Audrey watched me warily while we waited for Yuito to bring Lance up from his cell. Her piercing green eyes seemed to track every twitch of my muscles, as if she still suspected that this was some kind of elaborate trap. Or maybe she was worried that I was going to change my mind and throw her back in the dungeon again. But if I was planning on doing that, I wouldn’t have gotten down on my knees and begged for her help, now would I?
I knew that I shouldn’t have done it. I knew that it had made me look weak and that Audrey had most likely lost all respect for me now. But there was an urgent alarm constantly blaring at the back of my skull. An alarm that was screaming that I needed to get Henry away from Malcolm as soon as possible. Before he grew impatient and decided to hurt Henry regardless of our agreement. Before Sienna could attack. Before the people of Eldar could figure out where Lance was and come after me too.
I felt off balance. As if everything was spinning too fast around me and I didn’t know where to look or what to deal with first. So begging for Audrey’s help hadn’t felt like that much of a stretch at the moment. I had even expected her to demand worse. Though I had a feeling that there would be more revenge coming soon.
Curly blond hair became visible as Paul opened the door to my study and swung it wide. The sound of approaching footsteps echoed in the corridor. A moment later, Yuito hauled a handcuffed Lance Carmichael across the threshold and pulled him to a halt on the dark wooden floorboards. I ran my gaze over my prisoner.
He looked terrible. The bruises he had sustained when we kidnapped him and dragged him out of Eldar had faded from red and violet to an assorted mix of yellow, blue, and green. His clothes were dirty and rumpled, and the skin below the handcuffs looked raw and irritated from where the metal had rubbed against it. That golden blond hair of his was also greasy and unkempt.
The only thing that hadn’t changed was the look in his eyes. Righteous indignation still blazed in their depths, and when he raised his chin, he stared back at me with an air of moral superiority. It immediately made me discard the notion of allowing him to take a shower before he returned to his cell again.
Latching on to the anger that surged up inside me, I stalked across the floor and leveled a commanding stare on him. “You’re going to unbind her magic. Right now.”
Lance let out a dismissive huff. “I thought I’d made it clear by now that I’m never going to do anything you tell me to do.”
Fury and exasperation burned through me, and all of my self-control just snapped like a thin piece of thread under a battle axe. Calling up a force blade, I grabbed Lance by the collar and pushed the vibrating sword to his chest.
“Then you die right now,” I said, my voice coming out flat and emotionless.
The problem was that I wasn’t bluffing. This thing with Henry had messed with my head enough that I was having enormous difficulties mustering any fucks to give about what was logical and strategic. I just wanted to gather up all of my rage and all of my frustration and take it out on someone. And right now, that someone was Lance. So if he refused to unbind Audrey’s magic, I was going to carve him into tiny little pieces and watch as he bled to death on my polished wooden floor.
He must have been able to see that in my eyes because intense terror suddenly pulsed across his face, and he tried to scramble backwards as the vibrating point of my blade broke his skin.
“Wait!” he cried, fear pitching his voice high.
I paused before I could sink the blade into his chest.
“I’ll do it,” he pressed out between rapid panicked breaths. “I’ll do it.”
Not bothering to answer, I just lowered the force blade and gave Yuito a nod over Lance’s shoulder.
While still keeping one hand around Lance’s arm, Yuito drew his sword. The ringing of steel filled the suddenly dead quiet room.
Panic surged across Lance’s face again as he tried to yank his arm away from Yuito’s iron grip. “I’ll do it. I said I’ll do it!”
Yuito lifted his other hand and positioned the sword across his throat from behind. Lance stilled. For a few seconds, I just held his gaze.
“Then do it,” I said at last.
Pulling out a key from one of my pockets, I walked across the floor and grabbed Audrey’s wrist. After raising her hand, I dropped the key into her palm. Then I jerked my chin towards the Binder.
Audrey held my gaze, as if she was still waiting for the other shoe to drop. When I only took a couple of steps back, she curled her fingers over the key and then slowly started towards Lance.
He flicked his blue eyes between me and her.
When she reached him, Yuito pressed the sword harder against his throat, but the Binder only raised his handcuffed wrists and held them out to her.
Morning sunlight filtered in through the window and illuminated Audrey’s beautiful face. For a while, she just stood there, staring down at Lance’s hands. Then her chest expanded in a deep breath.
Reaching out, she pushed the key into the small hole and unlocked the handcuffs.
While Yuito kept the sword firmly against Lance’s neck, Audrey removed the manacles and shifted them so that she held them in her left hand. Lance rubbed his sore wrists, but with the blade across his throat, he made no move to run or attack.
Audrey held out her right arm. The five black rings that looked to have been tattooed onto her skin appeared even sharper in the bright sunlight.
Outside the window, even the wind seemed to be holding its breath.
Lance touched his palms together.
A faint golden shimmer coated his hands when he drew them apart again. He moved his right hand towards her waiting arm. Audrey sucked in a breath, and then held it.
Moving slowly, Lance wrapped his hand around her forearm, right above the black rings.
