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Kade remembered the words of Evelyn’s scholarly sister, Blair. She had to have a reason for leaving, and I know Evelyn. She is not selfish; she is not vain. Whatever reason it was or is, she didn’t think she could tell me. Her own sister.
Thus far, Kade had struggled with that notion, but after witnessing her with the McCarthys and now learning she hid so much of herself from everyone . . . There was something else—he could sense it. He needed to gain her trust if he ever wanted to learn what that was, and the one way to do that was to agree to her request.
“I will keep your secrets,” he said, eyeing her reaction.
Her shoulders relaxed, and she let out a sigh. “Thank you.”
As they reached the outskirts of town, Evelyn surveyed the path, and seemingly pleased with the lack of observers, she summoned her magic, her staff assuming its smaller size and landing in her palm. Like she’d done it every day of her life, she slid the now pin-sized staff through her low bun.
Kade slowed his pace as they walked through the first line of buildings, Bleu’s hooves clobbering against the stone streets. “So, what’s next?” he asked.
Evelyn tapped her satchel. “I think I know someone who can help us read McKenna’s journal.”
“Why can’t we read it now?” he said, pausing on the street.
She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and looked around. “It’s written in Olde Script.”
Ah. That had been the recognition in her eyes back at the McCarthys’ cottage. “You can’t read it?”
She shook her head. “Not many witches can. Now if—” She stopped herself and waved her hands, flustered.
Had she been about to mention Blair? Evelyn swallowed and averted her gaze. Stars above, did she miss her sister? Kade grappled with his preconceived notions of her, bile forming in the back of his throat.
He’d thought she was spoiled. Someone with no regard for duty and honor. Or perhaps a woman who didn’t want to marry a man she didn’t know. Kade understood that. Respected that. He’d been nervous to marry a woman he’d never met, too.
But by the looks of it, she didn’t enjoy hiding or being away from her sisters. Maybe the lightness he saw in her was the weight of her secret lifted off her shoulders, even if it was him who’d witnessed her greatness. Why did she live like this? Why had she run? Kade’s chest tightened.
What else are you hiding?
“I owe Miss Patricia an evening shift at the bar, but how about we meet tomorrow at the Runaway Radish around lunchtime?” he asked. “Maybe your contact can come along, too, and help us decipher the journal.”
“I’ll see what I can do.” She stepped off to the side, backing toward a brightly painted green building. “This is me.”
Kade swore flowers flew in the storefront window, but the gold lettering glinted from the twilight, and he chalked it up to being a trick of the light.
“Have a good evening, Saige,” he said.
“You, too.” Evelyn ascended a set of wrought iron stairs on the side of the building. Her boots echoed off the metal, her cloak swaying with each step. Her slender frame rocked from side to side, the sway of her strong hips and shimmer of her obsidian hair inky in the low light, ensnaring him.
What he’d give for her to turn back so he could meet those silvery eyes one last time.
Kade waited until she made it inside before returning to the Runaway Radish, and the entire journey there, an unshakable sense of absence followed him.
Chapter Eighteen
Evelyn
Candles lit every corner of Evelyn’s apartment, illuminating Maxie’s orange coat as her cat sat and stared out the window. Below, the street bustled with a steady flow of night life, younger folks meeting for drinks and couples going to dinner.
It reminded Evelyn of home so much her chest ached. On Fridays, she and Blair would venture out to a wine bar deep in the art district of Nua that sold the most divine cheese and fig jam. Between the laughs, the cheese, and the tannins of the wine, Fridays with Blair had been the end-of-week event Evelyn had looked forward to, getting her through gruesome and sweltering days working on the Guard.
Sometimes Tovi had joined them too, and her rejection of half the eligible bachelors in Nua only filled the night with more laughter and their glasses with a second bottle of wine. Those keen, green eyes had broken the strongest of hearts.
Tonight, there was no dimly-lit wine bar bustling with witches or men angling for Tovi’s attention and Blair’s animated tales, but at least half the company was here. Tovi swirled her wine, the earthy plum liquid streaking across the bowl of the glass. Thin and crystal clear, they’d been a housewarming present for Evelyn’s new apartment. She didn’t want to think about how much they cost, often forgetting her friend’s wealth.
“I have no idea what you’re cooking, but it smells divine,” Tovi said.
“Breakfast.”
