Page 141 of Adversary to the Villain

Kingsley waved his hands around with a reassuring smile. “No, I followed when you two went overboard.”

“I didn’tgo overboard,” Evie corrected pleasantly. “I jumped.”

Trystan sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Yes. We’re all aware.”

“I knew someone once who sighed like that,” Evie observed seriously. “She was a mother of five.”

Kingsley snorted, and Trystan turned his gaze on her. There was a warning in it that excited her. A dare. “Shall I help dig while you two—”

Trystan stared at him darkly; Kingsley took the hintandthe shovel, getting to work.

Evie felt calmer knowing the guard was…out of the way and truly took in the memorial garden of Rennedawn. It was beautiful. Rosebuds formed on a brightly green bush, trees of every shape and every color creating a canopy above them. Plants she’d never seen before sprouted up from the grounds, near the fountains, atop the birdbaths. It was peaceful.

A place to rest.

Evie sat next to the tree and allowed the boys to dig, holding her knees and searching for peace within herself, within her magic. She wondered if there would ever be a time she did not have to put so much effort into it. She was tired of being resilient.

But Evie reminded herself that there was no shame in resting before you took on the world. Maybe she need not always earn it.

“What’s your favorite memory with Arthur?” Evie asked, weaving blades of grass between her fingers.

Trystan stopped shoveling for a moment and began to chuckle to himself. “He caught me trying to run away from home once.”

Kingsley chuckled, too. “I remember that. An interesting five minutes.”

“It wasfifteenminutes,” Trystan corrected, looking delightfully boyish in his embarrassment. “I made it all the way down to the beach before he caught me.”

She was going to split a lip for how wide her mouth was pulling. “How old were you?”

“Six.” Trystan struggled through another shovelful of dirt. “He ran me down before I could get on a raft that no doubt would have sunk. And dragged me back to the beach. He…he didn’t ask why I wanted to leave, and he didn’t use his Core Healer magic to fix what I was feeling. He told me—he told me he’d be deeply saddened if I left. That he’d miss me.”

Trystan swallowed, and Kingsley turned his head away, but Evie saw how red his eyes had grown.

“He loved you,” Evie said softly, feeling a pang for the loss of someone so good-hearted.

Trystan sniffed. “He— He wasn’t a perfect man. But he was someone I used to wish very much…to be like.”

Kingsley’s voice was gruff. “You’re all the best parts of him. That, I know.”

“What about you, Alexander?” Evie asked softly.

Kingsley gave a shaky smile, putting the shovel down for a moment to think. “That’s too hard. He was always so welcoming to me. I always had a home in this village. He was a man who created warmth for everyone around him. Even when they didn’t deserve it.”

Evie was humbled, seeing the impact of one man. The lives he’d touched, the stories he’d altered with a gentle hand. How one life could touch so many, how no soul need be wasted, and how every act of goodness would live on even after they departed this world.

It was a privilege to witness. A life well lived.

Kingsley had stopped talking, too choked up to go on, and the men continued to dig at a brisk pace until they hit something that sang against their metal shovels.

“You’ll have to be sure you get all the pieces.” Evie stood, watching them uncover the box. When its smooth black surface was cleared of dirt, Trystan jumped down into the hole to extract it.

“Sage?” Trystan’s tone was light, his eyes soft as he stared up at her. “Remember how Clare assumed Arthur had no idea what the glass pieces were?”

Evie grimaced. “Yes?”

“We were wrong.” He stepped to the side and revealed the stained glass window from the book of Rennedawn, recreated in perfect likeness. Except the field of flowers was even more detailed, dandelions scattered about the air, as the two figures reached for each other.

“We did it.” Trystan gaped. “We can fulfill the prophecy.”