A Soul for Trouble (6 page)

“Because burning an undead to ashes is one of the few ways to kill them.” She hugged her knees to her chest. This conversation left her feeling like she’d just plunged into an icy lake. “What are the other ways to kill undead?”

“You can cut their heads off, or you can kill the person controlling them.”

“
There are more ways than that, but most mortals can’t summon the power to kill them
.” Loku’s statement did little to comfort her. “Do you think the necromancer is really coming for me?”

The splashing ceased for a moment. “I think he’s after Loku.” The god sighed. “
Everybody wants a piece of me. It’s no fun being this popular
.”

“Why would he want to have some perverted deity living inside him, slowing driving him insane?”

“
Ouch, that was harsh. You don’t like our little arrangement?
” She could almost picture the pout that came with Loku’s reply.

“Trouble, you have a god living inside you. Do you understand the potential power you could extract from him? Of course, it comes at a cost. The more control you surrender over to him, the less control you have over yourself.”

“And the sooner I turn into Robb.”

“Exactly.”

The water in the tub rustled, and she reached for the mirror. Once again, she was granted full view of the backside of his body while he dried off.

“
Hoping for a frontal view? You are a naughty girl, just like I thought.
” Arden jerked the mirror back to her face. Redness seeped into her cheeks for being no better than what she’d accused Dev of being minutes before. The new golden rings around her irises startled her, and she dropped the mirror.

Dev rushed to her side. “What’s wrong?”

“My eyes look different.”

He tightened the towel around his waist. “It’s one of the marks of a Soulbearer.” She closed her eyes, remembering how the strange yellow-green rings glowed when Loku spoke through Robb. Great. If she wasn’t already a freak, this made it worse. “Will they always be there?”

“Yes, as will the other mark.”

Her skin crawled. “What other mark?”

“Loku’s symbol on your back.”

“
Think of it as a tattoo claiming you as mine
.” She flew to her feet. Everything was happening too fast. In less than a day, she’d witnessed a murder, been accused of burning down an inn, been kidnapped, told she had a god living inside her who would slowly make her crazy, and now she’d been branded like a cow.

Sweet Lady Moon, please make this stop. There was a time in her life when she would’ve given anything to be normal. Now, all she wished was to have her old life back.

Warm hands rubbed along her shoulders and upper arms. “I know this is a bit much for a young girl like you to bear—”

She wrestled away from him. “Quit talking to me like I’m a child. I’m twenty-one, not twelve.”

“I’m sorry. You seem so young to me.”

Her hand itched to slap him, but when she focused on his face, she stopped herself. The downward tug of his mouth and the way his brows bunched together spoke more of sadness than mockery. “Why?”

He backed away and reached for his shirt.

“
He’s more than ten times your age, my Soulbearer. That’s why. Talk about a dirty old
man
.”

“And how old are you?”

Dev flinched. “I’m three hundred twenty-three years old, if you really want to know.” Her breath came in sharp gulps from his reply. She’d heard elves lived a long time, but over three hundred years? “Are you immortal?”

“
Only gods are immortal, you silly girl
.”

“No, I’ll eventually grow old and die, but at a much slower rate than a human.”

“If you were a human, how old would you be?”

“Are you going to watch me dress while you ask me all these questions?” She dutifully faced the corner again. For a three-hundred-year-old man, he looked damn good. Almost too good. And he would continue to look good while she turned into an old crone, so it was best she push any stupid thoughts out of her head.

“To answer your question,” he continued, “I guess I would be about thirty or thirty-one.”

“Oh. That doesn’t seem that old to me.”

“Why? Do I look older?”

“Only when you frown.”

He laughed. The sound of leather sliding through a metal buckle let her know he had finished dressing. “I asked the innkeeper to send dinner up here. I hope you don’t mind eating in private.”

Someone knocked at the door as soon as the words left his mouth. The innkeeper silently set two plates of steaming food on the small table. A barmaid appeared a second later with mugs of ale and followed her boss out of the room.

Arden reached for hers and gulped half the contents. The cool liquid soothed her dry throat, warmed her belly.

