Page 34 of Adversary to the Villain

“Evie? The spinning wheel?” Griffin Sage smiled jovially at her, coming up beside her to help her ascend the next step.

Smiling back dutifully, she nodded, allowing his hand to guide her. She allowed it for all of five seconds…before turning and punching Griffin Sage in the gut with all her might, all her anger, and all her sadness. Her father stumbled, betrayal in his eyes.

The man in front of her was not her father. But since the real Griffin wasn’t readily available, she settled for another swing at this one.

And this time, the mask broke away from Griffin’s face, revealing a shining light that Evie had seen before in a different place. Apparently, she had not thrown the paperweight hard enough—

Or the destiny monster wouldn’t be before her now.

“How dare you strike me, you wicked girl!” The light split the walls of the house, the background melting away until her family home was replaced with the manor parapet—her foot dangling precariously over the edge.

The long walkway between towers had been repaired from her run-in with the bomb, save for the very end. The last connector had yet to be finished, and she was right over the edge.

Evie corrected politely, “WickedWoman, actually.” Carefully placing her foot back down, she continued. “But I’ll forgive the blunder.” She gave the monster a jovial smile, recalling that without the containment by the Fortis Family, Evie had no idea what she was up against.

A horrid screech wrenched the air, and Evie’s arms whirled, trying to catch her balance, falling backward for a mere second. That was all it took for two large hands to close around her waist, dragging her down and into his arms.

“Might I recommend a different walking path, Sage?” Trystan murmured in her ear, and she inhaled, breathing him in. It was okay to indulge in his touch. She’d just nearly taken a long walk over the side of a fairly short building. Exceptions under the circumstances appeared the least of what she deserved.

“But this one has such a view,” she replied weakly, clutching his shirt for a blissful second more before letting him go and facing their foe together. “What was that? Another test of goodness?”

The destiny monster hissed, the beam of light morphing, taking the shape of a tall, beautiful woman, almost human with her lustrous hair and penetrating silver eyes. “Thatwas just the beginning of what I have planned for you, Ms. Sage.”

Evie snorted, and Trystan put himself between the destiny monster and her, a protective strength in the flex of the arm he’d thrust in front of Evie’s chest.

Stop ogling your boss’s biceps when you’re facing a deadly enemy, Evie!

Which, in other words, would mean never at all.

As you were, Evie.

“You were granted freedom,” Trystan reasoned. “You need not waste it colluding with someone like Benedict.”

The woman chuckled darkly. “I have no desire to see Rennedawn’s storybook prophecy through as it stands.”

“You expect us to believe that?” Trystan’s voice was a low rumble.

Destiny shrugged, a haunting laugh following the motion. “I expect nothing. Nothing except the story I intended for Rennedawn to unfold. The story Iplanned.”

“Meaning?” Evie lifted a brow, folding her arms.

“Meaning, enjoy your time as you are now, Evie Sage, for a curse is brewing not far from where you stand. A curse that will return Rennedawn to its original course.”

Evie’s heart dropped to her feet.

Destiny grinned. “A world where Trystan Maverine never became The Villain.”

“That’s impossible!” Trystan gritted out, unleashing his sword from his side and angling it for the beast spewing threats that felt too outlandish to be real but too frightening to be faked. “Such curses cannot be done.”

The destiny monster smiled again. “Quite right. These things take time, of course. Three sunsets before Hallows’ Eve will be your final chance to ever be free. Until then, I’d recommend saying your goodbyes. But you’ll see me again. Fret not.”

“Oh, I’m full of fret, lady,” Evie deadpanned, exhaling when the destiny monster winked out of sight.

Two months from now, Evie thought.Everything will change. And it will be our greatest victory…or our greatest loss.

Trystan remained silent for a few moments before his dark eyes peered down at her with an astonished, near comical expression. “That’s an inconvenient development.”

“Which one? The pending curse,” Evie asked, “or that her hair looked fit for a shampoo advertisement?”