“Yes, motherfucker, we do!” She stopped well out of reach, holding the pistol steady.
“I brought you what I promised, didn’t I? I would never hurt you, Kal. And I never lied to you, not once. You have to believe me. Our deal is still on. Just tell me where you found the stones. You can keep whatever you have. I think it’s a fair trade.”
In an eyeblink, Kal was back on the Corniche, watching her best friend die. The muddy smell of river water filled her nose.
“You people are all the same,” she said tonelessly.
“That’s not true,” he argued. “I’m really sorry about your friend. I had nothing to do with that. But we can help each other. You get your freedom, we get the source?—”
“Walk away,” Kal said. Her heart slammed against her ribs. Cold sweat pooled under her arms. “I will shoot you, I swear to Travian. So walk away.”
Levi held up his hands, eyes calm. Too calm. What was wrong with him?
“Stop,” she said, steadying the grip with both hands.
He took a step toward her. “I know you won’t do this, Kal?—”
She pulled the trigger.
The report was lost in a cannonroll of thunder. Levi grunted, dropping to one knee. He pressed a hand to his side. When he pulled it away, blood dripped from his fingers. It was a bright, metallic silver.
What the fuck?
“Kalisto Machena!”
She turned to see Lara Lenormand running toward her. Behind her were the cypher and the man from Pota Pras. But he wasn’t a man. He was an angel with great black wings, like some terrible bird of prey.
Chapter 32
Cathrynne
She was grateful beyond measure to find Kal alive, but the girl wasn’t alone.
Levi Bottas—the dead consul’s bumbling aide—knelt in the grass before her. Kal held a pistol at her side, its barrel pointed down. She stared at them blankly and seemed to be in shock.
“I didn’t intend to kill you on the rooftop, Morningstar,” Levi called out as Gavriel strode up. “Only to scare you off.”
Everything about him was different. His voice, his gaze, the set of his shoulders. Even kneeling—and, apparently, shot—he gave off natural confidence and charisma. Bottas was a phantom, Cathrynne realized. And they were all his cat’s paws.
“Then you don’t know me at all,” Gavriel replied icily.
Levi winced in pain. “No,” he agreed with a touch of weariness. “It was a mistake. One of many.”
“You lured Casolaba up to the spire,” Gavriel said. “Why?”
He laughed softly. “You never met the man, but I promise you, he deserved it. Working for him was like stepping on a slug in bare feet. Slimy, unpleasant, and hard to scrape the ooze off. He wanted me to kill everyone who knew about the kaldurite.” Levi’s blue eyes flicked to Kal, then back to Gavriel. “I knew that when I refused, he’d simply add me to his death list and get someone else to do it.”
The amiable mask slipped and something darker crossed his face. “So I made the first move. I told him I had a buyer willing to pay a king’s ransom for the stones, but he was an eccentric fellow and wanted to meet at the top of the dome. Casolaba would have followed me into the jaws of a blue emperor for the right price.”
“But really . . .” Cathrynne put in. “Impaled?”
“A little present for everyone he screwed over in his long and shitty career.” Levi’s smirk died as he turned to Kal. “Come with me,” he said in a low urgent voice. “I’ll keep you safe, I swear. They just want to use you.”
“You just want to use me!” she retorted.
“No. I could have taken you by force, but I didn’t. I wouldn’t do that to you, Kal?—”
“Shut up,” Lara snapped. “You’re not going anywhere and neither is she.”
