A Soul for Vengeance (17 page)

It was her dream all over again, although this time, she was fairly certain she was awake. She scanned the embroidered faces of the people in the scene, coming to Loku’s at the end. Even though his body was consumed by flames, his expression remained one of defiance, one that intrigued her, called to her.

Made her reach out to touch him.

Like before, the moment her fingertips brushed against the silk threads, a teeth-clinching jolt raced up her arm. She yelped, snapping her hand back before the gut-wrenching pain of her dreams followed.

She rubbed her arm, searching the tapestry for some sort of clue, but always coming back to Loku. “
What are you trying to show me?
” she asked him, but heard only silence. He was still contained by the spell her father had cast a month ago.

Was there a hidden door behind the tapestry? And if so, where did it go?

She reached out once again, but this time, a sharp pain stabbed her between her shoulder blades before her fingers touched it. The air whooshed from her lungs, and her knees buckled. She fell forward, the pain intensifying until her palms smacked against the cold stone floor.

“What are you doing here?” Callix asked, his voice as menacing as the blade he pointed toward her.

“Admiring the tapestry.” Her chest burned, and her words came out one breath at a time. Whatever was hidden here, he didn’t want her to find it.

Callix stalked her, the tip of his sword inches from her face. What she wouldn’t give to slap it away. “Did he lead you here?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I knew this would happen the minute you arrived at the Imperial Palace. One look at you, and I knew you were one of them.” He circled her, pressing the sword into the same place between her shoulders where his spell had hit. “It was just a matter of time before he led you here.”

Arden froze. One false move and that mad elf wouldn’t hesitate to run her through. “What are you talking about?”

“Is that the reason you chose her, Loku?” Callix continued, ignoring her question. “Because you knew you could use her to gain access to this place?”

“That is enough.” Varrik’s voice thundered through the library, carrying a tidal wave of magic with it.

Callix’s sword clattered across the room, and Arden rolled out of his way, casting a shield around herself as she stood. “Will one of you tell me what’s going on?”

She never imagined she’d ever see such cold fury burning in her father’s eyes as he approached them. He grabbed Callix by the collar, yanking him away from her. “Why did you attack my daughter?”

The brown-haired elf narrowed his eyes and replied in a language she didn’t understand.

But her father did. He turned from Callix to her. “Were you trying to remove the tapestry?”

“All I did was touch it.” But their response answered her question—there was definitely something hidden behind it. Something Callix didn’t want her to find.

“See?” Callix’s eyes tore straight through her. “Even though you’ve contained him, he’s still influencing her, still tricking her to perform his bidding.”

The anger faded from Varrik’s face, and he released Callix. His attention, however, never wavered from her. “Perhaps, but I shall deal with this. Leave us.”

Callix smoothed his clothes and retrieved his sword, his expression leaving no doubt in her mind he would’ve enjoyed finishing what he started. The library door closed with a bang that echoed off the walls.

“Step away from the tapestry, Arden,” her father ordered, his voice as dangerously calm as Dev’s was when he was angry.

“Why?”

“Because there is some truth to Callix’s concerns.”

She doubled her shields and crossed her arms. “Not until you tell me why.”

“If you lower your shields, I’ll let Loku tell you why.”

She hesitated. It could be a trick, a ruse to get her to lower her defenses so he could cast another spell on her. But, if she wanted to know the truth, she’d rather hear it from the voice that had been silent too long in her mind. She lowered her shields.

Varrik pressed his finger against her forehead.

A wail of rage exploded inside her mind.
“Tear it back now, Arden. I’ll protect you, but do it before they stop you.”

“Why?”

“Because I need you go into the crypt, to take back what’s rightfully mine, to help restore me to my full glory.”

Bolts of green lightning danced across her vision. Her muscles tightened without her permission. “Stop it, Loku,” she said aloud, not caring if Varrik heard her. In fact, she wanted him to hear.

“Do it, Arden. As my Soulbearer, I command you to.”

