Page 33 of Accomplice to the Villain

Lyssa nodded, and Becky had the feeling Nura wasn’t just apologizing for that morning, but for every morning she hadn’t spent with her youngest daughter.

Becky gave Lyssa a gentle nudge forward. “Lyssa unfortunately doesn’t scare as easily as I’d hope.”

Nura’s attention fixed on Becky, and a little smile tipped her lips up. “I see your mother in you.” It was an ironic twist of fate that Becky’s once greatest annoyance—Evie—turned out to be the daughter of her mother’s dearest friend—Nura.

Although not so dear anymore, after her mother betrayed Nura so badly she ended up hiding dormant as a star for who knew how long.

Lyssa looked between the two women in confusion. “You know Becky’s mom?”

Nura smiled. “She was my very best friend. Since we were little girls.”

Lyssa’s eyes grew so huge they looked like teacup saucers. “Becky is my best friend, too!”

Becky coughed. “I did not agree to that.”

Lyssa patted Becky’s arm with mock sympathy, clicking her tongue. “I’m sorry, Ms. Erring. I’ve already decided without you.”

“You and your sister are going to send me to an early grave,” she grumbled under her breath, folding her arms.

Nura laughed, and Becky’s cheeks pinked. “I won Renna over much the same way.”

Becky hesitated, knowing she shouldn’t speak for her mother when they currently weren’t even speaking to each other at all. But it felt like the right thing to do. “For what it’s worth…I do think she is sorry.”

Nura grimaced, kohl-lined eyes looking to the floor. “Iknowshe is.”

“Sorry about what?” Lyssa asked, frowning.

Nura jumped in before Becky could change the subject. “This morning, my magic acted out of fear, and I hurt that poor young woman. Renna did something out of fear that hurt me.”

Lyssa seemed to consider this for a moment. “Will you forgive her?”

Nura looked at Becky with a directness that made her skin itch. “I already have.”

“I can retrieve whatever ingredients you might need to make the dessert,” Becky offered. This was all becoming far too touchy-feely, and she desperately needed a subject change. Or that quiet room with no people. That would also be nice.

Nura rolled her lips, eyes upward, contemplating. “Hmm. Well, first we’ll need honey and a fair amount of patience.”

Lyssa winced. “Well, we have honey!”

Becky gave a sigh of relief at having evaded another overtly emotional interaction. She was getting better with them, but the line had to be drawn before she grew nauseated. “I will get you the honey, but then I need to immediately return to work. I have to get that missive out before the day’s end. No. More. Crumbs.”

Opening the pantry door, Becky froze, her relief fizzling into panic at what—or ratherwho—she saw tied up and gagged in the corner. She shook her head in disbelief.

“Edwin?”

Chapter 17

Evie

“Gods, Edwin, are you all right?” Evie asked as she rushed to the ogre’s side. His room was overlarge, as was the chair he was seated in. It was cushioned, red, and looked fit for a king. Or, in this case, a very sweet office chef with purple tears running down his blue cheeks.

Edwin took off his glasses with one hand, rubbing his eyes with the other. “You didn’t have to come all this way to check on me, Miss Evie.”

Evie laid a hand on Edwin’s cheek. “Your room’s only in the east wing, Edwin. It was hardly a hike, and even if it was, you’re well worth the trip.”

Edwin rubbed at his wrist, where dark marks were forming from the ropes he’d been tied up with. “I’m just grateful Ms. Erring didn’t let on to Miss Lyssa what had happened. She got her away before she could see me.”

The Sage sisters had grown up in a village—a small one, but it was full of people. And while they had received help occasionally from their elderly neighbor, the rest were more inclined to whisper and gossip, leaving Evie on her own. “It takes a village to raise a child” was a saying she’d heard frequently from people who meant well, but Evie knew that wasn’t true. You didn’t need a village at all.