Page 56 of The Crownless King
“Amaya stays with me and I won’t be debating that. So now what?” He sat forward at the table, hands clasped.
The Collective shared another look.
“Mating between the Chawis and Bayi is forbidden. That is non-negotiable,” the witch declared.
Levi said nothing. He would have her and wasn’t shit they could say about it.
“If it’s about the girl’s safety, she can be protected at her family compound,” the earth Mujaji said.
“That’s not happening.” Levi said.
She and her mother would be appalled to know that the council wanted to ship them both to their family compound. From the way Amaya talked about it, he knew she would never voluntarily go. The grumbling around the room started again.
The witch narrowed her eyes. “You won’t budge on this?”
“You’re being unreasonable about this.” This from Oliver. There was nothing but hate in his gaze.
“Was there any other business we needed to discuss this evening?” Levi asked as politely as he was able to.
“I told you, we should’ve never allowed the Bayi into this Collective. They are completely lawless,” Lucian snapped.
“Not completely,” Levi warned him softly.
He could show them lawless if it came down to it. The elders read the threat in his words.
“This is getting us nowhere,” the warlock said.
“On that we agree.” Levi stood. “Perhaps we can discuss this more rationally at our next meeting.”
Levi left the room, ignoring their yelling.
“I thought you would lose your shit in there,” Bas told him.
“The thought had occurred to me, but then they would use it against us all,” Levi reminded his friend.
“Facts,” Lucas chimed in. “What are you going to do about Paul?”
“Ask Amaya for forgiveness after I bury his ass,” Levi promised.
Lucas chuckled and they all got back into the car.
Chapter twenty
Deep in his gut, Levi knew something was wrong. He couldn’t quite pin down what it was, but his head was spinning and his instincts were telling him that something wasn’t right. So, when a black SUV blazed through the stop sign and rammed into his armored truck, his body was already loose, expecting it. Sebastian cursed next to him as the truck spun. No one in the car panicked, simply braced for the attack they knew was coming.
They could’ve easily stayed in the car; it was reinforced for this very type of situation. But Levi didn’t relish sitting still while motherfuckers played in his face. Pulling the gun from his waist and checking the clip, he waited patiently for the attack he knew was coming. He watched as another SUV sped towards them, tapping their bumper to push them forward into the embankment on the side of the road.
“Ain’t this some shit?” Lucas called from the front seat.
Levi could only shake his head as the SUV finally came to a stop from its spin. Vampires rushed from the other SUV, and from their pale eyes, he knew they were dealing with Buru. They immediately started firing at the Bayi’s truck, their bullets slamming into the plated metal and reinforced glass. Next, footfalls sounded on the roof and Levi smiled in anticipation. He made eye contact with his driver in the rear-view mirror.
“On my count, release the emergency seal on the sunroof,” Levi ordered softly.
James nodded and they all tensed as the footsteps stopped. Levi opened the sunroof cover and watched as the Buru lifted his foot.
“Now,” he ordered.
And as the Buru stomped down, James released the seal. The Buru dropped from the roof and Sebastian shot him twice in the head. The silver in his gun guaranteed the vampire wouldn’t get back up, but avoiding the heart would keep the Buru from turning to ash in their car. Levi tossed the Buru’s body into the air and as predicted, a hail of gunfire followed its progress. Using the distraction, Sebastian and Lucas rolled from their seats and out the door, returning fire the moment their feet hit the pavement.
