Page 54 of Wicked Enemy
Using my constable’s voice, the strong one that pulsed with authority and made civilians dart out of my way, I bellowed into the night, “Arden has been spotted! I repeat, I have eyes on Arden! Squads one to eight, attack from the south side of the street. Squads nine to sixteen, take the north. Seventeen to twenty-one, use the side streets. Go! Go! Go!”
Levi whipped around and stared up at the roof where I was still yelling for my imaginary squads to hurry up and box him in and to arrest all of the people with him. On both sides of the street, the gangs of dark mages did the same.
Slapping my palms together, I called up a fireball and hurled it at Levi’s face to make it even more believable. He yanked up a metal shield. The fire smacked into it, sending yellow flames and embers sailing into the air.
That broke the spell.
Both Reyes and Bale’s gangs scattered like smoke in the wind. After all, they thought twenty-one squads of pissed-off constables were about to descend on them. I watched from the rooftop as they darted back the way they had come.
Levi didn’t hesitate a second either.
The moment the other gangs were gone, he broke and ran down one of the side streets.
I chuckled, suddenly feeling very pleased with myself. Since both Levi and the others would soon realize that there was no horde of constables coming, I decided that it was time to make myself scarce as well.
Turning around, I snuck back to the low roof I had come from and dropped down on it. I checked to make sure that no dark mages were left before I swung myself over the edge of that roof as well and lowered myself to the street. After yet another quick glance up and down the street, I jogged towards the road that would take me back to the Bridge of Life.
Excitement still bounced around inside me from my reckless plan. If that hadn’t worked, if they had called my bluff, I would have been trapped in the middle of a dark mage battle. Or even more likely, I would have been target number two after they had taken down Levi. What the hell had I been thinking? I knew that it had been stupid, but for some reason, I still had a massive grin on my face as I hurried through the streets.
My stomach lurched as I was suddenly yanked through a doorway. I slapped my hands together, summoning a fireball, right as the door banged shut and I was slammed up against a wall. Air exploded from my lungs as my back hit the smooth wood, but I managed to keep a hold of my magic.
The yellow flames danced in my hands, revealing a very familiar, and very pissed-off face, glaring down at me.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Levi growled at me from barely half a step away.
His fists were still buried in my shirt, keeping me trapped against the wall. I flexed my fingers, letting the flames in my right hand grow bigger.
He slid his gaze towards it, and if I didn’t know better, I could’ve sworn that a brief hint of amusement tugged at his lips. “You gonna throw that in my face? Again.”
“I haven’t decided yet,” I replied, flashing him a mockingly sweet smile.
For a few seconds, we just stared each other down while the fire continued crackling in my palm. Then I flicked my wrist, sending the flames towards the cluster of candles on the table a short distance from us. They sputtered to life, bathing the room in a warm glow.
We were standing in someone’s living room. But based on how silent the building was, I assumed that no one was home at the moment.
“You’re welcome,” I drawled.
“For what?” He raised his eyebrows. “Not trying to burn my face off?”
“For saving your life, you arrogant asshole.” I shot a pointed look at the hands still buried in my shirt. “Now, are you going to take your hands off me or do I need to summon another fireball?”
His grip only tightened, pushing me harder against the wall. “I thought I told you to stay the hell away from me. That I don’t need your fucking help. And you owe me a life debt.”
“And now, that debt is cleared. Don’t even try to pretend as if you would have survived an attack from two dark mage Houses while you were trapped and all alone. Which means that the only reason you’re standing here right now is because I intervened. So my life debt to you is now paid.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. We’re even now, Levi. And that means that you don’t get to tell me where I can go or what I’m allowed to do.” I arched an expectant eyebrow at him. “Now, are you going to thank me or keep behaving like an ungrateful child?”
He let out a scoff that almost sounded like a half-stifled chuckle. I continued staring at him with my eyebrows raised, waiting for him to thank me. He didn’t. But he did release his grip on my shirt.
I snorted and brushed down the rumpled fabric. Then I waited for him to step back, but he didn’t do that either. He remained standing there, barely half a stride in front of me. So close that I could almost feel the heat from his skin against mine. It was so distracting that I didn’t even realize that he had reached a hand towards my throat before I could feel his fingers against my skin.
My brain malfunctioned and a ripple of pleasure coursed through me as Levi drew his fingers over my collarbone. For a few seconds, I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what he was doing. He hated me. So why was he…?
His fingers curled around the thin gold chain of the necklace I kept underneath my shirt. While holding my gaze, he pulled it out so that the small ruby swung in the air between us. Light from the candles caught in the precious stone, making it glitter dark red.
“Why are you still wearing this?” he asked.