"Lady Evelina!" Jasper’s shout was panicked, but it barely registered.
Evelina pushed against his grip, her strength amplified by her desperation. Her thoughts were racing as the flas flickered and the execution pyre burned brighter. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears, drowning out the shouts of the crowd.
"Let go!" she scread.
Jasper tightened his hold on her. "Lady Evelina, stop! This isn’t—"
Before he could finish, a surge of unfamiliar power coursed through Evelina, and pushed at his chest, sending him stumbling back as she wrenched free.
"Eve..." The shock on Jasper’s face mirrored her own, but she had no ti to process it.
The only thing on her mind was the fire. Without sparing one more glance, Eve dashed out.
"Milady!" Jasper shouted again, but she didn’t turn back.
The crowd erupted into chaos as Evelina reached the base of the pyre.
Guards hesitated, confused by her actions, their shouts adding to the chaos. So thought she was attempting to stop the execution, while others feared she might attack the condemned.
Climbing onto the wooden structure, Evelina gripped the edge and tried to pull herself up. The intense heat seared her skin, and smoke filled her lungs, but she didn’t care.
’I need to do this,’ she repeated in her mind like a mantra, coughing loudly.
"Stand down!" a commanding voice bellowed.
Evelina froze as a hand clamped around her arm, yanking her back with such great force that she stumbled to the ground. She turned, gasping for air, and found herself face-to-face with Damian.
"What the hell are you doing?" His voice shook, sounding angry and scared at the sa ti. His silver eyes glowed faintly, his wolf barely contained as he glared down at her.
Evelina’s chest heaved, her gaze darting back to the fire while Damian searched her eyes for the truth, an answer to her madness.
"You don’t understand," she pleaded, her voice breaking. "I need to do this. Please."
Damian’s grip on her arm tightened, his knuckles whitening. "No," he said firmly. "The only thing you need is to stop this insanity before you kill yourself."
Evelina’s eyes were filled with tears as she twisted in his grasp, her desperation clawing at her. "Please, Damian. I have to go back. This is the only way."
The crowd’s murmurs grew louder as they watched the scene unfold. Guards moved closer, but Damian raised a hand, halting them in their tracks. His eyes never left Evelina’s.
"If she wants to die, then allow her to die!" Soone in the crowd scread, making Damian turn to search for the source.
Using his montary distraction, Evelina twisted free and darted past him. She ducked under his outstretched arm, rolling between his legs and springing to her feet. Standing at the edge of the pyre, she stared into the flas, the pull stronger than ever.
Relia’s voice snarled in her mind. "If you don’t stop this madness, I’ll take over. You’re going to get us both killed!"
Evelina ignored her wolf, her focus locked on the fire.
Relia surged forward in an attempt to take control of Evelina’s body, making Evelina jerk backwards. As a result, she lost her balance and missed a step.
She instinctively reached out to steady herself, but the wooden floor beneath her shifted. Before she could regain her balance, she started falling backwards, and the fire seed to rush up towards her.
"Evelina!"
Damian’s shout was the last thing she heard before his hand shot out, catching her wrist just as she began to fall.
The world seed to stop as their hands connected.
And then, it happened again.
Evelina felt the world around her blur as a new vision filled her mind. This ti, it wasn’t from her perspective. Instead, she was seeing through Damian’s eyes.
He was at a banquet when a maid approached him, holding a goblet. The bracelet on her wrist sparkled in the light as she bowed, offering him the drink.
The vision changed, and Evelina could see the maid’s face more clearly. Her breath caught in her throat as she felt a flicker of recognition, but just as she was about to pin the face to soone, the vision disappeared.
She gasped, her body trembling as the sensation of the present ca rushing back. Her knees buckled, and Damian pulled her away from the edge, cradling her against his chest.
"Evelina, look at ." He looked worried as he spoke. "What’s happening?"
She didn’t answer, her body trembling as the vision replayed in her head over and over. The pieces of the puzzle were falling into place, but the answer still felt just out of reach.
"Evelina," Damian said again, softer this ti. His arms tightened around her, as if afraid she might vanish if he let go. "Talk to ."
