A deep orange sun crawled over the horizon as dawn broke. It reflected against the smooth black stone mansion before me, making it look like fire danced over the walls. I kept a nonchalant expression on my face as I climbed the short steps leading up to Malcolm Griffith’s front door.
The guards outside watched me with sharp eyes, but when I reached the door, they only opened it in silence. I strode across the threshold with confident steps. In my chest, however, my heart was trapped in twisting bands of iron.
More guards tracked my movements as I made my way towards the reception room where Malcolm always preferred to meet. When it at last appeared at the end of the wide hall, I rolled my shoulders back in a casual expression of confidence. If I didn’t play my part to perfection, this would never work.
Orange light from the rising sun filled the neat room when I stalked inside. Malcolm’s entire mansion was made of some kind of black stone with a shiny surface that made it resemble glass. He hadn’t put floorboards in either, so both the walls and the floor were made of that same dark material. It made it feel like the house was always filled with shadows. Which was of course the intended purpose.
The reception room was large and mostly made up of open floor-space, as if Malcolm expected to meet with large groups of petitioners in there. On the left was a massive table for twelve while smaller seating arrangements featuring armchairs and couches had been positioned by the right wall. The space in the middle was empty, save for the dark purple and gold-trimmed carpet that covered the floor, as if Malcolm wanted to make sure that all visitors had an unobstructed view of the gigantic painting that took up half of the back wall. It was a full-figure oil painting depicting none other than Malcolm Griffith himself, of course.
I swept my gaze over the room, and something sharp stabbed into my heart.
Henry was on his knees on the floor next to the table. His hands were shackled behind his back, and a row of bruises colored his jaw. When he saw me, he blinked in surprise. It was followed by a wave of regret that washed over his battered face.
Rage roared inside me as I dragged my gaze to the man sitting at the head of the dark wooden table. “Malcolm.”
He gave me a sharp smile. “Callan.”
“You have a lot of nerve pulling a move like this.” Coming to a halt on the floor, I raised my eyebrows and leveled a hard stare at the shadow mage. “Should I interpret this as an outright act of war?”
“Yes.”
“Well, to be fair,” another voice began from somewhere on my right. “You and Audrey are the ones who started it when you decided to keep Lance for yourselves.”
I snapped my gaze towards the cluster of rich purple armchairs. Harvey Grant was sitting there, both arms resting along the plush armrests and unreadable blue eyes watching me curiously.
“Grant.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “I thought we’d made a deal.”
He lifted his shoulders in a casual shrug before nodding towards Malcolm. “He made me a better one.”
“And now, I’m about to make you one too,” Malcolm said before I could reply. Morning sunlight glinted in his eyes, making their deep brown color look almost red. “I will trade you Henry… if you give me Lance.”
I had already guessed what was coming, so I was able to keep the dread from my face when he spoke the words out loud. Instead, I let out a disbelieving huff. “Why the hell would I agree to something like that?”
“Because I will kill Henry if you don’t.”
“So?”
A knowing glint crept into Malcolm’s eyes while a slow smile stretched his lips. “You might be able to fool the rest of them, but you forget that I was already here when you claimed your mansion and moved in at the age of seventeen. And I know that Henry was by your side back then. He has been your right-hand man for at least ten years now. And loyal and trustworthy people are hard to come by for a dark mage.”
“For you maybe,” I scoffed. “For me? Not so much.”
“Then why did you come to this meeting?”
“Because you took something that’s mine. I don’t care if it’s a person or a fucking blade of grass from my garden, it’s mine and I don’t tolerate people who touch my possessions.” Cocking my head, I let a lethal smile curl my lips. “Why did I come, you ask? I came to tell you to give me my guy back before I start slaughtering all of yours.”
The chair scraped against the floor as Malcolm at last rose to his feet. Henry’s eyes flicked between me and him, but he kept his mouth shut. On the other side of the room, Grant was still sitting comfortably in his armchair as he watched the events unfold with a mildly curious expression on his face.
Malcolm buttoned his impeccable suit jacket and then straightened his sleeves while he moved to stand behind Henry.
Ice seeped into my chest. Fuck. He was about to call my bluff.
“Well, if that’s how you really feel,” Malcolm began as he slowly touched his palms together, “then I supposed that Henry is of no further use to me.”
