by June Leung
Is he regretting leaving William alive?
He might have sensed the tension in her, and he planted a kiss on her forehead. She stroked his cheek with a frown on her face. “Adrian… What’s on your mind?”
“You are really so confident the two of us won’t fight?”
“Well, I was just hoping for the best. I did gather some pieces here and there. You haven’t killed him yet after all these years. Maybe you don’t really want him dead. From Helen, William was almost ready to launch an attack at Benjamin’s bar. Before you two actually clashed, maybe shaking things up would work. Worst case would be you two still fighting each other, but I’m betting a chance for you not to.”
He eyed her with a glint of amusement in his eyes. “That’s a big bet you are making.”
“Worth the reward. I get to keep people I care about alive.” She beamed, kissing him gently.
“And you’ve picked up a fire magician on the way.”
She cuddled closer to him. “I’m sorry, but I can’t help wanting to know more about that gang, and I think we can use more help.”
His gaze distant, she wasn’t sure whether he heard her or not. He pulled her closer, wrapping his arms tight around her. “I… I thought you wanted to get away from me, that you were heading back to the Elements.”
Her breath caught. He wasn’t wrong; her actions could be read as that. “I didn’t mean it. After everything we’ve gone through, you really think I would run away?”
His eyes narrowed, but a glint of sadness flashed through them. “I hope not.”
“Not a ‘no’?”
“I’d hate to be too certain of anything.”
She traced her fingers along his jaw. He leaned closer into her touch. “Adrian, I’m not going anywhere.”
He nodded, but half of his mind seemed to be elsewhere. He shook his head as if pulling himself out of his thoughts. “Maybe I was too pissed to have my plan trashed on. I already planned the most scary and stronger than thunder raid to the clan. Sad I can’t get it actualized.”
Her breath caught with her heart hammering in her chest until he snorted out a laugh. “If we really fight, who do you think will win?” He pecked a kiss on her cheek, his fingers caressing down to her throat, gently rubbing in circles.
“Is this some kind of trick question?” Lia huffed, squeezing his side. He tilted her chin up, exposing her neck. He nibbled on her gently. The tingle from his teeth on her flesh sent a shiver down her spine. “And is this a threat?”
He pulled away, just enough to meet her eyes, his blue eyes shiny. “I’m trying to be encouraging.”
“Fine. I do believe you would win over him. With your dark magic, he doesn’t stand a chance.”
He smiled, but it soon faded, he turned his gaze away. Lia snuggled closer to him, a light frown forming on her face. “Something wrong?”
“I… I don’t know how my people will take this. Not like the Elements. Most of them who fought the war are still alive. I… really don’t know what they will think. I would love to believe that they will appreciate the war finally ending, but what if… they are waiting for the revenge I now can’t give them?”
Lia relaxed, knowing it had nothing to do with her, to do with them. She laughed at herself. Guilty, she still doubted him. “Talk to them. Maybe you all are on the same page. Don’t torture yourself over something you don’t know, OK? You are the King. They will do as you say.”
“Rookie, you’ve got it wrong. I am nothing but a dark magician trying to not get himself killed by the Elements and on the way pulling people to my team, also risking their lives. They call me the King out of respect that I don’t deserve. I haven’t gotten them killed. That’s all I’ve done.”
Lia nodded solemnly. “Still, keeping them alive is important enough. I think they will understand. Should I be there with you?”
“You can. You should meet my team anyway, but they can be pretty scary. Think you can handle them?”
Lia swallowed and nodded, her eyes narrowed with determination. Adrian was going through all this for her. Giving him some support was the least she could do.
He grinned and grabbed his phone, walking out of the room to make a call. Her gaze followed his retreating form, traveling down his muscular back and arms. After he closed the door, she flicked her eyes back to the ceiling, pulling the cover over her.
