Chapter 77

The Villain

He'd never seen the manor in such an uproar. At least, not when he wasn't the one causing it.

As soon as the dragon was near enough to the ground, Trystan had jumped and rolled, immediately throwing himself into the fight beside his Malevolent Guards. Blade had been tasked with landing Fluffy somewhere safe, where Evie and the others could remain hidden. He would have liked to have had his trusted colleagues beside him—Tatianna's magic, Clare's inks, even Fluffy's newfound fire—but the Valiant Guards had nearly conquered the manor already, and his employees' safety was far more important than extending a losing battle.

Her safety. She was far away, and still his magic wouldn't yield to him as it once did.

In all his years as The Villain, he'd never fought so tirelessly, with as much fury as his body allowed. "Argh!" he cried, slamming into another knight. And another. His power aided him, but it wasn't enough, and there weren't enough Malevolent Guards to match the king's numbers.

He spied Keeley beyond one of the pillars, slicing and maneuvering away.

They kept falling back and back, until they were nearly under the awning over the rear doors of the manor.

The grate to the guvres' enclosure below had been opened. His heart stopped. "No!"

Trystan ran for them and swept out his power, but his mist was dwindling as his exhaustion grew. It only made it a few feet before he was swarmed by more knights. He fought, one eye on his opponent and the other on the knights dropping a noxious smoke past the open grate.

He and the other Malevolent Guards struggled helplessly as the knights hauled an enormous net into the enclosure and lifted the female out. Her large eyes were shut as she was dragged without care onto the sturdy wooden cart.

Trystan sliced through several more Valiant Guards, pushing his power until he felt like his veins would burst through his skin…but it was too late.

The female was strapped down, too far away, with too many obstacles between them. But just before they wheeled her into Hickory Forest, into the night, one yellow eye opened for a moment, and a light whine came from her chest as she stared at Trystan.

Help me , she was saying.

I can't , he thought in anguish. Villains didn't help. They only destroyed.

He watched in the most wretched pain as they took her away…and then she was gone.

The sky opened up and rain poured down, along with one hot tear running down Trystan's face.

The male flew out, screeching after his mate, the sedation from the guards' gas making him stagger. Trystan's heart caught in his throat as he realized the knights had propped up what looked like a catapult, and attached to that…a very large spear.

"NO!" Trystan was too far away.

But Gideon Sage wasn't.

Across the back courtyard, Evie's brother saw the catapult at the same time Trystan did.

Gideon cried, "Don't!" He ran through the line, tackling the knight about to fire and knocking into the catapult just as it launched. The spear was diverted but still clipped the male guvre's wing; he fell, slamming hard into the ground.

Gideon locked eyes with the creature. The guvre cried out as the carriage containing his mate and his unborn let disappeared into the forest. The desperation of the cry was so strong, the despair rippled through the entire courtyard. Everyone seemed to jolt at once, Trystan included, as he staggered toward Gideon before falling to his knees and clutching his chest.

He got to his feet, but it was too late.

Gideon had been knocked to the ground by several knights. He tried to escape, but one of the knights pressed his boot into Gideon's chest to stay him. Trystan squinted. He knew those boots. But he didn't have time to linger on that, because another knight was already holding a sword high, ready to plunge it into Gideon's heart. "You'll regret betraying your king, deserter! There are no villains to save you now."

The knight thrust his sword up just as Trystan swept out his magic, but it was moving too slow; it wouldn't make it to Gideon in time. He cried out but was cut short when the knight jerked to a halt, eyes rolling to the back of his head. He fell beside Gideon, a silver dagger in his back.

Gideon smiled, and Trystan nearly did, too.

"Gentlemen," Gideon said to the Valiant Guards surrounding him. "Have you met my sister?"