Chapter 20
Evie
“I don’t know what Lyssa was thinking!” Evie gritted out, shoving her dagger into another Valiant Guard who had rounded a corner of the hallway with a battle cry.
The sound of wet flesh being sliced was one she was trying to ignore. There was no glamour in death, she supposed, but by the gods, if it could be a touch less gross, she might not mind murder so much.
“Barreling into a dangerous situation with no thought for her own safety?” Trystan grabbed the man reaching for her and snapped his neck. “How frustrating for you.” The wry sarcasm was evident in his tone, visible in the arch of his brow when he looked at her.
“I think about my safety,” she objected.
Trystan glared, snapping the neck of another guard. “When?”
She contemplated, angling her head. “When I eat dairy.”
“Sage!”
“Fine! I am irresponsible with my well-being, and it runs in the family. What do you want, a medal?” She rolled her eyes as she buried her dagger in a knight’s shoulder.
“I want you to—” Trystan grabbed a man by the throat, knocking him unconscious with a slam of his elbow, then looking up with a frantic yell. “Behind you!”
She gasped when she was picked up from behind, then thrown into the wall with brute force.
Pain vibrated down her shoulder where she had fallen, her vision going dark for a moment.
All she could hear next was an inhuman sound of rage.
When her eyes blinked open, she saw fist meeting flesh, hard punches, and then stillness.
“Evangelina,” Trystan’s voice murmured near her, his lips against her hair as she breathed hard. “Your head?”
“It was my shoulder, but I’m all right, just a bit bruised. Are we nearing the end of these people?” She paused, looking down at his palm with a blank expression. “Are you holding an eyeball right now?”
“I didn’t want you to step on it,” he said gruffly.
Gideon turned the corner right then, appearing unscathed. Looking between her and Trystan with a frown aimed at the eyeball now in Trystan’s hands, he said, “Maverine. Generally speaking, most women prefer flowers.”
“Not me.” Keeley smirked beside him.
“Give me the eyeball,” Gideon demanded. Then yelped and dove out of the way when Trystan launched it at him.
“Report, Keeley,” Trystan said, putting an arm around Evie’s waist and pulling her to her feet.
“East perimeter is clear. Several guards are posted at the dungeon entrance and throughout the offices, which have been evacuated with no serious injuries. The Silk escaped, though. Turned into a raven and flew off.”
Gideon touched Evie’s arm. “Lyssa?”
“Safely tucked into our chambers. And grounded for the next twenty years,” Evie grumbled.
“I’ll go check on her,” Gideon offered. “Captain? Care to escort me?”
Keeley rolled her eyes, but Evie noticed a slight smirk on her mouth as the two of them headed toward Lyssa’s bedchamber. Then she jumped when another body barreled into her. “Tatianna!” Her friend looked a bit dazed and confused. “Are you well, Tati?”
“She’s fine,” Clare answered. “Just shaken. We ran into a few escaped prisoners on our way to you.”
Tatianna nodded, but she wouldn’t meet any of their eyes. “This was a horrendous evening. I should check on Marv. See Roland’s progress. I—” She looked at Trystan like she wanted to say something and then gave Evie the same look. “I think I’m ready for bed. Clare?”
Clare’s guarded eyes flicked up from the floor. “Yes?”
“You’re coming with me?” Tatianna asked, holding out her hand, an unspoken conversation happening between them. “The Malevolent Guards have it under control. We’ll continue our work in the morning.”
Clare swallowed, eyes glassy when she took Tatianna’s hand, and the two started walking together toward the healer’s quarters.
“Did you see that?” Evie squealed, clasping her hands and folding them underneath her chin. “It seems those two are finally moving forward.”
“It seems that way…” Trystan murmured, stepping closer without ceremony to wipe a bit of blood from her cheek with his thumb. “They’re hiding something.”
“Oh, you and your negativity. What if they just wanted some peace and quiet?”
Trystan looked around with an arched brow. “Then they chose the wrong place to live.”
“But the manor is so peaceful!” Evie proclaimed with feigned innocence.
“It was once,” Trystan mused, gaze caught in a memory. “Before you, before everyone. I hated it.”
Her heart filled to a size that made her worry for her rib cage, and she turned away lest her face reveal her emotions. That was when her gaze snagged on something among the unconscious prisoners.
“Did someone…discard their pants?” Evie mused, picking up the trousers, tilting her head. “Is there a man running around naked?”
One of the pixies flying by stopped to teeter. “It’s been happening all day, Ms. Sage.” And then she flew off before another question could be asked.
Trystan tugged at a few strands of his hair. “See? So fucking peaceful.” He frowned when she handed the garment to him. “There’s something hard in the pocket.”
“I was alarmed the first time I made that discovery, too. But I promise it’s normal,” Evie teased with a grin, taking a step away when he turned to glare while fishing the object out of the pocket. “What is it?”
Trystan held it out to her with a concerned look, and her heart rate spiked when she saw what it was.
Kingsley’s crown.