Benjamin was probably on Adrian’s team, but there was no telling who else was. He would be supportive of whatever Adrian decided to do. Her breath caught. Hopefully he was fine, and hopefully he wasn’t too mad at her. Helen said the potion would only put him into a deep sleep and may lose consciousness for a while, so he should be fine. She shook her head. Benjamin isn’t that dumb; he would understand. Maybe I just have to apologize.
Lia’s mind drifted back to Adrian’s people. She pinched the bridge of her nose. Maybe the person in the dungeon when she overheard his plan for the first time was one of them. She spent some time in the bar before things with Adrian got tense, so she was certain she didn’t meet that guy before.
With the rules of no one getting to talk about magic, she had no idea who the other dark magicians were. All the people she met in the bar were great, so hopefully the meeting would go smoothly.
Chapter 43
Lia
The next day, Lia and Adrian were back in the den. Facing a heavy wooden door, Lia gulped, trailing a few steps behind him. It was still uncomfortable to be there given Adrian had tried to lock her up inside. The place was still old and dimly lit. Was it wrong that it still seemed like a jail? Today, it seemed even creepier.
She held Adrian’s hand tightly, flicking her eyes to meet his with a slight frown. He leaned closer, kissing her forehead and squeezing her gently. “Don’t worry, I’m here. Whatever you see or hear, don’t overreact and don’t talk until I tell you,” he said with a gentle but commanding voice. Lia nodded.
Adrian released her hand and hugged her briefly. She sighed silently, hoping he would hold her longer. A sign of guilt flashed through his eyes, but he soon focused on the door, pushing in.
Lia lagged a step behind him. Inside the room were four people seated on chairs arranged around a wooden desk, leaving a seat in the middle and another at the end on the left side. Except Benjamin, others were all strangers to her. He was sitting on the right of the empty seat. They all stood as Adrian walked in, bowing their heads. The air around was suffocating, tense.
This looks more formal than I expected…
Adrian cleared his throat. “Thank you all for coming.”
“It’s our pleasure, my King,” Benjamin said. All eyes were soon on Lia. She gulped, fighting the urge to flee from the door. A woman was glaring at her. The other two men gave away nothing. Lia settled to look at Benjamin, who gave her a reassuring warm smile.
At least Benjamin doesn’t seem to be angry at me.
“This is Lia. Consider her one of us.” Adrian gestured to the empty seat to the left. Lia walked there and stood, like others were. The man on the left of the middle seat was smirking at her. Lia gulped, hoping that was a good sign. Adrian took his seat and the rest followed.
“I intend to keep this short so you all will be dismissed very soon.” Adrian looked around, speaking with a flat voice. “I talked to William. We are calling the war to an end, a true end.”
The room was silent, the air heavier than before.
Lia’s palms sweated. She flicked her eyes around. She could almost hear them thinking. Benjamin was staring at the floor thoughtfully. The others had blank expressions. She kept her hands in her lap, stopping herself from shaking. Her heart was racing as if it was going to jump out of her throat at any time.
“Is this another trap, my Lord?” The man next to Benjamin raised his eyebrows, crossing his arms. He was less muscular than Adrian, but with equally sharp blue eyes. His slicked back dark brown hair perfectly put together, its color matching his leather jacket.
A woman with long light blonde hai
r glared at Lia. “I agree with Lucas. Why? We’re doing great, the best in centuries, and now we are making peace with them? When those two are the last of them? I thought you already put off killing them for long enough. And you calling off a fight is an emergency?”
Lia sheepishly averted her gaze, holding onto her thigh, her heart hammering. The woman looked to be around Lia’s age, but it could be the magic misleading her. It was almost impossible to guess the age of a magician by looking at their face. Benjamin cleared his throat. The woman snorted and looked away from Lia, back to Adrian.
“Evelyn is here. That’s the emergency I was talking about.” Adrian paused, looking around at all the wide eyes. “I don’t need the Elements backstabbing us, so I accepted William’s request. I got the upper hand, as expected, but there are a few details that still need to be negotiated. As always, I will put you all first and foremost.”
