Page 30 of Once a Villain (Only a Monster #3)

“Semper Regina,” Aaron said. “Eleanor really will always be Queen.”

Nick stared at the cold view, square-jawed and perfect as ever. With the fake glasses removed, he was more Superman than Clark

Kent again. Joan felt the familiar dual tug of love and loss. She knew—she knew —she’d lost him. She’d known from the moment she’d seen the monster sigils on the London skyline. From the moment he’d said

to her, We’re not home.

But there was losing him and losing him. At least right now he was still physically by her side. At least he was still somewhere

in the world.

If Eleanor succeeded, though...

Joan imagined them all trapped here, forever, with no hope of getting home. She knew what Nick would do in that scenario—he’d

fight against the Court, as his counterpart had. It was just in his nature. He’d fight for humans as long as he could. But

no one could fight forever. Not even Nick could survive that forever.

Joan’s breath felt tight suddenly in her throat. No , she told herself, trying to shake off the feeling. Eleanor wasn’t going to succeed.

“We have to stop her,” she ground out. A wave of urgency washed over her. You’re running out of time , Gran had said. Joan could feel the truth of it—the decay all around them was worsening. “You said that Eleanor would have to act soon,” she said to Jamie. “ How soon? How long do we have?”

“The damage we saw was extensive,” Jamie said. “It sounds like Eleanor has been papering over the problem using Ali seals,

but there’ll be a point where the seals fail, and then...” He shivered. “The tears will rip up the timeline, and all of

us— everything —will tumble into the void. Every moment in history,every person who ever lived will be destroyed.”

The words were familiar. There was a monster myth about how the world would end. Some people believed that the void would

eventually consume the timeline.

“How long before that happens?” Nick said tightly, echoing Joan’s question.

“I don’t know,” Jamie said, but his tone said not long .

“You need to tell us everything you know,” Joan said to him. “Everything you remember. How was the King planning to lock the

timeline?”

Jamie spread his hands to indicate that he didn’t recall.

Nick shifted his weight. “We’re not going to figure out anything on this boat,” he said, and Joan registered the way that

everyone turned to him. The brisk, soldier-like note in his voice. It reminded her of his counterpart. “Tom—you need to take

us back to the Oliver house. We need to analyze the message from my counterpart. And we need to break that cipher.”

He was right. Nick’s and Aaron’s counterparts had clearly been several steps ahead of them in figuring out Eleanor’s plans, and how to stop her. He was right about the need to break that code too. Joan was sure it held the key to physically accessing Eleanor.

Tom looked at them all. “I need to, do I?” His posture was almost too relaxed suddenly.

Joan’s heart stuttered before she’d even realized why. She kept forgetting this wasn’t their Tom. That they still hadn’t persuaded

him to their side.

“Tom... ,” Jamie said.

“So I’ve been listening to you all.” Tom scratched his neck, still faux relaxed. “ I heard you say that the Queen is going to save the world. She’s going to fix the damage to the timeline. And the five of you

want to stop her.”

Joan shook her head. She could understand why he’d think that. “ We plan to repair the timeline too,” she said, willing Tom to believe her. “If Jamie’s right, those tears only exist because

Eleanor pushed the timeline too far from true.”

“If we restore the timeline, those tears should vanish,” Jamie agreed.

They were all still standing in the small space beyond the narrowboat’s kitchenette, and Jamie had ended up between Tom and

the others again. Joan was sure he’d done it on purpose.

“You don’t understand how bad this place is,” Jamie said to him earnestly. “You don’t have anything to compare it with. I

know you can feel it’s wrong, though. You know that this world shouldn’t be set in stone.”

“Is that what I know?” Tom said mildly.

“You can feel it,” Jamie persisted. “There’s something wrong with this timeline. It’s not only the damage you showed us, or the way humans are treated. You feel it inside yourself. You know you’re not living the life you’re supposed to be living.”

Tom gave him a long look, but there was a crack of vulnerability in his expression. Jamie’s words were resonating.

“You feel that something’s missing,” Jamie said. Joan could hear the pleading note in it.

Tom folded his big arms against his chest. “Are you going to say it’s you?” His own tone wasn’t quite mocking, but it was

challenging.

Jamie didn’t flinch. “I know you’ve guessed who I am, Tom.”

“I know what you want me to guess. What you’ve led me to guess.”

“It’s the truth.”

“You have an agenda. You want me to trust you. That gives you an incentive to lie.”

Jamie swallowed visibly. Even standing a little behind him, Joan could see his pain—it was in his stiff stance, his tight

shoulders. He bent now to carefully work his wedding ring from his finger.

