Chapter 90

Chapter 90: Chapter 90

The knock on Evelyn’s study door came just as she was about to return to her documents. She looked up. "Come in."

The door opened, revealing Greta standing in the doorway.

Evelyn’s brows drew together. "Greta? What are you doing out of bed? I thought I made it clear that you were supposed to be resting."

"I know, my lady." The healer stepped inside and closed the door behind her. "But there’s something I left out. Something I should have told you the moment I arrived, and I didn’t, because I wasn’t certain I had the strength to say it."

Evelyn’s expression sharpened. "Tell me now."

The healer’s hands twisted together, her composure fraying. "It’s about Lily. About what’s truly wrong with her."

"Go on."

Greta hesitated, then drew a breath. "I believe Sophia poisoned Lily."

For a moment, Evelyn simply stared at her.

"What did you just say?"

"I believe Sophia deliberately poisoned her own child to get the five million silvers she needed."

Evelyn rose slowly from her chair. "Her own child?"

"Yes, my lady. I saw her take a vial of poison from the healing ward. At the time, I didn’t know what she intended to do with it. But after what happened to Lily, and after learning that Sophia had obtained the five million silvers she wanted, I began to put the pieces together."

Greta’s face tightened. "I cannot swear that I saw her administer it. I didn’t. But I cannot ignore what I witnessed, either. Sophia needed the money, the treasury refused her, and then Lily suddenly fell ill. The poison was missing, and Sophia somehow managed to obtain the exact amount she had been seeking."

Evelyn couldn’t believe her ears, she had known Sophia was capable of cruelty. She had witnessed the woman’s selfishness firsthand, had watched her take what she wanted without considering the people she hurt.

But Lily? The little girl Sophia claimed to love more than anything in the world?

"You’re telling me she was willing to let her own daughter suffer just to get her hands on money?" Evelyn asked, her voice low.

Even Evelyn struggled to comprehend "Does Kael know?" she asked then shook her head. "Of course he doesn’t."

The words escaped before she could stop them. Tristan, who had been standing near the study door, finally spoke.

"Kael has spent so much time trying to prove that Sophia is better than you that he might not recognize what she’s capable of until it’s too late."

Evelyn crossed to the window, arms folded, staring out at nothing in particular while the weight of it settled fully.

"He thinks she saved their daughter." Her voice came out flat. "He’s probably in there right now, praising her, telling anyone who’ll listen that she’s twice the healer I ever was."

"And she let him believe it," Tristan said. "Knowing full well she’s the reason Lily nearly died at all."

"That’s the part I can’t stomach." Evelyn turned back to face them both. "Not the lying to Kael. I expect that from her. It’s the child, Tristan. She used her own daughter as a bargaining chip. Poisoned her, let her suffer, let her teeter on the edge of death, all so she could extort money from a man too desperate to ask questions."

"We hold it," Evelyn said, after a long moment. "Until we know exactly what Voss has on her, and why she was willing to go this far to protect it. If I go after her now, , she’ll find some way to twist it around or drag someone else down with her in the process." Her jaw tightened. "And I don’t want that. When I attack Sophia, I want to move with everything. Not scraps."

Tristan studied her, something grim settling over his features. "And in the meantime, Lily stays in that house with a mother who nearly killed her."

"That’s her mother. She lived this time, didn’t she? She’ll live the next."

Tristan stared at her deeply, almost like he was trying to see into her. She had changed, he’d always known that but now...she’d changed her more than he could’ve imagined. The Evelyn he knew was soft, sweet, firm but kind and lily—Lily was her entire world.

Evelyn shook her head, turning her attention to Greta. ""Rest," Evelyn said to Greta, gentler now. "You’ve done more than enough tonight."

Greta nodded and walked out the room, leaving Evelyn and Tristan alone with the quiet settling heavy between them.

"At least she survived." Tristan said after a bit.

Evelyn hummed, Tristan’s contact in silver creek had sent a message. Sophia had ’healed’ Lily.

Evelyn had almost burst out laughing, Sophia and healing in the same sentence? It sounded preposterous.

"Find out what Sophia has done to heal Lily. I’m sure there’s something off there."

"Understood." He paused at the threshold, glancing back at her. "You should rest too. It’s been a long day, and tomorrow—"

"I know what tomorrow is." Evelyn’s mouth pressed into a thin line. "The date."

Something flickered across Tristan’s face, quickly smoothed away. "Right. That."

"Tristan."

"I said nothing, my lady."

"You never do." She shook her head slightly, though there was no real heat in it. "Go send your message. I’ll see you in the morning."

He inclined his head and left, and Evelyn remained by the window a while longer

______

By the following afternoon, Evelyn had changed her mind about the dress three times.

She stood before her wardrobe, staring at the selection of gowns with an expression of mild irritation.

This was ridiculous.

She had attended formal gatherings, negotiated trade agreements, spoken to alphas four times her size, Yet somehow, choosing what to wear for one evening with Soren had become an unreasonable inconvenience.

