Chapter 111

Logan

The morning after felt heavier than I expected. I’d hardly slept more than a few hours and had woken restless.

When she’d left the evening before, after we had reunited so intimately, my heart had shattered. I had watched her go, knowing that chasing her down was the wrong idea. She needed space and time to think about it all. I understood why she would need to sort through her thoughts. We were back and forth so often, hot and cold.

But damn, did allowing her space hurt me.

As the morning waned on, I determined that enough time had passed. Selfishly, I needed to see her. Hopefully, by then she would have reached whatever conclusion she’d draw. For better or worse, I needed to know. The uncertainty was eating me alive.

Without even having breakfast, I resorted to searching the halls, the medical wing, and even the gardens for Evelyn, but she was nowhere to be found. She eluded me, absent from every corner I looked in, like she had just been a dream all along.

Each step I took, I was reminded of the way she’d looked last night, flushed and trembling beneath my touch. Just thinking about her as I searched made me hard. If she didn’t choose me and decided on leaving me for good... I wasn’t sure I would survive.

I couldn’t shake the way she’d slipped out of my arms like smoke right after. She had fled like she was fearful, and it twisted something deep inside me to even remember it.

And now, she evaded me at every turn. She was avoiding me, and the ache that came with that realization was sharper than any blade.

I became desperate, searching through places I knew she was unlikely to be in. I looked in the armory and eventually found myself in the training yards.

But instead of finally finding Evelyn among the sweaty soldiers working out, I found her brother.

Alex was in the center of the training yard, sweat slicking his brow. His shirt had been discarded, and every muscle in his body was coiled with focus. He was practicing, using a massive longsword as though he were in the middle of a raging battle. His sword sang against the air as he worked through forms, faster, sharper, until he moved so fluidly it was almost mesmerizing.

There was no doubt that Alex was skilled with the weapon. Even a few of the lesser soldiers turned to watch him practicing.

It felt almost like a crime to interrupt.

I stepped through the sparring around him. Others parted for me, making way so that I could directly approach the prince.

“Have you seen your sister?” I asked. I wasted no time getting to the heart of it.

“No,” he answered, stopping mid swing. He was panting from exertion as he turned toward me. “I don’t keep track of her. She’s her own person.”

“I haven’t been able to find her all morning.”

Alex shrugged. “She’s probably just busy.”

I shook my head, running a hand through my hair in exasperation. I couldn’t explain the urgency of finding her without divulging too much, but it was needling at me all the same.

“You seem stressed,” Alex observed. “Do you want to burn some of that anxiety off?”

He gestured at me with his sword. I hesitated, looking between the prince and his weapon. Maybe it would be a good idea to burn off some of the stress coursing through me. And I was no closer to finding Evelyn than I was when I had initially set off hours ago.

Without speaking, I grabbed a sword from the rack and rolled my shoulders, ignoring the jab. “You get the first swing.”

Alex grinned. “How generous of you.”

Alex studied me for a long beat, sizing me up. Then he lunged. Steel clashed, jolting through my arms. My body moved on instinct, but it was sluggish, like my wolf and I were still shaking off the last bitter threads of the drug Emma had used and the starvation my body had endured.

But I couldn’t deny it; fighting like this felt right.

Perhaps a part of me had missed it after the battles had ceased, but it felt good to assert my energy somewhere other than at the war happening in my mind.

“Something’s off with you,” Alex muttered, driving me back. “And it’s not just your body.”

I gritted my teeth, forcing a parry. I was distantly aware of our growing audience as other soldiers were pausing to watch on, too curious to pretend they weren’t intrigued in this battle between prince and Alpha.

“I don’t know what the hell I’m doing with her,” I admitted between strikes. “One second I’m ready to tear down the world just to keep her safe, and the next I’m questioning if she’ll even stay beside me. I want her, but I’ve made too many mistakes, and now I’m worried that a part of her is repulsed by me. Maybe she deserves better.”

Alex’s blade nearly slipped past my guard, just a hair away from grazing my ribs. His eyes sharpened. “She does deserve better. She certainly deserves better than your self-pity.”

Anger flared. It was good fuel. I struck harder, our swords ringing as they clashed. For a moment, I gained the upper hand.

But he was quicker, steadier. And before long, he swept my legs out from under me, sending me flat on my back with his blade hovering at my throat.

“You’re an idiot,” he said flatly. “Always have been, and probably always will be. But it’s up to her to decide if she’s willing to look past your stupidity.”

I stared up at him, chest heaving, the words sinking deep. And for once, I didn’t argue. There was nothing I could counter with. I knew I had fucked up. There was no denying that.

“I know,” I managed.

He offered me his hand, and I took it. With the combined effort, I was hauled to my feet, where we stood catching our breath. We were both panting, sweat dripping, but there was a strange clarity in admitting it all out loud.

Before either of us could say more, the sharp toll of a bell echoed through the yard. I froze. I couldn’t remember the last time I had heard its declaration. Alex met my eye, equally as surprised.

A royal summons was being called.

In just a few breaths, Alex and I turned, sprinting toward the town square where people would be gathering in answer to the royal summons. The space was already overflowing with people, and everyone stood pressed shoulder to shoulder, their voices hushed with expectation. At the center, a makeshift dais loomed, constructed hastily from wooden slats. My heart stuttered as my eyes landed on it.

Standing on the dais, the Alpha King stood tall, regal, and every inch the executioner of justice. Beside him was Evelyn, her face pale but composed, her eyes unreadable as they scanned the crowd. So this was where she’d been. She had been tending to other duties with that stoic, beautiful expression while I combed through the palace looking for her.

And at Evelyn’s other side, shackled and kneeling, was Emma. The chains gleamed under the sun. A hush spread out over the crowd as everyone shared the same realization.

Emma was about to be executed.