The King shook his head slightly, a terse smile on his face. “Thank you.”
“I assume this means my brother is back.”
“He’s with the Queen,” he acknowledged. There was a thread of unspoken meaning in his tone that not even he could hide.
“Oh,” Eva flustered, unsure of what to say. Her brother’s affair with the Queen was no secret to her, but she never made a habit of talking about it to anyone, least of all the King.
“Do me and favor and let’s not pretend we don’t know what they’re doing, okay? I didn’t ask to see you because of that.”
Eva flushed and silently cursed her brother. “Forgive me, Your Highness.”
“Owyn, Evadine. Our families go back longer than the invisible crown on my head, so let’s leave the formalities behind.”
She couldn’t remember a time where she had ever had a private conversation with the King. There had never been a reason to. “Eva,” she corrected. “Okay. Owyn, what is going on? Why did you want to meet with me?”
The King stood from his seat and crossed the room to stand in front of her. “What do you know of Thea Thanatos?” His eyes were intense as they searched hers, as he waited for an answer.
Eva had to swallow back her surprise so the King would not see that he had caught her off guard. “Not much. I was with the Queen when the Crown Soldiers announced your kidnapping. They reiterated Thea’s message about Her Highness not being the rightful Queen. I know she claims to be a living descendent of the original family.”
The King eyed her suspiciously. She could see that beyond glaring at her that he was figuring her out, trying to understand her in some manner. “You know much more than that, Eva,” he pressed. “We both do. It wasn’t a coincidence that that particular book was stolen, or that Thea is revealing herself now after all this time. All of that was predicated upon finding the missing heir of the original family, which you have.”
Eva’s face remained sharp but impassive, defying the squall of thoughts and images that ran through her mind. What more does he know? What is his part in all of this? She raised an eyebrow at him suspiciously. “The missing heir?” she asked, trying to keep her voice controlled and nonchalant.
The King appeared to be losing his patience, a sign that frightened Eva. She had never seen the King in any situation where he wasn’t completely in control of himself.
“I know about Zoe.”
Evan stood in the middle of his room with his arms crossed over his chest, looking expectantly down at Kyra. “What do you want?”
“I want to know why you’re so upset,” she answered. Gone was the royal pretense. She looked very much like a woman looking for answers.
Evan shrugged his shoulders but kept his eyes on hers. “What does that matter? I don’t get to question your decisions and I’m not owed an explanation for them.”
“Is this about the gates being deprogrammed for Gaia?” she asked.
“Again, it doesn’t matter why I’m upset.”
“It matters to me, Evander. You’re acting as though it was something I did to punish you. What is so special about Gaia that has put you off in this way?”
“It. Doesn’t. Matter,” he reiterated.
“Clearly it does!” she yelled, her voice ringing brightly throughout the room. She turned and walked to the door, her feet coming to a stop with her hand inches from the glass. She turned and looked at him, a pained expression on her face.
“Whatever I’ve done to make you angry with me, I’m sorry.”
Evan could see from her expression that her honesty was genuine, and he felt the tightness inside him subside, softening his anger. Never before had she apologized to anyone; as the Queen she didn’t have to.
“Yes,” he relented. She stopped at the door, turning her head towards him. “I’m angry about the gates.”
The Queen turned her body around, leaning her back against the door with her hands clasped together in front of her. “Why? You said you had unfinished business in Gaia but didn’t elaborate. What is so important in that other world that would make you so angry with me?”
“I like it there, “he said. “I like the smell of the outdoors, the fact that I can spend more time outside than in, and the people.”
The Queen shook her head. “I don’t understand why you would prefer another world to your own.”
“No, it’s not about preferring one to the other. They’re more alike than they are different and it is those differences that I’m interested in. I like the people there.”