Page 61 of Accomplice to the Villain

Trystan answered on reflex. “Yes, fine.” And then nearly slapped his face into his palm when Sage gawked at him. “I mean—there’s nothing to finish. Walk us through the map?”

Gideon shook his head and pointed to various spots marked in red. “These are the tunnels. They’re traditionally not used unless there’s a security threat, but they lead underneath the castle and come up against the walls in one of the sitting rooms. This one”—he pointed to a long, straight line on the far right of the paper—“is adjacent to Benedict’s office, where he keeps Rennedawn’s storybook. And this one”—he pointed to another line at the far left of the bottom—“leads to where he kept the female guvre before.”

“Moving a guvre is no easy task,” Blade added.

“Agreed,” Gideon said. “It’s likely where he’s still keeping her now.”

“You really think he’d be foolish enough to hide her in the exact same spot?” Becky asked, rolling her eyes at the men and leaning back in her chair.

Gideon laughed. “Doubt me on everything else if you must, but I worked for the man for a decade, and I know his greatest weakness.”

“Ego,” Trystan said.

Gideon nodded. “Exactly. He believes he’s winning this battle now. He will get careless. But in reality,wehave my mother, The Villain,andthe frog-prince thing, too.” He gestured to Kingsley, who was blinking on the table. He jotted something on his sign.

Ass

Sage struggled for breath, and Rebecka slapped a hand against her back.

Roland, who’d been watching the entirety of this exchange quietly up until that point, waved his hands around like a madman. “Wait, I beg your pardon? Nura Sage is alive, Rebecka?”

“Later.” Rebecka rubbed her temples, and Trystan had the strong urge to do the same. There was nothing the lot of them could initiate like a pounding headache.

“Did the Curse Consultant say anything else about Kingsley after I left?” Sage asked. “Is there a way into the southern kingdom? Or an alternative to the enchantress?”

Trystan shook his head. It was a long shot, but their options were limited, and unless they miraculously found Kingsley’s true love in a matter of a few weeks, they had only one choice. “Only the enchantress who cast the curse can undo it. The southern kingdom’s our only choice. Lionel said we could get past the wards…with the use of a magic wand.”

Clare licked her lips, looking paler than she normally did. “Magic wands are dangerous and rare. Where would we even find something like that?”

Trystan sighed. “We’ll have to visit an old friend of mine.”

Tatianna frowned. “Who?”

“One of Rennedawn’s most powerful lords.”

Chapter 33

Kingsley

Alexander Kingsley was worrying.

Not a common action for a frog, though neither was writing on signs or hiding under desks. The latter of which he was currently doing in Evie Sage’s office. Normally, he quite enjoyed the space: it was airy and excellent for sunbathing. It had quickly become a favorite napping spot.

It had been frustrating for Alexander to watch Trystan intercept every shipment of vanilla drop candies, getting up before dawn or at midnight to clip white roses from the courtyard.

Writing a note that said,Love, Marv.

If frogs could groan, Alexander would’ve, but unfortunately, all that came from his throat was a croaking sound that formed into its inevitable ribbit. When he was human, he had never been short of something clever to say or a witty retort that had his subjects fawning or laughing jovially.

He’d been good at being a prince, he thought with a sigh.

Though, oddly, he seemed to also excel at being a frog. So much so that things were growing muddled, his memories becoming more difficult to grasp. He wasn’t sure why.

But he had a terrible theory.

That theory had led him beneath the desk of a young woman he’d grown quite fond of. Listening intently—an act he excelled at—as the two foolish human beings argued back and forth on Kingsley’s behalf.

When he was a prince, Alexander had never given much thought to love—or falling into it, for that matter. He’d always assumed he’d marry for political reasons, as his parents had, and allow a natural fondness to form between him and his wife, also as his parents had.