Chapter 58

Evie, exhausted and hungry after their failed lift escape, faces Lord Fowler with little patience. When Fowler leers, Trystan’s dark mist pins him to a tree and begins to choke him. Evie intervenes not to save Fowler but to urge Trystan to stop wasting time; Trystan relents and drops Fowler, who coughs back to his feet.

Fowler explains he returned to provide their horses, refresh supplies, and disclose a crucial caveat: years ago he broke the magic wand and remade the glass into a pair of slippers. For the wand to work fully, the team must reunite the pieces. Worse, the slippers now belong to Trystan’s mother, Amara Maverine, a revelation that shocks Trystan and Clare. Trystan immediately orders a raven to send a message.

Attempting charm, Fowler gifts Evie an elegant traveling dress that makes her feel, and be called, a “villainess.” After she changes, the group debates their route south through Phoenix Village. Tatianna warns Evie’s and Trystan’s faces are widely recognized, but Fowler breezily insists they’ll go unnoticed.

Roars from the nearby purple phoenix rumble the ground. Fowler admits the villagers worship it, but it has turned violent as magic wanes; he refuses to help, claiming a lord’s duty is minimal indulgence and occasional charity. Outraged, Evie draws her dagger, then mounts up and gallops toward the endangered village. Trystan and the team ready to follow as Fowler calls after her not to be a hero; Evie rides on, fueled by cool, focused anger.