Page 70 of Adversary to the Villain

“The human-sized pot in the middle of your back room?” Evie gestured to it.

“That belongs to Fee!” Greta bit out.

“Who is Fee?” Trystan asked, incredulous. Then the ground rattled and the roof was suddenly lifted off the house. Evie felt herself gently lowered to her feet and tucked behind Trystan’s back.

“I’m the one with the death magic, you know,” she grumbled.

“I know,” was all he said in response.

“That would be me.” The giant called Fee peered down at them curiously.

“Your name is Fee?” Trystan asked warily.

Evie felt a shot of satisfaction—the sort when you were proven right. “As in Fee Fi Fo Fum?”

Fee spoke above them with level displeasure. “I was trying to introduce myself when you stumbled onto my property, even cleared the path of rocks, and instead I was met with screams of terror! Your guests are very rude, Greta.”

“This wouldn’t have happened if you let me ask who Fee Fi Fo Fum was,” Evie sang under her breath.

“That was just occurring to me, thank you,” Trystan hissed back. “You almost stepped on us!” Trystan bellowed up at the giant.

“Did I?” Fee asked. “Or are my feet just quite large and you made a rather outlandish assumption?”

Evie’s mouth formed anO, and she couldn’t take her eyes off Fee, even as she tapped Trystan’s shoulder. “I think it’s the second option. You should apologize.”

“You thought Greta was cooking us!” Trystan accused.

“There was a giant pot! What else was I supposed to assume it was for?”

“A giant,” Greta offered, waving around a rather large spoon. “I’m Fee’s personal chef.”

Oh. That was a relief. And wildly mortifying.

“I assume my dinner was ruined, Greta?” Fee grumbled, gently placing the roof back atop the house, and wordlessly the two of them followed Greta outside. Feeling more than a little silly, Evie hung her head like a child who’d been caught drawing on the wall.

She took a breath of the night air. And it was indeed night. The skies near the eastern kingdom, Kaliora, were clearer, the benefit of being away from the bustle of the capital or busier villages. Stars beamed all around them.

Her mother could be up there. Perhaps that was the place she’d escaped to, back among the stars, wanting the benefit of viewing Evie’s life but not actually being a part of it. Or maybe she didn’t care to watch Evie at all.

Greta was offering new dinner plans when Evie drifted back to the conversation.

At a terrible time.

“They were having a lovers’ quarrel.”

“We’re not lovers,” Evie objected.

At the same time as Trystan objected, “It wasn’t a quarrel.” He narrowed his eyes for a moment at her, looking well and truly evil, so much so that a chill spread down her spine. “How do you define lovers, Sage?”

“If you’re needing to define it, you probably aren’t one,” Fee offered, and Trystan’s gaze went skyward.

“I’m going to cut to the chase before my fragile pride takes another beating,” Trystan said. “We’re here to find an artifact. A key.”

“Of course you are. As is everyone who travels over to Kaliora’s borders. They all ask for the same thing.” Fee smiled piteously. “And none of them have been able to win it from me.”

“We can win it. What’s the game?” Evie was speaking out of her arse, but if it got the giant to at least show them where the key was, they could work out a way to steal it.

Thinking like a villain.