Chapter 35

In a small, dim room, Trystan flips on the light and immediately focuses on Evie’s tear-streaked face, drawn by their gold-ink bond that alerts him to her distress. Evie tries to leave to deliver notes to Clare, but Trystan stops her, demanding to know what happened. She pushes him away, exhausted and raw from her confrontation with her mother.

Trystan updates Evie: Kingsley has become lucid again, but the realm’s magic is fading back to the earth, and that decline is beginning to affect Kingsley’s curse. The implication is clear—they are running out of time. Their tense exchange breaks briefly with banter that reveals Evie’s frayed emotions and Trystan’s reluctant amusement.

Refocusing, Trystan states they must find the rare magic wand immediately to break Kingsley’s curse. Evie reels, then realizes he intends to take her with him. He instructs her to pack lightly for only a few days away.

As Evie seeks clarity, Trystan frames the decision as her next step: learning what it truly means to be a villain’s apprentice. The chapter closes with a clear shift—Evie is no longer kept at the Manor but is now an active partner in the urgent quest to save Kingsley.