Page 69 of Wicked Enemy
I had betrayed them all before. I had ruined a nine-month-long mission and let Levi escape because my heart had bled at just the thought of watching him get captured and locked in a cell. I had fucked Levi while my colleagues were out risking their lives to protect people from dark mages because my treacherous body had craved his touch. And now, I had freed all of Levi’s people from our prison just because I couldn’t stand to watch him get hurt anymore.
I had made those choices, thinking that they were mine and mine alone. But actions have consequences. And this time, I hadn’t been the one to suffer them.
Ulric, the man who above all others had always been kind to me and looked out for me, had now been forced into retirement.
And it was all my fault.
Chapter29
Afternoon winds swept across the grasslands, bringing with them the scent of wet soil and fallen leaves. I had been standing there for hours already, and my mood was worsening with every passing minute. Coldness seeped into my bones, but I remained where I was. I had no other way to contact White, so all I could do was wait for him to show up at the location he had specified.
At last, a tall man with pale blond hair appeared out of thin air. There was a bored expression on Christian White’s face as he swept his gaze over the flat stretch of grass. Then his eyes found mine, and surprise flashed across his features. He hadn’t expected to actually find me here.
Then he blinked, and all traces of surprise disappeared from his face. A cocky smirk took its place as he looked me up and down. “So, you’ve finally come to surrender, King of Metal?”
“No.” I held his gaze with hard eyes while fighting down the impulse to hurl a metal spear at his smirking face. “I’ve come to make a deal.”
“I don’t make deals. I accept surrender and claim my spoils of war.”
Curling my hand into a fist, I suppressed another incredibly strong urge to bash his fucking face in. If he had been anything other than a bloody worldwalker, I would have done it. But if I attacked him now, it would only end with me bleeding out on the grass. Forcing out a breath, I flexed my fingers.
“I think you’ll want to makethisdeal,” I said instead, keeping my tone level.
For a few seconds, he didn’t reply. He just cocked his head and studied me, as if trying to figure out of this was some kind of trap. Curiosity gleamed in his pale blue eyes.
“Well, let’s hear it then,” he said at last.
“I have found the location of another healer.”
He blinked, the only thing that betrayed his surprise. “Another healer?”
“Yes. And I am willing to trade that information in exchange for you leavingmyhealer alone.”
A thick white cloud blew across the sun, blocking it out and casting the grasslands in gray shadows. Complete silence hung over the area. We were far enough away from the gate that no one could see or hear us, which meant that we couldn’t see or hear anyone bustling in and out of Malgrave either.
“Why would I agree to that trade?” White asked at last, narrowing his eyes at me. “When I can just takeyourhealer? I’m here now. So why would I bother chasing down another one?”
“But you can’t justtakemy healer, can you?” A vicious smile curled my lips as I stared him down. “You can’t even find her. So you have to spend every day looking for my other people, and then try to kill them, and all the while hoping that it will be the thing that breaks me and makes me give her up.” I spread my arms wide and raised my chin in a cocky gesture. “Does it look like I’m going to break anytime soon?”
Anger flickered in his eyes. “Tread carefully.”
“People like us don’t tread carefully. It’s one of the reasons why we have been able to accumulate so much power. Another reason is because we make choices that benefit us instead of just charging forward like a dumb rage-filled bull.” I cocked my head. “So, are you going to think about this strategically and make a deal that benefits us both? Or would you like us to keep wasting both of our time with useless fighting?”
He clenched his jaw. My pulse thrummed in my ears as I watched him, studying every move he made to try to anticipate his response. He flexed his hands, as if fighting the urge to attack me. Then, with what looked like great difficulty, he forced out a breath.
“I’m listening,” he ground out between gritted teeth.
“The deal is this,” I began. “I will give you the location of that other healer right here today. I assume you will need a few days to check it out and make sure that the information is indeed accurate. Once you have verified that I was telling the truth, which I am, you will come back and tell me that the deal is done. Then you will leave. Because your side of this bargain is this… In exchange for this information, you will leave my healer, and the rest of my people, and mycityalone. Go back to whatever city you came from and do whatever you want, but your business in Malgrave is done once you have verified that the information about the second healer is correct.”
He bared his teeth at me. “Malgrave smells like cheap perfume, spilled alcohol, and piss. I can barely stomach the brief visits I make every day to kill your people. Why would I want to stay here longer than necessary?”
“So, do we have a deal then?”
“Yes, we have a deal.”
Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out the paper that I had gotten from Maggie and tossed it on the ground in front of White. A sharp glint crept into his eyes, but he crouched down and picked it up. After unfolding it, he scanned the text written there.
“On the coast, huh?” he said. Then he looked up to meet my gaze while sliding the paper into his own pocket. “I thought they were all just uncultured idiots who don’t even know how to develop their magic.”