My heart thumped in my chest as we stopped before the large doors to the building that had become known as Levi’s Court. The King of Metal owned a number of buildings around here, but the Court was where he met with allies, enemies, and everyone who wanted something from him. Or had something to answer for. I had no illusions about which category I belonged to.
From the corner of my eye, I could feel Audrey casting a quick glance at me, but I didn’t turn to meet her gaze because I had no idea what to say. I hated how just the sight of this building made my heart start pounding. As if I was still the teenager I had been back when I first met Levi.
Clenching my jaw, I scowled at the building as if I could make those emotions disappear by sheer force of will.
Two wide metal doors stared back at me. They were painted in a blood red color that served as a warning to anyone who might be foolish enough to challenge Levi. From experience, I knew that those two doors had certainly seen their fair share of real blood. And I should know. I had helped put it there more than once.
There were no windows, but I knew what awaited us inside. Even though from the outside, it looked like the building was made up of three stories, I knew that it was really only one. One story with an incredibly high ceiling. It was meant to humble. To make people feel as though they had entered a real throne room. Just like the grand palaces from the legends of old. Except for one thing. Every single part of this building was made of metal.
Someone gave my shoulder a shove. “Move.”
Turning slowly, I locked hard eyes on the man who had spoken. I didn’t recognize him. Or half of the other people who had brought us here either, for that matter. But it wasn’t surprising, given the death rate of this particular profession.
“Put that hand on me again, and I’ll cut it off,” I warned.
He glared back at me but made no move to shove me again. I snorted and turned back to the doors that two of his companions had just pulled open. That nervous thumping in my chest started back up. While keeping a blank expression on my face, I drew in a soft breath to steady myself.
And then I stepped across the threshold.
Audrey moved with me, falling into step beside me as we walked into Levi’s Court. None of the guards followed. As soon as we had cleared the threshold, they simply pushed the doors shut behind us. It was a statement. And a challenge. Levi didn’t need any other guards to protect himself from the likes of us.
The boom that the doors made when they closed echoed throughout the cavernous space. Chains hung between the metal beams high up in the ceiling, some of them drooping down the walls. And oil lamps and torches had been fastened to walls and wires to illuminate the windowless building. But other than that, Levi’s throne room was mostly bare. Apart from the massive throne set in front of the back wall, of course.
Sheets of metal had been bent into a series of steps that led up to the actual chair, and sharp spikes lined every one of them like some kind of lethal railing. The throne itself wasn’t much better. Made from thick metal, it was shaped like a wingback chair with a tall and wide backrest that had been crowned with even more spikes. A true reminder of Levi’s power. And his ego.
Audrey discreetly brushed the back of her hand against mine. The brief touch brought me back from my own spinning mind and fully into the present. When I flicked a quick glance down at her, I found her walking with her spine straight and chin raised, and that wickedly gorgeous look of complete and utter arrogance on her face. There was nothing to suggest that the brief touch had been intentional, but by now I understood her well enough to know that it had. And I appreciated it more than I could express.
A steady sense of calm spread through me as I rolled my shoulders back. I was a lot more powerful now than I had been last time I was in Malgrave. And now, I had Audrey by my side too. There really was nothing to worry about.
“Well, well, well.” A dark voice full of mockery split the heavy silence like a battle axe. “If it isn’t Callan Blackwell. The traitor.”
My heart jerked and ice skittered across my skin at just the sound of that voice.
But I kept a mask of smug arrogance on my face as I dragged my gaze to the man atop the throne while we came to a halt a short distance from the steps.
Levi Arden, the King of Metal, looked exactly the same as last time I had seen him. Power and confidence dripped from his entire being as he lounged on his throne, arms draped along the metal armrests and legs spread wide. It made me want to throw a force lance to crush his balls, and I barely managed to suppress the impulse.
His black hair, longer on top and shorter on the sides, was casually swept back. But regardless of how it looked, I knew that there was nothing casual about this dark mage. Sharp gray eyes tracked everything in the room, and his tall and muscular body could do incredible damage to an opponent if he was ever pushed that far.
As I briefly shifted my attention from that face full of sharp cheekbones and the promise of violence, I noticed that he was only wearing a simple black shirt with the sleeves rolled up to expose the corded muscles of his forearms, and a pair of dark pants tucked into his boots. Not one piece of the metal shoulder plates and bracers he favored. No armor at all. Which was, of course, another statement. Another challenge.
Letting a vicious smile stretch my lips, I locked eyes with the bastard on the throne.
“Levi,” I said in greeting.
He raised his dark brows at me while an equally mocking smile curled his own lips. “Oh it’s Levi now, is it?”
