Page 9 of Apprentice to the Villain

Gods, he would never forgive himself for this.Never.

Sir Seymore took his arm in a viselike grip, but he barely felt it. Two more guards joined in, and then another two. It took that many people to drag him away from her. He yelled until his voice was raw, bucked and flailed against their hold, but he wasn’t strong enough. Not anymore.

Still, he kept fighting anyway, fighting until he couldn’t, until his weakened limbs gave and his vision went spotty, until all he saw as he was dragged through the doorway back toward his open cell was the last remaining knight, the one with the familiar eyes.

And he was mouthing something.

Something that looked suspiciously like the word“hope.”

It was so strange that it distracted Trystan from his despair. He furrowed his brow as the knight disappeared behind the closing door.

Hope? Why would a Valiant Guard want The Villain to havehope?

It didn’t matter. Hope would do nothing. Evie Sage was dead.

Chapter 5

Becky

This plan was dangerous.

These people were pompous.

And worst of all,shewas out of her mind for agreeing to go along with this walking HR violation in the first place.

“You’re stepping on my foot,” Becky growled at Blade, who stood beside her dressed in the finery of a nobleman, the pristine fabric stretching awkwardly over his large arms. Whatever aristocrats Tatianna had nicked their disguises from, Blade’s was obviously from a gentleman who didn’t ever engage in the sorts of physical activities the dragon trainer met with on a day-to-day basis. Like wrestling with a reptile twice the size of a house.

Still, he looked handsome, which sent a ripple of annoyance through her.

“My apologies, lovely Rebecka.” The low timbre of his voice raised the fine hairs on her arms, as did the way he smiled at her. Her stomach flipped at the half curl of his lips, teasing and warm all at once. A rather lethal combination.

A rather horrific one, actually. Intra-office relations are highly discouraged, Becky, remember?

With a furrow in her brow, The Villain’s HR manager looked to the rest of the party. The ballroom was the largest she’d seen, and in another lifetime, she’d seen her share. The vaultedceilings gave the illusion that the room was wide and endless, the crystal chandelier glinting with hundreds of candles. Nobles wanted only the best, and this world was built to readily give it to them. It was unfair to the rest, and oh how she despised when things were not fair.

Her most recent example? Being stuck with Blade.

“I wish you’d pay more attention.” She skewered him with a look of censure, her most intimidating look—her best, really.

His amber eyes, so often filled with mirth, grew intense as he replied, “I promise you: I do.” And then, without warning, he reached out and gently pushed her glasses back up her nose. She hadn’t even noticed they’d slipped.

But he had.

Her heart fluttered, and she railed against it.Knock it off, you little traitor.

“Thank you,” she said, surprised and alarmed by the softness of her voice. Where in the deadlands did that come from?

Blade was surprised, too, judging by the way he gaped and the slight crack in his voice that he tried to disguise with a cough. “You’re, uh, you’re welcome.”

The unsureness she experienced in their interactions was growing entirely unpleasant. She’d agreed to work for The Villain toescapeher chaotic life, to have order. Instead, she had been handed a healer who dressed in frilly pinks, a boss’s assistant who was the human version of a cannonball, and a filthy dragon trainer who smiled so brightly at her it burned her corneas.

But now that he was not smiling…she felt oddly bereft.

This is what I get for agreeing to a social gathering. Work-related or not, it compromises one’s principles.

When she left her family, she’d vowed to live by solitude and organization as the only ways to find even a semblance of comfort in this mixed-up world. Which made her decision tojoin in on this mission even more confounding, considering she could barely stand the lot of them on a good day. Nonetheless, she found she couldn’t allow them to do this without her. Besides, it was simply another opportunity to tell everyone where to go and what to do.

She happened to be quite excellent at that.