Evelyn turned to watch him, her mouth pulling into a cunning smirk. Let Justine talk herself out of that.

She could feel her brother hovering just behind her, his breath hot on her neck.

“You could give a demon a run for his money, you do know that?”

Evelyn snickered, turning back to her brother. She could already hear Justine’s shrill voice trying to calm their father down.

“I have no idea what you mean dear brother,” Evelyn said coolly.

Lional simply chuckled again, shaking his head at his favorite sibling. “You’re going to send father to an early grave with your antics.”

Evelyn shrugged her shoulders. “That old man will outlive us all.”

“One can hope. Being King looks tedious,” Lional said, watching the exchange between their father and baby sister. The King looked to be gaining gray hairs by the second.

Evelyn could only nod her head. “Good thing I’m only a woman. I never have to worry about ruling.”

“That law is archaic and outlandish. You’d make a better ruler than most Prince’s I know, including the pompous one we’re about to meet,” Lional grumbled, straightening out his tunic in frustration.

Evelyn watched her brother closely. Watched as his eyes flitted from sister to sister. How he played with the ends of his jacket, rubbing the material between his thumb and forefinger. Something was bothering him.

“What's wrong, brother? You seem nervous.”

Lional finally focused his turquoise blue eyes on hers, the family trait of the royals.

“I just have a bad feeling about this meeting with the Prince,” Lional admitted.

Evelyn frowned. “If we're lucky he’ll take Margaret far away from here. I think she’d thrive in the subfreezing temperatures and ice. At least then I won't have to constantly check my morning tea for poisons.”

“It’s not Margaret I worry for.”

Evelyn could feel his gaze piercing her. She suddenly felt uneasy and weary. “What are you saying?”

“I think you will be the one the Prince chooses. Your path won’t be easy.”

“Have you had a vision?” she hissed softly.

Their mother’s lineage was tainted with witch blood but kept quiet for fear of what their people would do if they learned that the heirs to the throne might possess an ounce of magic. Lional had moments of clairvoyance, but nothing more than a feeling. Except for the day of their mother’s death.

“No, just a feeling and it’s not good. I’m worried for you Evie.”

The sound of her pet name heightened her nerves. Evelyn pulled her shoulders back, straightening her spine, chin held high. “I’ll be alright Lional. No matter where my fate lies, I’ll get through it. I’m a survivor.”

Lional sighed deeply, releasing over a decade's worth of woes. “I know and that’s what terrifies me. No one should have to endure the things you’ve endured and yet, you're the strongest person I know.”

“I will not let my past dictate my future.”

“Evelyn, darling! Let’s get these cloaks on and back on the road before we all catch a cold!” the King ordered about.

Evelyn could only smile at her father, the butterflies in her stomach quickly soured into knots of unease.

If her future really did lie with the Prince, then Gods only knew what awaited her at Castle Cretzia and beyond the border into the Kingdom of Leon.