Page 44 of Accomplice to the Villain

Keeley shook her head, bowing it in deference, but Gideon didn’t miss the haunted look in the captain’s eyes. “Children should always be protected above all else. I did no great service other than what all adults should strive to do.”

Nura smiled, but it faltered as Lyssa appeared at the door, looking more than a little reluctant. “Lyssa. Good morning, my sweet.”

Lyssa wore a small grin as she entered the room, but when she spotted Keeley, she lost all inhibition, running over and throwing her little arms around the guard. “I’m so happy you’re not dead, Keeley!”

Keeley froze for a moment before her rosy lips pulled all the way up into a full grin that almost knocked Gideon into the wall.

“My thoughts exactly.” Keeley laughed.

Lyssa gaped at the long gold hair cascading all the way down Keeley’s shoulders and descending to near the floor; she ran a finger over it. Gideon tried to swallow his jealousy at the ease in which his little sister touched it. “Your hair is so pretty!”

It would be creepy if Gideon tried it.

Which, unfortunately, did not mean he didn’t want to.

Keeley pulled a few strands between her fingers. “It’s a hassle most days, but it’s mine.” There was a meaning behind that statement that Gideon could not decipher, and before he could make any attempts, Lyssa was already talking Nura into a frenzy before pulling her from the room.

Keeley looked after them wistfully, like she could soak up some of that joy just by looking at it. “Where are they headed, sir knight?”

His nickname made him annoyingly buoyant. “The kitchen, likely. It appears to be the most effective way to Lyssa’s heart.”

Keeley laughed into her hand, and she glowed like a sun that wouldn’t burn him to a crisp but would instead warm him from the inside out. “She has good taste. Any of Edwin’s treats would crack through the hardest of shells.”

Gideon sobered for a moment. “You heard what happened with Edwin yesterday, yes?” Gideon had been as insistent as Tatianna that Keeley rest, but he didn’t think it right to keep things from her.

Keeley went rigid. “Yes, I heard. Truly awful. Who would tie our chef up with rope?”

Before Gideon could answer, she stood abruptly, and though he felt flustered at her fast reaction, Gideon reached his hands out to catch her if needed.

“Well. I hope they sort it out soon,” Keeley said, starting to hobble out the door.

“Yes, of course. I as well,” Gideon mumbled as he watched her go.

Once she had left, Gideon remained there, something about the exchange not sitting right with him. It was only after minutes had passed that he realized, with a sinking stone in his stomach, what it was.

The Villain had suggested they tell no one about Edwin being tied up with rope, fearful the information would make its way to Lyssa.

Keeley shouldn’t have known that.

She was hiding something.

Chapter 23

The Villain

The morning dew had barely had time to dampen the grass before Trystan began beating down Tatianna’s door.

“Tatianna!” he boomed. “Wake up!”

The door was on a tilt, not entirely repaired from Trystan kicking it down with Sage the day prior, and creaked horribly when Tatianna finally yanked it open. Her nightgown was lavish, her robe a draped pink silk that matched the silk bonnet tying back her hair, her dark eyes blinking rapidly, voice still edged with sleep. “Is someone bleeding or dead?”

He paused, his fist still midair from knocking. “The prisoners downstairs—”

“Is anyone bleeding or dead who isn’tmeantto be bleeding or dead?” she clarified, her lips pressing tightly together as she awaited his answer.

This was a terrible idea.

“No,” he said carefully.