Page 34 of Heart of the Villain

Thunder roared in the distance, lightning sputtering across the sky. Marlena jumped, seeking shelter under the awning of the tavern’s entrance.

Arlet laughed, wiping her face with her soaked sweater. “Hopefully they have a fire we can dry out by.” She opened the door for Marlena, and they both slipped inside together.

Inside the tavern, music was played by a man with a small guitar. The melody of the song felt upbeat, but the lyrics were dark and alluring. People danced, drank, and cuddled into tight corners, but somehow, there were a couple open seats near the fire.

They hurried over to them and slipped out of their jackets. Marlena’s fur coat got some looks, but when didn’t she draw attention? The faces around here knew her.

Everyone in Tolevarre would recognize Marlena.

She was being plastered all over news bulletins and during important broadcasts every week.

Once the next Curia seat holder got to a certain age, the people of Tolevarre began to notice, starting to watch what kind of ruler they would be faced with in the future.

Rumors were swirling about Marlena—she was known as snappy, quick-witted, and unforgiving.

They weren’t wrong.

She ignored the looks, happy to feel that the top of her dress had been saved from the rain. Arlet, on the other hand, was soaked through. She got as close as she could to the fire without burning herself or falling in after hanging her saturated sweater.

A barmaid came by and handed them both a large mug of ale.

“Thanks, Sunny!” Arlet said with a bright smile on her face as if they were old friends.

Marlena was bad at remembering all of the faces she’d come into contact with. All except for the ones that mattered. Marlena said nothing as she sat in the chair closest to the fire and took a sip of the wheat-flavored ale.

Her insides started to warm after taking a couple more big swigs. Marlena shivered once as a jolt of cold shot down her spine. “I am so sick of the cold,” she groaned.

Arlet gulped the ale in her mug quickly, aiming to do the same thing Marlena was—get warm. “We should go dance. That’ll warm us up.”

Marlena eyed her and then let her gaze sweep over the crowd, who’d finally gone back to paying attention to whatever it was they’d been fixed on before the two walked in.

Arlet always wanted to dance, and she’d always been good at it. So while she didn’t have a “power,” per se, she was powerful in other ways. She could dance, carry a tune better than anyone Marlena personally knew, and grab any attention she wanted by merely existing.

Arlet was unlike anyone Marlena had ever met.

And tonight, she’d made it clear she wanted her too… Marlena wasn’t alone in these newfound feelings.

“Okay. Let’s dance.” How could she say no? They were known to be friends. If anything got back to the people closest to them about a wild night after breaking down on the outskirts of Aeris, no one would suspect anything nefarious.

We’re just friends.

Recovered from the notebook

of Marlena Caelum:

Twenty-One Years Old

“Good morning.” Ryanna barged through Marlena’s door unannounced. “Get dressed. Your father and I need to talk to you.”

Marlena peeled one eye open, fighting the urge to pull the covers over her head. She didn’t groan because she didn’t have the energy to argue with her mother about it if she did.

“Groaning makes you sound uncivilized.”

She and Arlet hadn’t gotten home until the early morning hours after their vehicle had broken down. By the time the guard came back with a replacement ride, the girls were wasted off the inn’s cheap ale.

They were both curled up in Marlena’s bed, cozy and warm, when Ryanna’s gaze finally landed on Arlet, who could sleep through anything, sleeping soundlessly beside Marlena.

Marlena sat up, tracking her mother’s gaze. It wasn’t unlike the girls to have sleepovers, but it had been years since they’d had a real one… Or at least, that was what everyone thought. Marlena and Arlet had begun to have them again.