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

That evening, Lyssa asks Evie if their father, Griffin, is ill. Evie reveals that Griffin was never sick and that he was abusive. Lyssa admits she suspected all along that he was faking. Evie then explains the significance of chosen family to Lyssa. Lyssa knows Trystan is The Villain and shares her anxiety about meeting their mother. As the evening progresses, Evie suddenly realizes she has lost the vial of stardust.

Evie frantically searches for the vial of stardust when she sees it rolling down the hallway, with Trystan chasing after it. The vial rolled into his room, glowing as it moved, before mysteriously rolling out again. When Evie finally grabs it, the vial vibrates in her hands but stops when she calmly asks it to. Rather than attempting to contain the unpredictable stardust, Evie and Trystan decide to use it immediately on Nura Sage’s letters in Trystan’s bedroom.

Evie cautiously explores Trystan’s bedroom, her attention drawn to a tornado-shaped nightlight. Her presence in the intimate space heightens the unresolved sexual tension between them. Together, they sprinkle some stardust on the letters, which triggers a small explosion. In the aftermath, the stardust transforms the letters into a glass map.

Blade enters, startled by the noise.