She redirected her magic, pushing the chaos deeper inside her. Inch by painful inch, she regained control of her body.
“I am your Soulbearer, the one chosen to contain you, not to be your slave. You’d do well to remember that.”

“Good, Arden,” Varrik murmured, keeping his distance but still hovering near enough to jump in should she need him. “Center your powers. Remind him of his place.”

“My place?”
Loku snarled, a new wave of his chaotic magic sweeping through her.
“I’ll show you how to treat a god.”

In a split second, she saw what Loku intended to do to her father. Her mouth went dry. The magic swept down her arm, burning with the fire the chaos god wanted to unleash on Varrik. Her father would be consumed in flames if she didn’t stop him, just like Loku had been in the tapestry. She closed her eyes and found a power she never knew existed, letting it explode inside of her.

Loku screamed so hard, her ears rang. For the second time that morning, she fell to her knees, but this time, she found a new strength in that humbled position. Loku’s magic collapsed within her, shrinking until his presence was nothing more than a howling voice.

“How dare you turn on me, you horrible girl? I’ve always been there for you, protected you, comforted you.”

“I will not let you hurt my father without knowing the whole truth.”

“Your father? You mean the man that knocked up your whore of a mother then up and abandoned you? What loyalty do you owe him?”

The chaos god’s insults brought tears to her eyes, reminding her of the hatred she’d borne for the man who’d sired her. Only now, he had a name. A face. A hand that now rested on her shoulder and sent soothing waves of magic through her weary bones. Varrik had become a father in every sense of the word, and she refused to destroy their fragile relationship when it was just beginning.

She lifted her eyes to him. “What are you hiding here?”

“Nothing that he wants.”

“Liar,”
Loku hissed.
“There is a crypt here in Lothmore, one that contains my ashes.”

Arden gasped. So that was why Callix didn’t want her to pull back the tapestry. That was why people were nervous that she was the daughter of the current Lore Keeper. Because her father was charged with protecting more than just Gravarian lore.
“Why do you want your ashes?”

“We can use them to regenerate my body, to make me whole again. Then I would finally be free of you and every Soulbearer who follows
.
”

She turned to the scene of chaos on the tapestry, to the screams of terror displayed on the people’s faces.
“So you could try to destroy the world again?”

“So I could rule as a god once again.”
He chuckled, his voice going from angry to seductive.
“Don’t worry, my little Soulbearer. I have no desire to be rid of you. Help me rebuild my body, and I’ll make sure you’ll never want any other man again.”

An invisible hand ran along her spine, curving around her buttock and making her skin crawl.
“I won’t help you rebuild your body, Loku. There’s a reason why they contained your soul inside the first Soulbearer, and I refuse to be the one that frees you.”

“You ungrateful bitch!”
Loku ranted on, but by then, Arden had managed to silence his protests to where they barely rose above a whisper.

Her arms and legs trembled as she rose from the floor, and she fell against her father, letting him lead her to a nearby chair. She’d done it. She’d stood up to Loku. She’d successfully contained him on her own.

And now she was completely exhausted from it.

Varrik disappeared, returning a moment later with a glass of chilled wine. “Did he tell you what he wanted?”

She took a sip and nodded. “But I refused to help him.”

“Why?” He regarded her not with suspicion like Callix always had, but with genuine fatherly concern.

“Because I got a glimpse of his true nature,” she replied, remembering how Loku wanted to burn the man standing in front of her. Despite the way he’d lured her into trusting him, comforted her and acted like a friend when she needed one, he’d always had another goal in mind. Now she wasn’t sure if she could ever fully trust him again.

“I’m very proud of you, Arden. It took great courage to stand up to him, and great power to contain him like you did.” He bent forward and kissed the top of her head, his hand cradling the back of her neck. “I am honored to call you my daughter.”

A well of emotions flooded her heart, seeping out into her veins and overflowing from her eyes. Growing up, she longed for a place where she’d be welcomed, accepted. After her mother died, she wanted nothing more than to feel the same unconditional love her mother had shown her, despite the hardships she’d borne to provide for Arden. But now, hearing praise from her father’s lips and feeling his forehead pressed against her, she knew she’d found everything she’d needed and more.

