Page 148 of Adversary to the Villain

“Oh.” Sage frowned, mouth twisting. “Is there a less gory option? I could barely stand it the first time I did it.”

“We’ll run.” He stated it like it was an inevitable action rather than a choice.

“A less boring one?” she asked cheekily.

“There she is!” a villager screamed, and Sage didn’t joke any longer.

She grabbed hold of his hand and began tugging him along, breaking into a sprint he was forced to follow until he was breathing hard beside her, moving deeper into the trees. “I thought running was ‘boring,’” he pointed out. When he gripped her hips to nearly toss her over an array of green bushes, the feel of her beneath his hands was enough to distract him from the dangers; his fingers stayed poised to grab her again even after he let go.

“Only if no one is chasing you.” She gave him that sinister half smile that would send a lesser mortal to their knees.

It couldn’t be helped.

He turned his hand over in hers, tugging her with great force until they were off the path, hidden in the brush, and pressed her against a tree.

His lips were on hers before she could form a question, but she didn’t appear to mind, grabbing at his hair, holding him to her.

Her lips moving against his, her tongue brushing at his mouth, forced a groan from the back of his throat. First of pleasure, then of pain when it needed to end. Nearly ending himself in the process, he let her go, kissing her cheek before pulling away, satisfied at how he’d left her.

Wild. Her pupils huge, her lips swollen from his attentions, her chest heaving, her cheeks red, the color traveling all the way down her neck until it disappeared into her bodice.

It was a strangely possessive feeling, knowing how far that blush traveled, knowing the secrets of her body as no other did. Evangelina had stripped him of all civility, he realized; he was no better than an animal guarding its mate.

He suddenly had great sympathy for the male guvre.

“Time to go?” She blinked slowly. “Already?”

The mob was fainter than before. “I think they passed us by. Come, I know a shortcut.”

“Are we foolish to chase after the key instead of enacting the prophecy now? The destiny monster said the curse wouldn’t happen until three sunrises before Hallows’ Eve. We’re still nearly two months away.”

“No, the destiny monster said that is ourfinalchance to be free of the curse. There’s nothing saying Benedict can’t enact it during the most powerful times of day. Like Edwin said: sunrise, midday, sunset.” Trystan pointed at the light dimming from the setting sun. “We need the key. And we need it now.”

They kept walking through the forest they’d spent so much time in—running for their lives, falling in love, discovering there was life to be lived. Through the dirt roads they went, until they found a clearing.

Entirely filled with dandelions.

Sage stopped beside him. “I know this place.”

Trystan looked around. She was right—there was something eerily familiar about it.

The dandelions began to glow, and her eyes widened. “Trystan? We need to leave.”

He didn’t question it, just took her hand and pivoted on his heel.

Until Benedict stepped through the trees on the other side of the field with a smile that looked suspiciously like victory.

“Don’t leave on my account. The fun is just beginning.”

Chapter 78

Evie

Evie, for lack of a better word, exploded.

Her dark magic swirled around her hands, twisting among the foliage until every person she sensed hiding in the trees froze beneath her will. She couldn’t stop it, even as that power wrapped around Trystan, freezing him in place.

“No. How do I— I didn’t mean to get you!” she cried, willing the magic with her mind to retreat from him.