Page 4 of Wicked Enemy
There was still only a gaping hole right in the middle of them. I turned towards the wall where the explosion mage had created another entrance. Red sunlight from the setting sun filtered in through it.
Touching my hands together, I pulled metal from the walls around it to seal up the hole and then fix the doors as well.
But the moment that two metal doors once more blocked the way into my throne room, my knees buckled as the last bit of my strength fled.
I crashed down hard on the floor in the middle of the carnage.
Bracing my palms on the ground, feeling the comforting sensation of cold metal underneath my skin, I dragged in strained breaths while my mind spun and my body screamed with exhaustion.
With this many dead, Aaron wouldn’t try to attack again right away. And word about this slaughter would spread to the House of Stone and the House of Lightning too, which meant that I should be safe from dark mage attacks. At least for the next few days.
My ears rang as I sucked in another couple of deep breaths.
Fuck, I needed to get this madness inside me under control. It always resurfaced when I was experiencing strong emotions. Right now, the flash of insanity had saved me. But if Aaron hadn’t run, if he had still been here when the madness disappeared, I would’ve been dead. Normally, I would use my power sparingly so that I could fight for long periods of time. But when I was in that state, it was as if my mind didn’t care about long-term plans anymore. It always used all of my power, leaving me completely drained and vulnerable afterwards. I had to get that under control.
It would take too much effort to raise my head and look over my shoulder, so I wasn’t able to determine how many of my own people had died. But it didn’t matter. The answer would always be: too many.
Another pulse of panic shot through my limbs.
I had to find a way to get my people out of prison.
Sitting back on my heels, I raked a blood-covered hand through my hair and forced in another deep breath.
To get my people out, I had to get in touch with my spy at the constables’ headquarters. And to do that, I needed to go to the north side.
Chapter2
The anger and disappointment inside the room was so palpable that I could almost feel it vibrating against my skin. Probably because all of it was directed straight at me. Standing on the other side of the desk, with my hands clasped behind my back, I tried my best not to squirm underneath Chief Anderson’s damning stare.
But it was difficult. Very difficult. After all, one did not become Chief Constable of Malgrave by being meek and lenient. I resisted the urge to swallow as Chief continued staring me down.
Eric Anderson was now in his fifties, and he had worked for the Constables Department for over thirty years. His once brown hair was now gray, but his blue eyes had lost none of their sharpness. There was a scar along his jaw, inflicted by none other than Levi Arden himself when he attacked and destroyed the Blade of Equilibrium years ago, and it made Chief Anderson look even more battle-hardened than his impressive physique already did.
“I’m still waiting for an explanation, Constable Sterling,” Chief said, his voice like rough gravel.
I held my straight-backed posture but kept my chin slightly lowered as I answered, “I’m sorry, sir. I was waiting in that room to ambush Arden, but he managed to knock me out before I could arrest him. I’m sorry.”
“I don’t want your apologies! I want an explanation.”
Next to me, I could feel Captain Smith getting ready to speak, so I hurriedly cut him off. “I’m sorry, sir. I have no excuses. It’s entirely my fault. I underestimated Arden.”
Chief Anderson slammed his hand against his desk, making the cups and pens on it jump in alarm and sending a stack of reports sliding sideways. “Nine months! Nine months of planning and careful infiltration down the drain. Gone. Because youunderestimatedLevi Arden. Did you learn nothing about him during all those weeks you pretended to work for him?”
My heart skipped a beat. Learn nothing? No, quite the opposite. I learnedtoo muchabout Levi Arden.
“I thought I could handle him, sir.” I risked a quick glance up at Chief’s face, which was a mistake because the disappointment and anger still pulsing across his features made a cold weight settle in my stomach. “I thought I could ambush him, but he was just too quick. Too skilled with his magic.”
“Once again with the excuses, Constable. I don’t—”
“Sir, if I may…” Captain Smith interrupted.
My gaze snapped to him, shock flashing through me that he dared to interrupt Chief Anderson on my behalf. But it also made a warm feeling spread through my chest.
Captain Ulric Smith was the leader of our South Side Department, and he had been my mentor ever since I joined the constable force eight years ago. In fact, he was the one who had encouraged me to apply in the first place. He was one of the constables who had been at our tavern the day that dark mages killed my father, and he had acted like a sort of uncle to me while I grew up. Checking on me at the orphanage. Encouraging my studies. Being there for me when I completed the ceremony and connected myself to the Great Current. Cheering me on as I tried out for the constable force. Helping to mentor me once I was accepted. If there was one person I had always had in my corner, it was him.
“Constable Sterling was not the only one at that ambush,” Ulric continued. Morning sunlight fell in through the windows behind Chief’s back and illuminated Ulric’s kind brown eyes as he pleaded on my behalf. “We were supposed to capture Arden in the warehouse. Sterling was only supposed to be a last safeguard to make sure he really didn’t slip away. The fact that Arden even made it upstairs is our fault. Not Constable Sterling’s.”
“I am well aware of your shortcomings too, Captain Smith,” Chief said, his voice as hard as his stare. “But it still doesn’t change the fact that this was Sterling’s operation. She volunteered for it. Said she could handle it. We sank nine months and countless resources into this. And she still failed when it mattered.”