Page 113 of Accomplice to the Villain

He picked her up by the waist and swung her away when another ball of fire shot right for where she was standing. “Sage, there’s nothing we can do for these people. The bird’s magic is running out of control. Unless you’re comfortable killing it? In which case you should know it will only reanimate a few minutes later. Angrier, I’d guess.”

She held on to his shoulder to steady herself and stood firm. “I won’t leave these people.”

“Why?” Trystan yelled. “You don’t know them, and they wouldn’t do this for you.”

Evie held his gaze, trapping him with her eyes. “I’m not doing this because of whatthey’ddo. I’m doing it because it’s whatIdo.”

An impassible barrier erected behind his eyes as he processed her decision. As the words sank in, he gave her one stiff nod before gingerly helping her up onto his horse. Her mare had long since bolted in the other direction. “All right, Sage,” The Villain said as he swung into the saddle behind her. “If we’re to do a good deed, I suppose we have an edge that the Valiant Guards don’t.”

She gave him a curious smile. “And what’s that?”

He smiled back, dimple out in full force. Or was the blood loss merely giving her some pleasant hallucinations? But she knew it was real, as only Trystan Maverine would take this much pleasure in what he said next.

“We don’t play fair.”

The black mist followed them as they galloped toward the creature. “Sir. Your magic. Should I get some distance?”

“No,” he said resolutely, “it’s unpredictable with you, but it’s powerful. That’s the only thing that will help us in this situation.”

Evie’s dagger glowed, and so did her scar as they neared the phoenix. Evie hardly noticed the pain in her leg anymore, which meant either the wound wasn’t as bad as she’d predicted or it was significantly worse.

As an optimist, she pretended it was the former.

“What’s the plan?” Evie asked uneasily as their horse came to a sudden stop, the large bird having suddenly landed right in front of them. Menacing anger emanated from it in waves of fire. But to Evie, it mostly looked…sad.

“To not die,” Trystan said dryly. “That’s all I’ve got at the moment, as this was an unexpected addition to our journey.”

“Hasn’t the entirety of the journey been unexpected?” she grumbled, gripping his arm as he helped her dismount. She held up her dagger but didn’t release it. Phoenixes were peaceful animals; they weren’t known for destruction or wild temperaments. And though the purple kind was even rarer than most, they were also said to be the kindest. “They’re gentle animals. This is heartbreaking,” she whispered, watching it thrash in a possessed sort of anger.

It screeched and flung another ball of flame at her. She jolted into Trystan, and he huffed, “They’re as gentle as I am.”

“Oh, sir! You’re a genius!” She jumped excitedly, grabbing his arm.

He rubbed the back of his neck, flustered. “I wouldn’t saygenius. I am a stickler for strategy and logic, but nothing more—”

Evie didn’t have the time to hear the end of his sentence. She had to act fast before she lost her nerve. Or her life. She sprinted to the animal, arms open wide.

She was going to give the fire-breathing bird…a godsforsaken hug.

Chapter 60

The Villain

Trystan had lived long enough, truly. Sage certainly seemed to think so, as she didn’t mind making blood vessels burst behind his eyes from the amount of yelling he did when she wrapped her arms around an out-of-control, murderous,immortalbird and squeezed. The animal flailed, thrashing and trying to shove its large beak into Sage’s neck.

Fortunately, as was her tendency, Sage gripped its neck in an unbreakable lock. It couldn’t reach her.

“Everything is okay,” she soothed, running her hands up and down its purple feathers. Trystan approached slowly, knowing one wrong move could set the animal off again. “It’s okay. I know it hurts and that it’s confusing. I won’t leave you alone,” she said into its feathers, and he was overwhelmed by how deeply the words affected him.

How deeply every move she made affected him.

It was even worse now that he knew what it was to hold her, to have her pliant and sweet and open to him. He’d thought a taste of what it would be like to have her would curb the wanting. And it had curbed it, only to make way for theburning.

“Evie…” he whispered. The animal stilled in her arms and…godsdamnedchirped. “This cannot actually be working.”

But it was.

The large bird drooped, its neck craning down to wrap around her back. She pulled away and looked upon the destructive animal with a fierce affection. “It’s all right if you’re scared. I’m scared all the time, but lashing out when we’re hurting isn’t how to fix it.”