Heartless Villains (Ruthless Villains Book 3)

My muscles groaned as I lifted the metal pot out of the stream and straightened. Spending an entire day in the saddle wasn’t exactly my activity of choice, but there wasn’t a lot I could do about that now. Once again, I silently cursed Callan Blackwell for making me feel things.

I should have just kept my mouth shut and let him go on this suicide mission on his own. Every minute I spent in his company increased the risk that he would find out that I actually cared about him. More than cared about him. And if that ever happened, it would do irreparable damage to my reputation.

Moonlight glinted in the water as I straightened and shifted the now heavy pot in my hands. The surface rippled with the movement, making the silvery light fracture across the water. I remained standing like that for another minute. At first, it was to help the water settle before I started back towards our camp. But then when the surface was smooth again, I still couldn’t bring myself to turn around and head back.

Panic gripped my heart like an iron fist. I loved Callan Blackwell. Every time that thought shot through my head, it made me feel like I was standing on the edge of a massive chasm. I didn’t know how to handle that emotion. And now Paige was here too.

Just seeing her that one time in Eldar had been painful enough, and now she was coming on this mission with us. She had been my best friend. I thought I had left all of those feelings behind when I fled to become a dark mage, but just seeing her greet Callan and Henry in that casually cheerful manner that was so Paige had made longing surge inside me. I had missed her. And I hadn’t quite realized how much until I had seen Callan and Henry’s relationship. But now she was here, and I didn’t know how to behave around her anymore.

There were just far too many emotions twisting inside my chest.

Closing my eyes, I drew in a deep breath and pushed all of them aside for now. I would have to deal with them at some point. But not right now. First, we had to get the Enhancer before Lance’s friends could steal it.

With a once more calm mind, I at last turned around and took a step back towards camp.

A mountain of a man stood right in front of me, blocking the path.

I jerked back slightly in surprise. For someone of his size, Henry could move far more stealthily than I had expected. Or maybe I had just been that distracted. I was just about to ask what he was doing there when the moonlight glinted against something right next to me.

My eyebrows rose as I glanced down to find a sword positioned against the side of my neck. Since I was holding the pot full of water with both hands, I wouldn’t be able to drop it and touch my palms together fast enough to counter him if he decided to slit my throat. Which I assumed was the reason why he had waited until now to spring this little ambush.

“Clever,” I said as I slid my gaze back to his face. “But I would suggest that you consider your next move very carefully.”

He held my gaze silently for a while.

The sword stayed at my throat.

Cocking my head, I just watched him as well.

“I know what you were planning to do,” he said at last.

“Look, I’m already exhausted and pissed off, so you really need to stop speaking in riddles.”

“Back at Malcolm’s mansion.” His gray eyes were hard as granite as he stared me down. “When you hit me and Callan with the poison cloud too, you were gonna have Lance bind our magic as well. And then you were gonna make Callan swear a blood oath to you, just like the others, to get his magic back.”

“Yeah. So?”

“But you didn’t go through with it.”

“No.” I shot him a pointed stare. “And I also put on a collar and got down on my knees in front of the other dark mages to help save you.”

Uncertainty flickered across his face, and he lowered the sword ever so slightly.

Leaves rustled faintly around us as a gentle night breeze swirled through the grove. Henry just continued studying me.

“Why?” he said after a few more seconds of tense silence. “Why did you help Callan save me?”

Because your friendship reminds me of what I used to have with Paige. Because I care about Callan and I wanted to help him save his friend.

But of course, I could never say something like that out loud. So instead, I shrugged. “Because we made a deal.”

“Keeping your end of a bargain isn’t usually your specialty.”

“Fair.” I let out an amused breath before raising my eyebrows in mocking challenge. “Alright. I did it because Callan got down on his knees and begged me to help him save you. And I pitied him.”

Henry’s eyes widened. Whipping his head around, he stared back towards the camp where Callan was tending the fire that Paige had lit.

Surprise bloomed inside me. So, Callan had neglected to tell his friend about that part?

But the move made his sword dip from my throat, so I quickly set the pot down and touched my palms together to summon a cloud of poison.

When Henry whirled back towards me, it was already too late.

He flinched as a glittering green tendril snaked down his throat. Metallic clanking sounded as the sword slipped from his fingers when I moved the poison into his arms.

“If you ever ambush me like this again,” I began in a low and vicious voice. “If you ever put a blade to my neck again… I will kill you. Do you understand?”

Anger flashed in his eyes, but all he could do was to gag as my poison swirled in his throat.

I kept him like that for another few seconds before withdrawing my magic.