“Really?” Tom said. “A proposal? We’ve only just met.”

Jamie’s jaw twitched in what might have been an attempt at a smile. He offered the ring to Tom. “There are words on its inner

side,” he said. “From you to you. You had them etched in case anything like this ever happened. I always thought you were

being paranoid. But...” He huffed a soft laugh. “You were just thinking ahead, covering all the bases, as usual.”

“ I didn’t write anything,” Tom said. “And unless there’s an essay on here, it’s not going to convince me.” But he took the ring reluctantly and held it up to the light.

Joan was too far to read the etched words on the inner side, but she saw Tom’s reaction. A breath shuddered through him.

Tom closed his fingers around the ring, hiding it from sight. “Why didn’t you show me this before?” he asked Jamie. There

wasn’t much emotion in his voice.

“Because... ,” Jamie said helplessly, “I knew it would be a mind-fuck. Because I hoped we’d have more time together to

get to know each other. To talk. But there is no time, Tom. We need your help before the world falls apart.”

Tom shook his head. “Look—”

Jamie reeled back, his face falling. “If that’s not enough, I—I can prove what we were to each other.” His words tumbled over

each other, quick and desperate. “Ask me anything about yourself. Anything. I can convince you if you let me! I—”

“ Stop ,” Tom growled, and Jamie did, eyes wide and lips parted. “I wrote those words,” Tom said flatly, and Joan wondered what the

words had been. What could have convinced him so quickly and thoroughly? But Tom didn’t seem inclined to share; the wedding

ring was still safe, held tight in his fist. “We should talk about them,” Tom said a little more softly. As Jamie drew a breath,

he added, “I’m not saying I’ll help you, but you and I should talk—and we can do that at the Oliver house.”

Jamie’s shoulders lowered, and he swallowed visibly.

Tom whistled a few notes, short and sharp, and the boat began to turn. Joan felt her own jaw unclench; she hadn’t realized

how tense she’d been herself until Tom had agreed to take them back.

It was nearing sunset as the Oliver mansion came into view.

Willows drooped at the river’s edge, leaves grazing the water.

Beyond them, lush green grass stretched to the horizon being swallowed by rolling hills.

The mansion itself stood at the top of the highest hill, drawing the eye like a lighthouse.

From this angle, it truly was a castle. Oliver territory was a kingdom of its own.

Tom drew to a stop at the estate’s dock: a small wooden platform, half-hidden by trees.

“Just in time,” Aaron said. “Joan and Nick are about to break curfew.”

Joan bit the inside of her cheek. She’d almost forgotten about the stupid curfew. She put her hand on the blunt edges of the

pendant. Her fingers ached with the desire to rip off the chain.

“I’m sorry,” Aaron murmured to her. “My family won’t tolerate you taking it off.”

Joan blinked at him, surprised that he’d guessed what she was thinking.

Nick grunted, and Joan realized that Nick had been watching her too. Nick turned to Aaron now. “You’re the head of the family,”

he said tightly. “They’ll tolerate anything you tell them to.”

Aaron shook his head. “It’s quite clear to me that my family doesn’t know of my counterpart’s work.

That he had to put on a facade, even at home.

” That sounded so lonely to Joan—as lonely as Tom seemed to be here.

“You don’t need to worry,” he added to Joan and Nick.

“My family won’t touch what’s mine. Neither of you have anything to fear from them. ”

Nick’s expression in response was icy: Maybe your family should fear me .

Aaron registered it, chin lifting defiantly at him.

“Let’s just get inside,” Joan said. The world was already falling apart; they couldn’t fall apart too. Not until they defeated Eleanor, at least.

Tom opened the boat’s door, and Joan heard Aaron sigh in relief, as if he’d still thought Tom might keep them captive, even

up until this last moment.

“I’ll help with the ropes,” Jamie said, jumping out.

He made quick work of lashing the boat to the mooring, and Joan watched Tom’s gaze shift from the neat, practiced knots to

Jamie’s face.

When Jamie was done, they all stepped out of the boat. Tom put a hand on Jamie’s arm before he could turn to the house. “You

need to know something,” he said gruffly. “Before we go back out into the world.” He glanced around, as if assuring himself

that they were alone here. Then he lowered his voice so that Joan could barely hear him over the rush of the river. “You implied

earlier that you had a memory power.”

Jamie seemed puzzled, but Joan felt a swirl of unease. “Yes,” Jamie said. “My family has perfect memory.”

“Have you told anyone else that?”