Evie


    “How are we going to find the enchantress if we can’t see?” Tatianna questioned before yelping. “What was that!”


    “My foot,” Winnie whispered.


    “Well, move your foot, you mind-reading imp,” Tatianna grumbled, stumbling now into Evie, who did her best not to be amused by the circumstances.


    “Kids?” a voice called down, and a silhouette holding a torch appeared at the top of a long staircase.


    “There are no kids down here, but there are fully grown bloody adults,” Trystan bit out.


    Evie looked side to side. “Where?”


    He lifted a brow, his gaze turning to a smolder that made her cheeks pink.


    “The coast is clear. Come,” Arthur hissed, and the group hustled for the exit, spilling into the grand hallway. Arthur put a finger over his mouth, motioning for them to follow him down the corridor. Side by side, they moved along the ornate walls. Gilded mirrors reflected worn versions of the group who had started this journey only three short days ago. Evie took the tail end, until Trystan moved behind her, scanning the back to be sure no one followed, his arm in front of her in a protective gesture, as he’d done in the barn, as he’d—


    No. Don’t think about being naked with the boss, Evie!


    “What happened to your neck, Trystan?” Arthur asked, snapping her from her torrid thoughts and mortifying her with the question so much she almost melted into the floor.


    Trystan’s fingers brushed against the bluish bruise at the spot on his neck where she’d bitten him. “It rained,” was all he said, and that entireck of exnation raised eyebrows down the line. Evie was too busy moaning into her hands to get involved, praying for one of the spears stuck to the wall to have an ill-timed fall.


    Kingsley hopped off Evie’s shoulder, and his chain dragging on the floor made a horrible screeching sound. “Alexander! The guards will hear!” re screeched, scooping him up into her arms. “What now?”


    “Arthur?” Trystan asked his father, and the core healer’s red beard swayed a bit with the almost bashful dip of his head.


    “We hurry, son.” The Viin’s father pped a hand onto his shoulder. Arthur went from a slow trot along the wall to a sprint. They made it down the other corridor quickly, passing an empty courtyard covered in ponds and nts. “The main entrance to the dungeons is just down this next hall, but it’s magically warded with an enchantment like the lock on your mother’s cell, Winnifred. We’ll need you to open it with the wand.”


    Winnifred nodded, paling as the sound of knights’ armor nging began echoing down the corridor. They sprinted across a room with an open, roofless green space in the center that boasted an borate fountain.


    “Alexander, no!” re hissed, just as Kingsley broke free of her hold and the chain dropped into re’s hands.


    Evie dove to catch him, just missing his legs, and took a header into the fountain. Her mouth filled with water when she sucked in a sharp breath of pain. Pushing up on her forearms, she was dragged from the water, hacking.


    “You’re bleeding. Dammit, Kingsley.” Trystan went to grab the frog, who’d already hopped away, eyes darting like he’d bolt any second.


    “I’m fine. I’m fine.”


    “You just mmed your head into a stone fountain,” Trystan protested.


    Evie shrugged. “At the frequency it happens, you find that surprising?”


    He wiped a hand down his mouth. “No, Sage.”


    “Alexander,” Arthur hissed as the frog leaped down another corridor. The group of them skittered after the animal, keeping as quiet as possible. “We can’t let him wander.”


    They all kept to the walls, and Evie was relieved that the halls were quiet now, save for the subdued sounds of their steps moving swiftly after the troublesome frog. Every time Evie looked back to be sure Trystan was there, the tension between them was so thick it was as if she could see it.


    No, wait—she could. It was Trystan’s magic swirling about her feet, ying with the bottom of her skirt.


    It curled around her wrist, tugging her until she stumbled into Trystan’s chest. His stoic stare did not waver, but he gently and reluctantly righted her, pushing her away from him. “I apologize.”


    Her lips hovered close to his. “Don’t.”


    His mouth twitched, and he wordlessly lifted her hem as they passed a puddle forming under a leaking part of the pce roof, so her skirt would not get wet. It was a courteous gesture, but she felt him stumble just the tiniest bit as he did so, and she grinned like a lovesick fool.


    And after Kingsley they went, Arthur leading the group, signaling when it was safe to proceed and when to tten to the walls as a guard rounded the corner. There was a good chance they would get caught, but as Kingsley stopped, turning to them, golden eyes wide again, Evie felt it in her bones.


    They would be leaving here with a prince.