A Soul For Atonement (The Soulbearer Series Book 4) (3 page)

Adeyemi drew his sword, and she froze.

“
Yes, you silly girl, you should be scared. As much as he abhors me, he’s considering ending your life in an attempt to wrestle that knowledge from me
.”

“
Then why don’t you just tell us where it is
?”

“
Why should I?”

“
Have you forgotten that I control you?
”

“
Are you so certain of that?
”

“
What do you have to gain from keeping the relic from them?
”

“
Everything,
” Loku answered in a seething whisper before retreating to the edge of Arden’s consciousness and ending the conversation.

Adeyemi leveled his sword at her chest. “Tell me, Soulbearer, do you think you can convince him to reveal its location?”

Fear balled in the center of her throat. Nothing was ever certain with the chaos god, but if there was ever a reason to lie, it was now. “Yes, but I’ll need some time to find out what he wants in return.”

Dev strained against his captors. “You know what he wants, Arden. Don’t do it.”

The king’s eyes narrowed, but his sword drew closer until the tip touched the skin over her beating heart. “This is not a game. The sooner I appease the goddess, the sooner the blight will be lifted from my people.”

“Agreed.” Her gaze slid over to Dev. If she could, she’d give Loku anything he asked for in exchange for the location of the relic. Anything to save Dev’s life. “Neither one of us wants to lose our loved ones. All I’m asking for is another month.”

He lowered his sword and drew in a deep breath that seemed to double the wide expanse of his chest. “I’ll give you two weeks, Soulbearer. No more.”

The date hit her like a jab in the center of her gut. Their wedding day.

“If you can find the Blood of Lireal and return it to me by then, I will set your Protector free. If you cannot, then I will exact the retribution my goddess demands to save my people.”

Her head swam at the implications, but she found herself nodding. She’d bought Dev more time, and that was a small blessing. “Will you please set my Protector free so he can continue to perform his sworn duty while I’m on this quest?”

The cold smile returned, and Adeyemi shook his head. “No, Soulbearer. I’m not a fool. He is my prisoner until you return what belongs to my people.”

He didn’t have to remind her about the other part of his threat. If she didn’t return the relic, Dev’s life would be forfeit.

Her eyes burned, and her voice shook as she asked, “Then will you please allow me a moment to speak to him privately before you take him away?”

“Just a moment.” The king nodded to his guards, and they fell back.

Tears threatened to fall with each slow step she took toward Dev, but she refused to release them. She had to be strong. She had to keep hope alive for both of them.

“Arden, you shouldn’t have agreed to this,” he said softly.

She cupped his cheeks in her hands and pressed her forehead to his. “I had to.”

He closed his eyes, and his breath shook as he said, “My life isn’t worth it.”

“It is.” She clung to him, if only to convince him of how much she needed him.

“You could get hurt. Or worse, Loku could drive you insane.”

“I don’t care.” Her voice choked as she added, “The thought of living without you is far worse than anything I can imagine. Please, trust me. I can do this.”

His face tensed with a myriad of unspoken emotions, ending with a heavy sigh. “Be careful, Arden.”

“I will.” She pressed her lips to his in a gentle kiss. “I love you.”

“As do I.” One of the guards grabbed him by the chains and yanked him back, ending their private moment. “Cinder, you’d better keep her safe.”

The fire wolf whimpered and leaned against her leg.

“He always did like you better than me,” Dev muttered with a weak smile.

“I still have a bone to pick with you about attacking the Conclave, Adeyemi,” the Mage Primus said, his words hard with anger.

Adeyemi responded with a haughty sniff before beckoning Sazi to his side. Defiance stiffened her movements as she approached, and although she spoke to the king in their own language, there was no mistaking the sharpness of her words. The king replied with what sounded like an order and kept repeating the same phrase over and over again each time Sazi tried to protest. Her wings snapped out, and a snarl revealed tightly clenched teeth.

The soldiers drew their weapons and inched closer to Sazi, all waiting for their king to give them permission to attack. But instead of giving it, Adeyemi said something in his native tongue that caused Sazi’s wings to wilt. She closed her eyes, but kept her head held high in one final gesture of resistance. The king gave a guttural command, pointing toward the door that led to the center courtyard.

Sazi snapped her eyes open, fury still burning in their depths, and flew out the door.

The king then turned to Arano. “There is nothing for us to discuss, Mage Primus.”

“We’ll see what the empress has to say about that.”

“Indeed.” He turned on his heel and snapped his fingers. His guard encircled him, dragging Dev with them as they marched out the door. A low boom echoed through the courtyard as they unfurled their wings in unison and took off into the sky.

Arden ran after then, the familiar hum of her magic returning the second she passed through the door. She searched the sky for the guards carrying Dev and directed her magic to her fingers.

“Don’t,” Arano said, whipping her around. “If you attack them now, your deal with Adeyemi will be voided, and they won’t hesitate to kill Dev in retaliation.”

The magic refused to dissipate. It stormed inside her, tempting her with thoughts of blowing something up to vent her frustration. “How could you let them do this to your own son?”

“Because I’ve lived long enough to know the rules the Ornathians play by. You managed to buy Dev some more time, and for that, I’m grateful. Now I intend to make the most of it.” Arano called for the Mages Secundus and Tertius, who fell in step beside him when he reentered the rotunda. “Call the Mages Council to order immediately. If there’s a way for us to end this blight without blood being shed, then let’s find it.”

Arden trailed after them. “And what about finding the relic? Wouldn’t that be the ideal answer?”