The man to the left of Adrian asked, “Although I shouldn’t be too surprised, why is Evelyn here? My men reported traces of her a few days ago. I wonder what gives. I thought the pact was still in place?” His eyes flicked to Lia, with a mischievous smirk on his face. He had a large frame and messy square cut hair. Maybe he could best Adrian in a physical fight.
Adrian rubbed his temple. “Yes, Evelyn’s coming for Lia, for her life… As we expected… But I am not going to let it happen.”
As we expected? So this is not the first time his people have heard about me?
The woman that glared at Lia earlier scowled. “So you are dragging us into a war for your little pet?”
“Parker, mind your words!” Benjamin stared at her, puffing his chest with a clenched fist.
“Although Lia’s new here, she has the potential to be great. She has my type of power, and that’s why Evelyn wants her dead.” Adrian said with a cold voice.
Parker gritted her teeth, running her hand through her light blonde hair. “Still, we could kill the Elements instead of making peace with them. The dead are more honest. We still have to worry about William betraying us.”
“No! He won’t—” Lia slapped her hand over her mouth, it was too late. Her eyes widened, looking to Adrian.
Parker turned to Lia, clenching her fist tight. Her hand jerked, seemingly holding back. “How are you so sure, Elements’ little pet? You have no idea what your Elders did to us. You have no idea what I want to do to you!”
“Please… Parker! I will make sure they can’t stab us in the back. Let me take care of them,” Adrian said.
Parker snapped her head to Adrian. She sprung from her seat, the chair slamming onto the floor with a loud thud. “Adrian Kelsey! Are you keeping those two jerks alive because this girl asked? Like how you would rather fight Evelyn than to kill off those little Elements?”
Benjamin shot up from his seat, taking a step forward. “Even if that’s the case, you be careful with how you talk to the King.”
“So? What does that have to do with you? Grow a backbone.”
“What did you—"
“Stop it.” Adrian waved them off. Benjamin took a step back, still glaring at Parker. Adrian sighed, staring down. “I know I owe you all for pulling you in a war you want no part of. But I can’t let Lia go. So I hope you all will understand. With the Elements going under us, it will only mean more power for us. Better than letting Evelyn get her hands on it.”
Parker snorted with narrow eyes, her hand shaking slightly as she stared back at the ground. She picked up the chair, sitting without another word. Her lips pressed into a thin line.
The man on Adrian’s left said, “You are the King. Do we have another choice? Of course, we’ll follow your lead. My concern is if she’s really worth the fight? I don’t even dare challenge your decision. I know the power in her is strong. But will all the time put into her be worth it? Not to mention the possible casualties caused by it. Won’t it be easier to just hold the pact?”
Lia shivered at the bitter words. Master of passive aggressive, huh?
“No!” Adrian growled. “Lia is staying with us. She will prove her worth soon. If years ago, at our lowest, Evelyn had to take the pact, at our highest, we aren’t backing down.”
“But that would be a major violation of the pact, my Lord. I suppose you have a very convincing case for us?” the man asked with a coy smile and a knowing look. Benjamin opened his mouth to speak up, but Adrian waved him off.
Adrian stared into the man’s eyes, his Adam’s apple moving up and down. After a few awkward and silent seconds, he cleared his throat, averting the man’s gaze. “Lia… We’re dating… I am not letting Evelyn kill her.” He blushed, looking at the ground sheepishly.
Wild energy rushed through the room. The man who asked burst out laughing. Adrian snapped his head to him with a death stare. “Hunter! What’s so funny?”
“Sorry, my Lord…” He barely stopped to catch his breath, holding his hand out between them. “I’m just happy to be right all along! The two of you owe me a drink back there.” Hunter chuckled, running his hand through his hair, his black eyes shining. Lucas rolled his eyes with a huff. Parker’s face was colder than Lia’s ice magic.
So they’ve really known about me for quite a long time. Maybe even before I met Adrian? That is a bit unsettling. Lia gulped, looking to Adrian, who was looking elsewhere.
