Ruthless Villains: A Spicy Fantasy Romance
Ruthless Villains: Chapter 22

My eyes drifted over Audrey’s body as she pushed the black and golden fabric of her skirt aside and dropped down on the couch. Stretching out her bare legs along the length of the dark red couch, she crossed her ankles and leaned back against the armrest while picking up her glass of wine from the low table. Light from the multitude of candles throughout the dining room refracted in the glass as Audrey lifted it to her lips and took a sip.

“Well, that was a success,” she announced.

After pouring myself another glass of wine as well, I dropped down in the armchair opposite her and propped my feet up on the table. “Yeah. Given how desperate Carl is to get into your panties, scoring an invite next time won’t be a problem.”

She huffed out a laugh. “I was just about to say the same thing to you about Elise and Lisa and… that other blond one.”

“Jane,” I filled in.

“Whatever. They’ve been drooling over you since the moment they saw you. So we just play into that during this soirée we were invited to, and we’ll have those invitations to the ball in no time.”

“I wonder what their deal is.”

“The Dawsons?”

“Yeah. They’re married but both of them seem to be interested in fucking other people.”

Audrey shrugged and drank some more wine. “Who cares? Anyway, we have a few days before their soirée. We should take some time to scout out the parliament building so we have a plan for how and where to take Lance Carmichael.”

“I agree. Let’s do that tomorrow.”

She nodded.

Silence fell as we both raised our glasses and downed some more of the rich red wine. The cook that Audrey had hired had already finished up and gone home, leaving us alone in the big empty house. All the other rooms were dark, but the now once more pristine dining room was still filled with lit candles. The light filled the space with a golden glow and made Audrey’s eyes glitter like emeralds. I watched the way she brushed her thumb over her lips after taking another sip of wine. She might be the most infuriating, arrogant, and disrespectful person I had ever met, but I still preferred her company to that of those equality-loving weaklings.

Leaning back against the dark red backrest, I let out a contented sigh. “I can’t wait to get my hands on this Lance Carmichael so that I can show him that pretty words have no chance against true power.”

Audrey huffed out a dark chuckle and slid her gaze back to me. “You thought about that too, huh?”

“Selflessness is the true path to happiness,” I mimicked, and then snorted. “How naïve can you be?”

“Very, apparently.”

“Giving everything you have and everything you are to other people doesn’t make you happy. It makes you an idiot, because all that does is leave you empty and drained.”

“I know, right?” She shook her head in annoyance. “I will never understand why anyone would willingly spend their life being a mediocre nobody just like everyone else…”

“When they could have everything and be anything they wanted,” I finished.

She drew back a little and blinked at me. “Exactly.”

Raising my glass, I gave her a small salute and then drained the rest of my wine. When I stood up to refill it, Audrey held out her glass too. I considered ignoring it just out of pure spite, but then poured more wine into her glass before filling mine as well. The plush armchair groaned faintly as I dropped back down into my seat.

“What pisses me off the most is the hypocrisy.” I swirled the red wine in my glass and then drank a mouthful before meeting Audrey’s gaze again. “Why should magic be distributed equally? Nothing else is. Some people are born rich and some are born poor. But the heroes of Eldar don’t make sure that everyone has the exact same amount of money. So why do it with magic?”

“I’ve been thinking about that too. As far as I know, their reasoning is that money is something you can earn while magic is something you can only be born with.”

“And that’s supposed to justify it?”

“Apparently. But it’s such bullshit because it doesn’t work out across all areas anyway. Some people are born beautiful and some people are born ugly. And it’s no secret that beautiful people, regardless of whatever else they’ve got going for them, always have advantages in life that those who are ugly will never have. But no one shares their beauty.”

“That’s a good point.”

“What you’re born with is what you have. It’s what’s yours. Be it a beautiful face or gorgeous hair or an incredible singing voice. And no one is expected to share that with anyone else. So why should magic be any different?”

