Page 102 of Assistant to the Villain

At an obviously horribly inconvenient time.

“Gushiken!” he yelled with such deep command, Evie felt her back straighten at attention, her head nearly bumping the tree trunk they were hiding under.

Blade appeared out of the darkness and scrambled under the tree with them, blood running down his arm, panic in his amber eyes. “Hello, boss. When did you get here?” he asked, his casual tone a stark contrast to the chaos surrounding them.

“Could you perhaps dispense with the small talk? Any ideas on how to recapture him?”

“How much help was I the first time?” Blade asked bluntly.

Another screech and flurry of screams caused them all to jump. “None,” The Villain growled.

“Then I believe you have your answer, sir.” The cocky ease with which Blade composed himself wavered when his gaze flashed to a movement Evie caught out of the corner of her eye.

“I told you to stay hidden!” Blade said, an unusual steel to his voice.

Rebecka Erring appeared beside Evie under the tree, startling her so quickly, it knocked her back into her boss’s chest. “My gods, make a sound!” Evie held her hand to her chest, waiting for her heart rate to slow and then quickly realizing it wouldn’t while the guvre hovered dangerously above them.

“I wasn’t any safer behind the trees where you left me,” Becky muttered, nodding politely at The Villain and then turning to glare at Blade.

But The Villain didn’t notice as his gaze darted around the screaming party guests rushing past. “My sister. My sister was here. Before he attacked.” And then he took off running—leaving the shelter of their hiding spot.

“Sir!” Evie screamed, moving to follow, but she was jerked back down by Becky’s rough grip on her shoulders.

“Sit down, you fool. He doesn’t need to worry about you killing yourself while he looks for her. Just stay here and don’t get in the way.”

The words burned like the guvre’s breath against bare flesh, but Evie knew they were true. Unless she could find a way to make herself a resource, she would quickly become a nuisance. Perhaps she already was one.

She couldn’t be that self-deprecating now. When she finally made it home later, hopefully in one piece, she’d check on Lyssa, feeling guilty for leaving her alone once more, then flop nearly lifeless into bed. Then and only then would she allow herself to delve into all the things her brain liked to tell her she did wrong or poorly.

“We’ve got to get the guvre,” Blade said absolutely, pulling a corded leather rope from his pocket. “Found this threaded through a few fallen lanterns—I think it’ll do the trick!”

“How the deadlands did he catch it the first time?” Evie asked, raising a skeptical brow as Blade knotted a large loop at the end. “That was used to string up lights. You think it’s going to hold a giant wild animal?”

“Have you got a better idea?” Blade asked, smiling roguishly. “The boss had his guards track the male for days before he had Tati mix a sleeping draught. They struggled, but they got him down instantly after they managed to pour it in the thing’s mouth, from what Keeley told me.”

“Then by all means!” Evie gestured wildly to the sky after another screech rent the air, slowly melting the tree next to them. The creature’s wings flapped overhead, and a gust of wind knocked them all back as he soared in the other direction, far enough for them to pause and catch their breath.

“I don’t have the sleeping draught now!” Blade yelled, all three of them backing up as a group of people ran past them, screaming, most of them bleeding or injured. Evie had backed up until she felt her dress catch against something behind her. Turning quickly, she saw a body slouched against the tree, hood pulled over their face.

Blade looked confused. “Is that man…taking a nap?”

“Or he’s dead!” Becky said, slapping Blade on the arm. “Poke him and see if he moves.”

Frowning, Blade bent low, picked up a twig, and reached out toward the drooped figure.

He crouched and moved his head toward the person’s shoulder. Then jumped three feet in the air when the figure moved before the stick could poke him, a rusty laugh coming from the dark shadows hiding his face.

“I’m not dead, just a little less alive.” The voice rang familiar the moment Evie heard it. Which was why she was unsurprised when the figure pulled his hood away and revealed Arthur’s bloodied face, his beard matted together in red. “I’ll be all right. Where is Trystan?”

“Who’s that?” Blade asked, looking uncomfortable. “Oh, and who are you?”

“He’s the host of the party.” Evie rolled her eyes.

Blade frowned sympathetically. “Oh, well, other than the melting people, I think it’s going really well.”

“Blade,” Evie said, crouching beside Arthur, tearing off a piece of her shining skirt and wrapping the fabric around his head. “Shut up, would you?”

“Sure, sure,” Blade said quietly from behind them. “I’ll go try and, um, get the… Well, you know,” he said, before running away from them and into the fray.