Apprentice to the Villain (Assistant to the Villain, #2)

Evie avoids speaking to Trystan for three days. She performs her duties as his assistant but clocks out promptly to drink with the guards. Trystan, concerned about one guard’s questionable behavior, confides his regrets to Kingsley.

Trystan arrives in Evie’s hometown and overhears gossip about her. When her ex-boyfriend makes disparaging remarks, Trystan discreetly uses magic to aggravate the man’s weak knee, leaving him writhing in pain. An elderly woman named Edna offers to paint Trystan’s face, and he agrees, letting her transform him into a wolf. Edna’s skill leaves him unrecognizable. Following a tip from a local youth, Trystan finds his way to a framer’s workshop, where he discovers Evie disguised in a wig and rabbit face paint.

As soon as Mr. Gully, the framemaker, steps into the storeroom, Trystan confronts Evie, lecturing her about her reckless behavior. Evie walks out, explaining that she has already questioned Mr. Gully. When she presses Trystan on why he hurt her ex-boyfriend, he gives a vague response. They then agree to search the Sage house for clues. As Evie teases Trystan about his obsession with pillows, he goes into her bedroom.

Trystan immediately regrets entering Evie’s bedroom, feeling their palpable awkwardness and unresolved tension. Evie quickly lights a candle to accommodate his fear of dark places. Trystan opens a drawer and accidentally grabs her underwear. Panicked, he hurls it out the window.

Evie confronts Trystan, questioning why he did not want her to come. After a heated argument, Trystan admits that he was terrified when he thought she was dead and that this has made him overly focused on her safety.

Frustrated by Trystan’s earlier rejection, Evie accuses him of pretending to care. Their argument culminates in Trystan kissing her.

When Evie does not respond to Trystan’s kiss, he steps back, apologizing. She then confesses that her wish upon a star was for him to kiss her. Encouraged by her confession, Evie kisses Trystan. Their kiss grows more intense until a voice outside threatens them to come out.

Trystan tackles the intruder, only to discover it is his brother, Malcolm. Malcolm pours them a drink—his last. Valiant Guards destroyed his tavern after he was identified as a Maverine.

Trystan offers to help rebuild, but Malcolm declines, saying it would not change anything. The brothers share a moment of connection as Malcolm reveals he moved into the Sage house because he knew it was empty. Malcolm then pulls out the picture with a missing piece of frame. It shows Evie’s mother as a young girl alongside another girl of similar age. Evie realizes she needs to ask her father about the painting.

Evie hesitates to talk to her father, who is imprisoned in the mansion dungeons. Trystan offers to do it for her, but she refuses. Blade then interrupts, noting that the guvres’ baby is expected to be born in about a month.

A few interns laugh at Evie, prompting Becky to order them to clean the dragon’s pen. Once they leave, Becky gives Evie a pep talk.

Evie makes her presence known by tripping over a tray. Griffin taunts her, but she remains resolute. With a dagger in hand, Evie demands answers about the painting. Griffin evades the question, prompting Evie to stab him in the thigh.

Griffin reveals that the other girl in the painting is Nura’s best friend, Renna Fortis, from the renowned Fortis family of warriors.

When Evie presses him about what he and the king did to Nura, Griffin admits that they destroyed her—though unintentionally. Griffin advises her to ask Gideon about what happened to Nura’s magic.

Trystan waits anxiously by the dungeon door as Kingsley hops down the hall and Gideon trails behind. Gideon comments on Evie’s generous nature and her evident trust in Trystan. Becky, Blade, Tatianna, and Clare all arrive with various excuses while clearly showing concern for Evie.

Suddenly, Evie bursts through the door, covered in blood, and pushes her brother against the wall. Gideon manages to escape as Evie collapses to the ground. Trystan checks her for injuries, but Evie explains that the blood is not hers. She chases after Gideon. Trystan feels guilty and worried that he may have negatively impacted Evie.

The gate guard, Marvin, helps Evie capture Gideon, who asks if she killed Griffin. Evie explains that she only stabbed him and accidentally slipped in the blood. Gideon explains his backstory: His anti-magic ability developed after he survived a fever, as powers often emerge through pain or trauma. Griffin had Gideon train secretly, fearing the danger if others learned he could negate magic.

The king and Griffin convinced Gideon to secretly use his power on Nura, so her overwhelming starlight magic would not consume her. Night after night, Gideon dampened her magic while she slept, but one evening, he fell asleep first. When he woke, Nura’s magic lashed out uncontrollably, making everyone believe he’d died. He blames himself for Nura’s loss of control.

Evie bursts into Trystan’s bedroom, panicked because she cannot find Lyssa. Trystan immediately contacts his guard. Amid the chaos, Evie asks if they will ever discuss the kiss, but they both agree to set the conversation aside until after they find Nura.

Evie then shares that the other girl in the painting is Renna Fortis. Trystan replies that getting into the Fortis Fortress could be a problem. Their discussion is cut short when Marvin rushes in, reporting that someone has deliberately started a fire in the courtyard.

Trystan and Evie use the fire suppression hoses Evie had installed to douse the flames. Frustrated, Trystan mutters a threat to murder whoever set the fire, but Evie sternly reminds him that he cannot. As they survey the damage, they realize that Lyssa started the fire.

Lyssa explains that the fire started while she was teaching Fluffy the dragon to breathe fire for the first time. This is one of the ways she’s been trying to help The Villain’s crew.

Clare and Tatianna burst into the courtyard, furious, yelling at Lyssa for locking them in a closet to rekindle their romance: another misguided attempt at help. Lyssa admits she also wanted to help by placing Evie’s notebook in Trystan’s office.

Blade arrives, excited that Fluffy has finally learned to breathe fire. Evie takes the opportunity to inform everyone about Renna Fortis. Becky can get them into the Fortis Fortress—Renna Fortis is her mother.