Page 35

Daimon

Queen Embry was dying. The heaviness of that reality hadn’t fully sunken in yet. Not as Carwyn led the strategy meeting with Senna at her side. Not as Daimon had to brief her instead of her mother. He liked Carwyn well enough, but he had served Queen Embry for years.

And then there was Evelina.

He swallowed, his throat tight thinking about what she must have been going through.

“Our victories have been short-lived with how often the rebels have been trying to push past the border,” Senna said. He was on Carwyn’s right, standing beside her comfortably.

Daimon watched the naval commander with interest. He and Daimon might both have been commanders, but they couldn’t have been more different. Senna was revered with a pristine bloodline, while Daimon had clawed his way to the top.

“There’s been more skirmishes on the coast. We should consider shifting some of the ships closer to the border to strengthen our presence there.”

Carwyn nodded and looked at Keir. “Thoughts, Commander?”

The door to the strategy room creaked open as Evelina stepped in. Daimon straightened, only catching a glimpse of her face before looking away. She had been crying. Her eyes were puffy and her cheeks were red.

“Evie?” Carwyn said with a touch of surprise in her voice.

Evelina walked up to the table. He could feel her eyes on him, but he fixed his gaze on the wood in front of him.

“I’d like to join the meeting tonight,” she whispered.

Blessed Divine, even her voice sounded like she was crying. He gripped the table to stop himself from reaching for her. He didn’t know how to act around her at the camp, let alone in front of the entire council.

The air was tense. No one had expected Evelina to be here tonight, not after just learning about her mother’s illness a few hours ago.

Keir cleared his throat and continued. “It’ll stretch us thin on the coastline toward the palace, which could leave us weak,” he said. “But, if we shift Beta Fleet Five to cover the empty waters, it may be enough to make it work. We could use as much extra patrol on the border as possible.”

The rest of the council stood around the strategy table, studying the board as Keir and Senna moved pieces around.

“We can move additional Undine to the weak points as well.” Seretha, the Undine council head, reached forward, pushing a wooden block carved into a wave to where Keir had stationed the beta fleet. “And here. It will lessen what we have in Syreni, but if there are fleets watching the seas from above, the loss shouldn’t be too heavy.”

Carwyn nodded, pleased with the idea. “You’ve more than proven your capabilities as a leader,” she said to Senna. “We can only hope every move we make brings us closer to victory. We’ll meet tomorrow to continue. I’d like to go see my mother, see if she has any council to provide.”

Daimon rose, keeping his attention on anything but Evelina. If he looked at her, he didn’t know what he would do. Would he grab her hand and take her away from the palace so she could breathe? More likely, he would say the wrong thing and make even more of a mess after their last conversation… So instead, he avoided her gaze.

Evelina stayed behind to speak with Senna, and Daimon slipped out of the room before he made a fool of himself. His head was a disaster, stuck between his instinct and his mind. He wanted to hold her and comfort her as badly as he needed to breathe—but to truly protect her, he knew he had to keep his distance.

He left the strategy room feeling exhausted. The walk through the palace was eerily quiet, his footsteps echoing through the warmly lit corridor.

A second pair of quick, light footsteps sounded from behind him. His breathing quickened as he recognized the gait.

“Daimon.” Her voice sounded as tired as he felt.

He slowly turned around and clenched his jaw. “I’m sorry about your mother,” he whispered, but he kept his eyes on his hands as he said it. For a moment, he thought he could feel her heart still.

She let out a shaky breath and said, “Me too.”

He pressed his fingernails into his palm until it hurt, desperate to focus on something other than her broken voice. He wanted to hug her, to tell her everything was going to be okay.

Daimon took a step toward her. “If there’s anything I can do?—”

“You could be honest for once,” she said sharply, taking him by surprise. “Why are you avoiding me?”

His gaze lifted to hers. There was a fire behind her eyes he hadn’t seen in a long time, an anger he’d been long expecting but had never arrived. Now it was clear to see. She was hurting. He knew there was a reason for it, and he also knew he couldn’t fix it—or give her the answers she wanted. He would only cause her more pain.

He shook his head and started to leave .

“I’m trying to understand.” Her voice stilled him. “How the same man who gave me a dream last night is the one who can’t look me in the eye today.”

He paused, half-turned as he said, “Maybe you’re starting to see me for who I really am—who I’ve always been.”