Assistant to the Villain (Assistant to the Villain, #1) (90)

“It’s not like what you have with Lyssa,” he said, sweeping her out into another spin.

She laughed, deeply, before spinning back into his arms. “Our relationship’s a little different, yes, but the fundamentals are the same. I used to endlessly annoy my brother when we were children, often on purpose. But at the end of the day, we’d do anything for one another.”

“I didn’t realize you had a brother,” Trystan said softly, acutely aware that Sage was the sole provider of her family.

“He died.” There was a lifelessness to Sage’s voice that startled him.

“That must have been very difficult for you.” Their dancing had slowed, but they were still moving, still spinning.

“It was more the abruptness of it.” She remained looking at him, but her eyes were blank. “It was an accident…with my mother’s magic. Life never stopped changing after that. Gideon was gone, then my mother. I left school to take care of Lyssa and then had to stop my schooling to begin working after my father fell ill. I feel like my life keeps happening to me, rather than me living it.”

It was a sad story; Trystan had heard many of those. That wasn’t what affected him. It was the way she’d delivered the words, looking right at him. Her gaze open and honest as she laid her weaknesses bare, like they were worthy of every part of his attention.

She had it, all of it.

“I’ve felt like that, too.” He paused. “Like life is just happening to me. Many times.”

At the declaration, a startled look came over her face, which nearly made him stop, but he didn’t.

“I wasn’t prepared to see my father this evening.”

“That was my fault. I’m so, so—” But she stopped when he gave her a mock glare. He wanted to rip that godsforsaken word from her vocabulary.

“It’s difficult for me to be around him. It reminds me of my childhood. He…he wasn’t there very often. Being a core healer required travel, a lot of it. There was always someone who needed him more, and it made me feel…unimportant.”

That was all he could give for now. But it was enough, by the way Sage gazed at him with a kinship that he hadn’t known he was waiting for. “I understand,” she said, smiling lightly because she did understand him; he could see that now. “Life is sometimes just…exhausting.”

A bit overcome still, he remained silent.

Sage’s eyes went wide when he didn’t speak, and her cheeks were tinged red. “Not that working for you is exhausting… It’s more like…”

“Taking years off your life?” he supplied helpfully.

“I wasn’t going to say that.” She frowned at him. “Out loud.”

A rusty laugh escaped the back of his throat. “If the work isn’t tiring enough, I could have you join Scatter Day with the interns?” He widened his steps and swooped her into a long spin.

“As the one chasing them?” she asked, something scary in her expression.

“I’m not that evil.” He arched a brow and froze when he saw a gleam in her eye. “Why are you smiling right now, Sage?”

“I was just thinking that we are worthy of a stage performance.”

“As if anyone would ever want to watch you and me argue.” The Villain scoffed.

“I don’t know…” Evie said with a twinkle in her eye.

He shook his head, spinning them around in one more sweep.

It was a nearly perfect moment. And then the screaming began.





Chapter 43


Evie


“What in the deadlands?” The Villain muttered, angling his dark head up to the night sky, toward whatever was screeching loud enough to nearly burst Evie’s eardrums.

“Move!” she cried, recognizing the piercing shout in the sky and the purple hue to the cloud of smoke coming down toward them.

Her boss shoved them both out of the way and let loose a hard gasp when they hit the ground, eyes widening in realization before rolling them both over, away from another venomous cloud of breath from—

“They escaped?” Evie looked up over his shoulder at the dark guvre-shaped figure hovering in the sky. Because what else did this night need, if not a wickedly dangerous beast crashing the most awkward family reunion since the dawn of time?

And the most magical dance of her life.

She hadn’t even moved her feet; she’d just glided while he—

Another screech filled the air, accompanied by the screams of a scattering crowd. Right. Probably not the best time to ruminate, Evie.

The dirt bunched over her heels as her boss pulled her to her feet, cursing fast and angry when he looked to the other side of the bridge. Half of Briar’s Peak was gone, melting under the venom of the guvre’s breath. She flinched, bile rising in her throat when her eyes found the fast-decaying body of a man, still alive, still screaming in agony. Skin melting away from his bones.

“Oh, that is so sickening.” Evie covered her mouth with her hand.

“You’ve certainly seen far more grotesque things during your time in my employ,” The Villain said, far too matter-of-factly, not taking his eyes off the guvre.

“That doesn’t make that less grotesque,” Evie said incredulously before shaking her head. An awful feeling prickled along her skin. “The guvre, sir. Shouldn’t we—”