“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know that they’d had a tracker mark me.”
Seated on a bale of hay inside the stable, I looked over at Paige where she sat across from me on the other side. “I know. It’s not your fault.”
“Yeah, it is.” She dragged a hand through her wavy blond hair. “Shit, Audrey, all I’ve done since joining you is just to screw things up for you. I don’t really have anywhere else to go but I’m sure I could figure something out if you—”
“You’re not going anywhere,” I interrupted. Holding her gaze, I made sure that she truly understood that I meant it. “You’re coming home with me.”
Relief flooded her eyes, and a smile so bright that it made my heart ache shone on her lips. But before she could say anything, Sam cleared his throat.
“Uhm, yeah, about that…” he began.
We all turned towards him. Callan’s eyes lingered on me for a few seconds before he shifted his attention to Sam as well. Somewhere closer to the entrance, a horse snorted where it stood in one of the sections along the wooden barrier.
“What is it, Sam?” I asked.
In the gloomy light inside the stable, his gray eyes looked darker than usual. I studied him.
When he raised his hand to draw it through his blond hair, I noticed that it was still shaking slightly. And there was still some lingering dread on his face too. It wasn’t surprising, though. He had almost gotten his hand cut off not ten minutes ago, and I remembered the feeling very clearly myself, so I understood why he hadn’t recovered yet.
Sam seemed to realize that his hand was shaking, or maybe that we could see it, because he quickly dropped them both back on his lap and knitted his fingers together instead. Then he cleared his throat. “Look, you literally saved me from my worst nightmare just a few minutes ago, so I really didn’t want to be the one to tell you this…”
Panic swirled up inside me, but I kept my voice level as I prompted, “Tell me what?”
“Well, uhm, your home… It doesn’t exist anymore.”
At first, I wasn’t sure if I had heard him correctly so I just pressed out, “What?”
His eyes flicked down to his hands, and then towards the other three people who were also seated on bales of hay at the very back of the stable while we waited for the Chancellor and his constables to march farther away from the mountain. I forced in a slow breath while I waited for Sam to go on. The air smelled of horses and leather and hay, but it was actually rather calming.
“Your mansion has been destroyed,” he said eventually. Sadness crept into his eyes as he looked back at me. “Chancellor Quill knew that you guys… value me. So he ambushed me on the road. Then he went to your mansion, which he had gotten some delivery people from The First and Last Stop to draw a map to. He thought that you would either be home, at which point he planned to trade me for Lance, or that you would have gone to the mountain, and then he would’ve just fought his way in and taken Lance back by force while you were gone. So when he realized that you weren’t home, and that there were barely any people guarding your mansion, he burned everything on the inside and then… destroyed it.”
I just stared back at him, uncomprehending. My body felt numb. It was as if I could hear the words he was speaking, but I couldn’t for the life of me process them. Chancellor Quill had destroyed my mansion? My home, the house that I had built for myself and fought and bled for, was… gone?
“I’m sorry,” Sam finished.
I could feel everyone looking at me, but I couldn’t bring myself to answer. All I could do was just sit there on the scratchy bale of hay and stare at the dark wooden wall above Sam’s shoulder. My home was gone.
“Audrey, I…” Callan trailed off before trying again. “You can stay with me until you figure something out.”
“Yeah, about that, Callan…” Sam said. I was still staring at the wall so I wasn’t sure what his face looked like, but he sounded like he didn’t want to continue the sentence. “Your mansion is also… gone.”
A beat of silence. Then Callan pressed out one word between clenched teeth. “What?”
“Since your mansion is… was so close to Audrey’s, they went there straight after. They kept me handcuffed and locked to a wagon, but I could see the whole thing. Your people tried to fight them off, but about half of them were killed and the others were forced to run. They burned it from the inside and then destroyed it, just like they did with Audrey’s house.”
Deafening silence echoed throughout the gloomy stable.
“Fucking hell,” Callan forced out at last. “Fucking hell!”
I managed to drag my gaze away from the wall and shift it to him right as he shot to his feet and summoned a ball of force. He clenched and unclenched his hands, as if he was trying very hard not to hurl that force blast straight at the wall behind us. Eventually, he pressed out a long breath and then let his magic fade out.
From the bale next to him, Henry looked back at him with gray eyes that were full of worry and sadness. And anger.
“Not to keep piling on shit,” Sam began and cleared his throat. “But that’s not all of it.”
Callan massaged his forehead while sitting down again. “Do I even wanna know?”
“Probably not.”
He twitched his fingers. “Spit it out.”
“This group of constables that Chancellor Quill led wasn’t the only one. They sent out several more across the hills. I only managed to overhear parts of it, but Malcolm is apparently on the run. Grant is holed up in his mansion where they can’t get to him. And as far as I know, Sienna is unaccounted for.”
“Hell fucking damn it,” Callan said in what sounded more like a sigh.
“Yeah.”
