Chapter 85

Logan

The air in the armory was hot. I was slick with sweat, breathing in heat, and feeling like I could exhale fire from how angry I was.

The armory was laden with the scent of old sweat and steel. I’d been at it for over an hour working until my muscles ached and felt leaden. I moved through fighting stances, practicing to keep my mind off of her until everything in me protested with pain. But the weight of the sword in my hands was nothing compared to the weight pressing on my chest.

I swung again, this time at a wooden post already splintered from previous abuse. The blade sank into the post with a loud crack, but it wasn’t enough. Nothing was, and perhaps it never would be. In a fit of fury, I raked my claws down the dummy, spilling its plush insides. But it did nothing. I could destroy everything in that armory and still not feel satisfied. I knew it and still, I had to try.

I drove my fist into the training dummy so hard that even more if its insides spilled out. My knuckles had split, and blood stained the training dummy as I hit it again and again.

She lied.

Not in the way enemies do. Not even in the way cowards do. No, Evelyn’s lie was quieter and more significant. She had lied by omission, giving me half-truths with a soft smile.

Princess. She was the damn princess.

And beyond that, she was the girl in white from my memories, the one who had haunted my thoughts and dreams ever since I had first seen her.

It was all too much.

How many times had I stood by her side? I had fought for her, and now I even felt for her. And the whole time, she had known who she was and had chosen not to say a word, like I wasn’t trustworthy enough to know.

Another swing. Another blow. Another grunt of frustration ripped through my throat.

“Want to explain what the hell that dummy did to you?” Alex’s voice sliced through the haze like a blade.

I turned, sweat dripping down my back and into my eyes. My pulse was thrumming like a war drum.

Alex stood in the doorway, jaw clenched, and fists curled at his sides.

“Don’t start with me,” I growled, forcibly putting aside the instinct to shift in my anger.

“No. You don’t get to deflect. Not after what you just did to her.”

My eyes narrowed, and I staggered back a step, stunned by the accusation. “What I did?”

“She’s crushed, Logan. And I don’t blame her.” Alex took a step forward, his voice low but sharp. “You didn’t even let her explain before throwing a tantrum like a child.”

I laughed. It was a bitter, ugly sound. “Explain? You mean I didn’t give her the opportunity to lie again? Hell, we’ve been married this entire time, and she was hiding the one thing that changes everything the entire time. And you expect me to take the blame and swallow the idea that I was just too blind and stupid to see it? That’s not fair, and you know it.”

“You think she wanted to hide it?” he snapped. “You think she liked pretending to be someone else, especially around you? We all had to do our duty and chose to do what we had to do to keep her safe.”

“Don’t you dare lecture me about duty,” I snapped back, stepping into his space. “You sat on this secret too. You played your part. You betrayed me just as much as she did for keeping the secret. You kept your mouth shut while I made a fool of myself falling for her.”

His eyes darkened. “So that’s what this is about? Your pride?”

“No. It’s about betrayal. From her. From you. From everyone I thought I could trust.” My voice cracked. “You let me fall for her, Alex. You watched it happen, and all the time you knew the truth. How else am I supposed to feel?”

Alex’s jaw tightened. “You think I wanted this? That I enjoyed watching her pine for someone who didn’t truly know her, watching you stumble around your own damn feelings like you were blind? We were trying to protect her! You of all people should understand how important that is.”

“You were trying to control everything. Like always. And I was just a casualty of this grand plan you all came up with.”

“She’s my sister, Logan!” he roared. “What do you want me to say? If you cared about her half as much as you claim, you’d understand why we had to keep her hidden!”

Silence fell for a beat. My chest rose and fell in shallow, furious breaths.

Then the words spilled out before I could stop them. “I do care about her. I love her.”

Alex froze.

I stared at him, my mouth half open, the weight of what I’d just said crashing down.

But it was true. The raw, unfiltered heart of it all. I loved her. I didn’t know when it started, but I couldn’t deny it any longer. It was there, making this betrayal all the more potent.

Alex’s expression didn’t shift for a long moment. There was no smirk, no raised brow. Finally, he managed just a slow, exhausted shake of his head.

“I know,” he said quietly.

The blade in my hand dropped to the ground with a dull clang. How humiliating it was to be seen so thoroughly

“I’ve known for a while, Logan. So has she. We all knew that there was love there. It seems that you were just the last to notice.”

I sank down onto the nearest bench, my knees finally giving out. Sweat stung my eyes, but it wasn’t just the sweat that made them burn. It was suddenly very hard to see behind my veil of tears. I buried my face in my hands as I tried to calm myself.

“I didn’t want to,” I said, voice hollow and muffled by my palms. “I fought it. Denied it. Even when we were together… I kept telling myself it was just politics. That I was just going along with it. But now I realize that’s not the case at all.”

Alex sat across from me, calmer now. “You weren’t faking it, then.”

“No.”

He sighed. “Then what are you doing here instead of fixing it?”

“I don’t know if I can fix it,” I admitted, staring at the scarred floor. “She lied. She kept it from me even after everything. And now that I know… I don’t know who she is. Not really, at least. Am I loving someone who truly exists or just the idea of a person? And I don’t know if she still wants me, or just someone to protect her. It’s like with just a few words, she’s become an entirely different person.”

Alex leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “But she’s not a totally different person. She wants the same things and has the same dreams. She doesn’t need protection. She needs honesty. And she chose you, Logan. Long before she had to.”

I looked at him, heart still bleeding, but steadier now. “How do I trust her again?”

Alex shrugged. “You don’t start with trust. You start by making a decision. Do you want her, or not?”

My throat closed around the truth. “Yeah,” I whispered. “I want her. Of course I do.” Maybe I always had.

“Then go find her,” he said, rising. “Stop waiting here and moping.” He brushed off his pants. “And this time? When you find her, don’t cut her off or storm out. Really listen to her.”

He left me in the silence of the armory, alone with my aching limbs, split knuckles, and the only truth that mattered now.

I loved Evelyn.

And I wasn’t ready to lose her. So that meant I would have to fight. But I would do so gladly.