“It shouldn’t. Our magic is as much a part of us as our face or our voice.”

“Right? And besides, why should I spend a decade working hard to improve my magic and then just give it to someone who has done nothing to deserve it?” Anger flickered in her eyes as she forced out an irritated huff. “While they were out doing other things with their life, I spent my years developing my powers. And then I’m just supposed to give it away? Like hell.”

With that anger still flashing across her face, she downed the rest of her wine and then shot to her feet. Grabbing the decanter, she filled it up again. Annoyance seeped into her movements and made her pour the wine so fast that it almost sloshed over the edge. Leaning down, she slurped some of the wine from the top so that she would be able to move the glass without spilling anything. It was such a strangely innocent and casual thing to do that I lost my train of thought and just stared at her instead.

When she was done, she shifted the decanter to my glass and topped that up too before sitting down on the couch. Curling up against the armrest, she drew her legs up underneath her. Candles fluttered slightly in the draft she had created when sitting down, and they cast shifting light over her beautiful face as she raised her eyes to me. For a while, she didn’t say anything. She just sat there with that ridiculously full wine glass in her hand while her eyes searched my face.

“Can I ask you something?” she said at last.

I wasn’t sure if it was due to the amount of wine she had drunk, but that had to be the politest thing she had said to me. Ever. And it threw me off a little, so I just answered, “Sure.”

“What made you decide to become a dark mage?”

Leaning back in the armchair, I released a long sigh. “I guess I was just tired of trying to please other people.”

The leaves on the bushes outside the window rustled as a strong night wind swept through the neighborhood. When Audrey didn’t reply, I tipped my head back down and looked over at her from across the low table. Her eyes were locked on me. But she didn’t say anything, as if waiting to see whether I would go on. I’m not entirely sure why, but I did.

“When I was a kid, I had really shitty friends. So then when I turned ten and entered the academy, I thought things would be different. That I would finally be able to start over and find my people. I worked so hard to become part of a group.” A mirthless huff of laughter escaped my throat. “I was such a nice person back then. I was always there for everyone and helped them with everything I could. Sacrificing my own needs to make sure that they were happy. And do you know what that got me?”

Understanding swirled in her eyes as she looked back at me. “Nothing.”

“Exactly. Nothing. I was still always the least favorite friend. The one they kept around so that they could use me when they needed something, but not the one they would choose to spend their time with if they had other alternatives. The one who wasn’t invited unless I specifically asked them.” I shrugged. “Eventually, I decided that I’d had enough. I’d had enough of being selfless and pleasing others and doing everything they asked just so that they would like me. So I left.”

“How old were you?”

“Fourteen.”

Her eyes widened. “You’ve been a dark mage since you were fourteen?”

“Yeah.”

“Huh.”

The armchair groaned faintly as I shifted my weight and shrugged again. “It was a long time ago, my parents have nine kids, and none of my friends paid much attention to whether I was there or not… So no one who knew me back then would recognize me now, which is why no one knows that I’m a dark mage.”

“I see.”

A wicked smile spread across my lips. “Becoming a dark mage was the best choice I ever made. That whole selflessness is the true path to happiness notion is such horseshit. It’s just a weapon people use so that they can take advantage of others. The moment I decided to start living for myself and doing whatever made me happy was the moment I finally realized what true happiness really is.”

Audrey sat up straighter. Holding out her glass, she leaned forward across the table and clinked it against mine. An equally wicked smile played over her own lips as she met my gaze. “For the first time ever, I think I actually agree with you completely.”

Amusement flickered through me as I raised my glass in acknowledgement.

I wasn’t sure why I had told Audrey all of that. Maybe it was because I had drunk so much wine. Or maybe it was because for once in her life, the infuriating poisoner had actually asked nicely.

Whatever the reason, as I leaned back in my armchair and watched Audrey from across the table, I realized that it really was rather nice to know that there was someone else who shared my views on life.

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