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Evelina

Evelina was at a loss for words. She was a healer, sworn to help and do no harm. She knew there was loss in war, knew that people died. But it didn’t make it right.

“I’ll clean up here,” Keir said softly as his gaze caught Evelina’s.

“Evelina,” Daimon rasped, his eyes still bloodthirsty and hard. “What are you doing here?”

It wasn’t every day Evelina found herself in the position of eavesdropping, but she had been caught doing so more times than she cared to admit. Daimon took a step toward her, but she was already turning to walk back to the healer’s cabin. He caught up with her in a few strides.

“Princess Evelina.”

She spun around, her eyes blazing.

“I’m sorry you saw that.” He cleared his throat, avoiding looking directly at her. “Are you okay?”

“You killed him,” she stated, as if it weren’t obvious—even saying the words aloud felt odd. She was not surprised he was capable of such harm. He was the Alpha Fleet’s commander—of course he had killed. But this was a different thing entirely. This was no battle. And the rage in his eyes …

“He would’ve killed you without blinking had I not shielded you,” he said bluntly. “Dark god worshipers deserve what they get. He was too far gone.”

Her nostrils flared, her anger rising. “Maybe he was too far gone. But that doesn’t give you the right to stoop to their level,” she argued. “These rebels have turned to the gods because they feel abandoned. They blame my family because they don’t know who else to blame.”

Daimon shook his head and ran his fingers roughly through his hair. “It wasn’t worth the risk to keep him alive.”

Evelina threw her hands into the air and angled her body away from him. “Isn’t worth the risk ?” she asked in disbelief. “We might lose a lot in this war, but once we lose our honor… We prove the rebels right.” She couldn’t help the frustration seeping into her words. She was exhausted, her patience as fragile as the twigs beneath her feet.

“Evelina, there is always death in war.” His voice was deep and gravely. “It’s inevitable—you know that.”

She twisted back toward him, but his gaze was set intently on the water. “It doesn’t mean a life should be taken like that. He had already lost—had no way to fight back.”

“Fight back?” Daimon huffed a hollow laugh. “You have no idea what we’ve gone through while you’ve been at the palace—no idea what we see every day at the border. The rebels are barely human—barely have a soul. They’ve sold it all to Vidaris. Death is a favor to them.”

“And what about honor?”

At this, he finally looked at her, a roiling fire in his eyes. “He tried to kill you.”

A shudder rolled down her spine from the intensity in his gaze. Warmth filled her chest, a spark of shock nestled beside her anger.

“Nothing about this is easy. Certainly not using my Essence to harm another. You have no idea how much I’ve fought against what I was born to—” He clamped his mouth closed.

“Born to what?” Evelina asked, narrowing her eyes.

His eyes flickered, seemingly wrestling with something in his mind. He spun around, ready to walk away—but Evelina wasn’t having it. She reached out for him, pulling him to a stop. He looked back at her, his chest heaving.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

He pulled away from her, but she held on firmly, digging her nails into his arm.

“Nothing.” He looked at the ground, his face heartbreakingly open. His emotions had been so distant and hard to read since being here, but here was his pain now—on full display.

This time, she let him go. His stride didn’t falter, and he didn’t look back as he walked away.