“The time when I called you sir is long past now.”
“Really? I wouldn’t be so sure.” Before I could retort, he jerked his chin towards Audrey. “And who’s this?”
Sweet poison laced Audrey’s words as she replied, “Ask me politely and I might tell you.”
He slid his gaze to her, and I could almost see the tension crackling through the air. People didn’t normally talk back to Levi Arden. Audrey just cocked her head in a look of bored arrogance and arched an eyebrow at him.
Hell damn it, I wanted to grin like an idiot and tell her to be careful all at the same time.
For a few seconds, I wondered if Levi would throw an attack at her.
But after another couple of tension-filled moments, he simply shifted his attention back to me and said, “You traded Henry for someone with a sharper tongue, I see.”
“I haven’t traded anyone.”
“Ah. So Henry is here too?”
Since I didn’t want to confirm or deny anything, in case this meeting went to hell, I just looked back at him in silence.
A lethal spark flickered in Levi’s gray eyes. “You would do well to answer when I ask you a question.”
“I already told you. I don’t take orders from you anymore, Levi.”
“Oh you really have gotten cocky.”
“I’m not fifteen years old anymore.”
“And I’m still five years older than you.”
“Age is irrelevant. It’s skills and power that count.”
Levi sat up straighter. Spreading his arms, he leveled a stare brimming with challenge on me. “Then try to beat me.”
I said nothing.
The grin on his mouth grew. “You clearly came back to Malgrave because you need something. So, go ahead. Try to beat me. And if you win, I’ll hear you out.”
Part of me knew that this was a really bad idea. But the other part of me was itching to prove to both myself and Levi that he had no power over me anymore. I could feel Audrey’s eyes on me, but I kept mine on the King of Metal as I said, “Fine.”
His laugh echoed through the high-ceilinged hall as he pushed himself up from the throne and sauntered down the steps.
“Callan,” Audrey said in a quiet voice.
While taking a few steps to the side, I glanced down at her and said gently, “Don’t interfere.”
For a moment, it looked like she was going to argue. But she must have sensed that this was something that I needed to do on my own, so she closed her mouth again and instead gave me a nod.
She moved over to stand next to the side of the throne while Levi swaggered onto the floor and squared up against me. My pulse thrummed in my ears. I drew in a breath as I tried to force myself to calm down. There was no need to worry. I had gotten a lot stronger these past five years.
A half smirk pulled at Levi’s lips as he nonchalantly twitched his fingers at me, telling me to get on with it.
I threw a force wall at him.
It crashed into a block of metal. The sound of the collision reverberated through the warm air loudly enough to rattle my teeth.
Diving to the side, I narrowly managed to escape the bands of metal that shot up from the ground underneath me. While rolling to my feet, I hurled a spinning arc at them, cutting the front ones in half.
A whistling sound made me snap my head back to Levi just in time to spot the glinting spear shooting towards me. I threw up a force wall and redirected it to the side. Metallic clanking filled the room as it slammed into the floor a short distance to my left instead.
Right after dropping the force wall, I called up another spinning arc and flung it at Levi. He blocked it with a thick slab of metal. I threw another one.
Booms echoed as he shielded against that one as well before more snaking bands shot up from the ground. I leaped sideways while shoving them away with a blast of force.
Adrenaline pumped in my veins as the battle wore on. My gaze darted between Levi, the floor, and the air around me, trying to predict where the next attack would come from. All while also bombarding him with spinning arcs and vibrating lances of my own.
But the longer we fought, the more I realized that I hadn’t closed the gap between us as much as I had thought. While I had certainly gotten better these past five years, so had Levi. And he was already powerful to begin with.
My heart slammed against my ribs as I ducked a sheet of metal that would have taken my head clean off my shoulders, right before spikes shot up from the ground. I barely managed to leap into the air in time not to get impaled.
Touching my palms together, I hurled a blast at them that cut the sharp points off so that I could land. They retracted into the floor, but when my feet at last touched the ground again, Levi had already launched his next attack.
Two metal ropes snaked around my ankles, locking them to the floor before I could jump again, while a sharp spear shot straight for my throat.
From across the room, I could hear Audrey call out in warning.
But it was already too late.
My chest heaved as I stared down at the sharpened point that was now pressed against my windpipe. One more flick of power from Levi, and it would punch through my neck. While staying perfectly still, I slowly lifted my gaze to meet Levi’s eyes.
A wolfish grin split his face.
“Well then,” he said, and his gray eyes glinted in the light from the torches throughout the room. “I think the time when you call me sir has come again.”
