Soulless (Maiden of Time Book 2) (2 page)

Two

Escape

“What have we here?” Kiren crossed his arms, trapping the deadly child with his stare. He locked each foot to the floor, projecting a calm facade, although his muscles screamed to close the distance and thrust her away from his future wife. At Bellezza’s slightest move, he would pounce.

Bellezza’s scowl deepened. She muttered, “
Coward,
” a word she didn’t expect him to hear. Black skirts rustled as her nutmeg scent wafted at him. “I came to congratulate you.”

“Do not lie to me, Bellezza.” Her choice of dress alone communicated otherwise. He dove into her eyes, reading the truth in her thoughts. Wishful images surfaced: her fingers curled about Alexia’s neck, squeezing until the dark-haired girl stared back with glassy eyes.

A wicked grin tickled across the child’s face.

He approached slowly, holding himself in check. Bellezza wanted him to see those things, wanted
him
to suffer. Not Alexia. Reacting would only reward and incite her.

He delved deeper into her chocolate eyes. The fury smoldering behind her glare was meant for men, or a man—one she couldn’t reach, one she feared above all.

“Stop reading me!” Bellezza’s fingers flexed like claws, her brows low, body poised to spring on Alexia like a ravening lioness.

He inhaled, the weight around his neck lifting with his chest. The pendant might be able to stop her if she decided to attack, but he didn’t want to hurt her.

So much hate. So much pain. He ached for the child, for all she’d suffered. Had she ever known love?

And at the same time, he wanted nothing more than to toss her tiny carcass out the window for even contemplating harming Alexia.

Corralling the overwhelming instinct, he extended a hand. The best he could do was show her a different world, one where she didn’t have to fear, one where she could thrive in her gifts and become a civilized being.

He glanced at the balcony, out into the moonless night. How much time did he have?

Kiren cleared his throat. “I see your irons can no longer hold you.”

The skin about her wrists was healed, no longer charred black from the manacles she’d carried for decades. She wore a choker with a ruby stone, likely to cover the healing flesh.

He’d never witnessed it before—one of the Passionate so powerful they could conquer the dead weight of iron shackles. She was strong, so much stronger than she knew. If only he could help her use that strength for worthy purposes.

He smiled. “Good for you.”

Bellezza’s lip pulled up in a snarl, but the question hung in her eyes:
Does he really mean that?

He nodded, holding her glare.

Her shoulders relaxed inward, limbs trembling as she blinked repeatedly. Her head tilted.
You really meant to free me? To grant my wish? To make me strong enough that no one will chain me again?

Once more he nodded, adding a proud grin she couldn’t misinterpret. “You are exceptional, Bellezza.”

Her eyes widened. Hope sprouted behind them, a tentative plant pressing through desert soil that had oppressed its growth for too long—but he couldn’t read the direction it tilted.

He asked, “What do you want now?”

Her hands writhed over one another before falling to her sides, determination in the set of her shoulders. “Sanctuary.”

“Sanctuary?” He scrutinized her. After inciting a war with the Soulless and slaying dozens of noblemen in the most brutal manner, she couldn’t possibly mean to align herself under his command. Then again, perhaps she hoped an allegiance would spare her.

The answer hovered in her eyes: A man stood before her at the doorway of a thatched-roof house, grinning greedily as golden coins fell into his palm from the stranger outside.
She’ll be perfect for breeding.
...Hours later the man chased after her, a red-hot firebrand in his gloved hand, his screams echoing after her as she misted into the trees:
You belong to me. You are mine, mia bella!

Her eyes widened, then tightened.
I want to destroy them. You can give me that?
“Sanctuary.”

He neared a step. Never could he condone the cold blooded murder she desired, but since she’d launched this war between Passionate and Soulless, they would either have to reconcile the different agendas among the Passionate or succumb to their enemies. He had been working toward that union a long time. She’d destroyed all hopes of bringing it about peacefully, and all that remained was war. If she wanted to be a soldier, indeed she would prove an invaluable ally—but only if she could take orders.

“Sanctuary.” He nodded slowly. “You know the rules.” Rules she had learned and flouted when she abandoned her prison and started the war. “One more offense and you will be tossed into the deepest prison.”

Bellezza’s brow twitched. She bit back a snarl and curtsied. “Hail, o mighty king.”

He shook his head. “I will meet you outside.”

She growled, stormed forward, and brushed past him with a snort. He listened as her near-silent footsteps distanced, gradually fading to nothing.

Kiren turned to his beloved. She blinked up at him from the floor, starlight streaking her raven curls and illuminating the pale cotton of her nightgown. His own angel.

Her gaze traveled up his body to meet his.

Kiren’s breath caught.

The thriving green of her stare carried him to the heart of a youthful jungle, entwining his limbs with thick vines, trapping him in the heart of need. Her pink lips pressed together, and he wanted nothing but to possess them.

Alexia pushed off the floor, slipped on the hem of her nightgown, and flailed forward.

