Rage crackled through my veins like lightning. I wanted to wipe that vicious grin right off Levi Arden’s face and then make him grovel for mercy at my feet. Callan was mine. The only one who was allowed to threaten him was me.
Touching my palms together, I threw a cloud of poison towards the smirking King of Metal.
Callan had told me not to get involved, but I had never really been one for following orders.
Unfortunately, I was standing to Levi’s right rather than behind him, so he noticed my glittering green mist before it had even crossed half of the distance. Metal flashed in the bright firelight. One massive sheet rose up from the ground and shoved my attack towards the wall while the spear and the bands around Callan disappeared. But before he could so much as twitch his fingers, two flat metal poles shot up and struck him. One in his solar plexus. The other in his balls.
A strangled gasp of agony ripped from Callan’s throat as he collapsed down on the floor. Pain clouded his eyes as he tried to suck in desperate breaths.
The fury inside me burned hotter.
Levi slowly turned towards me while my poisonous attack faded out against the dark wall to his left. A lethal glint crept into his gaze as he leveled those sharp gray eyes on me. The cold smile on his lips made ice crawl down my spine.
“Oh now I really am intrigued,” he said, and cocked his head. The gesture was pure predator.
I threw another cloud at him.
He slapped his hands together, and another sheet of metal appeared from the ground to knock my attack aside. Before it had even made contact, I had sent a snapping whip towards him as well. It slammed into a shield that rose up right next to him. Then a third one shot up too. The three walls moved up and down at the same time to block the next series of poison tendrils I hurled at him. I stared in utter confusion while all three of them sank back into the ground again when my attacks had been dealt with.
How was that even possible? I had seen the same thing when he fought Callan, but I still couldn’t wrap my head around it.
Everyone else could only use one attack at a time. We all had to call up one attack and then we had to release it before we could summon another one. I was luckier than most because my power was so fluid, which meant that I could call up a cloud of poison and then regulate the size as well as the strength in various parts of it so that it could work in a multitude of ways. But I couldn’t manipulate two separate poison clouds at the same time. It just wasn’t possible. Once I had released an attack, by for example throwing it, I could no longer change it.
While my power over poison clouds might muddy the waters a bit, the limitations were clear on someone like Callan. He could call up a force blade. But then if he wanted a force shield, he had to release his blade first and then summon the shield. The same principle should be true for someone like Levi Arden. He shouldn’t have been able to move all three walls up and down at the same time. But he had. How was that possible?
As if he could read the thoughts in my eyes, the King of Metal gave me a slow smile.
Dread twisted in my stomach.
Apparently, Callan hadn’t been exaggerating when he said that Levi was one of the most dangerous people he had ever met.
Bands of metal shot up from the ground around me. My survival instincts kicked in and I was leaping backwards before I even knew what I was doing.
While still airborne, I touched my palms together and threw a large cloud straight at Levi. I landed back on the ground with a thud while he summoned a wide wall to push the cloud sideways before it could hit. Keeping one eye on the ground and the other on the mage before me, I shot small tendrils one after the other.
Levi smacked them away with more sheets of metal. Amusement glittered in his eyes. The bastard didn’t even look worried at all.
Spikes flashed up around my feet. I jumped sideways to escape them while hurling another cloud towards Levi.
If only I could throw that pain manipulation move. It was an incredibly lethal attack, and it made even the strongest people gasp in agony. But I could still only use it while touching someone directly. And the biggest problem with that, apart from the fact that it didn’t even work every time, was that if I ever got close enough to an opponent to use it, I had already lost. Range was my biggest advantage in any battle. If an opponent was close enough for me to touch, they could easily use their physical strength to overpower me before I could touch my hands together.
Hell damn it all. It would probably take years of practice before I got to a point where I could use it from a distance. But I needed it now. I needed something, or I would lose.
After dodging another attack from below, I rolled to my feet and threw three curving whips to mess with his ability to estimate trajectories. And then I slapped my palms together and called up one of my strongest moves.
