Across from her, Lady Vale had gone extremely pale, and Lord Vale had turned an angry shade of red.
In all her life, Evangeline’s father had never looked at her the way Lord Vale looked at Aurora right now. Of course Evangeline had also never looked at her father in the defiant way that Aurora did now. It made Evangeline wonder if maybe she was wrong about this family being connected with her missing memories. Perhaps it was just the tension among them that made Apollo so uncomfortable. That was all the story seemed to bring about. It didn’t elicit a flicker of anything else.
“Hopefully our rebuilding of the Merrywood will help to restore some of that which was lost,” Lord Vale announced, in a clear attempt to change the subject.
This time Aurora didn’t seem to mind. It appeared she’d said all she wanted to on the matter. “I do hope you and your prince can join us for the rebuilding festival. I’m so excited to get to know you better.”
Aurora hugged Evangeline and whispered, “I have a feeling we are going to be great friends—ouch!” She pulled back with a pained flutter of her lashes.
“What’s wrong?” Evangeline asked.
“I didn’t realize you had a dagger on your person.” Aurora cocked her head, inclining it toward Archer’s jeweled knife, which Evangeline had tucked into her belt.
A crease formed between Apollo’s brows and his gaze turned unusually dark. “Where did you get that?”
Evangeline protectively put her hand over the dagger’s hilt. “I found it in the gardens,” she lied.
She regretted it immediately—Evangeline had never been a liar—but she couldn’t bring herself to stop.
Apollo looked suspicious as he eyed the knife. It was the same way he’d looked earlier when he’d caught her searching the room, but this time the jealousy was unmistakable. His eyes narrowed, a muscle throbbed in his forehead, and Evangeline was glad that she hadn’t told the truth, that another young man had given her the blade. She still feared Apollo might take it anyway.
Quickly she made up a slightly ridiculous story about finding it in the well just before she’d been pulled out. “I feel as if it’s a bit of a lucky charm. But I’m sorry it hurt you, Aurora.”
“It was really nothing. In fact, now that you’ve said it’s good luck, I’m rather glad you have it. But you might want to be more careful with your weapons. I know it’s your charm, but with so many guards around, do you really need it?”
“She’s right,” Apollo said. “I—”
“Ahem.” Someone cleared their throat loudly behind them. Evangeline’s relief was immediate. She was almost certain Apollo had been about to take the knife.
Now his attention was on a new guard who stood at the edge of their circle.
“Your Highnesses, I’m sorry to interrupt, but there’s a matter of great urgency that I need to speak with the prince about.”
“And this couldn’t wait another minute?” Apollo turned to the guard with a glower.
The young man visibly paled. “Believe me, Your Highness, if it wasn’t important, I wouldn’t have interrupted.” The guard leaned in close and whispered something to Apollo that made the prince go gray.
“I’m sorry, but I’m afraid my attention is needed elsewhere.” He looked down at Evangeline. “I hate to leave, but I’ll find you later tonight.”
Before she could ask where he was going, Prince Apollo strode away.
Chapter 17
Evangeline
Evangeline didn’t touch her wine, although she seemed to be the only one abstaining. The merriment of the dinner party continued after Apollo left. Soon it wasn’t just the courtiers who were drinking; a number of the guards were imbibing as well.
There wasn’t a clock in the Court of Columns, but she could tell from the movement of the moon overhead that some time had passed since Apollo had left, enough time to tell her that whatever had pulled the prince away was significant.
Evangeline briefly wondered if they had found Lord Jacks. But she supposed that news would have made the prince happy, and he had not looked glad before he’d exited. No, it must have been something else.
She continued to wonder through the dinner’s third course until someone halfway down the table made another toast. Northerners, it seemed, were quite fond of toasting. This particular toast was to the archer who’d felled the birds they were feasting on, and suddenly Evangeline remembered. Archer.
Her insides did a quick somersault. She looked around the court once more, hoping that he’d finally stepped inside. But there was still no sign of him.
Now Evangeline had never thought of herself as a reckless person. Others might argue with this. But Evangeline would say to them that she was merely hopeful of what could be, whereas others were fearful as to what could go wrong.
Evangeline knew that especially given recent events involving a well, sneaking away from the dinner without her guards in search of Archer may have posed a bit of danger. But Evangeline also imagined that with Apollo gone and so many people distracted, this was perhaps the perfect time to try to find Archer again and hopefully regain her memories.
She pondered the different distractions she could cause in order to sneak away. First she considered tugging on the tablecloth to topple the platters of food. She imagined spilling the wine. Then another toast began, and she realized that this was her opportunity.
Lord Vale was giving the toast. He was actually doing a rather spectacular job of it, vividly explaining his desire to rebuild the Merrywood in an effort to rally others to his cause. Even Evangeline found it difficult to look away from him.
Lord Vale drew every eye as he stood and raised a glass high above his burly head. “This restoration is for the entire North!” he declared with a voice like thunder. “We rebuild to banish the ghosts of our pasts that dare to keep haunting us. For we are Northerners! We are not afraid of the myths and the legends! We are the myths and the legends!”
The room erupted in shouts. “We are the legends!”
“Who will join me in this rebuilding?” Lord Vale cried.
“Count me in!”
“My House will be there!”
The room exploded in a cacophony of impassioned voices as men and women and even guards all over the court raised their glasses and cheered.
“We will begin right after the Hunt!” Lord Vale bellowed.
Evangeline chose this moment to slip from the table and through the closest set of doors. She focused on being quick more than being quiet. The riot of the court was loud enough to drown out the sounds of a war.
And so it wasn’t until a few minutes later that Evangeline heard the footsteps echoing behind her.
She quickly reached for Archer’s dagger and spun around.
“It’s only me.” Aurora Vale raised her hands defensively. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you. When I saw you slipping away, I thought I would join. My father’s toasts can go on for days. I remember a particular wedding where he toasted from sunset until sunrise.”