Page 70 of Wicked Enemy

“So did I. Which is apparently why it was the perfect spot for a healer to hide.”

“Hm.”

I saw him brush his hands together, but I was still too slow.

Cold steel bit into my throat as White disappeared and then reappeared behind me. My hands were just inches away from touching, but White pressed his knife harder against my skin, forcing me to stop moving.

“I’ve heard that you’re a man who always keeps his word and follows through on his side of the bargain,” he said from behind, speaking the words in a dark voice brimming with threats. “And for your sake, I hope that’s true. Because if I find out that this is a trick, that you’ve just sent me on a wild goose chase in order to get me out of the city for a few days, I will bring my entire army down from the north and wipe your whole fucking city off the map. Got it?”

My first instinct was to snort and reply,come try it. But I managed to stop myself and instead said, “I’ve already told you that the information is accurate.”

“It had better be.”

Before I could tell him to get his blade the hell away from my throat, he snatched it back and then worldwalked out. I ran a hand over my throat, but luckily for him, the bastard hadn’t pressed deep enough to break the skin.

Blowing out a long breath, I turned around and started back towards the gate.

That had gone as well as could be expected. And now, I had bought my people a few days in which they would not be hunted down and slaughtered by a worldwalker. And once White came back, that would become permanent. He would have another healer to kidnap and I could finally send word to Gemma and get her back to Malgrave.

With my healer back in town, all my battle mages out of prison, and my people safe from the threat White posed, I would finally be able to concentrate on my real mission. Wiping out the House of Onyx, Stone, and Lightning, and taking control of the whole south side.

A smile spread across my face as I strode back towards the city.Mycity.

Things were finally starting to go my way.

Chapter30

Cold slimy guilt crawled up my throat until I thought I was going to vomit. It was joined by a searing sense of regret that wrapped around my chest like blazing bands of metal, squeezing my ribcage so tightly that I couldn’t breathe. The combined emotions were so terrible that I wanted to shove a hand into my chest and rip my own heart out so that I wouldn’t have to feel anything ever again.

But I couldn’t do that. So I did the only thing I could. I tried to drown the feelings in copious amounts of alcohol.

Light glinted in the glass as I spun it on the scratched tabletop. Inside, the amber liquid sloshed up the edges. I could feel two guys watching me curiously from the table next to me, but I couldn’t muster enough energy to care. Instead, I downed the rest of the whiskey and then signaled for another one.

The alcohol burned on its way down my throat, but it still wasn’t enough to numb the pain.

Ulric had been forced out of the job he loved, the job he had dedicated his entire life to, because of me. He had helped me, pushed me, trained me, to become a constable. And this was how I repaid him? By freeing a bunch of dangerous dark mages. Byfalling fora dark mage. Fuck, I was the worst sort of scum on this entire continent.

Pain stabbed through my chest.

What would my father have said? He had been killed by dark mages, and here I was, helping them. And as always, good people like him and Ulric paid the price.

Burying my face in my hands, I tried to suck in a breath but I could barely get any air past the horrible pressure on my chest. A flash of panic shot through me when I couldn’t get enough oxygen. I raked my fingers through my hair and gripped it tightly as I tried again. Only a shallow breath made it into my lungs.

“You alright?” the barkeeper asked as he set down my requested glass of whiskey.

I let my hands drop down from my hair and straightened while pressing out, “Fine.”

He hovered there for another second, holding my empty glass in one hand and watching me with concerned eyes, but then he simply nodded and drifted back to the bar. I immediately grabbed my new glass and gulped down half of it. That oily feeling of guilt blocked my throat, but I managed to swallow the burning liquid anyway.

All around me, people talked and laughed and drank in the packed tavern. The noise of it vibrated through the warm air. I flicked a quick glance at the tables closest to me.

I knew that I was being stupid. Coming here, to the south side, was dangerous. I had changed into normal clothes, but after everything that had gone down this past month, there was still a risk that someone might recognize me.

But I couldn’t get what I needed on the north side. In the restaurants there, people drank moderately while they chatted in a civilized way. I didn’t want to drink moderately. Or be civilized. I wanted to get wasted and forget about the terrible guilt and regret that threatened to crush me.

The two men from the table next to me were still watching me with curious eyes. Uneasiness slithered through my chest. Knocking back the rest of the alcohol, I abruptly pushed to my feet.

That was a mistake. The sudden move made my head spin. Throwing out a hand, I gripped the edge of the table to steady myself while the tavern swayed around me.

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