Glittering green mist exploded across the room. The attack was both fast and large, and most people didn’t have either the time or the capacity to counter something like it.
For the first time since we walked into this throne room, a hint of surprise and wariness flickered in Levi’s eyes. And no wall of metal shot up to shove my attack aside.
Victory sparkled inside me.
The moment that poison reached him, I would win.
Intense pain crackled through my body.
I sucked in a gasp as waves of agony pulsed from my stomach. The green mist dissipated as I lost the grip on my magic and doubled over. Through the haze of pain, I realized that Levi hadn’t bothered blocking the attack. Instead, he had tricked me with a hint of worry and then gone straight for the source instead. Me.
The flat metal pole that had slammed into my solar plexus slid back into the floor while I tried to keep my knees from buckling.
Before I could collapse, three more poles rose around me. Two of them snaked around my wrists, keeping my arms spread wide. The third one brushed against my spine, as if to support me, before the top part twisted to slither around my neck. Pain still washed through me as the cold metal tightened, rendering me immobile.
“Do you know what I do to people who attack me in my own court?” Levi asked, a cruel smile on his lips, as he started towards me.
“No,” Callan pressed out before I could respond. Not an answer to the question. A plea.
His eyes were still swimming with pain as he tried to push himself off the floor a few strides away. Each movement had him wincing, and he was gritting his teeth so hard that I could almost hear them beginning to crack.
Levi cast a lazy glance towards him. “I’d stay down, if I were you.”
After forcing out a breath between his teeth, Callan climbed to his feet. He swayed a little at first, but then he managed to draw himself up to his full height. His jaw was still clenched tightly against the lingering pain that looked to be wreaking havoc on his body.
For a moment, the two of them only watched each other in silence. I tried to focus on drawing in deep breaths to combat the pain in my own stomach.
Then Callan took a step forward.
A cry tore from my lips as the metal around my wrists tightened until I thought my bones were going to snap like twigs.
Panic flashed across Callan’s face. It was followed by rage. His gaze darted to me before he shifted it back to Levi while slowly spreading his arms. The King of Metal raised his eyebrows in surprise.
While keeping his hands wide, Callan staggered over until he was standing in front of me.
“Don’t,” I hissed in a low voice.
Callan ignored me and instead kept his attention on Levi as he said, “Don’t hurt her.”
“Oh, Callan.” A mocking laugh spilled from his lips as he shook his head. “You of all people know that I don’t tolerate this kind of behavior. She attacked me unprovoked. She must pay for that.”
“Unprovoked?” I spat. “You—”
My words were cut off by another cry of pain as the metal around my wrists tightened once more.
“Please,” Callan blurted out while I sucked in a breath between my teeth.
The band around my throat squeezed harder until my next breath turned into a strangled gurgling noise.
A few steps in front of me, Callan dropped to his knees. Even with the threat of imminent and painful death hanging over me, the sight of Callan kneeling sent shock pulsing through my body.
I couldn’t see his face, but he held up his hands in a pleading gesture. “Please, Levi, she…”
The King of Metal arched a dark brow, causing Callan to trail off.
“Please, sir,” Callan amended. “Let her go. I roped her into this. I made her do it, so if you wanna take it out on someone, take it out on me.”
“Oh, I will. After I’ve finished with her.”
“Look, I know you hate me. And with good reason. But she’s not part of any of that.”
“She still attacked me.”
“I will take her punishment too.” Callan sat back on his heels, bowed his head, and placed his palms flat on the ground before his knees. The ultimate show of surrender. “Please, sir. I’m begging you.”
If I’d had any air to spare, I would have gasped. Or cursed Levi to the depths of hell. Or both. But most of all, I couldn’t believe the humiliation Callan was actually willing to endure. For me.
Surprise drifted across Levi’s face as well. Shaking his head, he let out a disbelieving laugh. “Well, isn’t this something for the history books. Coldblooded Callan begging for someone else’s life. That wasn’t something I thought I would ever see.”
