Page 141 of Accomplice to the Villain

Everyone stared at her, slightly slack-jawed.

“A deer growled at me once,” she stated.

Amara just stared.

“My point is to say that if a deer can growl, it likely can find a way to attack. So if I look wide-eyed and confused to you, know that I’m not, but you’re welcome to underestimate me anyway.”

Amara looked seconds away from swinging at Evie herself but stopped, choosing a different course. “Take Alexander and leave this room, Clare. I’d like to have a conversation alone with my son and his…” Amara took Evie in and seemed to find her lacking as she finished. “Partner.”

Irritating two generations at once? Evie wondered if that came with a medal—or jail time.

Clare lifted Kingsley onto her shoulder, planting herself in a seat directly across from her mother. “No. He stays. We all stay, for once.”

Tatianna slowly sat down, watching the scene unfold with undue interest.

“Do you know why we’re here?” Evie asked, shoving a sandwich into her mouth.

Amara frowned as she took her seat once more, picking up her wineglass. “Yes. You’re going to ask me for the glass slippers.”

Trystan swallowed. “Arthur told you?”

“The short version,” Arthur explained, standing in the corner like a guard on duty, only moving when a windowpane flew open, spraying cold rainwater across the room. “Damn old wood,” he grumbled, grabbing tools from the nearby cupboard to reattach it.

Evie continued over the pounding of the rain and now the pounding of a hammer. “Are you going to give them to us?”

“No.”

“Shocker.” Evie slouched in her chair.

“Far be it from me to assist you on a fool’s errand, but I have a vested interest in Alexander becoming a prince once more. And I would be willing to give you the glass slippers, if you’d be willing to do something for me.” Amara glared as she glided to the wall, where she pushed a panel open to reveal a hidden compartment. She returned with a small scroll, unrolling it to reveal a map of Alexander’s kingdom. “The southern kingdom is against our border, meaning you have very little time to put the wand you’ve acquired to use.”

“How did you know we have the wand?” Evie asked.

Amara took a hearty sip from her wineglass as she sat again, ignoring her question. “Enchantresses are typically the ones wands are most effective for. She’d be the only one who could help you gain access to the southern kingdom. Wands don’t work for just anyone. I told Clare as much in the letters I sent her.”

Clare paled.

“What letters?” Tatianna asked. “Clare?”

Clare looked cornered, eyes turning red. “I messed up. I know that I messed up. I was going to tell you.”

Evie slowly put the sandwich back on the plate, chewing so fast she choked a little on her last swallow. “You.” She coughed. “You messed up how, Clare?”

Trystan hit her lightly on the back.

“The letters?” Trystan prodded.

“Clare and I have been corresponding for months. She didn’t say?” Amara looked far too content at the development. “She’s been kind enough to keep me apprised of your movements.”

Tatianna stood so fast, she knocked over two glasses, looking ill. “Excuse me.”

“Tatianna, wait!” Clare stood but was tugged down by her mother.

“Let her go, Clarissa. Do not make a spectacle of yourself.”

Clare frowned, watching the door with a desperate longing that knocked at Evie’s heart like a lightning strike. “I thought if I explained what we were doing, Mother might be more willing to aid our cause. I was trying to fix things, Trystan, I swear. I thought she might forgive you if I just explained.”

Trystan sighed. “That would only work, Clare, if our mother was capable of forgiveness.”