My bones ached by the time Audrey and I trudged up the wooden steps to our room at the inn. Hell damn Levi fucking Arden and his petty need for revenge. While I appreciated the fact that he had at least pulled his punches a little, he had still slammed those metal poles into me so hard that I had to suppress a wince every time I took a step or lifted my arms. And that was not good for our mission.
“We need to get a message to Levi,” Audrey said as we reached our door.
While inserting the key into the lock, I turned and looked over my shoulder at her. “Yeah. In the morning.”
Her brows furrowed slightly as she flicked a quick glance up and down my body. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
Damn that poisoner for being so perceptive. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
Before she could call me on the lie, I unlocked the door and shoved it open.
I froze.
Seated on the chair at the back of the room was Levi Arden. He lounged on the rickety piece of furniture as if it was the grandest of thrones, and a smug smirk curled his lips as he watched us. The sword he usually carried strapped to his back now lay resting in his lap. His left hand absentmindedly stroked the blade.
Clearing my throat, I recovered enough to continue across the threshold. I could feel the tension rolling off Audrey behind me, but she followed me into the room and shut the door.
Levi gave us a wolfish smile. “Did you really think that I didn’t know where you were staying?” Raising a hand, he spun it lazily in the air. “This is my city.”
With a sharp smile on her lips, Audrey sauntered over to lean against the wall in an incredibly nonchalant move. “If this was truly your city, you wouldn’t have to rely on us for help.”
My blood froze. Fucking hell, did that vicious little poisoner have no sense of self-preservation at all?
Part of me wanted to grin like a moron at the way she treated Levi, as if he was just another dark mage and not the man who ruled half of Malgrave. The other part of me wanted to step in front of her to shield her from whatever Levi was about to do to punish her.
But the King of Metal only smiled wider.
“We were just about to send word to you,” I said before he could change his mind and decide to attack Audrey. “Did something happen? Why are you here?”
For another few seconds, he and Audrey only continued watching each other. Then he at last shifted his attention back to me. I fought the impulse to heave a sigh of relief.
“How did the meeting go?” he asked instead of answering my questions.
“Good.” I moved over to the lone set of drawers and leaned my hip against it while crossing my arms. A pulse of pain shot through my body at the movement, but I stifled it. “He bought the act completely and brought us to a back room to recruit us.”
Levi’s observant gray eyes tracked every move I made, and I was pretty sure that he had seen the slight wince before I had suppressed it. But surprisingly enough, he didn’t smirk with satisfaction. Instead, a considering look briefly crossed his features.
But all he said was, “Good. So, what’s the next step?”
Audrey and I exchanged a glance.
“Yeah, about that…” I began.
His gaze sharpened as he waited for me to go on.
“We need to do some grunt work first. To prove that we can be trusted.”
“And…?”
“And it involves you.”
“Yeah, you know, I actually figured that out too. What does he want you to do?”
I blew out a soft breath. “He wants us to ruin your reputation.”
For a few seconds, Levi said nothing. Then he bit out, “Explain.”
“Okay, so David told us that Gale’s plan is to hit you where it would hurt the most, which is your reputation. People back up and bow down at just the mention of your name because they know that you always follow through on everything. Deals. Promises. Threats. So his, or rather their, plan is to mess with that reputation by having us hit some of the gambling houses under your protection.”
Silence that practically crackled with tension fell across the room. For a few seconds, Levi only stared back at me. A muscle ticked in his jaw.
Then a smile that was pure malice stretched his lips. “I am going to mount Trevor Gale’s fucking head on a spike outside my Court of it’s the last thing I do.”
“Yeah, but to do that, we first need to get close to him. And to get close to him, we need to prove that we’re all in with him, which means that we need to go through with this plan.”
Levi shot to his feet. Fury burned in his eyes as he gripped the sword hard and pointed it in my direction. “Do you seriously expect me to just sit back and let someone ruin my reputation, making it seem like I can’t protect my own businesses?”
“If you want Gale’s head, then yes.”
“Find another way.”
“There is no other way. The only way to get close to Gale is to make him think that we’re on his side. And the only way to convince him of that is to actually do something that hurts you.”
“There’s no guarantee that this plan will even work.”
“No. But you haven’t been able to assassinate him with any of your other plans. And I know that you could crush this bastard if you declared outright war on him, so if you don’t wanna go through with this plan, then do that.”
“I can’t.” Pain flickered in his eyes. “My wife is usually more than capable of taking care of herself and handling any threat thrown against her, but she’s fucking seven months pregnant now. And that bastard is trying to take her.” He flexed his fingers on the hilt of the sword and dragged his other hand through his hair before shaking his head. “Hell knows I’ve done some fucked up shit too, but even I wouldn’t threaten a pregnant woman.”
My heart squeezed tight. Even though neither of us had ever admitted as much, Levi and I hadn’t just been boss and employee. He had taken me under his wing, showing me how to be a dark mage and helping me strengthen my magic when I needed it the most. Like an older brother. Granted, a violent and dictatorial older brother who made me address him as sir and who beat the shit out of me if I failed to obey his orders. But still. We had been as close to friends as people like us could get. Before I betrayed him, at least. And despite our blood-soaked history, I realized that I actually sympathized with him at that moment.
A flash of alarm shot across his features, as if he had just realized that what he had said had sounded pretty vulnerable. Clearing his throat, he let that mask of absolute power and control slide back on his face as he leveled a hard stare at me.