A solid shadow shot out and wrapped around Henry’s throat like a vicious snake. Since Malcolm was standing behind his back, he hadn’t been able to see it coming so he sucked in a gasp of shock as the dark tendril tightened around his neck.
Panic flashed through me. Flicking my gaze around the room, I once more estimated whether I’d be able to take Henry back by force. The answer was a resounding no. There was no way that I’d be able to win a battle against both Malcolm and Grant inside Malcolm’s mansion with all of his guards too. I knew that. And so did the shadow mage.
I didn’t know what deal he had made with Grant, but their alliance ensured that I wouldn’t be able to solve this by attacking Malcolm since that meant that I would have to fight off both of them at the same time. So if I wanted Henry back alive, I only had one choice left. Agree to Malcolm’s deal and trade him for Lance.
Strained grunts came from Henry’s chest as the shadow around his neck continued strangling him. His body twitched slightly and his eyes were wide with panic, but he shook his head at me.
An iron fist squeezed my heart. Henry was telling me not to take the deal. Even though it would mean his death, he was telling me not to give in to Malcolm’s demands.
And he was right. I shouldn’t take the deal. Because Henry wasn’t my friend. He was no one to me. Just another one of the hundreds of guards who had passed through my mansion over the years. Most of those had died during one of my wars with the other dark mages, and I hadn’t cared about that except for being annoyed that I had to recruit new people again. So this would be no different.
And besides, if I stepped in now, I would be forsaking everything I was. After an entire childhood of shitty friends who just used and discarded me like trash, I had left Eldar and sworn that I would never bother with something as ridiculous as friends again. So if I suddenly decided that Henry was my friend, I would be admitting that I had failed. That I was still that desperate thirteen-year-old who did whatever it took to please others. And I couldn’t do that.
Henry’s steady gray eyes started sliding in and out of focus.
It would be over soon. And then I would have proven both to myself and to Malcolm that I was no longer a weak and desperate teenager, but a powerful dark mage who answered to no one.
“This is taking too long.” Malcolm drew a hand over his dark brown hair, smoothening down the nonexistent ruffles in his perfectly styled hair. “I guess I’ll just snap his neck then.”
“Enough!” Something cracked inside me and a searing flash of panic and dread and regret shot up my spine. Pulling rage around me like a cloak, I tried to smother those feelings again as I locked hard eyes on Malcolm. “Enough. You’ve made your fucking point. Alright? Yes, I want Henry back.”
Satisfaction bloomed on Malcolm’s features as he pulled his shadow magic back. On the floor before him, Henry sucked in a gasp and doubled over. For a moment, only the sound of his ragged breathing echoed through the room.
“Like I said, you might be able to fool the others. But not me, Callan.” Malcolm flashed me a knowing grin before turning serious again. “And, as I’ve also said already, I will give him back as soon as you hand over Lance.”
My head was pounding. Shit. For some reason, I desperately wanted Henry back. But I couldn’t just hand over Lance Carmichael. If Malcolm got a hold of the Binder now, I would be the first person he went after. And hell damn it if I ever let that bastard bring me to my knees. I needed to buy some time.
“I can’t,” I ground out.
Malcolm smacked his lips and then brought his palms closer together as if to call up his shadow magic again. “I thought we had already been through this, Callan.”
“No, I mean, I literally can’t,” I snapped before he could start strangling Henry again. “I don’t have Lance anymore.”
“Then who does?”
“Audrey.”
He arched an amused eyebrow at me. “Oh really?”
“Yeah.” I threw my arms out in an exasperated gesture. “Why the hell do you think I had to call for Sam in the middle of the night? She fucking stabbed me and disappeared with Lance.”
“Huh,” Grant said from his place in the purple armchair. With his eyebrows raised in surprise, he shifted his gaze to Henry. “So, you actually were telling the truth?”
It took everything I had to hide the shock that clanged through me. Henry had spun the exact same lie when they took him? Another phantom blade stabbed into my heart. I had started taking for granted how seamlessly we worked together. How he seemed to almost be able to read my mind and do what I needed him to do without me having to actually say it out loud.
“Yes,” Henry ground out between heavy breaths.
“So, Audrey Sable double-crossed you?” Malcolm let out a mocking laugh and shook his head at me. “Shocker.”
