Page 53 of A Kiss of Flame
“It means,” he drawled, turning from the window to face her, “that I am wasting my time.”
Her skin prickled with irritation and magick at the contempt in his voice, as if she’d done something to offend him by merely existing. Since seeing Merlin, Levian had wondered if this path was worth it—if there wasn’t another way to track down her thieves that didn’t involve snakes like Vane and the Eldreth. She wasn’t sure, but she was sure in that moment that she had no interest in being talked down to like a petulant child.
Levian ignored Tsuki’s glare as she stood, picking up her purse. “And mine, apparently,” she snapped. She moved to leave, but Tsuki stepped into her path to stop her. Levian cursed herself for coming up here and thinking she’d had a chance at pulling off her plan. Nothing ever went according to her plans, as Barith had grumpily been reminding her for years. She was loathed to admit he’d been right as she began to siphon the magick around her, readying to smash her way out if she had to. Only none came. Not a single drop, even though she felt it around her. Startled, she looked down at her hand, and Vanelaughed as if he’d been waiting for that exact moment and her exact reaction.
“It’s a clever enchantment, isn’t it?” Vane observed with amusement. “It’s hard to detect at first, but it’s a similar enchantment to the one in The Prison. Maybe not as elegant, but effective. I’ve tried it on lesser creatures, but I’ve not seen how it holds up to arealmage. It’s delightful.”
It was vile and more than a little terrifying. “Move out of my way,” she ordered Tsuki. The woman didn’t budge an inch.
Vane sauntered closer, his arrogance palpable. “She won’t,” he said. “Not unless I tell her to.” Tsuki looked to Vane and Levian sensed her irritation, as faint as it was.
“What do you want from me?” Levian demanded.
Vane let out a long breath, his gaze calculating. Levian’s stomach knotted, a chill creeping over her spine. Even without her magick, she had some tricks—but she hated this feeling of being exposed and alone.
“For a moment, I was wondering if you’d finally come to your senses,” Vane admitted. “But you clearly have the same weaknesses as your parents.”
“Clearly, you’re an ass,” Levian shot back. It wasn’t at all clever or useful, but it was entirely accurate either way.
Vane smirked before he continued, “Your father and I did collaborate once, but we didn’t share the same vision. He sent you here as a message, but to what ends, I can’t quite figure out. He knows I’d never give up the ring, so why would he send you to my door to ask for it?”
Levian’s fingers grazed the little ball rolling inside her purse as she glared with loathing back at Vane. She didn’t know why Merlin would have sent her here knowing that either, especially after all that blathering about always caring for her welfare. He’d sent her into a lion’s den. “Because I asked him to,” she declared with far more confidence than she felt. “Iwant the ring.”
Vane’s brows lifted. “You?”
Levian nodded, her fingers tightening around the little ball she had forked between them in her purse.
Vane lifted his right hand, his thumb playing over the thick, knobby silver ring on his middle finger. “You’re welcome to try and take it,” he challenged, smiling wickedly. “If you think you can.”
Levian’s stomach knotted. There was no doubt in her mind Vane thought that without her powers Levian was defenseless. She forced her rising pulse to calm. Vane was not the first man to underestimate her resourcefulness.
“Do you think I’d come here without anyone knowing?” she snapped as he sauntered to his desk. “If you don’t let me leave, I’ll?—”
“Do nothing,” Vane cut her off coolly as he pulled a small black Dökk blade from a drawer. Levian’s blood ran cold. “They’re hard to find,” he said, admiring the dagger. “Your father hid his before he was captured. I only got this one recently. Do you know how many Dökk spells require these? It’s rather irritating.”
Levian swallowed her nerves, glaring between Vane and Tsuki. “Do you simply think you can just kill me and no one will care?” she posed, irritated that her voice quivered slightly.
Vane chuckled. “Not exactly.”
“Lucian,” Tsuki clipped, her tone sharp as she grew tired of his little show.
“Always to the point,” Vane grumbled. “Never any fun.” He vanished in a swirl of shadow, and Levian’s breath hitched. It was the same shadow magick her father had used. Fear gripped her as she peered around the room.
Vane reappeared beside her, and she shouted as he grabbed her by the throat, pressing the Dökk blade against her skin. Levian dropped her purse to the floor and somehow kept theball between her fingers, hiding her hand close to her skirts. Her breaths came fast, her pulse pounding as the cold metal lingered against her. Vane’s eyes darkened to black.
“There’s a reason I am where I am, and Merlin is rotting in The Prison,” he told her. Vane pressed the blade harder against her throat. “It’s a pity he gave up everything for such a sad little brat.”
“She’s right,” Levian whimpered, discreetly shifting her hand. “You talk too much.” She closed her eyes tightly, flicking the pixie flash bomb she’d lifted from the shifter in London to the floor.
Vane snarled as a spray of blinding light filled the room. Levian pushed him away, managing to duck out of his grasp, but Vane swung the blade, grazing the top of her arm. She hissed in pain, an eerie chill vibrating through her.
Tsuki cursed in the distance as Levian gripped her arm, carefully keeping her eyes shut. She only had seconds before the effects would wear off.
Levian fumbled as she grabbed for the thick silver tray on the table nearby. She opened her eyes as the flashes faded, wrapping her fingers around one end of the tray, and found Vane blinking, a snarl on his face, just a step away. She swung the tray, hitting his hand, and he howled in pain, dropping the dagger. Levian reeled back and swung again as hard as she could. He looked at her, his vision clearing, just as the tray made contact with his face.
Chapter Sixteen
Manchester