Page 23 of The Crownless King
“The Archive needs janitors that bad?” Lucas scoffed.
Raven flinched. “Did she tell you she was a janitor?”
“She told me she cleaned,” Lucas said with a shrug.
“Magic. She cleans the magic around the Akachi meteor pieces. Sophia will lose her shit if she doesn’t show up for work.”
‘You want to fight both the Collective and the Archive?’Sebastian asked him telepathically.
Levi growled.‘Fine. Allow her to go to work tomorrow, but send a team with her.’
Bas and Lucas both nodded.
“I’m done talking about it,” Levi said louder, and he watched Raven swallow her words.
Likely her mate requested it. Whatever the reason, Levi was satisfied. Arguing with his friends would trigger him and one episode tonight was enough to scare him.
Chapter eight
When a knock rattled the wood of her bedroom door, Amaya didn’t flinch. She’d been awake for hours, going over the argument she’d had with Levi. He deserved her ire, but her words to him…
She sighed. Her mouth was reckless, always had been, but she did regret taunting him about losing his mind. It wasn’t fair, especially in light of the struggle her mother was going through. Glancing at the time on her phone, she rolled her eyes and stood. It was barely six in the morning.
“If you’re not coming to tell me I can go to work, you’re wasting your time,” Amaya said as she opened the door.
She gasped and stepped back, surprised to see a bulky shifter at her door. The dark-skinned male was handsome, locs pulled back into a low ponytail, his yellow gaze telling her that he was a wolf.
“King Levi says that you can work today,” he told her gruffly, holding out a shopping bag.
She eyed the bag suspiciously before grabbing it. “And you’re my guard?”
“Guard, driver, whatever you need. I’ll be downstairs at the door.” He left without waiting on her response.
She slammed the door in irritation. Not even work would allow her to escape Levi’s tightening grip. Damn him! It wasn’t like she would attempt to escape; he had her mother. In the past few days of her prison sentence, she’d been discussing it with her cousin, and Tracy had pointed out how much safer she wasat Levi’s place. It had pained her to agree, but her cousin was right. To add to that, her mother had so many more lucid days here. Stress and using their power played a big part in how the sickness progressed. Did Anita do well here because she was less stressed and used her power less?
Their neighborhood hadn’t been the safest, but with her uncle watching Anita, her mother shouldn’t have had to expend that much magic to keep them safe. Had her uncle been leaving his sister alone more than he’d let on?
Anger filled her chest and her decision to save the jackass pissed her off.
Amaya finally opened the bag that the wolf had dropped off, surprised to find actual outside clothes. She’d spent the time after her escape in pajamas. Even without words, she’d known the king thought she would be less inclined to escape in them. Little did he know, she would’ve tried to escape this compound butt-ass naked had Tracy not talked her off the ledge.
Despite her irritation, she was happy to be going to work. She knew that her boss would only take the excuse of caring for her mother but for so long. At one point, she’d been tempted to ask Ms. Sophia for help, but pitting her boss against Levi was selfish. She’d gotten herself into this and she alone would get them out. It was the same thing she’d told Tracy when her cousin had suggested telling the heads of their family.
Going against the King of the Bayi was a death wish. One she would not wish on anyone she cared about.
She went through her morning routine, throwing on the wide-legged jeans and the white button-down shirt that had been in the bag. The designer label on the clothes was something she would’ve never been able to afford.
By the time she made it downstairs, her shifter escort was waiting at the front door as he’d promised. He helped her into a high-sitting black SUV without a word and Amaya wondered if she could perhaps coax him to her side.
‘Remember what’s at stake, Amaya.’Levi’s voice filled her head.‘Have a great day at work.’
She growled at the intrusion and his mocking tone. She hadn’t needed the reminder. The ride to the Archive was quiet, and security at the door took twice as long because of her new shadow. The front desk security had greeted her warmly, asking after her mother, but they’d eyed the shifter warily. They confiscated the wolf’s various weapons, promising to return them when he left the Archive.
Rolling her eyes, she motioned for her guard to follow her. As they entered the atrium of the building, Amaya took a deep breath. The ceiling was three stories high, wooden slats going from one end to the other. In the middle was a huge skylight, giving a peek of the fourth floor where all the offices were and the glass of the Archive roof.
Greenery filled the area, from the trees that scattered the atrium to the ivy draped against the wall nestled among more wooden slats. Light filled the atrium from the floor-to-ceiling windows at the front and where the sun shone through the skylight.
“Wow,” the shifter next to her said.
