Heart Over Sword-Chapter 169: Vulnerability

Evanna stirred again and her lids opened to the dim lighting of what she presumed was late afternoon. She was lying flat on her back in bed, and when she looked to the side through bleary eyes, she saw Conrad sleeping in a chair, his body slumped over on the bed. Her gaze fell to see her hand resting on his arm, so she removed it slowly while looking at the defined features of the Prince. With his eyes closed and face resting, he looked younger, his golden locks falling over his face, and she had the urge to brush them aside.

But Evanna did no such thing as her cheeks heated from her thoughts. Instead, she shuffled back until her back was against the bedpost, grimacing as she did so; the movement made the Prince inhale deeply and open his eyes. Sleep left his features as his golden iris’s sparkled and came to life upon seeing Evanna awake. "Evanna!" He jolted upright and clasped her hand in between both of his. Evanna refrained from flinching at the touch or removing her hand from his hold. He felt so warm and his voice caring, but even though she had nearly been killed, her thoughts flicked back to the banquet and the beautiful lady he had spent the night with.

Evanna’s face remained neutral even with those unpleasant thoughts swirling in her mind. "How is my mother?" Evanna asked as she pushed aside her feelings.

"Lady Loraven is well. Thanks to your quick thinking," Conrad replied. "Maggie, alert the physician."

Evanna’s eyes flicked to her handmaiden she was not aware was by her wardrobe. Her eyes were full of worry, and Evanna could tell Maggie wanted to hug her and scold her at the same time. But her head snapped to attention after Conrad turned his head in her direction, arching an eyebrow. "Right, yes, of course!" She curtsied and started to rush off, halting when she was at the large double doors and turning to look at Evanna. "Do not frighten us again, m’lady. It.. does my heart no good." With those words, she tore her gaze away and continued with her task.

Evanna’s chest warmed from Maggie’s sweet words, and her lips curved up into a gentle smile as the doors closed behind the servant. Evanna then turned her attention to the Prince seated beside her bed and could see an array of emotions flicking across his eyes; it was the first time she’d seen him look so vulnerable. Conrad was not the man now staged in legends, the man who enjoyed beheading someone on the battlefield, the Demon Prince with such almighty powers. No, he looked his age, like how an ordinary teenage boy would look.

It must have been because of the softness and lost look in his eyes because the rest of him certainly looked older. But Evanna shook the thoughts from her mind. She needed to guard herself against him now.

To love the Demon Prince would do her no good. If that was the direction, her heart was going. Evanna knew she did not love him; if she did, it couldn’t be more than a foolish, childish crush. There was undoubtedly a tenderness between them, but she would not be swept away by him.

Evanna pushed her thoughts aside again and redirected them to the new problem at hand. Someone tried to poison them, or more than poison in her case, the instructions of the princess’ death must have been to stab her, and if it went wrong, then at least poison her.

"Did the physician test my mother’s blood?" Evanna asked, and Conrad tilted his head to the side, his brows furrowing and like curtains drawing shut, his eyes hardened, the concern washed away from his face, and he once again wore an unreadable mask.

"Evanna.. You act as though you have been through this before." His eyes flicked between hers, searching for an answer, but he did not need one. "How many times has this happened?"

Evanna chuckled darkly, and she looked away. "Not all battles are fought on the field, Conrad. And you already know how many times." Evanna looked back at him and held his gaze. "Or are your spies in the palace not that great?"

Conrad looked at her in wonder, and it was not for the first time. Of course, the Princess knew of his spies. Evanna was bright, and he knew she would be a force to be reckoned with when she came of age.

Although Conrad felt something towards Evanna, he couldn’t act on it. The lady whose name he had already forgotten kept him company a few nights prior helped distract him and his needs. It certainly wasn’t his best moment, and he did feel guilty about leaving his fiancé. There was no doubt in his mind that Evanna did not notice anything, and now he’d seen how well she could mask her feelings up.

The issue, though, was Conrad had to wait at least another two years until she came of age. At first, the Prince wasn’t exactly ecstatic by the idea of fighting in his father’s wars and within the Black Knights, no less. It was sort of a death sentence, really, and King Horik was surprised when he returned not only alive but commanding the army and earned some appraise from his father. But now, after all that Conrad enjoyed the fighting, he had a thirst for it, and it was a release for his pent-up energy and the powers residing in him. He needed to return to Hatherland, to the north and fight for his kingdom; maybe that would help the time pass.

His eyes roamed Evanna’s features and the calmness radiating from her. The Princess never mentioned in her letters the assassination attempts, but he learned of them through his spies along with a few other mysteries that were surrounding Evanna. "My spies know of all in the palace." He did not deny the existence of his spies. "What about before your life in the palace?" He asked, causing Evanna’s brows to draw together. It was not a secret that she lived elsewhere for the first four years of her life, but the King brought Lady Loraven and Princess Evanna into the palace at some point.

"I am uncertain. But it must have left an impression for my father to collect us and bring us to this.." Evanna looked around her room as words failed her. He wondered if she remembered much from that young age. "You never answered my question. What of the blood?"

Conrad parted his lips, but just as he did, the doors opened to her chambers, and the physician, along with King Osian and a few guards, entered the room, sprawling out menacingly. Evanna and Conrad stilled from the suddenly tense atmosphere.

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