Page 144 of Accomplice to the Villain

She didn’t think that would help here.

Honesty was the only course. “I don’t know, Lyssa. Maybe he wanted us to protect the nest. Maybe he wanted to show us what his mate will go through again, imprisoned by the king. And as for the glowing… Maybe your mother’s magic has manifested in you?”

“Does that mean… Am I like my mother?” There was real fear in the little girl’s eyes, and Becky knew that fear, knew what it was to worry if blood would take over, turning you into someone you never wanted to be.

“No.” Wrapping a gentle arm around the little girl, Becky pulled her into her side. “No, you are like Lyssa Sage and no one else. No matter what happens, that is one thing that will always be true. We’ll sort the rest later.”

Blade’s warm hand closed over Becky’s shoulder. “We’ll call for a few Malevolent Guards to protect the nest until we know what to do with it.” But Becky didn’t look at him, because Lyssa smiled.

And Becky did, too.

Chapter 73

Gideon

Gideon dreamed of a princess with golden hair, long tresses cascading around him. And then he awoke from the gentlest slumber of his life…to torture. Or rather Keeley, punching him in the arm. “Gideon, wake up! The sedative is wearing off!”

A loud, almost screaming roar came from the cage, and Keeley was already working at the lock. The brownish gray color of the female was brighter than it had been when they first arrived. Her serpentine head and eyes dipped to peer at the two of them.

Gideon saw the danger in the look much too late. “Keeley, back up—”

The cage door slammed open, and Keeley went flying into the far wall. The force knocked the helmet from her head, and her blond braid spilled down her back. The guvre’s mist shot for them, but Gideon was ready this time, lifting Keeley underneath her arms and dragging her away before the breath could melt the skin from their bones.

Another screeching roar echoed down the corridor, and with that, their time to do this undetected had run out.

“We have to make her chase us!” Gideon yelled. “Are you fast enough?”

Keeley sneered at him, bringing her fingers to her lips, whistling as loudly as possible. The guvre homed in on them, and Keeley’s sneer turned to a smirk. “Are you?”

And then she ran.

They both did, sprinting down the corridors of the hidden tunnels, discarding heavy armor as they went, no longer needing the pretense or the extra weight holding them back. The screeching sounds of the guvre grew louder as she gained on them, right behind them, the mist catching the back of Gideon’s boot, eating right through the leather and burning his skin. He bit back a yell of pain as they neared the exit, as they neared freedom, but before they could make it to the light, to the end of their journey, they were stopped.

By a wall of Valiant Guards positioned perfectly to stop them. But this shouldn’t be. The guard shift change wouldn’t have happened for another hour. The only explanation was…a setup. But there wasn’t time to contemplate as Keeley barreled into the wall of men, sword swinging, slicing through necks and arms, taking a hit and giving it back harder. Ten of them versus two.

But as Gideon entered the fray, it occurred to him that Keeley was worth hundreds. Gideon sliced through a man, following behind the captain. He was fighting without holds to cut through men he once served beside, and he did it without hesitation.

And without stopping, until the final guard ran for Gideon, blade raised, face bloodied as the knight let out a battle cry. The helmeted knight stopped short when a sword went clean through his neck, his head clanging to the ground as the body dropped beside him.

Before they could claim their victory, another gust of mist came at them, followed by another screech as the guvre’s large body crashed through the tunnels, gaining on them. “Let’s go, Captain!” Gideon grabbed Keeley’s arm and thrust her in front of him until they were out into the drizzling rain, stumbling to the side of the tunnel entrance as the female guvre escaped, taking to the skies.

“No, she’s getting away!” Keeley yelled, running after where the creature disappeared above the clouds.

“Let her go, Captain. We did what you were ordered to do. She’s free. We have bigger problems afoot. The Valiant Guards knew we were coming,” Gideon guessed, out of breath, lungs burning. “It was a trap.” With hopeless frustration, he kicked the dirt.

Keeley pulled a bright ruby from her pocket. “I must inform the boss that the female escaped. He won’t be happy knowing his plan went awry.”

“I was under the impression that this was your idea.” Gideon searched the sky, hoping to see a pregnant brown creature above them. It was too much to ask for, really.

Keeley paused over the ruby. “Why would you think that?”

“The Villain told you no rigorous activity for at least a week. You hardly waited three days before jumping into this. I thought you had gone rogue.”

Keeley frowned, her hand and the ruby dropping against her thigh. “No. I would never do something this crucial without explicit orders from the boss.”

“So, he ordered you to do this? Directly?” Gideon stepped closer.

Keeley stepped back. Rain was soaking through her leather armor, making it cling to her skin, the curves of her breasts, the dip in her hips. “N-No,” she stuttered, staring right into the heat of Gideon’s gaze. “He’d already departed when we received the order. The Villain sent his orders by raven to the most trustworthy second-in-command. The only person in the office we are meant to take orders from if the boss isn’t around to give them himself.”