Page 42 of Assistant to the Villain

The colors of the sunrise were beginning to spread over the rest of his face, surrounding the back of him. Lighting him from the inside out.

The Villain shook his head as if from a daydream and said what Evie was certain were his four favorite words.

“Cauldron brew now, Sage.”

…

After she placed what was sincerely just liquid sugar on her boss’s desk, it was still well before the rest of the office would arrive, so Evie had taken it upon herself to do what she liked, wandering back to the kitchen. She’d been munching on one of Edwin’s newest creations while sipping her morning brew. It was a confection of fried dough fashioned into a ring. He’d frosted it, and Evie was quite certain that it was the best thing she’d ever tasted.

Her next bite was interrupted by a series of crashes and Blade’s cries of outrage.

The dragon is awake.

Evie grabbed a second cup of brew for her friend and made her way to the back courtyard to say hello. She spotted Blade and the dragon almost immediately.

The creature was massive, with glittering, deep purple and green scales trailing up and down the spine of his large body. The dragon’s eyes were wild as he pulled and turned against his collar, while Blade struggled with one hand on the chain and the other held out to calm the poor thing.

“Hello, Blade. Hello,Draaagon.”

The last words were said on a shriek as the creature barreled toward her, only stopping when Blade stepped before him and said, “No! We don’t eat friends; we talked about this!”

The dragon’s face dipped and calmed slightly at Blade’s censure, turning away from both and flopping into a large heap under the shade of one of the higher balconies, making the ground beneath them shake.

“Sorry about that.” Blade gave her a wide, dazzling smile. His vest today was the color of the pinkest of roses and his leather pants a bright red that clashed in the most charming of ways.

Evie’s heart had slowed back down enough to smile shakily and hand over the ceramic chalice she’d brought him, thinking it a miracle not a drop had spilled.

“You’re a vision!” Blade smiled back, raising his cup in salute to her.

“What has him so on edge this morning?” Evie raised a brow and looked to the animal. She swore he looked directly at her and rolled his eyes.

Am I receiving judgment from an overgrown lizard?

“He saw a mouse,” Blade said gravely, and Evie was seized by a boisterous laugh.

“Is he any closer to flying?” Evie asked lightly after she recovered herself.

Blade’s face took a quick turn of panic that was washed away immediately by a haughty expression. “Oh, don’t worry, he will. He’s just taking his time getting there, that’s all.”

“What about breathing fire?” Evie questioned.

Blade’s face remained unchanged, but Evie did not miss the way his fist clenched. “He sneezed enough to light a few candles last week.”

Evie raised a brow and pulled her lips into an encouraging smile. “Well, that is something, isn’t it?”

“Actually, Evie, would you mind grabbing my book on the subject from my quarters? I’d go, but I don’t want to leave him when he’s like this,” Blade said, giving the animal a pointed look of accusation.

“Of course, but where are your quarters?” Evie asked, scanning the area.

Blade pointed a long finger toward a set of spiral stairs that sat edged against the west side of the manor. “Those lead right up! It should be sitting on my bedside table. It’s red with gold lettering on the front.”

Evie nodded, and Blade kissed her cheek. “You’re a lifesaver, my sweet Evie!”

“All right. Enough.” Evie chuckled, making a show of wiping his kiss away from her skin and turning to climb the spiral staircase.

A door appeared at the top, and Evie pushed it lightly open, revealing a small but homey living space.

A wooden desk sat up against the window, adjacent to a narrow bed frame that Evie knew creaked just by looking at it. She smiled when she saw a little knit dragon sitting on the night table next to a wax candle that was nearly burned down the whole wick.