“No!” I snapped. Wildfire rage flared up inside me to fill the hollowness that had begun to settle in my chest at the loss of my home. Feeding the flames with everything I had, I pulled the anger around me like armor while I looked from face to face. “No. They do not get to come into our hills and destroy our homes and kill our people. This will not go unanswered.”
Sam threw his hands up in a helpless gesture. “How? We don’t have the numbers.”
“Then we enlist help from other dark mages.” The memory of Quill’s promise rose inside me. “And we destroy that damn Blade of Equilibrium so that they can never complete that fucking graduation ceremony again.”
“Easier said than done,” Paige interjected. When we all turned to look at her, she shrugged. “It’s like the Enhancer. It can’t be destroyed, remember?”
“Except it can,” Henry began in a slow voice.
“What?”
He and Callan exchanged a glance. The force mage heaved a sigh and drew a hand through his messy black hair while staring up at the wooden beams in the ceiling for a few seconds.
“You’re right,” he said at last as he looked down again and met our gazes. “We need help from other dark mages and we need to destroy the blade that’s used in the ceremony.” His gaze drifted to Henry once again. “And I know someone who can do both.”
“Seriously?” Hope shone in Sam’s eyes as he looked at Callan, but it was quickly replaced by confusion. “Who? The only metal mage I’ve ever heard about is that insanely dangerous guy who, like, runs half of Malgrave, and I…” He trailed off as he saw the expression on Callan’s face. “Please tell me that’s not the guy you meant.”
“It is.”
“Callan. I say this with the utmost respect and kindness and everything, but are you out of your bloody mind?” While flapping his hands in the air, Sam stared at Callan with wide eyes. “There’s a reason why no other dark mages have approached him and asked him to destroy their city state’s Blade of Equilibrium too. The guy is insane!”
“Here’s what’s going to happen now,” Callan began, completely ignoring Sam’s warnings. “Henry and Audrey, you will take Sam and Paige and find somewhere to lay low for a while. And I will go to Malgrave.”
Sam shook his head at him. “Did you not hear me? You can’t just ride into Malgrave and ask Levi Arden for a favor.”
“We don’t really have any other choice, Sam.” Heaving a sigh, he pushed himself to his feet and started down the hall. “I’ll go check on the horses.”
For a few seconds, all four of us just stared at Callan in stunned disbelief as he walked away. Then I shot to my feet as well.
“Hey,” I snapped as I stalked after Callan. “Don’t think that you can just give me orders like that and then walk away.”
Behind me, Henry was saying something about how Callan was right and that we needed to get Sam to a safe house since he would be incredibly important in the war that was to come. But I didn’t care. Instead, I strode down the corridor after Callan.
A few horses raised their heads and looked at me as I stormed past, but Callan didn’t stop. Irritation crackled through me. His legs were longer, so if I wanted to catch up to him, I would have to start jogging instead. And my stubborn pride refused to do that.
Gray light from the overcast summer morning shone down on the grasslands outside as I cleared the threshold. The Chancellor and his constables had disappeared from the horizon at last, and the people who owned the stable were bringing our horses in from the large outdoor enclosure. Turning right, Callan moved towards them.
Impatience got the better of me and I slammed my palms together. Summoning a large poison cloud, I threw it towards Callan so that it blocked his way forward. He ground to a halt. Even from this angle, I could see his broad chest expand in an exasperated sigh. Then he slowly turned around and prowled back to me.
Standing my ground, I just raised my eyebrows expectantly as he stalked forward until he almost mowed me down. A storm of emotions swirled in his dark brown eyes when he looked at me. I raised my chin. Placing a hand against my collarbones, he shoved me backwards until my back hit the stable wall with a thud.
“I am going to Malgrave,” he said in a voice like thunder. “You can do whatever the hell you like.”
“Yes, I can.” I glared up at him. “Which is why I’m coming with you to Malgrave.”
“No, you’re not.”
“If this Levi Arden is as dangerous as Sam said, then you’ll need my help.”
“You’re not coming.”
Irritation crackled through my veins again, and I raised my hand to push his arm aside. It didn’t move. Instead, Callan slid his hand up my throat and took my chin in a firm grip. Then he leaned closer to my face and spoke very slowly.
“You are not coming to Malgrave with me.”
Touching my palms together, I summoned a tendril of poison and shot it down his throat. He choked and lost his grip on my chin.
“I’ve already told you,” I ground out. “You do not give me orders.”
After pulling out my poison again, I stared back at him with hard eyes. He drew in a deep breath once the glittering green tendril had dissipated.
For a while, we only glared at each other in sullen silence. He opened his mouth slightly, and for a second, it looked like he was going to say something. But then he just clenched his jaw again. Frustration washed over me.
“After all of this,” I flung out an arm to indicate the mountain above, “you still don’t trust me? Or at least understand me enough to know that I’m not going to try to screw you over until after we’ve killed Quill and destroyed that damn blade?”
