Grant flashed us a smile from across the grass. I glanced down to make sure that Audrey wasn’t scowling while we closed the final distance to the pale couches. Thankfully, that damn poison mage looked the way she always did. Gorgeous. Calculating. And arrogant.
“Callan. Audrey,” Grant said as we reached the seating arrangements. “Thank you for agreeing to meet.”
“Of course,” Audrey said, beating me to it. “We heard from Sam that you had some kind of offer for us.”
It took great effort not to glare at her. I had specifically told her to let me do the talking, and yet here she was, acting as if she was the one in charge. When we got home, I would have to teach her how to follow orders.
“Ah, yes,” Grant answered while I sat down on the couch next to Audrey. “Have I understood the situation correctly if I say that the two of you have taken possession of the Binder and that you have no intention of bringing him to Essington’s mansion to share him with the rest of us?”
I placed a casual hand on Audrey’s thigh and squeezed it slightly. It was meant partly as proof that we were partners in this, but mostly as a reminder to Audrey to keep her pretty little mouth shut. She didn’t show anything on her face, but she seemed to take the hint because she kept quiet and allowed me to answer instead.
“That’s right,” I said.
“I see.” Grant swept a hand towards the glittering crystal glasses that waited atop the silver tray on the low table between us. They were filled with a sparkling liquid of a pale pink color. “Can I offer you something to drink?”
“No, thanks.”
A small smile tugged at the corner of Grant’s lips, but he just made a noncommittal gesture as if it didn’t matter. Leaning forward, he braced his elbows on his knees and shifted perceptive blue eyes between the two of us instead.
“Can I inquire as to what your plan is?” he asked.
“What plan?” I answered, even though I knew full well what he was referring to. But he had called this negotiation, so I wanted to force him to spell it out.
“For the Binder. What do you intend to use him for?”
“We’re going to use him against the heroes. Make him bind their magic when they try to come after us.”
“I see. Anything else?”
Rippling laughter sounded from a group somewhere behind me. It drowned out the haunting music from the violin for a second. I let the silence stretch a little longer before I finally replied in a nonchalant voice.
“That depends.”
“On what?”
I didn’t answer. Instead, I just continued watching Grant. Next to me, Audrey did the same.
To Grant’s credit, he didn’t squirm or do anything that would betray if he was nervous or worried. When it became clear that we weren’t going to answer, he went on.
“I have a proposition for you,” he said, leaning back in his seat and flicking his hand in a casual gesture.
I arched an eyebrow at him. “That right?”
“Yes. You see, I have no interest in getting… involved in some kind of war. So I propose that if you were to decide that you were going to use the Binder for other things, you leave me out of it.”
“I see. And what’s in it for us?”
“One less enemy.”
“Hmm.”
“I don’t take part in battles unless I absolutely have to, and there is a good reason for that. We have disagreed on matters from time to time, but I have never waged any outright war against either one of you. And if I were to offer some advice, I believe that it would be in your best interest to keep it that way.”
A sharp smile curled my lips as I locked eyes with the emotion mage. “Is that a threat?”
He waved a lazy hand in front of his face. “Merely an observation.”
I had to give it to him, he was conducting this negotiation rather well. If he had just rolled over and offered us whatever we wanted, we would have lost all respect for him. But instead, he was offering us a deal without stepping down to a position of weakness. Our power and reputation were all we had, and the way Grant handled this actually increased my respect for him as a dark mage.
But I didn’t tell him that. Instead, I cocked my head and said, “I suggest you word your observations carefully in the future.”
He just shrugged and crossed one leg over the other. “So, do we have an agreement?”
What I really wanted from Harvey Grant, and all the other dark mages too for that matter, was a blood oath that they would never challenge me. But for now, I supposed that this would have to do.
I gave him a slow nod. “As long as you make no moves against us, we will make no moves against you.”
“Excellent.” He flashed me a smile before shifting his attention to Audrey. “You have been unusually quiet during this meeting. Do you have any objections?”
“If I did, I would have said so by now,” Audrey answered before giving him a sharp smile. “And I don’t waste my breath on stating the obvious.”
“True.” He chuckled and then motioned towards the rest of the night glen. “Please stay for a while.”
“We have to get back,” I replied before Audrey could open her mouth.