She shook her head and whispered. "I... I can’t."
Just looking at how stubborn she was, Damian’s jaw tightened in frustration, but he didn’t push her. Instead, he stood, lifting her effortlessly into his arms. The whispers of the people in the crowd turned into a dull roar as he carried her away from the pyre.
**********
Back at the palace, Damian placed Evelina gently on a chaise in his chambers, carrying her carefully as if she might break. He knelt beside her, his eyes scanning her pale face for any sign of what was going on in her mind.
"Stay here," he said, his tone leaving no room for argunt. He turned to the door and called for a guard. "Fetch the physician. Now."
Evelina stirred, her eyes fluttering open as she tried to sit up. Damian was imdiately at her side, his hand pressing lightly on her shoulder to keep her down.
"Don’t move," he said in a soft but firm voice. "You’re not well."
"I’m fine," Evelina muttered, though her trembling hands betrayed her words.
"You’re not fine," Damian countered. His silver eyes bore into hers, filled with anger, worry, and sothing deeper swirling within them. "Whatever’s going on with you, Evelina, it stops now. I won’t let you do this to yourself."
She looked away, her gaze fixed on the flickering fire in the hearth. "You don’t understand," she said quietly. "I don’t belong here. I’m just... trying to find a way out."
Damian’s jaw clenched as he kept himself from lashing out. "I don’t care where you think you belong," he said. "Right now, you’re here. And as long as you’re here, you’re not throwing your life away. Not on my watch."
Even though she was not making any sense to Damian, he couldn’t stop himself from using a forceful command on her.
Evelina didn’t respond, her mind still reeling from the vision. She clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms as she tried to make sense of it all.
Damian’s wolf growled softly in his mind, urging him to do sothing, to say sothing that would reach her. "She’s ours," Storm rumbled. "Protect her."
"I’m trying," Damian thought back, his frustration mirrored by his wolf’s.
As the physician arrived and began examining Evelina, Damian stood back, his arms crossed and his expression unreadable. But his silver eyes never left her, watching her every move as if afraid she might vanish.
Evelina t his gaze briefly, and a flicker of sothing unspoken passed between them. For the first ti, she saw not just the prince or the Alpha, but the man beneath—the one who, despite his frustration, anger, teasing, naughtiness, and other annoying traits—truly cared.
And for reasons she couldn’t explain, that terrified her more than anything.
"She’s fine," the physician said after a mont of observation. "Physically, at least. There are no signs of poisoning or lasting harm, though I’d recomnd rest. Stress can do strange things to the mind."
Damian exhaled, his jaw tightening as he dismissed the physician with a nod. The man hesitated briefly, clearly reluctant to leave, but Damian’s silent authority sent him out of the room.
Evelina sat up slowly, her fingers twisting the edge of the blanket around her lap. "See?" she muttered, not eting Damian’s eyes. "Fine. Like I said."
"You’re not fine." Damian’s voice was firm but vulnerable. His silver eyes locked onto hers, searching for answers. "Sothing’s going on, Evelina. Sothing you’re not telling ."
She looked away, her heart pounding as she recalled the vision of the maid, the bracelet, and the goblet. She wanted to tell him, to explain everything, but the words stuck in her throat.
How could she explain sothing that even she didn’t fully understand?
Damian stepped closer, his shadow falling over her as his wolf growled softly in his mind. "Talk to ," he demanded.
"I..." Evelina hesitated, her breath catching. His gaze felt overwhelming, but she forced herself to et his eyes. "I don’t think I’m crazy, Damian. I an, I would know, right?"
Before he could respond, a sharp knock at the door interrupted them. Jasper entered without waiting for permission, his expression unusually grim.
"Apologies, Your Highness," he said, glancing between Damian and Evelina. "But you need to see this."
Damian frowned, his irritation clear. "Can it wait?"
Jasper hesitated, then shook his head. "No. It’s urgent."
Damian turned back to Evelina, his jaw tightening. "Stay here."
Before she could protest, Jasper added, "Actually, milady might want to see this too."
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