Chapter summary
Chapter 8
After Kingsley the frog leads Evie to the Villain’s office, she finds a small gold‑tipped bomb hidden in his desk, its timer set at three minutes. Panic spikes as a ringing fills her ears. She grabs the device, noting the countdown shrinking to two minutes thirty seconds, then two minutes. Remembering that Blade and the dragon are training directly below the office window, she discards the idea of throwing it out. Instead, she sprints toward the parapet, shouting “The parapet!” to Becky (Rebecka Erring), who opens the exterior door. The summer sun beats down as Evie’s heart pounds; her skirts flutter with each frantic step while the bomb remains cool in her hand, its ticking a relentless reminder. She pushes herself harder, visualizing the bomb being tossed over the stone rise to spare the manor and its occupants. Just as she nears the edge, her stiletto heel snags on a loose cement block, bending her ankle. The bomb slips from her grasp, arcs upward, skim‑s the top of the parapet, then clatters down just short of the edge, landing perilously close to her. Evie curses, pulls her heel free, and scrapes her fingers on the brick, bleeding as she struggles to move. Trapped, she turns toward the opposite end of the parapet, realizing she cannot reach safety in time. In a flood of memories, she reflects on missed goodbyes with her sister Lyssa, an unspoken love for her father, and the Villain’s expectation of her loyalty. A solitary tear rolls down her cheek as she contemplates the impending explosion, the bomb’s timer still ticking ominously. The chapter ends with Evie immobilized, the bomb poised to detonate, and the fate of the manor hanging in the balance.