Chapter summary
Prologue
Evangelina “Evie” Sage, after losing her job at the village blacksmith and feeling responsibility toward her sick father and younger sister, drifts into the forbidden Hickory Forest. She pauses by a stream, where the clear water turns crimson with blood. Investigating upstream, she finds a wounded beast cloaked in black fur; the creature reveals a human hand that seizes her, silencing her with a forced kiss and pulling her to the ground. A group of silver‑clad Valiant Guards appears, but a man—later identified as The Villain, the kingdom’s feared antagonist—intervenes, keeping her restrained while mocking the guards and warning that they would kill her without hesitation.
The Villain, contrary to the scar‑filled, bearded image on wanted posters, is a strikingly handsome young man with dark hair, tanned skin, and sharp cheekbones. He demonstrates a peculiar mix of cruelty and curiosity, questioning Evie’s appearance and teasing her about “F” adjectives. After a brief, tense exchange, an arrow strikes Evie’s back, grazing her shoulders; The Villain calmly treats the wound and urges her to flee. They run together, with The Villain slowing his pace to stay beside her, despite an injury that gives him a limp.
Pursued by the guards, they navigate twisted, darkened woods until the guards lose track. The Villain leads Evie to a concealed, magical boundary that dissolves into a grand, decaying stone structure called Massacre Manor. Inside, a guard named Marvin calls out from a window, and a voice from above acknowledges Evie’s “attack.” The doors open, and Evie follows The Villain into the manor’s dim entry hall. He explains that he is being pursued because men attempted to steal a magical frog, Kingsley, who wears a crown and can communicate with humans; the frog is kept in a pouch at his side.
As they ascend a staircase, The Villain offers Evie employment, recognizing her “cutthroat” thinking and willingness to help despite rumors of his evil deeds. He claims he does not harm innocents and will spare her village if she works for him. After a tense dialogue about her father’s former knighthood and her fear of becoming a liability, Evie, driven by desperate need to provide for her family, agrees to become his personal assistant, with the stipulation that she address him as “sir.”