“So no, I won’t be going to war right now.” His voice was laced with steel. “And I won’t let you ruin my reputation either.”
Tilting my head back, I dragged my hands through my hair and blew out a deep sigh before meeting his gaze again. “Look… Do you trust me?”
He let out a mocking laugh. “About as much as I trust a poisonous snake.”
“Venomous.”
Both of us turned to look at Audrey, who had been silent for a while. She was still leaning against the wall with her arms crossed as she watched us with those intelligent green eyes of hers.
“A venomous snake,” she repeated.
Levi raised his eyebrows at her. “What?”
“If you bite it, and you die, it’s poisonous. If it bites you, and you die, it’s venomous.” She lifted her slender shoulders in a shrug. “So, a venomous snake.”
A disbelieving laugh spilled from Levi’s lips. Prowling up to her, he lifted his sword and placed the tip against the base of her throat. She only remained leaning against the wall with her arms crossed as she held his gaze from across the sharp blade.
My heart pounded in my chest, but I remained where I was.
Levi drew the sword up her throat until the flat of the blade was resting under her chin. With a slight push, he tilted her head back. “And what does that make you?”
Audrey flashed him a smile dripping with challenge. “Keep leveling that sword at me and find out.”
Blood rushed to my cock, and I had to adjust my position to keep it from being noticeable. Fucking hell, had she always been this hot while spitting arrogant challenges in dangerous people’s faces? And how had it taken me five bloody years to notice it?
Another disbelieving laugh rolled from Levi’s throat. It immediately defused the danger hanging in the air. With a flick of his wrist, he removed the sword from under her chin and then slid it back into its sheath along his spine. Relief washed over me when he looked her up and down with an expression that seemed like approval.
“If you’ve survived this long with a tongue that sharp, I suppose you really must be skilled as hell.” Amusement played over his lips. “Though, I still don’t understand how you’ve managed to partner up with Callan without him shoving a force blade through your chest.”
She snorted and shot a smug look in my direction. “Trust me, it hasn’t been from a lack of trying on his part.”
Levi let out a short chuckle and stepped back before turning to face me with eyebrows raised. “I can’t believe Coldblooded Callan fell in love.”
“I can’t believe the King of Metal got married,” I replied.
He tipped his head to the side as if conceding the point.
For a while, the three of us just watched each other in silence. The lethal tension in the room had disappeared, and the atmosphere suddenly felt almost like it had before I betrayed Levi.
At last, Levi heaved a deep sigh and then cracked his neck. “Alright, go ahead and sabotage a few of my businesses. I want Trevor dead.”
I nodded. “He told us to hit three. Which ones do you want us to go after?”
Levi considered in silence for a while before rattling off the names of three gambling halls that I knew weren’t too influential.
“Alright,” I said. “We’ll do it tomorrow night.”
“Do what you need to do to get me Gale’s head.” Power rippled off Levi’s broad shoulders as he drew himself up to his full height and leveled a commanding stare on us. That brief moment of friendliness was gone in an instant. This was no longer Levi speaking. This was the King of Metal issuing an order. “But I have one hard rule. And it’s non-negotiable, Callan.”
“What is it?”
“You don’t kill anyone.”
I raised my eyebrows in surprise.
“I mean it. Threats and blackmail and damaged property I can recover from. But I can’t have my people thinking that someone can just go around killing them without facing any consequences.”
“When you say don’t kill anyone…”
“I mean anyone. I don’t care if it’s during a mission or if some random drunk loser attacks you because you bumped into him on the street. You throw him into a wall or something, but you don’t fucking kill him.”
“Or what?” Audrey challenged.
“Or you will repay the blood with some of your own.” His whole being was thrumming with power as he stared us down. “You kill no one without my permission. Understood?”
Irritation crackled through me. I understood where he was coming from, that it would do irreparable damage to his reputation otherwise, but damn, it would make our stay in Malgrave so much harder.
“Yeah,” I ground out in reply.
Levi’s gray eyes hardened. “Answer me properly.”
I had to flex my fingers to stop myself from throwing a force lance at him. After drawing in a steadying breath, I managed to speak in a voice that didn’t betray what I really wanted to do. “I understand, sir.”
“Good.” He shifted his attention to Audrey. “I expect you to answer too.”
It looked like she was fighting the impulse to poison him, but she said, “We won’t kill anyone without your permission.”
“Good.”
Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out two small glass vials. They were filled with some kind of turquoise blue liquid that shimmered slightly. I frowned at him, but he only tossed us one vial each.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“It’s from my healer.”
I raised my eyebrows. “I didn’t think you cared that much about us.”
“I don’t. But I need you in full working order so that you can kill Trevor for me.” He started towards the door. “You need to drink it within ten seconds of pulling out the stopper.”
“Why?”
“Because healing magic can’t usually be transported like this so it will evaporate quickly after you break the magic seal.” He pushed down the handle and pulled open the door. “And it’s not strong enough to fix anything worse than bruises and minor cuts.” Pausing on the threshold, he looked back at me over his shoulder. “I didn’t break any of your bones, did I?”
“No,” I replied.
He clicked his tongue. “Pity.”
Then he disappeared out the door.
It rattled slightly on its hinges as it slammed shut behind him.
I shook my head. Asshole.
Glancing down, I studied the shimmering turquoise potion that was going to heal all of my bruises and save me from wincing every time I moved. And as I pulled out the stopper and downed the liquid, I was forced to admit that maybe Levi Arden wasn’t a complete asshole after all. At least not all the time.
