Page 102 of Once a Villain
“There’ve been weird fluctuations for weeks,” the other said. “I’ve heard guards keep mis-jumping in the vicinity of this time.”
Joan glanced at Nick. It had to be him. This was just confirmation of her suspicions that the timeline was fluctuating strangely around him.
The first guard spoke again. “I thought locking the timeline was supposed to stop all these fluctuations.” His companion didn’t respond, and he coughed as he realized he might be perilously close to criticizing the Queen. “Not thatIknow anything,” he added quickly.
Joan bit her lip. Despite what the guards had said, she knew that they had to be careful. Fluctuations or not, Joan had been arrested by Nick’s side before.
As soon as the guards were out of sight, Aaron pointed out a door across the street. There was a wordless sign hanging from the eave—an illustrated jack of spades card. It was a pub, Joan guessed. Maybe one for humans, because the jack wore a numbered pendant saying10, 10, 10.
“It’ll be shut,” she whispered. “It’s still early morning.”
Aaron shook his head. “I saw people going in and out.”
As soon as the road was clear, they jogged across and ducked inside. Aaron had been right—the pubwasopen, but only just. Half the room still had chairs stacked onto tables.
The space inside was very dark, and the furnishings were rougher than any of the monster inns they’d been in. Joan ordered chips just to have something on the table. The server glanced at her scarf and then at Aaron and Nick, whose throatswere bare. He didn’t say anything, though—just took her coins and gave her change.
Joan led the others to a quiet booth at the back of the room with a view of the main road and the exits. As they sat, another pair of guards passed by along the road. Joan withdrew instinctively. It wasn’t safe here, but she guessed they were marginally safer than they’d been on the street. Most of the other patrons seemed to be human, and uninterested in anything but their own company.
Aaron poured water into glasses. His fine features were tight with worry. Opposite them, Nick put his head in his hands for a long moment. He took a breath, and then he forced himself to lift it again. “I’ll be back in a second.” He pointed to the bathroom sign above a flight of stairs leading down.
“You can’t go alone!” Joan blurted, and he raised his eyebrows.
“I promise I’m notthatinjured.”
“We don’t know that,” Aaron said. It was his flattest voice. “And you’re still off-balance.”
“I’mfine,” Nick said. “If I’m not back in five minutes, you can come and find me. But to be honest, I need a second to myself. I need to take all this in....”
Joan swallowed. “Okay,” she said softly. She watched him, though, as he made his way downstairs. He used the rail to balance, but he was moving more and more smoothly now. He seemed stronger than even a few minutes ago.
She released a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding, and the situation hit her hard again.
Nick wasalive. She’d loved him from the moment they’d met. She’d thought she’d lost him, and then he’d told her he still loved her. She still lovedhim.
And then he’d died.
And she’d slept with Aaron. She’d realized she loved Aaron too.
And now Nick was alive again.
She swallowed hard. She’d never wanted to hurt Nick. She’d never want to hurt Aaron. She’d rather have hurt herself. She felt suddenly on the verge of tears. “I’ll tell him when he gets back.”
Aaron didn’t reply, and Joan reached for his hand, needing to be closer to him. But Aaron pulled away before she could touch him.
Joan looked up at him, confused. The withdrawal had felt like a rejection. Aaron’s expression was closed off, and Joan tried to push away the tendril of fear in her chest. She knew from last night that he’d felt second to Nick, even when Nick had been dead.
“This doesn’t change anything for me,” she said. “I love you. I chooseyou.”
“You told me that last night,” he said. “I won’t hold you to it.”
Joan searched his face, trying to read his expression. His mask was back on. He was showing her his public face, not the private one she’d been gifted last night. And somehow that felt worse than when he’d pulled away from her touch.
He met her gaze, his gray eyes as opaque as the sea in a storm. “I think we should pretend that last night didn’t happen.”
“Didn’t happen?” Joan repeated. She couldn’t keep the hurt from her voice. They’d slept together. It had been her first time. She’d never been intimate like that with anyone before; she’d opened herself up to him completely.
“Last nightshouldn’thave happened.” His voice was gentler than his words. “We never have to speak of it again. He doesn’t need to know.”
