A faint pouring sound drifted across the dining room as Audrey refilled her wine glass. I watched the way the warm light from the candles played in her dark hair. Her head was slightly bent as she watched the red liquid rise inside her glass, and I had to resist a sudden urge to walk over to her, shift her hair so that it was draped over her shoulder instead, and kiss the crook of her neck. Shaking my head, I tore my gaze from her and stared out the window instead.
The golden red of sunset had now given way to dark blue. Evening had fallen. And with it, our last day was coming to an end. Tomorrow morning, Malcolm expected me to go to his mansion and hand over Lance Carmichael. However, if Audrey’s attack on the shadow mage earlier this afternoon had had the effect we hoped, we should be able to buy ourselves more time to finish breaking Lance.
“How close…” I began as I turned back to Audrey, but the sight that met me made me trail off.
A laugh rolled from my chest. It wasn’t even a mocking one. Just genuine surprised amusement.
Audrey looked up from her glass and met my gaze while a bewildered expression blew across her face. “What?”
The glass in her hand was so full that one more drop would have made the wine pour over the rim and run down her hand. It was a miracle that it hadn’t already.
“You could just refill it again later.” I nodded towards her hand. “Instead of pouring two glasses’ worth of wine into one.”
“That sounds very inefficient. And besides, it’s not full until it’s overflowing.”
While holding the wine glass steady, Audrey placed the decanter back on the dining room table. Then she leaned down and slurped some of the wine, just like she had done that time when she’d been drunk in Eldar. A pang hit me straight in the chest.
“Also,” she continued as she started back towards the couch next to me. “After the day I’ve had, I need it.”
As she moved, I had to admit that she had remarkably steady hands. Not one drop of wine sloshed over the edge, not even when she stepped over the barrier that my legs formed while I rested my feet on the low table. The couch cushions let out a huff as she dropped down on them again.
“Are you sure you’ll be able to make that special move of yours work before tomorrow night?” I asked while she took another sip of wine.
Lifting her legs, she crossed her ankles and unceremoniously positioned them so that they rested on my shins. I raised my eyebrows at her, but she was gazing out at the starlit sky outside the window.
“I made progress today,” she began, keeping her eyes on the darkness outside. “But I wasn’t able to get it to where I need it to be. Yet. Especially not since I had to stop early to go and attack Malcolm.” At last, she dragged her gaze back to me. “But yes, if I can keep practicing on your guard all day tomorrow, I should be able to make it work, at least well enough, by tomorrow evening.”
“Are you ever gonna share what it is you’re actually trying to do?”
A smirk curled her lips. “I could always practice it on you, if you’re curious?”
I let out an amused huff and drank some whiskey from my own glass. “Nice try, sweetheart.”
“Don’t tell me you’re scared?”
“Scared? Don’t flatter yourself.” I gave her a sly smile. “But I do know that you’re a wicked villain who’s intelligent enough to use every opportunity to screw me over. And despite what you might think, I am in fact not that stupid either.”
Surprise, and some other kind of emotion that I couldn’t quite decipher, blew across her features. Then she flashed me a satisfied grin and raised her glass. “Well, then. Here’s to being wicked villains.”
I chuckled and clinked my glass against hers. “You know, it—”
Thumping boots sounded in the corridor outside the dining room. Both Audrey and I shot to our feet. Placing the whiskey glass back on the table, I brought my hands closer together. Next to me, Audrey did the same.
A moment later, Paul skidded into the dining room. His curly blond hair was messy and his eyes full of alarm.
“What is it?” I demanded.
He sucked in a deep breath as if he had sprinted all the way here. Then he pressed out, “Malcolm Griffith is coming.”
I snapped my gaze to Audrey. “Get upstairs. Now.”
After giving me a nod, she left her still full wine glass on the table and hurried towards the hallway on the other side, which would take her to the staircase. I flicked my gaze around the table.
“I’ll meet Malcolm in the study,” I told Paul.
He dipped his chin. “We figured as much. Yuito is escorting him now.”
“Good.” I gestured towards the glasses, plates, and utensils that still remained in the room after our shared dinner. “But get someone to clean this up just in case.”
“Yes, boss.”
I didn’t expect Malcolm to try to wander around my home without permission, but it was better to be on the safe side. If he, for some reason, made it into the dining room, I couldn’t let him see that two people had been eating in here tonight. That damn shadow mage was too smart not to get suspicious if he saw something like that.
Drawing in a deep breath, I composed myself again as I started towards the study. This was part of the plan. All I had to do now was to make sure that we got what we needed from this meeting.