Evelyn selected a simple gown in a muted rose shade. The dress fell gently around her figure without being too elaborate, and the neckline was modest. It was comfortable, elegant, and, most importantly, didn’t make her feel as though she were preparing to attend another political gathering.

That settled it, she dressed, then sat before the vanity while a servant helped her braid her hair. Once the braid was secured and tied neatly at the back, Evelyn dismissed her.

She studied her reflection. A little color on her lips. A touch of powder to soften the shadows under her eyes.

She wasn’t trying to impress Soren, she was simply making an effort, as one ought to when agreeing to spend an evening with someone.

At least, that was the explanation she settled on.

"My lady," a servant called outside the door. "Alpha Soren has arrived."

Evelyn took one last look at herself before rising. "Tell him I’ll be down shortly."

_____

Soren had arrived with a carriage and a small arrangement of flowers. He had spent an unreasonable amount of time deciding whether to bring them.

Flowers could be too much. They could make the evening feel like a declaration, and he had promised Evelyn that he wouldn’t pressure her into anything she wasn’t ready for.

But arriving empty-handed had felt equally wrong. In the end, he had chosen a modest bouquet of pale pink roses.

Now, standing outside Evelyn’s estate, he was beginning to question every decision he had made that afternoon.

He adjusted his cuffs and glanced toward the entrance. "You’re going to wear a hole in the ground if you keep pacing like that."

Soren turned to find Tristan standing a few feet away, watching him with an expression he wasn’t so sure he liked.

Soren straightened, tucking the flowers more securely against his side. "I wasn’t pacing."

"You were pacing."

"I was thinking." Soren replied.

"With your feet, apparently." Tristan crossed his arms as he stepped forward, his gaze flickering down to Soren’s hands. "Flowers. How considerate of you."

"Is there a problem?" The Alpha asked, his brows raised.

"Not at all." Tristan’s eyes dropped to the bouquet, then back to Soren’s face. "I’m simply wondering how long you’ve been planning this. The flowers. The carriage. The date you bargained for in exchange for a favor."

Soren’s jaw tightened. "That’s not how it happened."

"Isn’t it? Forgive me for saying this Alpha Soren but isn’t all of this happening because you made your help conditional on it."

Tristan pushed off the doorframe, taking a single step closer. "Call it whatever you like. I call it taking advantage of a woman who needed something from you."

"And I call it finally being honest." Soren didn’t back down, meeting him evenly. "You know, for a man who insists he has no stake in this, you’re remarkably invested in how I conduct myself around her."

Tristan’s jaw ticked. "I have every stake in her wellbeing."

"That’s not quite what I asked." Soren tilted his head, something assessing in his gaze now. "Tell me, Tristan. If I’m so wrong for wanting something from Evelyn after years of asking nothing, what exactly is it that you want? Because a man doesn’t move his own residence, doesn’t glare at every suitor who comes near, doesn’t stand guard at her door like this, out of simple loyalty."

"Careful." The word came out low and dangerous.

"I’m only observing." Soren’s tone stayed deceptively light, though his eyes had sharpened considerably. "You love her. Maybe you haven’t said it, even to yourself. But I see it every time I’m near her and you’re in the room."

Tristan’s hands curled into fists at his sides,

"Whatever I feel is not your concern, Alpha Soren." He stepped closer, close enough that neither of them could pretend this was still a casual exchange. "But know this. Whatever tonight is, however it ends, I have my eye on you. If you so much as make her uncomfortable, if you push her one inch further than she’s willing to go—"

"I have no intention of doing either." Soren’s humor faded entirely now, something more sincere taking its place. "I asked for an open mind, Tristan. Nothing more. I’m not fool enough to push for something she hasn’t offered freely."

Whatever Tristan meant to say next died on his tongue as footsteps sounded from inside the house, and both men turned toward the door.

Evelyn stepped out, and for a moment neither of them spoke at all.

She wore the rose-colored gown, simple and soft in a way she rarely allowed herself, her hair braided neatly and secured at the back of her head instead of styled. Her lips carried the faintest tint of strawberry, her cheeks lightly flushed.

"What?" she asked, pausing at the doorstep, her brows raised at the sudden silence. "Is something wrong?"

Soren recovered first, though his voice came out rougher than he intended. "You look like an angel that fell from the sky."

A soft, surprised laugh escaped her, something almost shy flickering on her face before she smoothed it away. "That’s dramatic, even for you."

"Perhaps." He stepped forward, offering the bouquet first, something careful in the gesture. "These are for you."

Evelyn smiled, feeling warmly inside. The last time she received flowers was before she married Kael.

"Thank you Soren."

He offered his arm next, and she glanced once toward Tristan, who said nothing, his jaw still tight, before taking Soren’s arm and allowing him to lead her toward the waiting carriage.

Soren opened the door himself, handing her up carefully before climbing in after her. The door shut and a moment later, the carriage pulled away down the drive.

Tristan stood in the doorway long after it had disappeared from view, something sitting heavy in his chest that he didn’t quite have a name for, or perhaps simply didn’t want to.