Callan said nothing. Only kept his head bowed. But the metal around my throat eased up a bit until I could fight down strained breaths. I sucked air back into my lungs while staring at the insane scene before me.
A smirk played over Levi’s mouth as he ran his gaze over Callan’s kneeling form. “Oh this must be so humiliating for you.” His expression turned thoughtful as he cocked his head. “Why do it? Why come back here at all?”
“To make a deal.”
“A deal? I thought I was very clear about the future of our relationship after you bought your life back from me five years ago.”
At last, Callan raised his head to look at the metal mage. “Trust me, if there was any other way, I wouldn’t be here.”
“Intriguing. But utterly pointless, because I will not be making any deals with you.”
“Come on, Le—” Callan cut himself off and cleared his throat. “There must be something that you want, sir.”
“Other than to paint the city with your blood?” His smile was a slash of white. “Nothing.”
Before Callan could reply, Levi flicked his wrist.
The metal holding me trapped disappeared back into the floor. I wasn’t at all prepared for it, so the sudden lack of support had me crashing down to the ground. Dull pain pulsed from my wrists, and my breath rasped in my throat as I inhaled deeply.
Callan whirled around at the thudding sound my knees made when they hit the floor, and Levi used that opportunity to walk around him and towards me. Panic flashed in Callan’s dark brown eyes as he scrambled to his feet. However, before he could say or do anything else, Levi spoke up again.
“I will give you one chance to leave Malgrave with your bodies intact.” He threw a sharp smile at Callan over his shoulder. “Since you begged so nicely.”
“We—” Callan began, but the metal mage cut him off.
“One chance.” Leaning down, he grabbed the front of my dark riding outfit and hauled me to my feet. Cold power gleamed in his eyes as he locked them on mine. “I suggest you take it.”
By all hell, I knew that it was stupid as fuck. I knew that I should have just done as he said and left before he decided to make good on his previous threats. But I really hated looking weak. And I had hated the sight of Callan on his knees, begging someone else for my life, even more than I hated looking weak. And that really was saying something. So instead of behaving like a sensible person, I discreetly brushed my palms together and then placed one hand on Levi’s forearm, flooding his pain receptors with poison.
A gasp tore from his throat. Releasing my collar, he snatched his hand back and stumbled a step backwards while pain flashed across his lethally handsome face. It was followed by disbelief as he stared at me while rubbing a hand over his forearm.
I gave him a smile sharp enough to draw blood. “Put that hand on me again, and I’ll stop your heart.”
A wicked laugh rumbled from his chest. Behind his shoulder, Callan tensed. I could see his hands drifting closer together, getting ready to fight again if Levi decided to retaliate. But the King of Metal ignored him completely, and instead closed the distance between us again.
“Didn’t Callan tell you?” He flicked his eyes up and down my body while a wolfish smile spread across his lips. “I don’t have one.”
I didn’t back down. Holding his gaze, I just continued staring up at him in silence.
His eyes once more drifted up and down my body. Slower this time. A calculating expression settled on his face as he sucked his teeth and ran a hand over his chiseled jaw.
“You’re a poison mage,” he said at last.
My voice dripped with sarcasm as I replied, “Excellent observation skills.”
He huffed out a short laugh. “I bet that sharp tongue of yours has gotten you into a lot of trouble over the years.”
“And yet I’m still here.”
“Indeed you are.”
He ran his hand over his jaw again and then looked back at Callan. I barely dared to breathe. I wasn’t sure what was going through Levi’s head, but we needed him to destroy the Blade of Equilibrium, so we couldn’t just leave. We had to find a way to convince him, and whatever he was thinking right now might be the opening we needed.
Callan remained motionless while Levi looked him over appraisingly. Then the metal mage clicked his tongue and huffed out another laugh as he turned back to me. A smile full of challenge curled his lips before he spoke up again.
“Maybe there is something you can do for me after all.”
