Assistant to the Villain (Assistant to the Villain, #1) (76)

“I got it, I got it!” She took one more step before swallowing hard.

“Run!”

And she did. Through the ruined back archway and then through the large open doors. Around the corner of the entryway, nearly to the stairs. But then a dark shadow came over her, and she realized the steps above her were melting before her eyes, the stone liquifying into a dark goo.

Freezing and spinning around, Evie fell to the ground when she realized the creature’s head was less than a foot from hers, venomous breath permeating the air, making it difficult for her to breathe. “Oh no, no, no, no.” She repeated the word like a prayer, like a mantra that this couldn’t possibly be happening to her. Throwing her hands over her face, just the touch of the hot, cloying breath skimmed her palms.

She screamed.

It burned like acid, eating her flesh alive. She prayed she’d pass out soon, as perhaps then she wouldn’t have to be fully conscious for her imminent death.

Evie cracked her eyes open, noticing a small alcove underneath the stairs. Rolling toward it, she desperately tried to ignore the persistent stinging in her hands the minute they touched the ground. Tucking herself in as small as she could, she hugged her legs to her chest and lowered her chin.

The creature screeched again, only this was not the cry of attack but a wounded sound. It was followed by a loud, creaking thud. Evie carefully untucked herself and moved just her head outside the alcove to see if her suspicions were correct. And they were.

Smiling despite the pain she felt, Evie pushed the rest of her body away from the space. The female guvre lay on her side with her scaly eyelids closed.

“That took a while. Did you slip on your way in?” she asked.

Her boss stood there, chest still heaving with the force he’d used on the battering ram that he must have ripped from the wall display. “Are you critiquing my rescue?” He wiped the water dripping from his forehead and shook out his shirt.

“No, I’m critiquing the time in which it took you to execute the rescue,” she said before narrowing her eyes in realization. “And this wasn’t even your rescue—it was mine. If I hadn’t distracted her, you would’ve been an evil pancake.”

He tossed the battering ram aside with the same effort Becky had used to throw her pencil before walking to the female guvre’s side and putting a hand to her neck. “She’s alive. I just hit a vulnerable point. She’ll be out long enough for my guards and me to take her to the cellar.”

“Are we changing the subject because you’re embarrassed that you were an evil overlord in distress?” Evie walked to his side, feeling a moment of pity for the felled creature. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Happens to the best of us.”

“I’m not ashamed—it’s just untrue.” He always played right into her needling. To the point where Evie wondered if he did it on purpose, just to entertain her. But she nixed that theory, because really, why would he care about her entertainment?

“You cannot be an evil overlord in distress,” he continued, “if you save the hero immediately after she saved you.”

“So I suppose we saved each other, then.” Evie smiled, wholly unaware of why the sentence shut something off in her boss’s eyes.

“Head back up to the office.” He nodded in the direction of the ruined stairs. “I’ll take care of this.”

“Um, sir?” Evie asked.

“What?” The Villain said shortly, his eyes finding the ruined stairway covered in molten liquid. Eyes flashing to the unconscious animal, he muttered, “Did she—”

“Yes, sir.”

“Damn it.”

“I’m sure it’s fixable,” she said, patting his arm. “In the meantime, you need to find a way to get this winged lady to the cellar downstairs. And try to stop getting yourself into trouble in the meantime; I can’t keep saving you.”

It was meant to be a joke, to lighten the moment, but it sure didn’t feel like one when The Villain’s molten gaze landed on hers.





Chapter 36


Evie


The storm cleared the next morning, as she suspected it would.

The creature’s vengeful magic had run dry—he was reunited with his mate and the clouds had gone.

Evie stared at the mirror, seeing herself in a borrowed dress of Tatianna’s. It had been a little too large when she’d first put it on, but as soon as the buttons up the back were secured, the bodice slowly tightened around her until the dress fit like a second skin.

“Well, that’s a fun trick,” Evie said, inspecting the blue velvet in the large mirror on the other side of the healer’s quarters.

“I got it from a magicked dressmaker when I was visiting a friend in Verdelana.” Tatianna smiled, walked over, and turned Evie’s hands to inspect under the bandages. “All the best magic comes from the south. He said a dress should be worn to fit you, not the other way around.”

“So, no matter what…?”

“It’ll always fit like a glove.” Tatianna narrowed her eyes, clearly looking at the dark circles underneath Evie’s. “Did you sleep at all?”

“A little. Your extra bed was comfortable.” And it had been. Evie’s hands had just ached, even after Tatianna had worked every bit of magic on them. Growing back skin in places where blisters had formed was no small task, and in some areas Tatianna had admitted they were so badly damaged, it would take several magic sessions to fully heal. For those areas, Tatianna applied a salve, but Evie refused a bandage of any sort, in case The Villain were to notice the damage and ask questions.