Page 53 of Apprentice to the Villain

“Ignore her—she’s not feeling well. Reming, I hope we can put that little misunderstanding behind us. We have important business in the Heart Village, so please serve us with a riddle and we will earn safe passage over the bridge.”

In theory, one could make it across the bridge without Reming and his family’s permission, but their magic was linked to the architectural structure. So in practice, if they didn’t want you to make it across in one piece, you wouldn’t.

Reming eyed Clare and Tatianna as his mother and father joined him. “What do you think, Mother?”

Ellia was considered a great beauty among the bridge creatures—a great beauty among all, actually. She was tall, her figure ample and wide, and her long, colorful eyelashes glittered in the sun’s rays. “I think that—”

The matriarch was cut off by Trystan’s yell. Sage had bitten him to free herself.Bittenhim. “Did you justbiteme?” he roared. She stumbled out of his grip, looking so joyous, he forgot how furious he was for a second.

“Yessssss.”She drew out theSfar longer than necessary, then tilted her head and asked with unfocused sincerity, “Why?Do you want me to do it again?” The last question, said on a mock whisper, was heard by every human, frog, and bridge creature within five hundred yards.

The second was over.

Markeith, the patriarch of the family, folded his arms. The sea-glass crown atop his head pointed into an angle that reminded Trystan of a steel blade’s tip—a blade he’d likely be stabbed with if he didn’t get Sage to cease speaking. “Did she smell a Piony flower?” Markeith asked.

“Oh, you bet,” Tatianna said, gripping Sage’s skirt before she fell over, like a cat holding a kitten by the scruff.

Markeith pushed past his son and mate. “Very well. You may all cross the bridge to the village”—he pointed a sandy finger at Sage, who was plucking at the flowers on her skirt like they were real—“but she must be the one to solve the riddle.Withoutany help.”

“Oh, c’mon!” Clare griped, waving a hand toward Sage, who looked dangerously close to removing her skirt to get a better grip on the embroidered petals. “She barely knows her own name!”

Reming smirked. “It is she or no one.”

“Evangelina.”

Ellia tilted her head, sun striking against the sea glass to create a kaleidoscopic array of colors. “What, child?”

“Clare said I didn’t know my name. It’s Evangelina.”

Ellia smiled lightly, holding out a hand. Sage didn’t hesitate, just wrapped hers in Ellia’s and, with the purest look in her eyes, said, “Your hands are so lovely.”

They were done for.

Though, to Trystan’s surprise, Ellia looked flattered by the compliment.

“We hold much of our life’s experiences within our hands. What a keen observation.” Ellia’s eyes began to glow lilac as a different voice spilled out of her mouth—an ancient one.

“I am a terror many try to hide.

I am a secret that no one will find.

I am only used by the brave.

When issued properly, I will save.

I am the source of everyone’s strife.

If you wield me wrong, I will cut like a knife.

What am I?”

“You couldn’t have given her something easier?” Trystan asked, though he was interrupted by Sage stumbling back, out of Ellia’s grip. He almost pulled a shoulder muscle trying tocatch her before she hit the ground. As always, his act of valor backfired. In catching her, she ended up in his arms, bridal-style, and before he could get his bearings, she was nuzzling her nose against his neck, shredding his bearings like the magical goats in the office they used to shred unwanted papers. Her rose-scented hair filled his entire being, and he shut his eyes tight against the onslaught of sensation.

“The riddle chooses its solver. We cannot simply make it easier because your lover doesn’t know to not touch plants she doesn’t recognize.” Reming sneered.

Lover.Trystan choked on the word, but Sage was already correcting them, so quickly he almost felt insulted.

She jumped down out of his hold, waving her arms like a fan propeller. “No, no, no, no. We arenotlovers!” She whispered behind her hand, like she was telling the bridge creatures a secret: “I’m just his assistant.”