Page 70 of The Crownless King
“Your family has served the Collective since its inception. If anyone deserves that seat, it’s you.”
“I’ll take it to Pops.”
“If your family decides to go ahead with it, you’ll have the support of all the Bayi in my coven as well as others loyal to me.”
“Ah, but see, you just got your shit. What pull you got on the Collective?” Khalil asked, a small smirk on his face.
Levi shared the mage’s amusement. “I’m making moves regardless.”
“Bet. I’ll talk to the family,” Khalil promised.
That was all Levi could ask at the present moment, so he let it go at that. The two men dapped him up and took their leave. Levi watched as they drove off until their headlights faded. Bas slipped from the shadows where he was hiding. Despite being out of eyesight, Levi knew his friend had been watching for any missteps by the mage.
One thing about his best friend, he never slacked when it came to his job.
Having a mate hadn’t changed that at all. Levi admired Sebastian for that because just having Amaya in his house had his head fucking gone. How his friend concentrated when he was away from his mate was a mystery to him.
“You think it will work?” Bas asked.
“Whether it does nor not isn’t the point. I want Lucian out.”
“Controlling the Lathams won’t be any easier,” Sebastian warned him.
Levi conceded his point. “But they would treat us as equals. If I have to replace every head at that table to get our proper respect, I will. Being punished for some shit that happened with an ancestor hundreds of years ago is fucking ridiculous.”
Bas grunted. “On that note, Red say she got some shit to show you.”
He turned to his best friend with interest. “Say word.”
Bas nodded. Levi gave one final look to the murky water, noting how well it fit his mood. He hadn’t expected Raven to find anything in his grandmother’s old journals. At the most he expected she would maybe find an answer as to why theCollective fought so hard to keep the Bayi from having a representative.
Turning towards the SUV they drove from the helipad, he started walking. “I’m done for the night then. Let’s get home.”
“She’s at the Archive.”
Levi paused his steps. “Interesting.”
Once again, the director of the Archive met them at the door. Sophia looked equal parts excited and anxious. Levi frowned as the woman opened the door for them.
“Your Highness,” she greeted, searching behind them.
“It’s just me and Bas tonight,” he told her, hiding a smile. “You looking for someone else?”
Bas chuckled next to him. “Leave that lady ‘lone. She ain’t worried about Lucas. Witches don’t do Bayi, right, Ms. Sophia?”
She cleared her throat and straightened her posture, ignoring Bas’s question. She closed and locked the door behind them, which raised Levi’s hackles. As far as he knew, the Archive was open twenty-four seven. Why would she close it?
“If you’ll follow me?” Sophia said softly
They followed behind her through the atrium of the Archive, the silence of the building deafening. Sophia led them all the way to the back and up a flight of stairs. Levi could feel the power of the Akachi pulsing around them. He reached his hand in his pocket and fingered the heartstone, something he’d been doing lately as he was thinking. The stone warmed against his fingers, seeming to pull power from the larger stones below them. Levi stepped into the observatory, impressed with the thick glass wall to his left as well as the skylight above him. It made the room feel like it was floating.
His mate was there with Raven, the two of them standing over a tall table. His grandmother’s journals were scattered across the table top. Amaya’s head lifted as they entered and she immediately closed the space between them. Levi opened his arms and his little witch stepped into them, her head resting on his chest.
Ignoring everyone else in the room, he lifted her chin.‘What’s wrong, baby doll?’
She sighed and rubbed her hands down his arms.‘This place overwhelms me, but the moment you entered the room, my magic calmed.’
He understood exactly what she meant. Every time he was in her presence, his magic sought her out, peace overtaking his senses.