My study was dark when I opened the door, so I lit the oil lamps while I waited for Yuito to arrive with Malcolm. Leaning against the edge of my neat desk, I crossed my arms and watched the empty doorway.
Light danced across the rows of bookshelves around the room, but apart from that, everything was still and quiet.
Eventually, footsteps echoed from down the hall. I remained where I was, half-sitting on the desk with my arms crossed, to make it clear to Malcolm that I didn’t consider him a threat.
A few moments later, Yuito appeared in the doorway. I gave him a nod. Stepping aside, he motioned for Malcolm Griffith to enter.
Surprise flickered through me as the shadow mage stalked into the study. In his sharp suits and with his well-combed hair and silver tongue, he was always so put together. But not right now. Instead, he looked absolutely furious as he strode across the threshold and stopped in the middle of the room.
I raised my eyebrows in a nonchalant expression. “What’s got you so worked up, Malcolm?”
As if suddenly realizing that he had brought his anger with him, Malcolm blinked once and then brushed his hands down his dark suit to smoothen it down before clearing his throat. When he met my gaze again, he looked much more like himself.
“I think you should be more worried about yourself,” he said, a sharp glint creeping into his eyes. “You are due to deliver the Binder to me tomorrow. Have you been able to locate him?”
“No. I’ve already told you, I need more time.”
“Time?” He scoffed. “You’ve had plenty of time. Just get it done.”
“I’m working on it. Which begs the question, why the hell are you here wasting that time?”
Malcolm drew himself up to his full height and leveled a hard stare on me. “I’m here to tell you that the price has gone up.”
“Excuse me?”
“If you want Henry back unharmed, you will now need to deliver both the Binder and Audrey Sable to me.”
An involuntary spike of dread shot through me. “No.”
“Oh, Callan.” He gave me a cold smile. “Are you still under the impression that this is a negotiation? It is not. So let me reiterate… Either you give me the Binder and Audrey Sable, or I will start Henry’s excruciatingly painful execution at first light.”
“Are you insane?” Pushing off from the desk, I threw my arms out in anger. “The Binder is one thing, but do you really expect me to deliver Audrey fucking Sable to you?”
“Yes.”
“Malcolm…” Pausing, I blew out a long breath before continuing in a much calmer voice. “Malcolm, I’ve been trying to kill her for five years. Don’t you think that if I knew how to get her, I would’ve done that by now?”
“That is not my problem.”
“Yes, it is. Because you’re demanding the impossible.”
“It’s only impossible if you’re weak.” His hard eyes stayed locked on mine. “What you will need to do right now, Callan, is to answer one simple question. Is Henry’s life worth saving? If the answer is no, then I will go back home and kill him right now and you will be free of this dilemma. But if the answer is yes, you will need to find a way to get me both the Binder and Audrey. It’s that simple.”
“Malcolm…”
“Answer the question. Is Henry’s life worth saving?”
Unbidden, all our memories together flashed before my eyes again. I shoved them aside and gritted my teeth before grinding out, “Yes.”
“Good. Then you will deliver both the Binder and Audrey tomorrow morning.”
Throwing my arms out again, I shook my head. “If you double the price, one fucking evening before the deadline, then you’ve gotta at least give me more time to get it done.”
For a while, Malcolm didn’t answer. Light from the oil lamps flickered over his body, casting shadows across the harsh lines of his face.
“Fine.” He flicked his wrist. “You can have one more day. But at first light the day after tomorrow, you will hold up your end of the bargain or your precious right-hand man will die.”
I gave him a curt nod.
“Excellent. Grant and Sienna will be there too.” A knowing look descended on his face. “Apparently, there was some misunderstanding between the two of them the other day. Something about fruit. Thankfully, I was able to help clear that up, which led to the three of us reaching a mutual understanding instead.”
Since anything I said could only damage me, I just stared back at him with eyes that promised vengeance.
He watched me for another few seconds, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips, before he turned around without another word. Right before he reached the door, I spoke up.
“Malcolm?”
Pausing, he twisted slightly to look back at me before arching an eyebrow in silent question.
“When this is over, I’ll be coming for you with everything I have.”
He let out a short laugh. “I would expect nothing less from you, Callan. However, when all this is over, I will have the Binder.” His smile turned lethal. “So I would advise you to tread very carefully around me.”
Before I could reply, he strode across the threshold and into the hallway. Yuito passed the open doorway a second later as he followed Malcolm to make sure he truly left the building.
My heart thumped in my chest.
Tilting my head back, I drew a hand through my hair and blew out a long breath.
One more day. I had managed to get one more day before Malcolm expected me at his mansion. One more day before I was supposed to deposit a Binder into his already dangerous hands.
A Binder.
And Audrey Sable.
