Assistant to the Villain, #3
Accomplice to the Villain
by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
Contents
Chapter 71
Overview
Evie, Trystan, and allies confront Amara, igniting years of resentment. A pamphlet brands Trystan an antihero, Clare admits secret correspondence with Amara, and Amara reveals she hired the enchantress to kill Trystan, while Clare’s ruse led to Kingsley’s curse. Arthur outlines access to the southern kingdom requires an enchantress, wand, and slippers. Amara demands they bring the enchantress to her and offers Winnifred, the enchantress’s daughter, to wield the artifacts.
Summary
Evie arrives at Amara Maverine’s home with Trystan, Clare, Tatianna, Arthur, and Kingsley. Amara greets them with cutting disdain and produces a pamphlet praising Trystan as an “antihero” for saving a village, provoking Trystan’s fury. Tension spikes; when Amara wishes Trystan were dead, Evie slaps her in defense.
Amara insists everyone stay and quickly guesses they want the glass slippers. She hints she might help if they do something for her, revealing a map of the southern kingdom and asserting only an enchantress can effectively use the wand and slippers to breach its barriers. She also implies prior knowledge of the wand.
Amara exposes that she has been corresponding with Clare for months, learning the group’s movements. Tatianna is devastated, and Clare confesses she hoped to earn Amara’s aid and forgiveness for Trystan. Amara then reveals she hired the enchantress to kill Trystan; Clare secretly altered the plan so the death was faked, but Alexander (Kingsley) was cursed in the process.
Arthur clarifies that while curses must be undone by their caster, any enchantress can use the wand’s “fingerprint” to lower the southern kingdom’s side enchantments. He offers to escort them discreetly to the palace, but they still need an enchantress to wield the wand and wear the slippers.
Amara proposes a deal: bring the enchantress to her, and in exchange she will provide someone to use the artifacts. She presents Winnifred—the captured enchantress Belinda Erodina’s daughter—an anxious, amateur enchantress who inadvertently displays uncontrolled magic. The group is left weighing Amara’s manipulative terms against their urgent need to reach the southern kingdom.
Who Appears
- EvieProtagonist; defends Trystan, slaps Amara, presses for the slippers, and navigates the explosive confrontation.
- Amara MaverineTrystan and Clare’s mother; scornful, reveals her role hiring the enchantress, proposes a deal, offers Winnifred.
- Trystan MaverineVillain/antihero; clashes with Amara over his reputation and past, seeks access to the southern kingdom.
- Clare (Clarissa) MaverineSister; admits months of letters to Amara and altering the assassination to a ruse that led to Kingsley’s curse.
- ArthurFather; mediates, explains the wand’s requirements, and offers to escort the team into the southern kingdom.
- TatiannaAlly; interposes herself, reacts painfully to Clare’s secret correspondence, witnesses Amara’s manipulations.
- Prince Alexander KingsleyCursed as a frog; his condition is tied to Clare’s ruse; a key figure in the prophecy and Amara’s leverage.
- WinnifredAmara’s maid; revealed as Belinda Erodina’s daughter and amateur enchantress, offered to wield wand and slippers.