“Why don’t you think it’s a good idea? My maid told me they are mostly shops.”
“They are, but Prince Apollo asked us to make sure you stay on the castle grounds. It’s for your safety.”
“So are you saying that the four of you fine gentlemen aren’t strong enough to keep me safe if I leave the castle?” Evangeline needled shamelessly.
The younger guards responded exactly as she’d hoped.
They puffed out their chests and looked ready to prove her wrong.
But Yeats spoke up before they could say anything. “We are loyal to Prince Apollo’s wishes. Right now, his wish is that you remain here on castle grounds, where he knows you are at no risk of anything or anyone coming after you.”
Evangeline might have laughed if the guard hadn’t looked so serious. The way he spoke made it sound as if everything in the North might try to kill her. “Where exactly in Wolf Hall am I allowed to go?”
“Anywhere. As long as you don’t leave the premises.”
“Is Prince Apollo currently in Wolf Hall?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Excellent. Please take me to see him,” Evangeline said calmly, hopeful that this was simply a misunderstanding. Two nights ago, Apollo had said she wasn’t a prisoner and he’d never lock her up. In fact, he’d looked deeply hurt when she’d mentioned it. Clearly, these guards were mistaken.
“I’m sorry,” said Yeats evenly, “but the prince is currently occupied.”
“Doing what?” Evangeline asked.
Yeats’s mustache twitched in annoyance. “It isn’t our place to say,” he grunted. “What if we took you to one of the gardens instead?”
Evangeline finally let her smile fade. Until now she’d tried to be polite and pleasant, but these men clearly had no respect for her.
Maybe before she’d lost her memories, she would have been less troublesome. She might have been eager to simply wander the castle and the gardens and to be seen as an easy-to-please princess. But right now she really didn’t care about being a princess or being pleased or easy. She needed to remember. And that seemed unlikely to happen if she was confined to a fortified castle where people thought she was better off leaving the past forgotten.
“Did my husband tell you that he didn’t want to see me?”
“No. But—”
“Mr. Yeats,” Evangeline interrupted, “I’d like to see my husband. And if you tell me no or suggest that I walk through another garden, I’m going to assume you believe either that my husband can be replaced by flowers or that you’re in a position to give me orders. Do you believe either of those things, Mr. Yeats?”
The guard gritted his teeth.
Evangeline held her breath.
Finally Yeats answered, “No, Your Highness. I don’t think that.”
Evangeline tried to hide her relief as she looked at the others and asked, “What about the rest of you?”
“No, Your Highness,” they each muttered quickly.
“Splendid! Let’s go see Apollo.”
The guards made no move to leave. “We won’t stop you from looking for him, but we won’t take you to him,” said Yeats.
Evangeline had never been much for cursing, but she wanted to do it just then.
“I’ll take you to the prince,” called a new guard from a few feet away.
Evangeline looked at this young man askew.
He wore the same guard’s uniform as the others, but his armor appeared more scratched, as if he’d actually seen battle. There were a few scars on his face as well. “My name is Havelock, Your Highness.”
He waited a beat.
Evangeline had the immediate sense that he was hoping she would remember him, which just added to her frustration when she didn’t feel so much as a glimmer of recognition.
“It’s all right,” Havelock said. Then he nodded toward the cloak draped over her arm. “You won’t be needing that. The prince is in his receiving room. The fireplace takes up an entire wall. No one needs a cloak in there.”
Havelock did not lie.
The receiving room looked like the sort of place where children might gather on the night before a holiday to listen to a grandparent tell tales before the fire. Rain fell on the other side of the room’s wall-to-wall windows.
When Evangeline arrived, she watched the rain pour down in silver curtains, soaking the dark green needle trees and hitting hard against the windows. Inside the room, the great fire crackled as logs broke, setting off a quick riot of sparks and filling the room with a new burst of heat.
Even though her shoulders were bare, she was suddenly warm.
Apollo stood with an unfamiliar figure near the far mantel. This person was as tall as the prince but was entirely concealed by a dark hood and a long, heavy cloak.
Evangeline felt a fresh flicker of unease as she recalled the words No one needs a cloak in there. They echoed in her head as she stepped deeper into the room. “I hope I’m not interrupting.”
Apollo’s eyes lit up as soon as he saw her. “No, you’re just in time, darling.”
The hooded figure continued to gaze into the fire.
Evangeline knew it was probably breaking some sort of rule to take a closer glance at the stranger beneath his hood, but she couldn’t help herself. Not that it did much good. She discovered that the person beneath the cloak was male, but little else. A thick beard concealed the bottom half of his face, while a black mask covered the upper half, leaving her to gaze at nothing but a pair of slightly narrowed eyes.
Apollo gestured toward the man. “Evangeline, I’d like to introduce you to Garrick of the Greenwood, leader of the Guild of Heroes.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness.” Garrick’s voice was rasping and low, and did nothing to quell Evangeline’s growing sense of foreboding.
She’d never heard of Garrick or the Greenwood, but she had read about the Guild of Heroes yesterday morning.
Quickly she tried to remember what the scandal sheet had said. She thought it had started with something about the impostor heir who’d been on the throne when Apollo had been proclaimed dead. Apparently, this impostor was more concerned with parties and flirtations than with ruling the kingdom, and thus a band of warriors had taken it upon themselves to keep order in some areas of the North. They called themselves the Guild of Heroes. However, according to Mr. Knightlinger, it was debatable as to whether these warriors were heroes or mercenaries profiting off a series of unfortunate circumstances.
“Garrick is leading an effort that will take the hunt for Lord Jacks outside of Valorfell,” said Apollo.
The hero cracked his knuckles and flashed a chilling smile at Evangeline. “My men and I are excellent hunters. Lord Jacks will be dead within a fortnight. Possibly sooner, if you’re willing to help us.”
“What could I possibly do to help you?” Evangeline asked. For a moment she had a flash of being tied to a tree and used as bait.
“Don’t be alarmed, sweetheart.” Apollo took her hand. “This will only hurt for a moment.”
“What will hurt?” She pulled her hand free and tripped on the full skirt of her dress.
“There’s nothing to be afraid of, Evangeline.”