“You of all people should know what she’s like by now,” Grant added with a dismissive wave of his hand. Then his eyes took on a knowing glint. “That’s why they say not to get in bed with the enemy.”
I gave both of them a cold smile. “Oh, trust me, Audrey Sable will get what’s coming to her.”
Malcolm let out another derisive chuckle. “Since she’s been able to outsmart you for five years, I sincerely doubt it.”
“So give me Henry back and we can hunt her down together.”
“I don’t think so. Losing Lance is your problem.” Threats swirled in Malcolm’s brown eyes as he held my gaze. “So you’d better get him back. You have three days.”
It wasn’t what I had hoped for, but three days at least bought me a little time to figure out how to get Henry back while still keeping Lance.
I clicked my tongue. “Fine.”
“It’s a deal then.”
“Yeah.” I narrowed my eyes at the shadow mage. “But know this, Malcolm. I expect my property to be returned to me in exemplary condition, which means that if I see any more of those colorful bruises you’ve put on my man’s jaw, the deal’s off.”
“Likewise. I expect Lance to be in working condition when I receive him.”
“Agreed.”
He nodded as well.
“Malcolm.” I held his gaze before dragging it to the other brown-haired man who still hadn’t moved from his armchair. “Grant.”
“Callan,” they said in unison.
After casting one last look at Henry, who just stared back at me with a defeated expression on his face, I turned on my heel and stalked back out of the black stone mansion.
The morning sun had turned a pale yellow now that it had risen fully over the rolling grasslands. I tried to keep my panic and anger in check as I stalked down the front steps and then swung myself back into the saddle of my waiting horse. Clicking my tongue, I pushed my heels into the horse’s flanks and took off across the grass again.
How was I supposed to save Henry? I had bought myself some time, but it still didn’t change the fact that I couldn’t take on both Malcolm and Grant on my own. And Lance wasn’t anywhere near close to breaking, so I couldn’t use him either.
Winds ripped through my hair as I galloped across the grasslands. The air smelled of warm soil and blooming summer flowers, but it did little to calm my spinning mind. Plans and schemes swirled through it. There had to be a way to get both Henry and Lance.
Alarm blared through my skull.
I barely had time to rein in my horse and slam my palms together before a fireball shot straight at my face. The horse neighed and retreated several steps as the flames crashed into the force wall I had thrown up. Fire flared out like a dark red fan in the air before me. When it died down, a figure with long red hair and stunning citrine eyes became visible.
“Sienna,” I growled. “I thought we had an agreement.”
“We did.” She was standing on the grass, right in my way, and she flashed me a smile full of challenge. “But that was before I heard that Malcolm and Grant had teamed up to blackmail you.”
I flicked my gaze around the area. She appeared to be alone. I wondered how she had found out about Malcolm’s plan. And how she had even gotten out here to ambush me was a bloody mystery too because there was no horse in sight.
“So, you figured you’d take a shot at me too, huh?” I said, returning the cocky smile, as I shifted my attention back to her.
“Yep. So can you get off the horse?”
“And why would I do that?”
“Because I don’t like hurting animals.”
“You didn’t seem to have a problem with that when you threw the fireball at me just now.”
Her long red hair rippled as she lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “I knew you would block that one. That was just me saying hello.”
Grabbing the reins again, I urged my horse forward while shaking my head at the crazy fire mage. “Goodbye, Sienna.”
Her eyes burned like yellow flames as she glared at me. Touching her palms together, she called up more magic. I just continued riding towards her.
When I was so close that my horse almost trampled her, she finally moved aside. I flashed her a mocking smile as I rode past.
“Watch your back, Callan,” she called after me. “Because the moment you’ve climbed down from that horse, I’ll be coming for you.”
I let out a dismissive laugh. “Come try it.”
The rushing of the wind and the pounding of hooves drowned out her reply. Or maybe it was the pounding of my own heart. I was in deep shit now.
Not only had Malcolm teamed up with Grant to hold Henry’s life over my head, but now Sienna had broken our agreement too. There was no way I would be able to fight off three dark mages and get Henry back on my own. And I wanted him back. Desperately. I needed him by my side because…
Because no matter how much I might try to deny it, over the course of the past decade, Henry had become family to me.
Fuck.
A cold weight settled in my stomach as I galloped back to my mansion.
I needed to get him back.
And I was going to do whatever it took to make that happen.
