Page 89 of Assistant to the Villain

“We better stop this, Saline. Unless we want to be next.”

“All hail saintly Ms. Sage.” Saline chuckled as their footsteps faded into the distance.

Evie realized her hand was still over The Villain’s mouth, his soft lips a soothing contrast to the stubble tickling her fingers.

Dropping her hand back to her side, Evie awkwardly apologized. “Sorry, sir.”

Then she quickly shoved the hidden door back open and stumbled into the light, a burning sensation prickling along her skin.

“Is your hand bleeding?” His already low voice seemed to have dropped an octave. When Evie turned back to address his question, she enjoyed the sight of his back muscles stretching his shirt as he pushed the heavy wall panel closed.

“Um,” she mumbled, looking down to see her nails had scraped one of the blisters that still remained on her palm. “Oh, look at that. I suppose it is.”

“Is it from the burns you got last night?” He said it so casually, Evie nearly missed the implication of the sentence.

She exhaled hard, taking a step backward to have a better look at him. “How did you know about that? Did Tatianna rat me out?”

The Villain rolled his eyes, moving back to the table where his maps were. He took a seat and picked up the charcoal pencil. “Hardly. Tatianna is a vault. I knew about your hands last night.”

Evie was confused and tired and still a little wounded from being raked over the coals just now by people who were meant to respect her. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because you were quite obviously trying to hide it. I didn’t see a need to draw attention to it against your wishes.” He kept looking down, his voice about as emotionless as a brick.

Well, Evie seemed to have enough emotions for them both. “Well, it’s not from the burns. Not exactly,” she grumbled. “I squeezed my palms too hard, which happens sometimes when I’m feeling…stressed.”

This caused him to jerk his head up and look at her, too directly. “Because of what those nitwits said?” He looked in the direction they had walked, back to the office space.

“I prefer the word ‘nincompoops,’” Evie said thoughtfully.

“Why?” The Villain angled his head at her.

“Because it sounds funnier.”

He sighed like he was exhausted. “I don’t have a response to that.”

“Excellent.” She nodded, itching to leave before his scrutinizing gaze burned a hole through her. But something occurred to her that gave her enough courage to look right at him as she asked, “What did Joshua Lightenston say about me?”

Evie tried not to flinch when his eyes darted away from hers and found something interesting out the window beside the table. “I don’t recall.”

“You don’t recall?” Evie said skeptically. “You, who recalled during an inventory the other day that you’d only fired seven arrows at some knight lastyear, can’t remember what an intern said a few weeks ago?”

She watched The Villain clench his jaw, and suddenly, she wanted the ground to open up and swallow her. Because, whatever was said about her, it must be unbelievably bad if even someone with as evil a heart as Trystan couldn’t bear to repeat it.

“Never mind,” Evie said quickly, her stomach twisting. “I really don’t want to know.”

He sighed. “Joshua Lightenston was impertinent. Let’s leave it at that, Sage.”

“All right.” Evie swallowed, wringing her hands together.

“That’s it?” He looked at her suspiciously, and his knowledge of her notorious stubborn streak sent a pang of familiar comfort through her.

“That’s it.” Evie offered what she hoped was a convincing smile. This wasn’t the first time someone had said something mean about her. It certainly wouldn’t be the last. “I’m tired, sir. I think I’ll head home.”

All of a sudden, the exhaustion from the last several days nearly buckled her knees. The guvre, her injuries, the gossip. It all just seemed too much, and she wanted to go home. To go to sleep. As if to prove her point, a large yawn escaped her mouth as she rushed to cover it with her palm.

“I’ll take you home,” he said, stretching his shoulders.

“That’s not necessary, sir,” Evie said, feeling herself sway from the exhaustion.