Gold seeped into her skin.
And then all five rings disappeared in a flash.
Audrey forced out a ragged breath and then sucked in a gasp. Relief, so intense that it could be seen from across the room, washed over her face like a tidal wave. The sight of it wrenched my heart. I knew what Audrey’s magic meant to her. How her family had made her feel and why she had decided to become a dark mage. And still I had taken that from her.
Metal clicked softly as she reached up and snapped the handcuffs back around Lance’s wrists. The small hope that had bloomed in his eyes died again.
I dragged my gaze to Yuito. “Take him back to his cell.”
“Yes, boss.”
“And tell Paul to leave too.”
His dark eyes flicked briefly towards Audrey before he met my gaze again. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah.”
After giving me a nod, he marched Lance out the door. Paul’s blond head appeared in the doorway for a second before he closed it behind them. Footsteps sounded from the corridor as they disappeared, leaving me and Audrey alone in my study.
For a while, Audrey just stared at the closed door while absentmindedly rubbing her right forearm. Then she slowly turned towards me.
There were only about five strides separating us, but the distance suddenly felt like an unbridgeable chasm.
I spread my arms wide. “Go ahead.”
She frowned in silent question.
“Take your pound of flesh.” I nodded down at my body before meeting her gaze again. “Take whatever revenge you need. And then help me. Please.”
It must have been a trick of the light, but it almost looked like she flinched at that last word.
After giving her head a few quick shakes, she straightened her spine and then brought her palms together. I remained motionless. This was probably going to hurt like hell, but I would rather have her exact her vengeance now than when we were in the middle of trying to free Henry.
Glittering green magic swirled to life along her arms. It made another wave of relief crash over her features.
She turned her magic into a cloud that hovered in front of her before she began moving it closer to me. Keeping my arms spread wide, I just watched the poison draw closer. Her eyes narrowed slightly. Then she shot the cloud straight at me. I blinked in surprise, but did nothing to defend myself. However, the poison cloud stopped right before it hit me.
Confusion blew across Audrey’s face.
Through the glittering green haze, I swore I could see some kind of battle taking place behind her eyes. While keeping the magic in place, she closed the distance until only a single stride separated us. I just watched her. Waiting for her to make the next move.
She shoved the poison down my throat.
My lungs seized up.
The air caught in my throat as I tried to suck in a gasp. I could feel the poison moving through my body. It was cold and smooth and left a numbing sensation in its wake. I was pretty sure that she could pick which parts of the body her poison was supposed to affect, because she usually used it to paralyze my arms. But now, the coldness spread down into my legs, making my knees buckle and sending me crashing to the floor, while my arms still remained spread wide.
Kneeling before Audrey once again, I tipped my head back and met her gaze while she continued pushing poison magic into everything except my arms.
A cold hand squeezed tight around my lungs. It sent a jolt of pain and panic through my chest, and I doubled over while strange gurgling noises spilled from my lips. Pressing my palms against the wooden floorboards, I smothered all my survival instincts that were screaming at me to lift my hands and call up my own magic.
Audrey needed this revenge. And I needed her not to stab me in the back until after we had freed Henry. So letting her take it all out on me right now was the best solution.
I choked and dry heaved as the poison crawled up my throat.
My lungs ached as no air made it into them.
Black spots flickered in my vision.
Then the poison abruptly disappeared. I sucked in a deep breath and my chest finally expanded fully again. Air flooded my lungs.
After drawing in a few more deep breaths, I looked up at the poison mage above me. There was a strange expression on her face that I couldn’t quite read. She looked neither satisfied nor angry. It almost looked as if she was… confused.
I dragged a hand through my hair and staggered back to my feet before meeting her gaze again. “Does this mean we’re even now?”
“No. This means that my revenge is on hold.” She clicked her tongue and slid her gaze away. “For now.”
A huff of amusement escaped my chest. I supposed that was as much as I would get at this point. “Fair enough. So, you’ll help me get Henry?”
Her eyes drifted back to me. For a few seconds, she just studied my face in silence. Then she replied, “Yes, I’ll help you get him back.”
“Alright.” I walked over to one of the armchairs by the bookshelves and dropped into it. “Then we need to make a plan.”
She watched me from where she stood for a moment before striding across the floor and taking a seat in the other armchair. “Yes. You said that Malcolm had taken him. What about Grant and Sienna?”
Schemes swirled in her eyes as I explained the situation.
“Huh,” was all she said once I had finished.
“Yeah. And to take on Malcolm, we would also still need to find a way to break Lance. That move I pulled to make him unbind your magic only works once. When we go up against Malcolm, I want to be sure that Lance will actually do as he’s told without hesitation.”
“I agree. I should be able to break him with my poison magic.” She lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “I’ll give it a shot after we’re finished here, but if he’s as stubborn as you say, I might need a day or two to make it work.”
“That’s fine. We have to deal with Sienna and Grant before we can take on Malcolm anyway. But the question is, how?”
Mischief glittered in those intelligent eyes of hers as she flashed me a wicked grin.
“I think I might have an idea.”
