Page 52 of A Petal in the Crown

Evangeline reached the rushing river and paused, twisting her head side to side as she searched for something. But what? She reminded Lea of an owl, her head turning so far it was unnatural as she looked all around her periphery.

She stepped forward until her dress was soaked to just above her knees, then bent down and splashed the cold water on her face. She lowered her head, cupping her hands and drinking from the stream. She suddenly seemed agitated, her joy evaporating as she kicked at the water, and she wiped her mouth with her forearm, looking back up to the sky impatiently.

The rush of murdering the townspeople was completely gone, her smile falling and her eyebrows scrunching in annoyance.

Evangeline scowled, crossing her arms over her chest.

"There you are," she finally said, still looking at the sky. "Fucking witches," she muttered under her breath.

Lea and Gray looked at one another, dread creeping across her skin. Her arms turned to gooseflesh, and she couldn’t help but look over her shoulder, the hair on the back of her neck rising.

Evangeline stared at the empty air in front of her for several more seconds, then suddenly her head was thrown backward, her arms spread out to the sides as her back arched.

The woods went silent as she screamed out in pain, and Lea rushed forward, grabbing her around the waist before she could collapse into the water. Gray was at her side in an instant, helping bring her back to shore.

Evangeline rolled over, vomiting onto the rocky shoreline, heaving again and again until there was nothing left.

She took several ragged breaths, lying her head on her hands as if the effort of keeping her head up was unfathomable.

"Eudora," she said, spitting the name out as if it was ingested poison. "It was Eudora who helped him escape…"

Chapter 32

Lea

"Of fucking course it was Eudora. It’s always that bit—hey!" Janelle hissed as Erik jabbed her in the side of the ribs, and he gave her an apologetic grimace.

"What do you mean, Eudora helped him?" Gray asked, and Evangeline rubbed her forehead between her eyes. Something she seemed to be doing more often, and Lea wondered if it was pain that caused her to repeat the gesture again and again.

Evangeline’s eyebrows scrunched. "Well, I think it was Eudora. Itfeltlike her, at least," she said.

A wave of confusion crashed over Lea. Evangeline and Eudora had met before. Surely she would know what she looks like. "Start at the beginning. What did you see?" Lea urged, her mind reeling. There were very few things that Lea felt she knew about Eudora with complete certainty, but the one thing she felt wholly confident about was that she would never betray Tanad. That only he held her loyalty.

"Alaric closed the door and locked everyone away in the church. He was happy. Thrilled, actually. But something was wrong with him. He looked ill—felt weakened. His face was gaunt and pale, and his skin looked like it was sliding down his bones with veins like black spiderwebs creeping across his skin."

Lea shivered. Alaric was terrifying enough without his veins turning black and his skin sagging. But if he was weakened, maybe taking his magic would be easier.

Evangeline continued. "Then, when he got to the stream, well, I wasn't sure at first what was happening. But he was waiting for something. Looking to the sky."

"Eudora?"

Evangeline nodded. "I think so. It felt like her. Had the same energy. But she looked completely different. Much younger. Beautiful and vibrant."

Lea's brain spun. She remembered thinking on more than one occasion that Eudora had characteristics of a woman far younger than she was. The way she’d climbed the stairs in her tower. The smooth skin on her hands that Lea had thought she imagined just before Eudora had poured a vial into her tea. The potion Lea had swiped from her that very day but hadn’t tested, not knowing what it was or what it would do. Lea’s fire flickered in her chest, furious that she hadn’t put the pieces together sooner.

"If she makes herself older, frail and aged, it would make sense," Gray said. "She can get people to underestimate her, and they'll be far less likely to push back against her wishes."

"You're absolutely sure it was her?" Lea asked, hoping to the gods Evangeline was wrong. If they didn’t know Eudora’s true appearance, she could be anywhere. She could have been in their army, gathering information without their knowledge. She could be pretending to beanyone.

"My magic felt her. The magic Eudora gifted me. It recognized its own blood." Evangeline nodded firmly. "Yes, I’m certain. It’s the only explanation," she said.

"What did she do once she saw Alaric?" Lea asked. "Did he recognize her?"

"He did. He’s clearly known her for some time. It was like they were lovers. She caressed his chest, trailed a finger down his cheek."

Lea pushed down a wave of nausea. "Why? Why would she do this? How does this make any sense at all? She caressed his chest and then disappeared? To where? And why would she help him at all when she claims to love Tanad?"

"Because Tanad sent her away. It could be revenge," Erik suggested.

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