Memories crashed over me like a tidal wave. Some good. Some bad. But all of them drenched in Malgrave’s signature scent of rich perfume, alcohol, and blood.
I tried to force down the tangle of emotions that twisted inside my chest when I studied the street before us. Oil lamps hung from wires above the road. They crisscrossed the air in no particular pattern, and the glass domes around the small flames were each made of a different color. It painted the whole street in an enticing glow that shifted in hue depending on where you were.
People bustled up and down the street. Some heading into one of the shops or establishments, and other staggering out of them. It was still only early evening, but the Entertainment District in Malgrave was always open for anyone desperate for their preferred form of escapism.
My heart squeezed painfully as the scent of fried street food wafted towards us. How many times had Henry and I sat on some random steps, covered in blood and wolfing down that kind of food after we finished a job?
“So this is Malgrave, huh?”
The sound of Audrey’s voice pulled me out of my tangled thoughts. Glancing down at her, I arched an eyebrow. “You’ve never been?”
She didn’t meet my gaze. Instead, she continued studying the area while replying, “No.”
“Why didn’t you say that?”
At last, she shifted her attention to me. A mischievous smile played over her lips as she shrugged. “Oh, you know… Never let your enemy know your weaknesses.”
“Enemy, huh?” I drew my fingers along her jaw and brushed my lips over hers. “I thought we were past that.”
“Hmm. Are we? I just remember you trying to order me not to go to Malgrave with you.”
“Really? I only remember you telling me that you love me.”
A hint of red crept into her cheeks as she muttered, “You said it first, bastard.”
“I sure did, sweetheart.” I leaned forward and whispered my next words against her lips. “And I meant every word.”
She smiled against my mouth before pulling back and giving my chest a slap with the back of her hand. “Then let’s get this done so that we can finally get to the fun part of our new… arrangement.”
I answered her sly smirk with one of my own before jerking my chin and starting down the street. She fell in beside me.
We had stabled our horses outside one of the gates, and then I had led us to the edge of the Entertainment District where we rented a room at an inn. We needed to be close enough to Levi that we could accomplish our mission, but not so close as to draw his attention before we were ready. Just like Sam had said at the foot of the dark mage mountain in Castlebourne, one did not simply walk up to Levi Arden and ask him for a favor. We needed something to trade first.
The street we followed split into three more. I picked the one on the left and kept walking. A group of young men poured out of a doorway on our right. The metal bell above the door tinkled furiously as they pushed the slab of wood open again and again while they exited, but it was almost drowned out by their boisterous laughter. I raked my gaze over them. Based on their outfits, they were from Levi’s half of Malgrave. Probably some kind of administrative job, if their clean hands and clothes were anything to go on. I watched as they made their way across the street and into a gambling den. The smell of alcohol drifted behind them when they walked.
Amusement blew across my lips. Oh, the house was going to bleed those fools dry tonight.
“So…” Audrey began. “Where to?”
I moved us towards the next cross street. “Like I said, we can’t show up to Levi’s Court empty-handed. If you want a favor from the King of Metal, you gotta give him something in return. So first, we have to find out what he wants.”
“Or we could just ask him what he wants.”
“Yeah, that would work for other people. But Levi hates my guts, remember? And I like my head where it’s currently located, so we need to already have something before we approach him.”
Audrey chuckled.
Frowning, I glanced down at her as we rounded another corner. “What?”
“You pissing off another powerful and deadly person.” She flashed me a wicked grin. “What a shocker.”
I arched an eyebrow at her. “Another?”
With that smirk still on her lips, she flicked her long black hair behind her shoulder. “Besides me.”
A huff of amusement escaped my lips, and I shook my head at her. “Is it my imagination, or have you gotten even more cocky since I got to know you better?”
“It’s not really cocky if it’s true, darling.”
“Oh we’ve definitely gotta work on your manners when this is all over.” Before she could retort, I put a hand on her arm and redirected her towards a wooden building with a green door. “In here.”
The sounds of cards being shuffled and wooden markers hitting tables enveloped us as we stepped into a fairly small gambling hall. There were only five tables, all of them clad in green, but the polished wooden chairs around them were all occupied. A smooth bar made of dark wood was positioned by the back wall, and behind it was a doorway leading farther into the building. I quickly scanned the patrons as well as the dealers, but none of them looked familiar.