“Slow down with the ale. I don’t need a drunk Soulbearer.” She peered at Dev from over the mug. “Sorry, but I haven’t had anything to eat or drink all day.”

“That’s my fault. I should have forced you to eat something earlier today. It won’t happen again. Now, eat before your food gets cold.”

She cut a small slice of meat and popped it in her mouth. The juices coated her tongue with flavor, and she sighed. “This is so good.”

Dev tossed a sliver of meat to the wolf. “I’ve had better.”

“It’s the best meal I’ve had in months.” She reached for a chunk of bread to sop up the gravy.

“Who’s Lord Yessling?”

The bread stopped inches away from her mouth. He wasn’t threatening to sell her to him already, was he? “He’s a local nobleman.”

He cocked a brow and waited for her to continue.

She dropped the bread. “He likes women and tends to go through them quickly. Most of the farmers around here know they can fetch quite a few loras by selling their daughters to him, especially if they’re pretty.”

“And what happens to these girls?”

“They’re put to ‘work,’ is the politest way to say it. Sometimes they come back.

Sometimes they don’t.”

“How do you know so much about him?”

“Why are you asking?” When he didn’t answer her question, she added, “Hal always threatened to sell me to him because I looked so different from most of the girls around here.” He frowned but didn’t say anything else for the rest of the meal. When their plates were empty, he stood and ran his hand along the door. Blue light peeked out from the gaps.

“What are you doing?”

He repeated the same action with the lone window. “Sealing the room.” Arden rolled her eyes and flopped down on the bed. “I promise I won’t try to run away.”

“It’s not to keep you in—it’s to keep others out.” He stared through the window at the town below for a few seconds, probably searching for the supposed necromancer who was chasing them.

“And I thought I was paranoid.”

“It’s my duty to be paranoid,” he replied with a grimace. “I am your protector, after all.”

“Well, I’m going to get some sleep. I’m exhausted after the long day.” She looked over at Cinder and patted the mattress next to her. The wolf jumped on the bed.

“What are you doing to my wolf?”

She laughed and stretched out next to the warm mass of fur. “Spoiling him. You know, there’s a bit more room on the other side of him, if you want to sleep in the bed.” The mattress sank as he sat down on the edge. “I thought you were worried about me taking advantage of you?”

“There’s a wolf between us. I think I’m safe.”

As she drifted off to sleep, she heard him whisper, “Don’t get used to this.”
Chapter 6

The darkness in Dev’s dreams parted, letting a beam of light fall on Arden. She stretched in the bed as if waking up. The silk sheets slid through her fingers, caressed her bare skin. His mouth went dry as he watched in the darkness, memorizing the curves of her body.

The light brightened, casting his shadow on her. She sat up and backed away, the sheet clutched to her chest as though she was embarrassed to be caught naked. “Who’s there?” His skin flamed, but his tongue refused to form his name.
I shouldn’t be staring at her
. He turned away.

“Don’t speak, then, Dev. Just come closer. ”

His heart pounded. He wasn’t quite sure what he heard in her voice—fear, anger, lust—but his stomach tied in knots. He crept toward her with apprehension tempering his steps. The innocent girl from earlier had vanished, leaving a vixen in her place.

“I know what you want, what you desire, and I’m willing to give it you.” He stuck to the shadows, hiding his face from her so she couldn’t read his emotions. The light shimmered off her hair, and her pale skin shown like moonlight. Desire coursed through his body as he lowered onto the edge of the bed. His fingers itched to touch her, to see if her skin felt as silky as the sheets around her, but he balled them into his fists
. Even if this is a
dream, I will not cross the line.

She chuckled and crawled next to him, leaving the sheet behind. “Is that what you want?” Her hair draped over his shoulder, burning deep gold. He reached up to brush it out of his face.
So soft
, he realized with a shock. Softer than he could possibly imagine.

