“I’m sure that’s what she means,” Luc said.
Evangeline’s stomach started to roil.
“If you’re jealous, I’ll happily have you for dinner instead.” Luc flashed Evangeline a smile that was probably meant to be playful but was made of too much teeth.
Her blood rushed, uncomfortably hot. “That’s not funny.”
“It wasn’t meant to be.” His nostrils flared.
The solarium door opened.
Evangeline braced to see the girl who’d come for dinner. But it wasn’t a girl. It was Havelock.
“Who are you?” Luc’s lips curved into a snarl.
Havelock ignored him, looking only at Evangeline. “Princess, there’s something you need to see straightaway.”
“I’m not sure that this is the best time.” Evangeline shot a worried look toward Luc. She couldn’t leave him alone to feed on some poor girl. But of course, Havelock didn’t know what Luc really was. She didn’t even know if Havelock was aware vampires existed, and in this moment, he might not care.
Havelock’s face was a series of strained lines, and when he spoke again, his voice was a rough thing that bordered on frightened. “This is urgent.”
Evangeline felt it then, damp on the back of her hand. One drop of blood leaked through the bandaged wound she shared with Apollo.
Luc inhaled from across the dark room. A sound like a growl came from his throat. And then in a flash, Luc was in motion.
She’d forgotten how fast a vampire could move. He was a powerful blur as he crossed the dim room and took hold of her with two brutal hands. Before she could run, one hand clamped around her waist, digging in, as the other fisted her hair and wrenched her neck toward his parted mouth.
Evangeline screamed.
But Luc’s lips never touched her skin. One instant he was there, all sharp teeth and primal hunger. Then he was being torn away, and she was being held. Gentle hands instead of harsh ones wrapped protectively around her, pulling her toward a cold, hard chest. He smelled of apples and cruelty, but Evangeline was shaking too hard to push Jacks away as he led her out of the dark solarium.
“I’m going to kill that boy,” he fumed.
Around them, the hallway lights were blinding, dizzying to Evangeline, who already felt a little faint. Luc had not managed to bite her, but the wound on her hand was dripping again and her mind was spinning.
“Havelock—”
“Is fine,” Jacks said.
Then the guard was there, a few feet to the side, looking dazed—possibly under Jacks’s control—but, thankfully, not appearing to be bleeding or injured.
“But Luc—”
“Is being subdued.” Jacks’s arm tightened around her, pulling her farther down the too-bright hall away from the solarium.
“Wait—” Evangeline dug her heels in and wrenched herself free. “Who is subduing Luc?”
“Someone who won’t hold him back forever.” Jacks’s mouth formed a flat line. He tried to tug her away again, but Evangeline darted back.
She was thankful Jacks had stopped her from becoming Luc’s next snack, but saving her once didn’t make Jacks a savior. He was still her villain, not her hero. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“It’s not safe for you here,” Jacks said calmly, as if she were a stray kitten he was trying to herd. And yet she noticed his knuckles were clenched and a muscle throbbed angrily in his neck.
“Excuse me.” The diminutive voice carried up the hall from the solarium doors. “Is Prince Lucien ready to see me for dinner yet?”
Evangeline turned, alarmed once again as her gaze snagged on the petite girl just a few feet away. Her face was delicate, her dress petal pink, and the sight of her filled Evangeline with fresh dread. It was Marisol. Her stepsister.
Evangeline had not seen her since the morning after Marisol had gotten Evangeline arrested for Apollo’s murder. Marisol had known Evangeline was innocent, but underneath her sugar-sweet exterior lived a heart corroded by jealousy, which had prompted Marisol to turn Evangeline in for a crime she hadn’t committed.
Seeing her now, looking princess-pretty, was like a knife to Evangeline’s memories, reopening all the wounds that Marisol had inflicted with her betrayal.
Marisol’s misdeeds initially hurt so much that Evangeline had considered using her royal position to ban her stepsister from Wolf Hall—possibly the Magnificent North entirely. But no matter how much Evangeline had wanted Marisol gone, she hadn’t been able to send her away. Evangeline’s feelings for her stepsister were complicated. She wanted to forgive Marisol. She wanted to be better than Marisol had been to her. But maybe Evangeline wasn’t better. Because as much as she was loath to admit it, she was prepared to let Marisol walk through the solarium doors, come face-to-face with Luc, and reap the pain that she had sown.