Page 94 of Wicked Enemy

Pushing that thought aside for now, I rounded the final corner and started into the black and gold corridor that marked the beginning of Levi’s wing. My feet led me down the familiar path until I was standing right outside his bedroom door. It was open. But for some reason, I hesitated on the threshold.

“Eve.”

His voice, that dark and powerful voice that wrapped around me like a warm wind, hit me straight in the chest and made my soul vibrate. Drawing in a shuddering breath, I stepped across the threshold and into Levi’s black and gold bedroom right as he emerged from his bathroom.

My heart did a ridiculous backflip as I flicked my gaze over him.

He was only wearing a pair of dark pants. A few drops of water ran down his muscular chest. It was no doubt because he had just finished washing off the blood of the people he had slaughtered today, but I still had the insane urge to lick those water drops off his skin as they slid down his chiseled abs. My core throbbed at just the thought of it.

But there was a strange awkwardness in the air between us. A hesitation that made the air feel thick and the silence feel unbearably loud. It didn’t surprise me, given how Levi had fled the conversation after dropping that massive bomb on me last time we spoke. And I was still pissed at him, so I had no intention of putting him out of his misery right now.

“You’re alive,” I stated, shattering the tense silence.

His gray eyes still searched my face intently, as if trying to read answers there. But all he said was, “Yes.”

“When you said that you were going to make a deal to save your people, I was worried that you might…” I trailed off, knowing that he would understand what I meant.

“Yeah. It was a dangerous gamble that could have gone to hell with just one stroke of bad luck. But it worked out. Thank you for keeping the white boots away while I did it.”

“I thought you had betrayed me.”

Confusion blew across his face as he blinked in surprise and then raised his eyebrows.

“When we were attacked in the street, I thought you had betrayed me and sent your people to kill the entire constable force.”

He looked genuinely taken aback by that. “No, of course not. I was just trying to—”

“Make it look believable. Yeah, Tyler told me.”

“I was just trying to protect you. Like I have all this time.”

The last thin thread of my already very limited patience snapped. Slapping my palms together, I summoned a blast of wind and hurled it straight at him. It hit him square in the chest, sending him flying backwards and slamming into the wall across the room.

Air exploded from his lungs as he hit the black and gold wall, and he had to brace one hand on it to stop himself from dropping to the floor. While sucking in a deep breath to refill his lungs, he raised his head and stared at me with absolute bafflement.

That just made me even angrier.

Summoning another blast of wind, I hurled it at his chest before he could take a step forward. A thud echoed through the room as his back hit the wall hard again.

“I am so fucking sick of you trying to protect me while keeping me in the dark!” Drawing my sword, I pointed it at him. “I spent weeks thinking you hated me while you were really just faking it so my colleagues wouldn’t find out what I had done. And I thought you had betrayed me today as some kind of cruel revenge for me being an undercover constable. But once again, you were really just faking it.”

“Of course I was—”

“Shut up.” Stalking forward, I leveled the sword at his throat. “The next time you want to help me, you fucking tell me what you’re doing!” I pressed the flat of the blade underneath his chin, forcing him to tilt his head back. “Am I making myself clear?”

A sly smile played over his lips as he raked his gaze up and down my body. “Fuck, you’re hot when you’re armed and angry.”

Heat pooled inside me, and it took incredible willpower to stop a smirk from spreading across my lips. Keeping that mask of fury on my face, I forced his chin up higher with my blade. “I said, am I making myself clear?”

Something moved at the corner of my eye.

My stomach lurched as I was yanked sideways and spun around. A huff escaped my lips. Blinking, I found myself back first against the wall with bands of black and gold trapping my wrists next to my head.

For a moment, I couldn’t figure out how it had happened. Then I remembered that this entire room was made of metal.

I narrowed my eyes at the smirking dark mage as he sauntered up to me and plucked the sword from my trapped hand. It made a whooshing sound as he spun it casually before he positioned the blade underneath my own chin instead.

“Yes, spitfire.” His eyes danced with light as he locked them on me. “I heard you loud and clear.”