Chapter 21

Evie

" If you plan to drive me through with that, could you get it over with?" Evie called to the knight holding a blade at her back.

"Sage, do not move!" The Villain ordered, hands raised, ready to use his magic.

"I don't need to move, sir. Can you see how much he's shaking?" She angled her head to look at the sword pressed to her back. It shook along with its wielder. "At this rate, he'll run me through by accident."

The sword slipped, nicking her. She winced, and the guard's eyes widened with panic.

"First day?" she asked sympathetically.

"Sage," The Villain bit out.

"It is, actually," the knight mumbled.

The Villain groaned. "Oh for the love of—"

Evie waved a hand. "Ignore him. You're doing fine."

"Thank you, milady," the knight replied earnestly. He almost lowered the sword but was reprimanded by his captain—the one holding Blade at knifepoint while Fluffy howled beneath a weighted net. The poor animal was blowing gusts of smoke in feeble attempts to produce flame.

"Simon!" the captain yelled. "Stop flirting with the enemy and retrieve the stardust."

"Yes, sir," Simon said nervously, tucking his chin against his chest.

She held fast to the vial in her pocket, hoping they wouldn't search her first, though as usual, her fears were for naught. Dark shadows pooled at her feet—the boss's magic. This was the power that was rumored to be strong enough to rip apart homes, rip apart bodies . She swallowed, watching it…play with the laces of her boots like a cat.

Oh dear. "Sir?" she asked, trying to shake it away by wiggling her foot, but it merely clung tighter.

The Villain's face twisted with anger as he tried to pull the mist closer. "Obey!" he yelled, but it was too late.

A helmeted knight had stepped out of the throng with an outstretched hand—the same knight who had subdued The Villain's power before he was taken from her last time.

She wouldn't let it happen again.

The mist about her feet vanished as The Villain dropped to the ground, screaming in agony.

The sword at her back slipped again. "Ow!" she wailed overdramatically.

"I'm sorry, miss!" Simon yelped from behind her, sword moving away for a second, but it was enough. She turned, kicking him hard in the shin before pulling her dagger from her side and banging the blunt end against his unguarded head. He dropped immediately.

"No, I'm sorry!" She winced, stepping over him, then charged for Trystan. Another knight ran at her but skidded to a halt when Evie's dagger took on a life of its own. The scar on her shoulder pulsed as her hand parried and the dagger thrust itself through the man's chest. Her eyes widened. That hadn't been her. Not really. Right?

"How did you do that?" Tatianna asked, her hands beginning to glow as she gripped one of the knights by the arm. Whatever she did, it caused the man to collapse on the spot.

"I don't really know, but I—I don't think that was me." She exhaled hard, coming face-to-face with Clare in front of The Villain, guarding him. Clare nodded at Evie before pulling a well of orange ink from her pocket. She tossed the glowing liquid out of the well, then wielded and bent the ink through the air like a weapon before splashing it toward the three knights charging them.

They dropped, screaming as it burned their skin. The smell of charred flesh permeated the air. "Ew." Evie pinched her nose.

Three knights remained, one holding magical cuffs as he charged for The Villain, but he was stopped—by a large green blur that flew out of nowhere, covering the front of the knight's helmet. "Get it off!" he shrieked. "What is it?"

They all grinned. "Kingsley, you are a shameless stowaway!" Evie cried, but she smiled, too, as the frog held on for dear life and the knight flailed, trying to see around the amphibian, until he tripped, hit his head on a nearby log, and lay still.

The knight holding Blade let go, realizing he was sorely outnumbered, and the dragon trainer didn't waste the opportunity. He sprinted for Fluffy, cutting through the netting with gentle purpose and murmuring soothing words to the frightened animal.

They were winning, but the boss was still subdued on the ground, the knight with the outstretched hand moving forward.

"Finish The Villain!" the injured captain ordered from where he lay against a tree, seething with anger. He had removed his helmet to reveal a drawn face and furious eyes. "Do it now!"

"No," the remaining knight said. "I don't think that I will."

The knight dropped his hands, releasing The Villain from his painful vise grip, and spun on the captain, running him through with his sword. The captain's face was frozen in outrage, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth, before he fell to the red-soaked grass, dead.

The treacherous remaining knight removed his helmet, revealing a pair of green eyes so familiar, she almost wept to look at them.

The knight smiled, small and hesitant. "Well, that was a bit messy, wasn't it?"

Her informant had come at last.