She traced the lines of his back, working her way to his chest, and he realized with a start that he was a naked as her. Her touch started out light, more like a whisper at first, before massaging his weary muscles. The firm globes of her breasts pressed against him, teasing him, coaxing him to turned around and cup them in his hands. His mouth watered as he imagined how sweet those tiny pink nipples would taste, how she would moan in pleasure as he took her into his mouth.

He caught her hand and threaded his fingers through it, forcing it to the bed. “Trouble, there’s no need to do this.”

“You’re lying. I can see that you want me.”

By Jussip, a woman had never tempted him like this before. If she continued, he might just throw her to the mattress and ease the throbbing in his dick.

“Relax, and let me show you pleasure like you’ve never known.” Her lips brushed against his ear, and he moaned. The fire in his veins intensified. He tried to pull away, scared he would burn from his desire. Soulbearers had tried his patience in the past, but this made them all look like innocents.

“You can’t hurt me unless you deny me what we both want. Please, Dev, give yourself to me.”

The temptation became too much to bear as she nibbled at the corner of his mouth. He seized control of the seduction, completely covering her lips with his own. Her arms snaked along his neck, pulling his head closer to her. He didn’t want this kiss to end. His tongue traced the outline of her lips, and she opened them. Slow and sensual, he explored her mouth, coaxed her to do the same with his. The sweet scent of her skin nearly overwhelmed her, but he noticed she no longer smelled like roses and fresh bread.

She was the one who ended the kiss, breath coming quick as she gasped for air. “You taste like honey and apples.”

It’s just a dream
, he told himself.
I would never kiss her if I were awake. I would never let
my guard down
. But in his dreams, he allowed himself the indulgence he could never enjoy when he was awake.

Her hand wriggled free from his and travelled lower, coming dangerously close to the part of his flesh that longed for her touch.

“You don’t have to tell me what you want,” she said. “I already know.”

“Do you?”

His mouth silenced her before she had a chance to speak. He pressed his body against hers as the kiss deepened, lowering her onto the mattress. His hands roamed over her skin, along the flat planes of her stomach and over the soft curves of her buttocks.

She lifted her hips, allowing him access to the part of her that was now slick with desire.

“Please,” she whispered.

“Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?”

She met his gaze, the wicked smile on her face telling him she knew exactly how much power she had over him at that moment. Her greenish-gold eyes burned with such intensity, he threatened to melt under the heat of their stare.

His brows drew together.
Aren’t Trouble’s eyes blue?

He released her and backed away, desperately trying to ignore the cold sweat that beaded on his skin.
Something is wrong about this. Very wrong
.

His body jerked, and his lover vanished.

Chapter 7

Dev’s eyes jerked open and he stared into the darkened room.

“So close, and yet you resisted,” a familiar voice said next to him.

His hands balled into fists. He didn’t need to turn his head to know its source. Loku already had tormented him enough times in the past.

“Dev, you disappoint me.”

Anger flooded his veins, almost making him forget about the aching hard-on that remained from his dream. “Why? Because I didn’t fall for your little trick?”

“No, because you deny yourself pleasure when you can so easily grasp it.” Dev took a deep breath before he rolled his head to the side and looked at Trouble. Just as he had figured, she lay perfectly still, staring at him with bright yellow-gold eyes that never blinked. “Let go of her.”

The chaos god laughed. “And miss out on a new way of tormenting you? Never!” The eyes flickered to Dev’s groin. “I see my little dream got you more worked up than I’d first thought.”

Dev bunched the covers over the evidence of his desire, hoping it would conceal it, but Trouble’s features morphed into a smirk.

“It’s going to be so easy for me to gain her trust, especially with you treating her like she’s a flea on your back. You should feel the power she possesses. As soon as I tasted it in that run-down little inn, I knew she had to become my next Soulbearer.” His fingers dug into his palm. So help him, he refused to see Trouble follow in the same path as Robb. His words came out in a low, even growl. “Let her go right now.”

“Or you’ll what? Slip your hands under her tunic? Or better yet, into her pants? I know exactly what you were dreaming, Dev, because I put it there.”

“Why you sick son of a—” Dev stopped short, his fist raised in the air, and looked into the horrified blue eyes of Trouble.