Grant stood up and motioned for a gorgeous woman with long black hair to approach. She took his hand when he held it out and then followed him as he took a step towards the open grass where people had begun dancing.
“Just one dance,” he said. “To celebrate our agreement.”
Refusing would be rude, and it would also make very little sense. After all, Audrey and I were supposed to have formed a brand-new partnership. Why wouldn’t we want to stay for one dance? Yes. That was the reason why we needed to do this.
“Alright,” I said as I stood up and held out my hand to Audrey.
Surprise flickered in her eyes, but Grant was thankfully looking in the other direction. I shot her a pointed look. After giving me a small scowl, she smoothened her features into a neutral expression and took my offered hand. I pulled her up from the pale cushions.
The woman in the white dress started up a heart-wrenching tune on her violin just as the four of us reached the now flattened grass where the others were dancing. Grant spun the black-haired woman in his arms before leading them into the dance, but his gaze flicked back to us. Too late did I realize that this was one final test to see if our partnership truly was real.
Turning so that my back was to him, I smiled down at Audrey while speaking through my teeth. “Sell it. He’s watching.”
She must have already figured that out too, because she just smiled as well while drawing her free hand up my arm and towards my shoulder. I slid mine over the side of her ribs before resting it against her back. Then I moved us into the dance too.
Memories flooded my mind. Of that guy flirting with her at the ball and me threatening to bury him in a shallow grave before I pulled Audrey with me to the dancefloor. Of me saying that I had overreacted and her laughing because I had admitted that I had been wrong about something. Of me kissing her to shut her up and of us dancing for a long while before Lance Carmichael showed up. She was even wearing the same dress. I had thought that would be the first and only time I danced with Audrey Sable, but now here I was again.
“Well,” Audrey began, a small smile tugging at her lips. “This brings back memories.”
The fact that she had been thinking the same thing threw me off so much that I only managed a, “Yeah.”
She looked a bit disappointed by that, and for some reason, I couldn’t stand that look on her face so I pulled her closer to me until her cheek was pressed against my chest. Resting my chin against the top of her head, I breathed in the scent of her hair. It once more smelled faintly of jasmine. She drew her arm down from my shoulder and wrapped it around my back instead, holding me tightly. It might have been my imagination, but I swore that I could almost feel her heart pounding against my body.
Other people were dancing around us, and I knew that Grant was watching intently, but all I could think about was how it felt when Audrey’s body was pressed against mine like that.
I knew that we needed to leave as soon as possible, because there was no way that Audrey would be able to keep faking a partnership with me for that much longer. And we couldn’t let Grant find that out. But despite that urgency, I found myself not wanting the song to end.
Audrey’s long black hair had finally dried completely from her shower earlier, and it swung across her back as we moved, brushing over my hand. I tightened my grip on her back, suddenly needing to feel everything. One last time. Audrey drew her hand down my spine in response, but didn’t try to pull away. I tried to memorize the way her body moved with mine.
Then she stopped abruptly. I blinked in surprise and drew back enough that I could glance down at her. She was staring up at me with an intense look in her eyes. That’s when I realized that the other people around us had stopped moving too.
Reality flooded back to me. The song had ended.
Clearing my throat, I released my grip on Audrey and took a step back before drawing a hand through my hair. When I turned slightly, I found Grant standing there. I discreetly searched his face for signs of suspicion. There was no way Audrey had been able to suppress her true hatred for me during that whole dance.
But Grant only gave me a satisfied smile and a nod. “Again, thank you for agreeing to meet. I’m so glad we could reach an understanding.”
“Indeed,” Audrey thankfully replied, because I seemed to have temporarily lost my ability to form coherent thoughts. “Now, we really must be getting back.” She turned to me and arched a dark eyebrow. “Callan?”
“Yeah.” I gave Grant a nod in goodbye before motioning for Audrey to lead the way. “See you around, Grant.”
“No, hopefully you won’t,” he replied with a smile.
Every step away from that makeshift dancefloor helped clear my head. I rolled my shoulders back and straightened my spine as I followed Audrey back out and towards our carriage.
At least I had assurances from Grant now that he wouldn’t try to attack me and take Lance for himself. That was good.
But this had been dangerous.
I glanced down at Audrey. Her skirt swished around her legs as she swayed her hips when she walked.
Far too dangerous.
