Page 85 of Arcane Entanglement

The fight drained out of Evander at the mention of his father. He slumped into the chair across from Victoria, the heat of their argument fading and leaving him with a bitter aftertaste.

“I’m sorry. I was out of line. I shouldn’t have said those things.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Not like that, at least.”

Victoria’s mouth quirked in a small, sad smile. “Perhaps we both said things we regret.” She sighed and reached out to pat Evander’s hand. “Oh, my dear boy. What am I to do with you?”

Evander met her gaze squarely then, seeing not the strict monarch, but the woman who had been like an aunt to him growing up.

“Let me do my work,” he said quietly. “Let me try to make a difference, in whatever way I can.”

Victoria was silent for some time. She finally nodded, resignation etched in her face.

“Very well. I won’t force you to resign from the Metropolitan Police. But,” she held up a warning finger, “you must be more careful. The secret of your identity, of your place in the line of succession—it must remain hidden. For all our sakes.”

“I understand,” Evander said. “I’ll do my best to be more discreet.”

“See that you do.” Though Victoria’s tone was stern, there was a warmth in her eyes that belied her words. “I worry about you, you know. More than I perhaps should, given our complicated relationship.”

A lump formed in Evander’s throat.

“I know,” he said softly. “And I’m grateful for it, truly.”

Victoria cupped Evander’s cheek in a gesture of surprising tenderness.

“We are blood, you and I,” she said. “Never forget that, my dear. Whatever else may come between us, that bond will always remain.”

Evander leaned into her touch, feeling some of the tension of the past few days begin to ease.

“I won’t forget,” he promised.

He left the Queen’s chambers a short while later, his heart and mind ablaze with a storm of emotions.

Relief at having weathered Victoria’s anger. Determination to continue his work with the Met. A lingering warmth from a rare moment of familial affection.

Underlying it all was a growing sense of dread. The attack at the church, the dark mages’ mysterious agenda, and now this confrontation with Victoria.

It all pointed to a larger turmoil brewing on the horizon. One that could threaten not just Evander’s carefully constructed life, but likely the very foundations of the society he’d sworn to protect.

Viggo’s face rose before him. His belly tightened.

There was zero doubt in his mind that he’d be dragged kicking and screaming for an audience with the Queen if their burgeoning relationship ever came to light.

He’d long suspected Victoria had an inkling where his sexual interests lay. It was not a topic she would ever broach willingly. The fact that she’d re-iterated she wanted him to wed suggested she would rather forget about it.

One thing Evander was absolutely certain of.

He would never put a ring on a woman’s finger and bind them to a marriage that would cage them both.

The guards at the palace gates snapped to attention as Evander approached, no doubt startled by his dishevelled appearance. He’d come inside the grounds in the landau after all. Evander nodded briskly to them, his mind racing ahead to what needed to be done next.

Graham and Samuel were standing outside by his carriage, their expressions betraying their concern in the light of the enchanted lamps lining the road. Rufus was with them.

The inspector’s eyes widened at the sight of Evander.

“Good God!” he gasped, appalled. “They let you in there like that?!”

Evander shrugged. “The Queen insisted.”

He glanced past Rufus to the interior of the carriage, a little hopeful.