Page 51 of Adversary to the Villain

When he realized he was under no such attack, he smiled sheepishly at the rest of them. “Oh.”

The singular word caused a ripple of laughter that swept over them, and even Trystan’s lips quirked upward. Lyssa tilted her head and stepped forward. “Why were you green, sir? Were you ill?”

“A frog in his throat,” Evie added sedately with a wicked glimmer in her eyes.

Tatianna doubled over, hiding her face behind her hands. “Someone tell her, I beg you.” Elsewise she’d never stop laughing.

When Trystan crouched to Lyssa’s level, he delivered the news of Kingsley’s change with a gentleness he only displayed when conversing with the Sage girls.

That same softness clenched her heart when Clare’s hand found Tatianna’s under the table, her stomach doing somersaults. No one in the world had the power to excite her so. No one had the power to hold her heart. Only Clare Maverine and her aversion to glitter.

Evie took that moment to get the meeting going. “Tatianna, you summoned me?”

Tatianna’s heart began to race, and Clare squeezed her hand.

With a bracing breath, she planted her hands on either side of the table to stand, rounding to take Evie’s hands, pulling her deeper into the room. “My sweet friend.” Tatianna swallowed around her words, unsure when nerves ever became part of her emotional threshold. “I was hoping you’d consider… Well—Blade believes that if we can make the guvre nest with the eggs viable again, even if just for a few seconds, it might be enough to attract them back so we could recapture them.”

Evie blinked, appearing bewildered by the idea. “But what does that have to do with me?”

“Starlight magic is the most healing sort,” Clare offered, and Tatianna shot her a grateful look that was a cross betweenthank youandplease save me from this torture.

“But my mother’s magic is gone…” Evie’s mouth fell open, her eyes shooting to her sister, who was currently sneaking sugar cubes out of a glass. “Wait, Lyssa? You want to useLyssa?” The betrayal in her voice was evident.

Trystan looked horrified. “Have you all been addled?”

“Are you going to pretend you didn’t know?” Evie spun on him, eyes glassing over. “What? Did you all convene to figure out how best to ambush me with this?”

Trystan flinched, eyes shutting for a moment before he steadied himself. “No, Sage. I—I would never do that to you.” He looked something close to hurt, and now it was Evie who flinched.

“I want to do it,” Lyssa murmured, drawing everyone’s attention to her. She’d abandoned the search for sugar and now appeared sedate, serious, her small hands folded at her chin. “I already told Blade yes.”

“He asked you directly?” Evie gasped, appearing so hurt Tatianna felt her heart snap like a twig.

“He said I need your permission.” Lyssa took hold of Evie’s hand, trying to make her understand what they all knew. “But he asked me first because it’s my magic and I should have a say in how I get to use it. I’m going with them, Evie. It’ll be fine, Ipromise.”

Tears were no longer glassing over Evie’s eyes—they were drifting down her face. “But it’s my job to keep you safe. I won’t ever stifle you, but please, won’t you let me protect you?”

Lyssa appeared much older than ten years when she responded, with so much wisdom, “You can’t protect me forever, Evie.”

The true cruelty in raising a child.

Edwin placed a gentle hand on Evie’s arm, and her lip wobbled. “I know that. I know I—Very well. If you insist on this, I will come with you and—”

“You can’t.” Clare stood, taking the words Tatianna couldn’t bear to say. “I’m not trying to be cruel, Evie, believe me. But your wanted flyers are everywhere. The entire kingdom and beyond knows your face. You’ll draw more attention to them.”

“It’s okay. I don’t need you there,” Lyssa assured her, and Tatianna thought it might have been the most brutal words ever spoken to Evie.

But she merely gave her sister a watery smile. “Of course you don’t, sweet.” Her voice cracked at the last word, but her smile remained firmly in place.

Lyssa frowned. “Why do you look sad?”

Evie rushed to comfort her sister, rushed to reassure her with a brightened attitude. “You’re going to do wonderfully. I’m just tired. Blade will keep you safe.”

“I’ll go, too,” Tatianna offered, fully expecting Evie to shoot daggers at her eyes. Instead, all Tatianna saw was pain when Evie’s lashes lifted and the woman offered her a sad but resolute nod.

“That’s kind of you, Tatianna. Please alert me as soon as you return, hmm?” Evie leaned down to give Lyssa a kiss on the cheek. “Good luck,” she whispered, a sniffle following it. And with a swish of those delicate embroidered flowers, Evie was gone.

The kitchen meeting had been a resounding success.