Evie opened her mouth to respond tartly, but he continued.
“‘Oh, and have you seen a rare, fatally dangerous beast known as a guvre? We lost one.’”
Evie laughed, squeezing his arm, and The Villain abruptly stopped walking. He swung around to face her, the torch in his hand illuminating his face, and her stomach sank. He started to say something—by the way he didn’t quite make eye contact, Evie knew the words had something to do with their shared kiss—but she wasn’t ready to hear he regretted it just yet.
So she rushed in with, “Did your parents have you in plays growing up? You’re quite theatrical when you want to be.”
Now he looked flabbergasted as Evie clicked her tongue and walked on. “Your horse must have gotten away—we should’ve found him by now.”
“He wouldn’t leave without me.”
“It’s a horse. They like food and water.” Evie felt an unevenness to the ground underneath her feet and quickly grabbed the torch from The Villain’s hand. “Hoof prints.” A lot of them, as in more than just one horse. There were human footprints as well.
“They took my fucking horse.” The Villain pinched the bridge of his nose.
“It’s okay, sir.” She said it because she knew this wasn’t really about the horse, at least not completely. She watched him bend over and pick up a scrap of Arnold’s robe. “We’ll get him back and make them pay.”
“I suppose we should be concerned for Ms. Erring, since she was with them as well.”
Evie waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, she’ll be fine. Evil never dies.”
The Villain snorted, and they continued deeper into the wood. “From your mouth to the gods’ ears, Sage.”
A rustling in the bushes beyond halted them. The Villain drew his sword and held it up in a defensive stance. “Stay back.”
“It’s probably a rodent or something,” Evie whispered.
Suddenly, the branches parted to reveal Becky, disheveled and stumbling through with a wild, frantic look in her eyes.
“Oh, look at that. I was right,” Evie snarked, but then gasped as she took in the woman’s state. She rushed to Becky, quickly placing a careful arm around her shaking shoulders. “What the deadlands happened? Are you okay?”
Becky gripped one of Evie’s hands, terrifying her further. What had they done to her? And why did the thought of anyone hurting Becky make her want to break things?
What a strange day.
“They—” She swallowed hard. “They heard the guvre, and they took off with the core healer on two of the horses. The one they put me on wasn’t moving fast enough, so the knight that was holding me just threw me off.”
Evie’s eyes widened as she took in the dirt and tears on Becky’s dress as well as the bruising on her face. “While it was moving?” she yelled.
She bent over and grabbed the knife from her ankle sheath, then stomped in the direction Becky had emerged from. Evie made it about three steps before one of her boss’s arms snaked around her waist, pulling her backward.
“I think one assistant against several well-trained royal guards is a bit of an unfair fight. Don’t you?”
“I can handle myself just fine.” Evie narrowed her eyes as he spun her around to face him.
A twinkle shone in the dark depths of Trystan’s stare. “I wasn’t worried about you.”
Evie harumphed, but it was impossible to keep one side of her mouth from quirking up as she held his gaze. Becky coughed, and Evie realized her sort of nemesis was watching her make moon eyes at her boss.
Heat blistered up Evie’s cheeks as they faced Becky, a mix between bemusement and disgust on her face. “What is going on between you two—” Her eyebrows shot into her hairline as she gasped. “Gods help me. Is this all because of that little kiss?”
Evie and The Villain both sputtered, stumbling over themselves, denying the claim.
“Absolutely not!” Evie blurted.
“That was all a part of an ongoing and brilliant strategic plan.” They both knocked into each other with the way they were waving their arms.
Becky’s expression didn’t change as she limped over and leaned against a tree. “I think I’ve had enough of both of you.”
The Villain raised one imperious brow. “I beg your pardon, Ms. Erring?”
Becky sighed as she sank to the ground, her head falling onto her hands. “They took off with the core healer. Their mounts were quick, so they’re long gone by now. Probably already back to the Gleaming Palace, by my guess.”