Accomplice to the Villain (Assistant and the Villain, #3)(39)

He paused, his fist still midair from knocking. “The prisoners downstairs—”

“Is anyone bleeding or dead who isn’t meant to be bleeding or dead?” she clarified, her lips pressing tightly together as she awaited his answer.

This was a terrible idea.

“No,” he said carefully.

“Are you admitting finally that you’re in love with Evie Sage?” She folded her arms, the fluffy ends of her robe coming together.

He sputtered, “I—I will admit no such thing.” Out loud.

“Then I am returning to bed.” Tatianna groaned and made to slam the door, but Trystan caught it with his hand. She let out a little grunt, pushing it harder. “Trystan, by the gods, whatever it is, let it wait until the sun’s come up.”

“I’m busy then,” he stated logically.

Her eyes flared, her hands glowing in a threatening gleam. He released the door, stumbling backward. “Come back later,” she bit out, then slammed it shut.

He sighed, leaning his forehead against the cool surface. “Sage and I kissed,” he admitted quietly.

The door flew open so fast he was fairly certain it would be knocked off its hinges again, his forehead catching open air as he tripped into his healer’s quarters. Fortunately, her exam table stopped him, though it possibly bruised his kidneys in the process.

“Tell me everything.” Tatianna grabbed a comfy chair from the corner and dragged it over, tucking her slippered feet underneath her. “Did you kiss her? Oh! Did she kiss you? Good for you, Evie!”

“I’m not—” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I didn’t come to talk about that, actually. I’m worried about Kingsley.” He pulled the frog from his pocket. His friend’s crown was so far down the side of his head it was practically hanging off one of his eyes.

Tatianna leaned her chin against the palm of her hand, unamused. “Why? Did you force him awake at an ungodsly hour, too?”

The frog blinked, his eyes growing more alert, and he hopped and settled into Tatianna’s lap.

“He was meant to check on Sage for me while I kept the guvre comfortable last night. Next thing I knew, I awoke hours later, alone, and Kingsley had never returned,” Trystan explained, staring at his best friend. “When I finally tracked him down, he was dangling from the chandelier, completely out of it. Something’s off with him. Haven’t you noticed? Misspelling signs, holding up empty ones? Seeming absent?”

“Mother hen.” Tatianna gentled her voice. “He’s not absent—he’s a frog, and he’s right here. So he got a little sidetracked. Happens to the best of us.”

“He was our best friend, Tati. He was our best friend, and now he’s this. And it’s my fault.”

Tatianna shook her head. “No, Trystan. It’s your mother’s fault. She commissioned the enchantress to hurt you. Besides”—she held up Kingsley, cradling him with both hands—“you spent a decade trying to find a way to undo it. You’ve punished yourself enough for a crime that isn’t yours.”

“Maybe that’s why I’ve committed so many others I’ll never take the blame for,” he muttered sarcastically.

Tatianna blew out a breath that turned into a whistle. “I’m so glad you said it so I didn’t have to.”

His irritation melted away when he lifted one of Clare’s flower clips from the worktable. He held it up, pointing a questioning look at her. “Speaking of the past…”

“We were speaking of crime, actually.”

Trystan took the hint. Don’t touch the subject of the youngest Maverine. Understood, but his daily interactions with others in the office seemed to be having an adverse effect on him, because…he wanted to know.

Kingsley jumped to his shoulder, just when Trystan needed the distraction. “Do you think you could look him over anyway? Make sure everything’s functioning right?”

“I’m a healer for people, Trystan. Why don’t you ask Blade?”

“Because I might run into…someone I’m not quite ready to see yet.”

“Ah.” Tatianna nodded, as if she’d sorted him long before he’d admitted a thing. “You afraid you’ll plant one on her again?”

“She kissed me!” he argued.

“HA!” She jumped, pointing at him, self-satisfaction evident in the little hops she was doing. She started waving her hand at her face. “Hoo, all this excitement is making me flushed. Open the window, will you?”

Trystan rolled his eyes, but he went to the window, cracking it slightly to bring in a rush of cool air.

“Thank you.” Tatianna smiled. “Wow. So our sweet Evie kissed you. This is good. At least one of you has some sense.”

“Are we speaking of the same woman who accidentally baked a batch of cupcakes with salt instead of sugar her first week on the job?”

Tatianna tapped her chin with a manicured finger. “Didn’t you eat them all anyway?”

Kingsley found a sign from the basket in the corner and scribbled out a word.

Yes.

Tatianna smiled and shrugged. “Look at that! He’s as sharp as ever.”

Something in Trystan’s face must have conveyed his impatience, because Tatianna grabbed the frog from the corner and placed him on her examination table.