Page 24 of Adversary to the Villain

Fuck.

Chapter 11

Evie

Massacre Manor was at peace when they saw it from a distance, the magic appearing stable for the moment.

And Evie was so twisted about, her stomach was making its debut as a pretzel.

How long would her home remain so?

And yet, even as Fluffy descended toward the sleepy manor, all Evie could think of was Trystan’s bare hands clutching her, the intensity of their connection…the ruined forest.

She was apparently incredibly self-centered, with her body as the proof, because even in the middle of a crisis it was aching for Trystan. As they landed and she slid from Fluffy’s back, allowing Trystan to hold her hips the entire way down, their eyes never left each other’s until her feet met the ground.

Her heels clicked on the stone as she moved inside, and the echo of his steps falling behind her was like a guardian, a protector, shielding her from every threat she wouldn’t see.

The mirror in the hallway tended to show her the greatest of them all.

Today, it reflected back at her exactly how she looked after being ravished on the forest floor. Her dress was splayed open at the back, the corset strings loose and haphazardly tied; her lips were devoid of her usual color; and her heart was two tons heavier than it had been when she left. The day was ready to end, the sun beginning its descent with slow spills of golden light through the windows.

The space was warm. And so was her face.

From mortification.

“What happened to your dress, Evie?” Blade asked worriedly, clearly noting the missing buttons.

Her cheeks burned, and her eyes turned to saucers. “Oh, you know. Forest things,” she squeaked.

Flee this hallway, Evie. Before you must flee the kingdom!

Trystan was rigid and tense, actively avoiding looking at her. He knew as well as she did that it would give them away. And as they followed her and Trystan up the staircase, it was clear she hadn’t convinced Blade or Becky, either.

“Forest things?” Becky asked airily, pulling the candelabra. As the hidden door to the offices slid open, the scrape of stone against the ground was the only noise breaking the quiet.

Evie swallowed, noting how empty the normally bustling space was. “It, um—it caught on something.”

Becky snorted. “On what? The boss’s teeth?”

“Rebecka!” Evie’s voice reached a pitch not usually accessible to human ears.

Blade tsked, looking troubled, before grabbing Trystan’s arm. “A barn? The ground? Where do you plan to romance her next? A tool shed?”

Evie gasped when the words truly registered. “You toldBlade?”

“Gushiken,” Trystan gritted out, shoving him aside like a pesky gnat. “I would advise you to keep your opinions to yourself, lest you lose the ability to have them at all.”

Blade narrowed his eyes. “How would you manage that?”

“By stabbing you in the face,” Trystan growled, then addressed Evie with the expression of a man about to lie down on the torture rack. “I shouldn’t have said a damn word to him—”

Her fingers touched his lips, and the tension began seeping from his shoulders when he spotted her smile. “No, I— It’s okay. I’m—I’m glad you had someone to talk to about, um—it. It’s good to confide in people about big life events. Not that it was a big, um…event.”

Trystan stared flatly. “I spent a month imprisoned with no light. And I promise you this impacted my life in a far greater fashion.”

“I saw him draw a heart around it on his calendar.” Blade offered this information gleefully, ignoring Trystan grabbing for him before Evie put a stop to it.

“All right, boys, play nice,” Evie urged with false confidence in her voice, then felt sudden and sharp relief course through her blood when Lyssa appeared, running to wrap her arms around Evie’s waist. “Hello, sweet.” She brushed a gentle hand over Lyssa’s unbound curls, trying to infuse calm into the gesture. “I’m sorry I haven’t checked on you yet today. Are you well?”