Given that a tavern had been located in this spot when I lived in Malgrave, this gambling den had to be relatively new. Which was exactly why I had picked it. We couldn’t risk going to any of the grander ones, because even though it had been ten years since I last worked for Levi, I was pretty sure that there was a number of people who would still recognize me on sight. I had also done some work for him five years ago in order to settle some of those old scores, which had drawn people’s attention too. And if they didn’t know my face, they would still know my name and the reputation that came with it.
“Remember what I said?” I asked softly while guiding Audrey towards the bar area.
“Yeah,” she replied, not taking her eyes off the people around us. “Don’t mention your name.”
“Good. Follow my lead.”
I could feel her sharp glare in reply, but I ignored it. We were on my old territory now, and if she was going to survive, she would have to learn how to follow my orders for once in her damn life.
Once we reached the bar, I rapped my knuckles on the dark wood and said, “Two whiskey.”
“Coming right up,” the blond woman behind the counter replied before turning around and reaching for two glasses.
While pretending to hook her hair behind her ear, Audrey leaned closer to me and hissed, “Do I look like I drink whiskey?”
I just shot her a pointed look to remind her that she needed to do as I said. The promise of revenge swirled in her intelligent green eyes, but she blew out a silent breath and sat down on the high stool without further argument. Thank hell for small mercies.
Glass clinked as the bartender set one down in front of each of us before pouring two fingers of amber liquid.
“As you can see, the tables are all full at the moment,” she said, and gestured towards the room behind us. “But you are of course welcome to wait.”
“Thanks,” I replied.
While picking up my glass, I turned towards Audrey and gave her an expectant look. She looked like she wanted to say something else, but she thankfully just lifted her own glass and clinked it against mine. I knocked back some of the whiskey before setting the glass down with a thump.
On the stool next to me, Audrey scrunched up her nose a little as she swallowed and then set her glass down as well. Once more, that ridiculous urge returned that made me want to place my hand on her cheek and draw my thumb over her features to smoothen them out. It made my stomach flip when I realized that I could actually do that now. Because Audrey knew that I loved her, and she felt the same way.
Before that thought could make me dizzy, I pushed it aside and focused on the mission at hand. While we drank, I struck up a casual conversation with the blond bartender. She replied politely while Audrey made an admirable effort to pretend that she was sipping at her own whiskey.
Once enough time had passed that it wouldn’t raise suspicion, I steered the conversation towards what I really wanted to know.
Spinning the now half-empty glass on the counter, I glanced up at the bartender. “You know the boss, right?”
She flinched. It was an almost imperceptible stiffening of her posture, and if I hadn’t been looking for it, I would have missed it.
“I don’t know him personally, if that’s what you’re asking,” she replied carefully.
The fact that she didn’t need to ask who I was talking about was to be expected. Everyone knew who the boss was.
“No, I just meant, you know the current lay of the land, right?” I nodded towards Audrey. “My wife and I have been away for a while, and we just got back.”
Amusement ghosted across Audrey’s lips, probably at the wife comment, but she leaned forward and placed a hand on my arm before saying, “Indeed.”
“Oh.” The woman glanced between the two of us. “I see.”
“So?” I gave her my most innocent look, which wasn’t much in the way of innocence, to be honest, but it was better than my normal expression at least. “What news?”
“No news.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“How can there be no news?” I spread my arms to indicate the city around us. “This is Malgrave. There’s always news.”
She flicked a nervous glance towards the patrons around the tables before meeting my gaze again. “It looks like it will be a while before they finish up. Perhaps you should see if there are any tables at another establishment?”
Suspicion rose inside me. People were always careful not to badmouth Levi, but this was something else. Why was she so scared of sharing even the tiniest bit of information about current events?
“Look, we’re not trying to stir up any trouble. We just wanna know what’s going on.”
Her pale eyes shifted between the two of us, as if she was trying to determine the sincerity of our claims. For a second, it looked like she believed us. But then her gaze darted towards the door and her expression shut down again.
“There really is nothing to know,” she said. “Please, I think you should leave.”
“We just—”
The sound of a small bell echoed through the room. It took me a moment to realize that she must have rung it from somewhere behind the bar.
Boots pounded against the floorboards as five burly men poured out of the doorway behind the bartender.
The woman backed away while jerking her chin towards us. “Please escort them out.”
I heaved a sigh and shot her an exasperated look. “Really?”
Instead of replying, she just moved aside while the guards rounded the bar. My stool scraped against the floor as I pushed to my feet. Next to me, Audrey did the same.
Shaking my head, I blew out another annoyed breath.
We had visited one establishment. One. And it was already about to turn into a fight.
Hell, I really hadn’t missed Malgrave at all.
