Rebellion

Chapter Twelve: Evangeline

Chapter Twelve: Evangeline

            “I don’t approve of this,” I snapped, slamming the door behind me.

            Rose just looked up at me wearily. “I know, Evie. You’ve made your opinion abundantly clear on this matter.”

            I sank down into the chair opposite her and sighed as Moon settled beside me, laying her head on my feet. Seth was recovered enough to sit up—and, according to the healers, recovered enough to answer questions.

            I didn’t agree. He was still weak, and every time I casually mentioned anything that had happened before he came to the palace, he got a look of fear that wouldn’t really fade for hours. Questioning him would do no good.

            Of course, pressuring Rose wouldn’t do any good either.

            “I have no choice, Evie, you know that,” she said, brushing her hair out of her face. “We have to know how he got here and if these rumors that are swirling around about Giovanni are true or not.”

            I sighed. “Of course they’re not true, Rose. Giovanni’s been dead for fifteen years.”

            She shook her head at me, smiling faintly. “I have to hear it from Seth, Evie.”

            “Why?” I asked. “Why bother him over something you already know?”

            She sighed. “They never found the body.”

            “They were distracted, Rose,” I argued. “They were probably looking in the wrong place. Father’s told us that more than once.”

            She stood. “I know you’re concerned for Seth, Evie. And that’s not a bad thing. But I have to watch out for the people. I’ll be crowned queen in just a few months, and I can’t let my affection for you cloud my thoughts on the matter. I have to see to the needs of Lunandra.”

            She smiled sadly, and hugged me before leaving the room.

            I looked around her office longingly before I snuffed out the candle on the desk and followed Rose, closing the door behind us.

            “Just promise me that you’ll go easy on him,” I pleaded as I caught up to her.

            She sighed again, and the expression on her face made her look ten years older than our nineteen years. “Evangeline, I will do as I see fit.”

            I didn’t answer. Rose was frustrated right now, and further argument from me would do no good, for Seth or for me.

            I made a silent vow to stay close, though, in case intervention was needed.

            If my help was something to be desired—which admittedly, it usually wasn’t.

            I closed my eyes, steeling myself for what was to come. This was Seth, not someone who’d been around me long enough to know just how different I really was.

            Seth, who looked at me without fear or revulsion.

            Seth, who was the first person outside my family to ask me to stay without being obligated.

            Seth, who was slowly creeping into my heart, no matter how I tried to harden it against him.

            I let out the breath I’d been holding as I watched Rose move down the hall, her skirts swishing. I’d hardly noticed stopping, wrapped as I was in my thoughts.