Arano paused and slowly turned around, his shoulders slumping. “I have searched for it. Hours scrying over maps that covered every inch of the known realms, but nothing. There’s a part of me that wonders if Syd destroyed it, although I refused to mention that possibility to Adeyemi.”

“And what if we try to reason with Loku?”

“Reason? With the god of chaos?” Arano reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder. “We both know what he wants, Arden, and he isn’t above manipulating you to get it. Don’t fall into his trap. The consequences could be dire.”

Irritation ignited an angry fire in her gut that spread throughout her body. She shrugged Arano’s hand off. “So you’d rather let your only child die for a crime he didn’t commit rather than negotiate with Loku?”

He winced, but a steely resolve took over. “Yes, Arden, because we both know what Loku is capable of doing if he’s freed. When Dev vowed to become the Soulbearer’s Protector, part of his duty was to keep Loku from escaping from his imprisonment. As much as I love my son, I would rather sacrifice him than give Loku the means to destroy the world.”

“
Please promise me that’s not what you’d do
,” she asked the chaos god, but no answer came.

“Then if you won’t help me, maybe I should find someone who will.” She took three steps backwards before turned toward the stables.

“Where are you going?” Arano called after her.

“Queembra.”

“Now? Night is falling, and the road down the mountain is treacherous.”

“It’s not the first time I’ve gone down it at night.”

Footsteps came from behind, drawing closer until Arano overtook her. “Arden, my dear, I cherish you as much as I would my own daughter, and I know it would upset Dev if you were injured. Please, wait until morning.”

“
He just doesn’t want you depending on me
,” Loku whispered. “
But where is he when you need him?
”

“
Finally decided to come back?
”

“
I never left. I just wanted to make you stew for a while. Don’t worry, my little Soulbearer. I’ll get you safely down the mountain, just as I have before
.”

Loku’s reassurance quieted any doubts she had about leaving immediately. “Arano, I’ll be fine. Cinder will be with me.” She doubted he wanted to hear about Loku’s assistance. “Focus on finding a cure for the blight, and I’ll see if the empress can do some political maneuvering to set Dev free.”

“You think she will?”

“There’s only one way to find out. What’s the use of being a Milorian if I can’t call upon my family’s influence every now and then?”

Arano’s expression showed that he wished she’d reconsider, but at last he nodded. “I’ll offer a prayer to Ivis that she protect you on your journey.”

“
And what am I?
” Loku huffed. “
Some second-rate castoff? I may not have a body, but I’m still a god, and I can keep you safe.
”

A pair of invisible arms wrapped around her, comforting at first, but growing more and more possessive with each passing second.

“
I know you can
,” she replied as she shook him off. The question was,
would
he keep her safe?

“Every second counts,” she reminded the Mage Primus. “You have your task, and I have mine.”

“Then go with the speed of the goddess.”

Loku gave an indignant snort, but that didn’t stop Arden from hurrying to the small building that housed her and Dev when they were at the Conclave. She grabbed the essentials and stuffed them into her pack, Cinder prancing on her heels as she moved about the room. A final trip to Dev’s weapons chest supplied her with a short sword and four daggers. She strapped the sword and one of the daggers to her belt before concealing the other three in her boots and up her sleeve.

She could almost feel Loku grinning. “
That’s a rather nice little habit you’ve acquired from him
.”

“
It’s proven useful more than once
.”

One final sweep of the room told her she had all she needed, and she headed to the stable for her horse. The setting sun bathed the sky in a fiery orange light that shimmered off Cinder’s russet-colored fur and made it look as though it was burning. It would be a long, sleepless night, but with any luck, she’d reach Marist just before breakfast.

Chapter 4

Any other person who dared enter the Imperial Palace in Queembra with mud-caked boots, wind-disheveled hair, and a soggy fire wolf would’ve been hauled away by the guards before they reached the first gate. But all Arden had to do was stare down each guard as she passed them on her way to Marist’s private quarters. They all knew who she was and what she was capable of doing, but her status as the Soulbearer opened more doors for her than her blood ties to the empress.

All except the last door.

Caz di Miloria, the Lord Chamberlain and her father’s overly ambitious brother, blocked her from entering the empress’s private receiving room. His wrinkled nose matched the sneer twisting his lips. “What are you doing here?”

“
One would think he considered you to be nothing more than a guttersnipe rather than his niece
,” Loku mused. “
Shall we teach him the meaning of respect?
”

It was tempting, but she wanted to try civility first. She was more likely to get support from the empress if she didn’t obliterate their uncle. “I’m here to see Marist.”

“And you dare ask for an audience with the empress dressed like that?” He pointed to her stained and rain-soaked traveling clothes that contrasted with his immaculate silk courtly attire.

“It’s an urgent matter that takes precedence over a bath.” She tried to wedge past him, running into a wall of magic instead.

“Go back to your quarters and wait for the empress to summon you.”

She probed his shields for a weak point, but his magic was as solid as her father’s. “Please, Uncle Caz, it’s about Dev.”

His face hardened when she addressed him as her uncle. “I don’t care. There is a certain protocol that will be followed in the palace, and you are not above it, Soulbearer. If anything, you should be grateful the empress hasn’t ordered you to be locked away for the rest of your miserable existence after you destroyed half the palace last year.”

The thin façade of manners she’d tried to hold up shattered. Anger burned along her veins, mingling with both her magic and Loku’s, and gathered in her fingertips. “Let me by, or there will be consequences.”