Chapter 52

Evelyn

The letter arrived just after sunset.

I was elbow-deep in tinctures and gauze when one of the messengers handed it to me. The seal was already cracked before he handed it to me. He noticed my arched, questioning brow and flushed, embarrassed.

“We had to vet it first for poison. It’s from the rogue camp,” he said.

He quickly hurried off after that, leaving me alone with the damning piece of parchment. How could something that contained news so heavy fit so lightly in my palm?

I pulled the folded parchment from the envelope and laid it flat.

So this was Jesse’s handwriting. His scrawl was tight, slanted, and unmistakably direct.

“Evelyn, I’ve reviewed your proposal. Let’s talk. Face to face. Tomorrow at dusk. Come alone. –Jesse”

There were no pleasantries or poetic flourishes. Fortunately, there didn’t appear to be any veiled threats either. He was straight to the point. It had been written so simply, and yet it stole the air from my lungs.

I stared at the words for a long moment, overanalyzing them as the room around me quieted. It was as if even the air was holding its breath.

He said yes.

I had expected resistance. Perhaps he might have delayed a meeting or been too arrogant to even consider it. I had prepared myself for many responses, but admittedly, not… this.

I wouldn’t get too excited yet. There was still much to do, and I wasn’t sure how sincere this agreement was. To negotiate, I would need to enter enemy territory and talk with a man responsible for killing hundreds, maybe even thousands.

No, it wasn’t time to celebrate yet.

So I went back to work, trying to busy my hands as my mind raced with what tomorrow might bring. Usually, I could get lost in the medical wing working long hours, but that evening, I found it hard to concentrate on anything besides Jesse’s short note.

When I returned to my quarters later that night, the letter still clenched in my fist, I found Logan already waiting for me by my door.

He was pacing. It was not his usual calculated stride. He seemed restless, like a man losing a fight he didn’t know how to win or a caged animal.

When he saw me, he immediately stopped, his attention swinging to me.

“Can I come in?” He gestured toward my door. I shrugged and opened it for him, quietly hiding my curiosity at his late-night appearance.

“You got a response,” he said as soon as the door closed behind me. “Didn’t you? I heard a messenger was sent to you earlier.”

I gave a nod and moved past him, lighting a lantern on the parchment-strewn table. “He agreed. We will be meeting tomorrow. At dusk.”

Logan’s jaw flexed. “Send me instead.”

I turned. “No.”

How dare he? It had been my idea in the first place.

Logan stepped closer, tension crackling from him like lightning. “You can’t go in there alone, Evelyn. Not after what happened. You don’t know the things he’s done.”

I arched a brow, crossing my arms over my chest. “Oh, don’t I?”

“You see the aftermath but not the horrors as they happen. We need to be safe about these negotiations.”

“I seem to recall that the last time you saw Jesse, you were at each other’s throats. I hardly think you’re the perfect candidate for a calm negotiation,” I pointed out.

“Yes, and he clawed your ribcage open,” he countered. “Jesse already knows how important you are.”

What he didn’t say lingered mutely between us. Logan had shown how important I was by aggressively reacting to my attack on the battlefield. By retaliating the way that he had, he had shown his hand.

“I know,” I said, softening. “But if you show up in his camp, it’ll look like a trap. Think about it from his perspective: It will seem like a power play. That isn’t diplomacy. It’s provocation. Besides, I’m the one who wrote him. He’s expecting me.”

“Then I’ll go with you,” he tried again. “I’ll be in the background. I’ll keep my distance, I swear.”

I shook my head. “He asked for me. Just me. I’m not going to mess up these peace talks because of your pride.”

“This isn’t about my pride,” he snapped. “It’s about your safety.”

“Some things are bigger than that, Logan,” I said, sighing. “You’re going to have to trust me.”

His hands fisted at his sides. “This isn’t about trust anymore. It’s about what Jesse saw. He saw me react when you got hurt. He sees you now as leverage. You can’t walk into enemy territory thinking you’re safe just because you’re smart.”

“I’m not just smart,” I nearly shouted. “I’m prepared.”

He stopped. Looked at me. His expression cracked for the briefest moment.

“Evelyn…” he said quietly. “Don’t do this.”

I stepped closer and lifted my chin to meet his intense, pleading gaze. He was so much taller than me. Maybe he thought our height difference might underscore his superiority and sway me to his side. If he did, he was mistaken. I bowed for no one.

“I already told you,” I said. “I don’t take orders from you.”

“This isn’t an order,” he said. “This is me asking you not to do this.”

“I have to,” I returned. “This is the only chance we have to stop this war before more people die. I can’t back out now because I want to save my own skin. That would just be selfish. This is bigger than just one of us. I know you, of all people, understand that.”

He didn’t respond. Instead, he just stood there, as if the silence between us might somehow change the outcome.

After a moment, he turned and left without uttering another word.

And I stood there for far too long, still hearing his voice in my ears, still feeling the phantom weight of his fear wrapping itself around my resolve and trying to poison it.

The next morning came pale and gray. The scent of rain was carried on the breeze, making the world feel heavy with the promise of a storm. I tried not to think that it might be a bad omen.

A single horse waited at the southern gate. There were no banners, no escort, and no grand gathering to see me off. Just a horse, the horse’s groom, and myself.

That was how I wanted it. In fact, I requested a quiet departure, asking my father to refrain from making a big deal about it. This way, if it was a failure, there were fewer people who would be crestfallen by it.

But I couldn’t help scanning the camp as I approached, half-expecting Logan to appear. Even though he didn’t know where and when exactly he could have expected me to leave, a piece of me still assumed he would be there. I imagined him begging me to stay, pleading to take my place.

But he didn’t. He hadn’t even shown up to see me off.

Good. I told myself that was good.

I mounted the horse and pulled up my hood. Already, little droplets were slipping loose from the overcast sky and dotting my cloak like tears. It would be a long, half-day’s ride to the rogue camp.

But the rain wouldn’t wait, and neither would I. Without further hesitation, I nudged the mare forward. Each hoofbeat echoed into the forest, and the sound of the camp faded behind me like a door closing.

I was alone now and riding straight into the unknown.