Page 116 of Accomplice to the Villain

“You should be, Sage. You have much in common.” Trystan smirked at Tatianna, and she threw her canteen at him, hitting his gut hard.

“Thirsty?” She gave him a saccharine smile.

“What do we have in common?” Sage asked, obviously not following a thing they were talking about.

“You’ll see. It’s not for me to explain, but do let me know if you spy anything fishy,” he whispered.

Sage laughed, confused, but her eyes sparkled anyway. For him.

“Trystan!” Tatianna screamed, galloping after him.

He laughed all the way to the docks and the Lilac Sea.

Almost forgetting every reason he had to never laugh again and all the danger that lay ahead.

Almost.

But not quite.

Chapter 61

Gideon

“Well. At least we know for certain that they’re holding her in here,” Gideon supplied as they crept over the wall to the left of a tunnel’s set of stone stairs. He had no idea how many hours had passed, but he’d guess it was lunchtime, by the yawning emptiness of his stomach.

Keeley sighed. “Did the screaming cries of a mother in pain not already assure us of this?”

Gideon rubbed at his chin. “Yes, but I’m endeavoring to be the positive one of the two of us, since you seem to have trouble managing it.”

Wrong. Wrong thing to say.

He flinched just from the molten burn of her glare. “I am the captain of an evil guard. My job is not to be positive. It’s to be realistic, so I can make sure nobody dies.”

“Fromyourside,” Gideon corrected.

“What?” she snapped, looking over the edge again to see if the Valiant Guards outside the enclosure below were still there.

“You make sure nobody dies fromyourside, and you do a stupendous job. Whoever is working for King Benedict cannot agree.”

“As in…”

“At least four Valiant Guards die a week with regularity, and the truth is, King Benedict doesn’t care. He doesn’t even bother to remember their names.”

“But he knew yours,” Keeley said quietly. “He knew yours, and he used that against you, and you didn’t deserve that.”

Gideon’s lips parted, a short breath coming out. “I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

Keeley rolled her eyes and shoved him, though not with any force. “Savor it, as it was also the last.” She motioned to the stairs. “All right. Shall we go dispatch some of your former brethren? Probably a few new faces with the turnaround you described.”

“Real nice.”

“I never said I was nice.”

“I know. I was thinking positively again,” Gideon said gravely.

Keeley shuddered. “Well, knock it off.” Her helmet hid her face from view once more as she dragged the heavy metal over her head, concealing her golden locks. “Let’s go.”

“Follow my lead,” Gideon said, moving in front of her. This endeavor was the greatest risk of the whole journey. If the two guards suspected either of them, they’d alert the rest of the barracks, he and Keeley would be captured, and Gideon would fail Evie…again.