla, and she held up her glass. "It's Novumi tradition to wish a couple long memory for the good times, short memory for the bad times, and a tongue made for telling stories so they'll be passed down for generations to come."

Isla looked warily to Goddess Sayla, who was standing beside her.

"I wish you fruitful hunts, quiet evenings, and that your every arrow pierces the heart of your enemies for clean killing," Sayla said, gulping down her whole glass of wine before reaching for the bottle again.

Cal looked from Evan to Sylvie. "I wish that you both take joy and hold on to it as much as you can. Syl, you are my best friend and you have been through so much. I hope that you'll teach him to be less serious," Cal teased.

Grimon held out his glass. "I wish you a long and happy life and a swift and painless death. I hope I'll not see either of you in my realm for a very long time." He elbowed Samson in the side.

Samson grinned, holding up his glass. "I wish you a prolific sex life behind closed doors or out in public, wherever you fancy?—"

Sylvie giggled.

"—and I wish that should you decide to invite outsiders, I'll be your first request," Samson finished.

Evan shook his head, but Sylvie looked delighted. The laughter of the group grew quiet as their gaze fell on the next guest.

Cato lifted his glass. "I wish you the ability to always sort a truth from a lie and I wish you tricks that bring laughs, but never hurt feelings." He turned toward Cecilia.

She pretended she didn't notice as she lifted her glass. "I wish you patience with each other, but also with yourselves so that you can keep learning to love better," Cecilia said, blinking away tears. "And if Rainer was here, he would probably say something like he wishes you a lifetime of good stories and that all your wishes come true."

She wiped tears from her cheeks as they clinked glasses and drank.

Evan threw an arm around her. "You okay, Cece?"

"Gods, aren't we all just fools in love?"

Evan laughed. "I guess I was the last one to fall."

Cecilia rolled her eyes. " Please . Sylvie was the last one to fall. You were absolutely out of your league the moment you met her outside Olney Castle."

Evan sighed. "Awkward that this is a rare occasion when you're right."

Even without memory magic, that moment when Sylvie had narrowed her curious gaze on Evan, he knew that if a woman like that could be interested in him, he might risk a relationship.

"Someday you'll learn that I'm always right." Cecilia turned to Xander and Isla. "We should get back. We've already been away too long."

"So soon?" Evan asked.

Cecilia sighed. "It's hard to shrug him, and he can find me, remember?" She tapped her chest. "He doesn't realize why he can find me, but he does it on instinct."

Normally Evan would be strategizing, but he needed just this one evening of happiness with his wife before he went back to the task at hand.

"It's okay to relax for a night," Cecilia said, following his gaze to Sylvie. "The moment we stop living our lives is the moment Vincent wins. I refuse to give him any more ground and you should too. We're doing all right on the inside. A little more time to sort out the traitors and we'll be ready." She pulled Evan into a tight hug. "I know you'll take good care of her, but maybe let her do the same from time to time."

Evan smiled as he pulled away. "I'll try."

Cecilia wandered over to speak with Sylvie while Xander took a step closer to Evan.

"Believe it or not, I always knew you'd end up here eventually," Xander whispered. "No man is so self-contained. Not even you. I'm happy for you, Ev."

A lump formed in Evan's throat. Xander had been the closest thing he had to family his whole life, and it meant the world to Evan that he'd taken the risk to be there.

Xander pulled him into a hug, and Evan's gaze flicked to Isla, who stood behind the king, her eyes scanning their surroundings like a sentry.

"Picked up a new watcher?" Evan whispered.

"Picked up more than that." Xander laughed as he pulled away looking genuinely charmed. He held out his arm to Isla. "Come, darling. My body needs guarding."

Isla rolled her eyes, but she took his arm and walked toward the castle with Cecilia and Cato on their heels.

Evan watched them go, feeling for the first time since they'd been surprised by Vincent that they might just stand a chance.