Page 92 of Wicked Enemy

After wiping off my sword, I slid it back into its sheath. Then I bent down and picked up their heads by the hair. Aaron’s in my right hand. Connor’s and Wilhelm’s in the other.

Muted dripping of blood joined my thudding footsteps as I strode back towards the door.

They would have no doubt brought their people here. Maybe not their entire armies, but enough backup to surround the building in case I tried to flee.

I was right.

The moment I stepped out into the street, a mass of people swarmed in on me from all sides. Magic crackled in their hands as they got ready to attack. But they stopped, one after the other, as they noticed what I was carrying. Some of them even gasped and staggered backwards.

However, parts of the crowd still kept their magic up as they cast quick glances between each other, uncertain whether they should attack me or not.

I stopped in the middle of the street.

Sunlight shone down from the clear sky above, but it suddenly felt like a massive cloud had spread across the road. The silence was so thick that I could almost feel it.

I tossed the severed heads to the stones before my feet.

They landed with wet thudding sounds that seemed to echo up and down the street, and then rolled halfway around before stopping. Blood painted the stones red.

“Your leaders are dead,” I said, my voice booming across the stunned mass of dark mages. “I have just killed all three of them, singlehandedly, in a three-on-one battle.”

That was a blatant lie, of course, but there was no way for them to know that since they had all seen me walk in alone after their leaders.

Arching an eyebrow, I swept hard eyes across the people around me. “And just a few weeks ago, I singlehandedly killed the leaders of the other three Houses too. After all of that, do you really think attacking me right now is your best course of action?”

The people who still had their magic twisting around their hands flicked uncertain glances at each other again.

“There are no more dark mage Houses.” I stabbed a hand at my own chest. “Only mine.”

I paused, letting the reality of their situation settle deep within their guts. They had supported rival Houses. They had killed my people and helped their leaders try to kill me. And now, they were without leadership. Without protection. If I decided to take an eye for an eye, half of the people in this crowd would be blind by the end of the day.

A ripple of worry went through the throng.

Some of them edged back slightly while quickly trying to calculate an escape route.

“You only have one choice now.” I swept a hard stare over them all, and when I spoke, I let every ounce of my lethal power pulse from each word. “Obey. Or die.”

Soft winds swirled between the buildings, pulling at clothes and hair. But every single person in the street remained as still as a statue.

“Those of you who submit to me get to live, and you will be allowed to join my Court as I make the parliament cede the entire south side to me.” A vicious smile curled my lips. “Those who don’t, you’d better pray to hell that I don’t find you before you can escape into the hills.”

For a few seconds, only deafening silence answered me.

Then all magic evaporated.

Victory pulsed inside me, bright and gleaming, as the entire crowd of dark mages dropped to a knee and bowed their heads in submission.

A grin spread across my lips.

The south side was mine.

Chapter40

Iwhipped around the moment the hands holding me relaxed their grip. From two strides away, Tyler, Chris, and Shinji looked back at me with apologetic eyes. Chris opened his mouth to speak, but I cut him off.

“What the hell is this?” I demanded. “Did Levi betray me? He swore that no one would get hurt!”

“We haven’t hurt anyone,” Tyler said, holding up his hands. “Levi sent us here to stage a fake attack.”

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