He coughed and then sucked in a deep breath as it disappeared from his throat and allowed him to breathe again.

Before he could bend down to retrieve the sword, I brushed past him while saying, “You can carry the pot back.”

His coughing filled the moonlit area for another couple of seconds before he pressed out, “Wait.”

Stopping, I turned back to face him while raising an eyebrow in silent question.

“Is it true?” he asked.

“Is what true?”

“Did he really get down on his knees and beg you for help? Or was that just meant to distract me so that you could summon magic?”

As I studied his face, I realized that this was incredibly important to him. It sent a pang straight into my chest. Dropping the mocking arrogance, I blew out a breath and then gave him a nod.

“Yes, he really did that.”

Both regret and gratitude blew across his angular features. The sight of it tugged at the emotions I had just finished burying in my own chest, so I spun around without another word and stalked back towards our camp.

Softly ringing steel filled the air a second later, as if Henry had slid his sword back into its sheath. Then the faint sound of sloshing water informed me that he had indeed picked up the pot before following me.

Yellow and orange light danced over the dark grass and trees as I reached the spot we had chosen for tonight. It was barely more than a small copse of trees nestled in between two valleys, but it at least offered some protection from both the elements and potential prying eyes. Not that we were expecting any all the way out here.

“What did you do?” Callan tossed over his shoulder as I moved closer to the fire he was tending. “Put each drop of water in there one at a time?”

Sitting down on one of the logs that Henry had dragged over, I rolled my eyes at the annoying force mage. “Funny.”

“If…” He trailed off as he turned towards me fully. “Where is the pot?”

I jerked my chin towards the tall man who had finally caught up. “Henry offered to carry it for me. Such a gentleman.”

Callan drew his eyebrows down and shifted his suspicious gaze between me and Henry. But when neither of us offered any other explanation, he just shook his head and turned to Paige.

“Alright, put them in there,” he said.

While Henry held out the pot for her, Paige poured the chopped-up vegetables and meat into the water. They tumbled into it with a series of plops. Once they were all in the water, she sat down next to me and watched as Henry secured the pot above the fire.

Wood creaked as he dropped down beside Callan on the log opposite us.

For a while, the four of us just watched each other from across the flames.

“So…” Paige began as she hiked a thumb towards the fifth member of our party. “He’s not getting any food, I take it?”

“Yes, he is,” I answered with a wry smile. “Regrettably.”

Twisting in that direction too, I looked at where we had tied Lance to a tree. Even though he couldn’t actually hear what we were saying, he glared back at me with the full weight of his indignant hatred in his eyes.

“I just didn’t want to spend any more time in his company than I truly have to,” I finished.

“Understandable.”

“But we also can’t let him die, because we need him. Unfortunately. Which is why he still gets things like food.”

“Speaking of that,” Callan said before Paige could reply. “There are now five of us. But we only have four tents.”

“So? Lance can sleep outside.”

“Didn’t you just say that he needed stuff so that he won’t get sick and die?”

“It’s summer.” I threw my arms out to indicate the warm night around us. “What’s he going to die of? Mosquito bites?”

“That’s not—”

“Audrey and I can share,” Paige interrupted as she turned to me. “Right?”

I blinked in surprise, which made a flash of embarrassment shoot across her face.

“I mean, you don’t have to.” The words tumbled out of her mouth in a rush. “We don’t have to. If you don’t want… I could always just sleep outside and—”

“Of course I do,” I said before she could continue rambling even more. Reaching out, I gave her arm a small squeeze. “You and I can share a tent.”

Relief washed over her. And me as well. After all these years, I didn’t really know where we stood anymore. But maybe we hadn’t drifted as far apart as I thought we might have.

“Good,” that damn force mage said, ruining the moment before Paige could respond. “Then it’s settled. We should reach the outskirts of Castlebourne before nightfall tomorrow.”

A serious mood settled over our small group. We needed to keep refilling our supplies of food and water and other essential items since none of us were particularly good at hunting or foraging, which meant that we needed to make one stop in Castlebourne before we continued on our way. But as long as Lance didn’t try anything stupid, we should be fine.

The water in the pot at last started boiling, adding a rolling sound to the faint crackling of the fire. I stared at the way the bubbles broke the surface for a while.

“I’m glad you’re here,” I heard myself saying. Panic shot through me as I snapped my gaze fully to Paige. “I mean, I’m sorry that you ended up in deep shit because you helped me back in Eldar. But I’m also… Well, I’m glad you’re here.”

Her blue eyes sparkled as she looked back at me. Then she smiled.

“Me too. I’ve missed you, Audrey.”

And at that, the knot inside my chest loosened a little.