He blushed even harder than before. “Wait! Are you guys…” He looked around the room at the three of them trying hard to school themselves. “But I never… Benjamin!” Adrian turned and glared at him, he shook his head frantically.
“Not me, my King. I never told anyone.”
“My Lord, you aren’t that subtle at all. You remember we’ve talked about this countless times, right? You never agreed to us killing her.” Hunter beamed.
Her heart skipped a beat. These people tried to kill her before? Adrian slumped back on his seat, groaning.
Lia shared a gaze with Adrian, he was still blushing bright red. His voice appeared in her mind. When we first met, it was not the first time we knew about your existence. We had an eye on you when you first joined the Elements.
You are such a stalker. She blinked, not knowing how to feel about it.
Well, at that time, the Elements were our enemies. After a while, he cleared his throat loudly, and the room fell into silence.
“So… are we on the same page now? Accepting the request from William and getting ready for Evelyn?” Adrian asked.
“I am not ready to kiss my life goodbye. Have some fun with your girl.” Hunter laughed, but was soon silenced by Benjamin’s glare. Adrian looked at Parker, who was staring at the ground.
“Thank you everyone. I will come back to you all with the arrangement with the Elements and let’s look forward to new land to be conquered and new loot to be won.” He finished with a wolfish grin, which everyone in the room reciprocated. Lia looked at them, air knocked out of her lungs. Had she brought more fights and wars to the city?
Soon, Adrian walked out of the room and the rest of them followed. He stood by the hallway, leaning on the wall. As Lia stood next to him, he kept looking back inside while the rest of them were leaving. At last, only Parker was in the room. She exchanged a glance with Adrian and he went in, closing the door behind him. Lia slid closer to Benjamin, her mind filled with questions.
Hunter walked past them after discussing something with Lucas. Lia flicked her eyes to him, wanting to greet him. He stared back with a stern look, brushing past her without a word. He was completely different from the one that laughed at Adrian earlier. Lia flinched.
Benjamin smiled wryly, crossing his arms over his chest. “You think Hunter was there to joke around with you? They have no choice but to tolerate you because of Adrian. Like Hunter said, when Adrian insisted on playing the King card, they had no choice. But it doesn’t mean they are OK with the decision. You will have to earn their respect if you want their genuine help. If you took notes, you would know Hunter is a beast himself.”
If how they sat had any indicat
ion, Hunter sure was a scary one. “I… do you have any pointers? I guess I should try to make others like me. At least not sneering at me?”
“Well, I guess you have to show them you can at least pull your own weight in a fight. Or just show some useful abilities. Or you can bribe them with money and power. I mean power other than magic. I suppose you will have plenty of chances, with Evelyn promising a war.” Benjamin’s face was stern and cold, his arms folded.
A chill ran down Lia’s spine. It sounded too scary to be true. What if they thought Adrian was blocking their wealth by taking her as one of them? Would they do anything to her or to Adrian? As if reading her thoughts, Benjamin patted her shoulder.
“While they will do whatever they need to gain power, and they will go all the way to fight for their position in the den, they won’t do a thing to Adrian. One, their positions are determined by him. Two, if somehow Adrian is dead, in theory, they will at least lose all their magic, or worse, they will die with him. We don’t do experiments, so we aren’t sure what will happen. While we fight for our position, we aren’t taking one another’s life. The more of us, the stronger we stand. We’ve been through enough fights and wars to learn that. So you don’t have to worry.”
Lia nodded, turning back to face the door, releasing a sigh of relief. It was time to plan how she would earn some respect for herself. Probably needing to be saved all the time wasn’t going to cut it. She flicked her eyes back to Benjamin. “Ben… about yesterday… I’m sorry. I never wanted to harm you.”
He looked at her with a mischievous glint in his eyes and chuckled. “No need to apologize for your win. I wasn’t expecting that. It was smart on your part. That’s why you asked to go to the tree, right? If only we remembered you had your phone. We didn’t even think of it when we used ours.”
