Assistant to the Villain, #2
Apprentice to the Villain
by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
Contents
Chapter 79
Overview
Evie and Gideon reunite with Lyssa and learn that Lyssa was lured to their father’s dungeon cell by a note supposedly from him. Lyssa’s confession shows how deeply their father manipulated her, while Evie also has to tell both siblings that their mother is dead.
The chapter shifts from grief and reconciliation to renewed danger when Evie realizes Lyssa could not have acted alone. The unknown person who delivered the note becomes a new threat tied to their father’s escape.
Summary
Evie returns to the room she shares with Lyssa, afraid of what she will find after learning that Lyssa had been discovered in their father’s escaped cell. Gideon hesitates outside, but Evie tells Gideon that Lyssa will want to see him. Evie is still carrying grief over their mother’s death and the unresolved tension with Trystan, but sets those feelings aside because Lyssa needs her.
Lyssa, dirty and shaken, immediately asks whether Evie hates her. Evie comforts Lyssa and assures Lyssa that nothing could make Evie hate her. Gideon joins them, and the three siblings cling to one another, united by the harm their father has caused them.
Evie asks how Lyssa reached the dungeons. Lyssa explains that someone slid a note under her door claiming to be from their father and saying he wanted to see her. Lyssa stole the dungeon key from Ms. Erring’s desk and secretly visited their father during guard-rotation gaps. Lyssa says she first yelled at him, but he apologized and convinced her that he was sorry, making Lyssa believe they might be able to let him out.
Evie does not blame Lyssa, recognizing that their father manipulated her. Instead, Evie silently places responsibility on their father and resolves that he will pay for the pain he caused. Though everyone needs rest, Evie knows she must tell Lyssa and Gideon about their mother.
Evie gently reveals that their mother is dead because her powers overcame her, and gives Lyssa the vial of dark-silver stardust that remains. Lyssa grieves but tells Evie that she still has Evie, and later says she is very sad but will not be forever. The siblings finally go to sleep, but Evie wakes with a sudden realization: someone else must have slipped Lyssa the note, meaning another unknown person helped set their father’s escape in motion.
Who Appears
- EvieComforts Lyssa, reveals their mother’s death, and realizes an unknown accomplice lured Lyssa.
- LyssaEvie’s younger sister; manipulated into visiting their father after receiving a mysterious note.
- GideonEvie and Lyssa’s brother; comforts Lyssa and shares the siblings’ grief.
- Evie’s fatherAbsent but central; manipulated Lyssa with apologies and escaped his dungeon cell.
- Evie’s motherRevealed to Lyssa and Gideon as dead, leaving only dark-silver stardust behind.
- Ms. ErringOwner of the dungeon key Lyssa secretly stole to visit her father.