She reached up, grabbing his arm to hold him where he was so she could enjoy this feeling a moment longer. “And I am honored to call you my father.”

A faint smile played upon his lips, and he pulled away, blinking quickly as though the emotions overflowing from her eyes were contagious. Varrik then reached into his shirt and pulled out a delicate gold chain with a small, round pendant on it. He slipped it over his neck and held her mother’s necklace out to her. “I’m returning this to you, as I promised. You’ve successfully completed your training to be the Soulbearer.”

She took it, the familiar shape of the warm metal pressing into her palm and comforting her like it always had. She’d lost one parent, but through some strange twist of fate, she’d found the other. And this necklace reminded her of the bond she shared with both of them. “Thank you.”

She took a few more sips of wine, her nerves finally easing enough to where her hand no longer shook.

“Are you ready for breakfast now?” Varrik asked, offering his hand.

“Yes, but then I’m going to sleep.”

“You’ve earned the rest, Daughter.” He slipped her hand around his elbow and escorted her out of the library. “Shall I let you in on a little secret?”

“What?”

“Loku would’ve never found what he desired.” He grinned as though he was about to deliver the punch line of a joke. “I had the urn containing his ashes removed shortly after you arrived.”

And somewhere deep inside her, Loku howled with frustration.

Chapter 15

“I found some shelter, m’lady.” Parros motioned for Zara and Kell to follow him, his voice muffled under the layers of scarves wrapped around his face. “Stay close—the storm seems to be worsening.”

Kell came up behind her and wrapped his hand around her waist. There was staying close so they wouldn’t get lost in the blinding snow, and then there was too close. Thankfully, his mind appeared to be more focused on getting out of the freezing cold instead of getting her out of her clothes.

Ortono’s camp was well hidden in the mountains to the north that divided Ranello from Thallus and Gravaria, along the easternmost portion of her father’s duchy, Cordello. It always struck her as odd that Bynn would choose a camp on the opposite side of the kingdom when their home provided so many hiding spots, but she suspected it had something to do with the fact that Cordello was one of the hardest-hit duchies during the invasion. Every time she returned here, her eyes burned with tears at the sight of the burned homes and sheared forests.

They were less than a day away from Ortono’s camp when the storm hit. The snow came at them sideways, the cold wind ripping through their clothes and freezing them to the bone. They’d gotten off their horses about half a mile ago to keep from slipping on the slick trails, inching up the narrow mountain roads. There was no way they could press on in this weather without putting their lives in danger. As much as she hated to stop, she knew she had no other choice but to hunker down in the shelter Parros had found and wait out the weather.

He led them to a crude shelter that was basically a wooden wall built to enclose a small crevice in the mountainside. Still, the rock would protect them from the wind, and the previous tenants of the shelter had been kind enough to leave a small stack of dry wood. There was even a set of makeshift stalls for their horses. She piled up a bunch of kindling while Parros struck his flint, her fingers numb and stiff. After a few tries, they got the spark they needed and built up a cozy fire.

Kell sat huddled in the corner, staring at the dancing flames. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so cold in my life.”

“You’ve been away too long in the heat of Gravaria.” Parros tossed the wineskin at him. “This ought to warm you up a bit.”

If it contained the brandy the old knight favored over regular wine, they’d all be toasty after a few sips.

Kell drank from the skin, sighing as he handed it back to Parros. “Very good vintage.”

“You could use a sip yourself, m’lady,” the knight said, refusing to take it back until she’d taken a drink. He stretched his legs out by the fire, his lined face as thoughtful as a philosopher’s. “I suppose in the grand scheme of things, it could be worse. At least we have a fire to keep us from turning into ice and enough room to stretch out for a nap.”

“Indeed.” Kell rubbed his arms and began peeling back his scarves. “A nap doesn’t sound like a back idea.”