He said nothing for a few moments. His gaze burned all the way through my soul as he studied me. I only watched him. Waiting for him to answer. There looked to be a war raging behind his eyes. Tilting his head back, he raked both hands through his hair while staring up at the clouds above. But he didn’t answer.
In my heart, I knew that there would never be any real trust between us. We had betrayed each other and tried to kill each other far too many times for that. But it still hurt to realize just how little he actually trusted me. Especially after everything we had gone through together in those tunnels inside the mountain.
“That’s not why,” Callan said at last as he looked back down at me.
“Then why?” I snapped, my patience running out.
“Because I said no.”
“And you don’t give me orders, so you’re going to have to do better than that.”
Grabbing my shirt, he yanked my face closer to his and growled, “You’re not coming to Malgrave with me.”
“Why the hell not?”
He let out a low snarl and shoved me back against the wall while turning away.
“Give me one good reason,” I spat back at him. “You fucking coward.”
Something snapped in his eyes as he whirled back towards me.
“Because I love you!”
I rocked back as if he had slapped me. “What?”
Panic flashed across his face. Then he reached out slowly and took a firm grip on my collar. Holding me trapped against the wall like that, he locked eyes with me while all the fight just seemed to bleed straight out of him.
“I love you, you vicious little poisoner.” A tired laugh escaped his lips as he shook his head at me. “And I have loved you since before I betrayed you at The First and Last Stop.”
The silence around me was so loud that I could almost feel it pressing against my eardrums. I wasn’t sure if time was even moving anymore. All I could do was stare up into those warm brown eyes that were suddenly brimming with vulnerability.
Callan… loved me.
And had done for weeks. Long before I had even fallen for him.
Hope flickered inside me like glittering sparkles.
It was immediately smothered by a massive wave of cold fear.
I couldn’t tell him how I really felt. I couldn’t say those words back to him.
Because the moment I told him that I loved him too, everything would change.
And I wasn’t sure if I could handle that.
“Then why don’t you want me to go with you to Malgrave?” I heard myself asking.
His face fell a little, but then he released my collar and heaved a deep sigh. “Because Levi and I have history.”
“What kind of history?”
“I worked for him for a while after I left Eldar, and let’s just say that things ended badly. I’ve settled some of the worst scores already, so he has pulled his kill-on-sight order on me. But we’re not exactly on good terms.”
“Then that’s even more reason why I should come with you.”
“Audrey.” His gaze pinned me to the wall even though he had already removed his hand. “Sam wasn’t kidding when he said that Levi is dangerous. I’d even go as far as to say that he’s the most dangerous man I’ve ever met. And he’s still pissed off about some of the things I did. I don’t want you anywhere near him.”
“You’re just proving my point further.”
“You’re not listening to me! You are not coming with me.”
“Again, you do not give me orders. I’m going to Malgrave with you.”
“Why?” Throwing his arms out, he shook his head at me while exasperation flashed in his eyes. “Why are you so insistent on this?”
“Because I love you too!”
The words tore from my throat before I could stop them. Panic pulsed through me as I realized what I had said, but it was too late to turn back now. I let out a breathy laugh full of relief and hope and fear while Callan stared down at me with wide eyes.
“I love you too, you damn bastard.” My heart slammed against my ribs as I held his gaze. “I love you too.”
He wrapped his arms around me.
Pulling me hard against him, he kissed me so deeply that my breath caught and my spine tingled. I locked my fingers behind his neck and crushed my lips against his as I answered the kiss with furious relief.
My back hit the wall with a thud as Callan took a step forward, pushing me up against it.
Holding him tightly against me, I finally allowed myself to truly feel.
A sigh escaped me as I relished in the feeling of his hands on me, of his body pressed against mine, and of his lips claiming my mouth. Of him claiming me. Claiming my heart. My soul.
I felt as though my heart was going to break through my ribcage.
Callan and I were lethal and violent and toxic as hell. We had beaten and stabbed and poisoned and tried to kill each other more times than I could count. Our history was drenched in blood and betrayal. But that was also why we understood each other. Why we were perfect for each other.
Because we were equals.
Equally powerful.
Equally lethal.
Equally messed-up.
Two heartless villains who had somehow managed to make that cold black thing in our chests beat with the fury of a raging wildfire. For each other.
He was mine.
I was his.
And we would face this dangerous past that he had left in Malgrave and force Levi Arden to help us destroy Eldar’s Blade of Equilibrium and take down Chancellor Quill and Lance Carmichael and everyone who stood in our way.
Our homes were destroyed. Our possessions gone. Everything we had fought for and bled for and built for ourselves was in ruins.
All we now had was what we currently carried.
That, and our wits and our cunning and our power and our sheer ruthlessness.
And each other.
Our dark mage empires were gone.
But by all hell, we would get them back.
We would get it all back.
