Page 75 of The Crownless King
Levi smiled at her line of thought. “We could always use more allies.”
He lifted Amaya’s hand in his grip and kissed her knuckles. Her gaze went to the door her mother had just left out of and she sighed. Worry for Anita was so ingrained that she knew it would take a while before she was comfortable with the thought of her mother leaving. But, that was a worry for another day.
Chapter twenty-eight
Amaya had been jumpy all day. The Archive was protected and a known neutral zone, and yet she’d jumped at every sound as she went about getting her work done. She’d never been as happy to reach the end of her workday as she was today. Bronx fell in step with her as she exited the entrance to the sacred garden.
“Long day?” he asked.
She tilted her head. “How can you tell?”
“Energy, ma. Your magic is usually peaceful when you leave the garden.”
Amaya sighed. “I don’t know what it is. My nerves are bad.”
“Let’s get you home, then.” He walked slightly in front of her, his eyes scanning the building as they made their way out.
Winter was coming and so the days were shorter. The air outside had cooled and dusk was arriving sooner than it had even a week ago. So, when Amaya and Bronx reached the employee parking lot behind the Archive, darkness was quickly falling. That could be the only explanation for why they were caught off guard. Amaya was so in her head that she didn’t even realize what was going on until Bronx cursed and shoved her towards their SUV.
He was jumped by three males, but she almost felt sorry for them the way Bronx was laying into them. Before she could even formulate a scream, Bronx had one of them on the ground and was using another male as a shield as the third one movedto stab him. Amaya felt a tug on her arm and her magic reacted instinctively. A blast of chaos magic had the male that grabbed her screaming on the ground, holding his head. Her heart was racing as she pushed out another burst of power towards the men still trying to attack Bronx. One by one, they collapsed on the ground, knocked out.
Amaya sucked in a surprised breath. Her magic had never been something offensive she could use, but with her bonding with Levi, she could feel it all under her skin, just waiting on a target.
Bronx rushed towards the car. “Get in, Maya!”
She didn’t hesitate to follow his orders, jumping in the passenger seat and locking her door. She didn’t know how long her magic would keep them down.
‘Baby doll?’Levi reached out, his voice groggy but alert.
He was probably just waking up for the day. His concern swamped their connection as he searched her mind to find the source of the adrenaline coursing through her body.
‘We were just attacked outside of the Archive,’she told him.
His worry spiked. ‘Are you still there?’
‘No. We’re headed home now,’she assured him as Bronx sped out of the parking lot.
A hale of car horns blasted behind them as he cut in front of traffic.
“Shit,” Bronx cursed, his gaze bouncing between the side mirrors and the road. His phone rang through the speakers of the truck and Bronx smashed the button to answer. Before theperson on the other end could say anything, the wolf was talking. “Two on me.”
Sebastian cursed on the other end of the line. “Your backup is still ten from your location. Can you hold them off?”
Bronx shot a quick look at Amaya. “Can you shoot?”
Her eyes widened. “Shoot what?”
“A gun, shawty.”
Her stomach plunged. “I’ve never even touched a gun.”
Sebastian sighed. “Hold tight, then, and evade.”
The wolf grunted at the instructions and ended the call. “Reach in the glove compartment.”
Her hands shook as she did as he said. She reached for the gun and prayed she didn’t shoot either of them.
“Pass it here, Maya.” He chuckled and grabbed the gun from her, sitting it in his lap.