He caught her, startled by how sheer the fabric was between his fingers and her warm skin. He set her on her feet, curling an arm about her back, unwilling to let her go and lose the sudden electricity tingling through him. She set him on fire, every nerve, every heartbeat. He inhaled her ambrosia scent and trailed his fingers down her blushing cheek, aching to satisfy this craving for her, to kiss away all sense and reason, to tear down the few barriers that stood between their complete union.

She met his gaze.

“Hello,” he whispered and kissed her cheek, tasting the amber-pomegranate of her skin. Only a month ago he thought he’d lost her, again, and during these three days apart, every second had been torture.

She threw her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her.

“Slow down, love.” Curling his fingers around her waist, he pushed her away. She held tighter, and he smirked.

Alexia lifted her stubborn chin. “Where have you been? Why have you not sent word?”

He froze, unwilling to lie to her yet afraid to overwhelm her with rumors of a rising threat, one he’d been unable to verify. She still knew so little of their world.

Her fingers squeezed at the back of his neck, head tilting. “What has happened?”

He glanced away, certain she could see the answer in his eyes:
Trouble.
Pulling her hand from around his neck, he kissed her fingers. “I do not like being away from you.”

Her brows pleated. “I do not like you being away from me either.” Her grip over his shoulder tightened, dragging his attention back to her pale lips and begging eyes. She pushed up on the balls of her feet, stretching for his touch.

Kiren leaned down, aimed toward her waiting lips, unable to resist a moment longer. But if he lingered too long... He caught both her arms firmly, halting her where her ragged breath teased his aching mouth. “We need to go.”

“No.” She shook her head and winced.

“You are hurt.”

“Not as badly as you will be if you continue to deny me.”

He chuckled. “One kiss.” Lifting her jaw, he guided her to him and captured her mouth, savoring the warmth, the calm glow that accompanied her touch—like a welcoming fire after weeks of blinding white blizzard.

Kiren pulled back. She threw her arms around his neck with force, dragging him down to her. He toppled forward.

She giggled against his lips. He chuckled with her, holding her safely against him as he slammed into the mattress with one hand. He lowered her safely to the surface. Her passion cut through him like a torch to snow, melting away all resistance. His entire body heated, charged. Primal need surged through his veins. He gripped the sides of the bed, fighting to hold himself in check.

She grabbed his waistcoat and yanked him toward her. Barriers tumbled, like a crumbling wall. White burst behind his eyes, the space opening up between them, their shared mental space, the place of merging and her recent dream...

A dark form huddled on the other side of her locked door. The knob turned.

Alexia pushed up in her bed, heart pounding.

The door flew open. A black shape leapt through the shadows. She twisted to escape.

Fingers crushed down on the back of her skull. She couldn’t breathe!

He pulled back, his breath ragged, fists clenched. He reminded himself it was only the memory of her nightmare, that she’d survived and he had no cause to charge after Bellezza and make her suffer. 

Alexia’s chin tilted up after him, eyes falling open but lost in a wash of desire.

She gasped, hands exploring the mattress below her, furrowed brows straightening as her mouth dropped open. Shock and embarrassment filled her stare. Heat radiated off her cheeks, eyelids lowering demurely as she swallowed.

Kiren followed the movement of her lashes as they pointed him back to her vulnerable lips. Two voices screamed in his head: one that remembered danger lurked on the horizon, and the louder one that growled to be appeased.

He lifted himself a couple inches. “You should not place yourself completely at my mercy.”

She caught the collar of his waistcoat, her pupils dark and wide. “But mercy is your strongest virtue.”

Did she have any idea how difficult she was making this for him? He groaned and pressed a kiss to the side of her neck. “This is not the kind of mercy heaven would smile upon.”

She swallowed and he traced the movement with a finger.

“You have been dreaming again,” he said.

“And you are prying.”

He opened his mouth and closed it. It was true. She had asked him not to intercept her thoughts, but he couldn’t stop it from happening when so intimately connected. He put a little more space between them.

Alexia looked away. “You promised you would not—”

“Sorry.” But he wasn’t. If she was withholding vital information, he must know. “You did not think it important to tell me you are dreaming again?”

“Only one dream.”
Twice.
She scowled.
And how am I supposed to tell you anything when you are dazzling me?

He smirked, one eyebrow peaking. “I dazzle you?”

She pushed against his chest and rolled out from under him. Kiren moved an arm and let her go, although it took all his self-control. She moaned and sat up, holding her head.

He sat next to her. “Love?”

She lifted a hand.

Scooting closer, he massaged the back of her neck. Only a month ago the Soulless had ambushed them in this estate after he’d been shot by John while attempting to rescue Sarah. Alexia had fought the Soulless off, using her gift to slow time until it nearly killed her. He had yet to forgive himself for being so vulnerable, for allowing her to save him at such a high cost. She would recover, eventually, if she would just stop using her gift.

He closed his eyes and probed. Her tender cerebellum pulsed, swelling as it had right after the incident. Kiren groaned, wishing he could heal it completely. He never wanted her to suffer, to experience the pain he was directly responsible for bringing into her life. The best he could do was soothe her physical aches.

Cells throbbed under his touch, ripe for his command. He summoned blood flow through the region and a release of endorphins while reshaping damaged cells. Strength seeped through his fingers, fueling her remedy.