A Soul for Vengeance (33 page)

“He’s trying to manipulate you again.”

“Don’t listen to Dev. Together, we can defeat the Thallians.”

She wavered between one voice and the next. Her hand instinctively reached for her mother’s necklace. Which one did she trust more?

“You can’t take out an entire army alone.” Dev pressed his palms into her cheeks so her attention remained fixed on him. “Let the soldiers do what they’re trained to do.”

“He’s wrong,”
Loku hissed.
“We’ve taken out armies before, you and I. Has he forgotten what we did to Sulaino’s undead?”

Arden squeezed her eyes and clutched her mother’s necklace. Dev had told her to ground herself. As long as she held onto her mother’s necklace, she could control Loku. She opened her eyes and pleaded, “Please, Dev, I know what I’m doing. I’m grounded.”

She jumped to her feet, pushing him aside just in time to see a cloud of arrows fill the sky. Her stomach dropped while her heart blocked her throat. She fumbled for her magic, praying she could raise a shield in time.

“Look out!” Dev collided with her, knocking her back into the muddy earth and covering her with his body. A cry of pain filled her ears as she managed to raise her shield. Her flesh stung from the dozens of sharp points that pricked the magic barrier that protected her and Dev. When they stopped, she rolled Dev off of her. He winced in pain, and the warmth fled from her blood.

“Are you hurt?” She searched his body for wounds. A small scream broke free when she came to the three arrows lodged in his back. “Don’t move, Dev. I can heal you.”

Before she could remove the first arrow, though, an explosion rumbled over the sounds of battle and shook the ground beneath them. Arden fell back in the mud once again, her concentration shattered. The Gravarians were retreating under the charge of the Thallians.

“Sweet Lady Moon, we can’t lose.”

“Stop praying to Ivis when you have me,”
Loku snapped.
“Let’s show them why it’s foolish to mess with a god and his Soulbearer.”

Dev’s breaths came sharp and fast, but his color hadn’t crossed into the realm of deathly pale yet. “Don’t do it, Arden,” he said, his voice raw with pain.

“I have to.” She directed a jolt of magic to his wounds. The spell dislodged the arrows from his back, closing the gaps left in their wake.

Once she knew he was safe, she kissed his forehead and stood in the face of the retreating Gravarians, her hand still holding on to her mother’s necklace. One by one, she dropped the layers of confinement she’d built around the chaotic soul inside her. “I’m all yours, Loku.”

“I’ve been dying to hear you say that
.
”

Her knees buckled from the tidal wave of magic that slammed into her. The world faded around her. All she was aware of was the cold metal pressing into her palm and the power of the chaos god that filled her body. It shot out her arm, into the ground beneath her, rolling and twisting the very earth. The soldiers in front of her fell like autumn leaves caught in a gale.

Off in the distance, she heard Dev calling her name, but it was too late to turn back. Loku commanded her body now and would help her destroy the Thallians. It was the price she was willing to pay for vengeance. They’d destroyed her homeland. They’d injured Dev. And they would wish they were never born by the time she and Loku were finished with them.

“Yes, my little Soulbearer, give into the beauty of chaos
.
”

He ordered her movements now, raising her feet and lifting her into the air where she had an unobstructed view of the enemy. The earthquake had halted their charge, but they regrouped quickly under the command of their leader.

Loku chuckled. “
The silly mortal thinks he can defeat me. Shall we show him how wrong he is?”

He didn’t wait for her consent, although she would’ve gladly given it. Green lightning bolts shot out from her hand, striking the Thallian soldiers. Their frightened screams intoxicated Loku like the strongest whiskey. His spells came faster, more erratic, more terrifying. He delighted in the way they scattered in every direction, no longer following orders. He had created what he loved.

“Let’s end this now,”
she said, but her inner voice seemed to be hardly more than a whisper.

“Why end it when I’m having so much fun?”
He reined in his magic, holding it together in an invisible net before releasing it in one concentrated blow in the center of the Thallian forces. The ground cracked and fissured. The Thallians’ screams rose an octave higher, forming a melody of pain and terror. A plume of dirt and smoke rose up into the air, billowing out like a blanket over them. And when it cleared, there was little left of the army save one lone man.

Their leader.

“That’s enough, Loku. We’ve won
.
”

“I’m just getting started.”
His laughter froze the very core of her being with horror.
“Come now, Arden, don’t you want to make him pay?”

Loku unleashed his magic on the Thallian leader. The man’s body jerked in pain, his eyes bulging. Rivulets of blood ran down his face, followed by squealed pleas to make it stop. The skin on his face peeled back, revealing the grotesque layers of muscle and bone. She’d wanted to make the Thallians pay, but not like this.

“I said that’s enough, Loku
.
”
She started laying down her barriers, muscling her way back into control.
“We’ve made our point.”

“I’m not finished.”
He shoved her back, squeezing at her consciousness until the blackness started to close in on her.

She struggled for air, for freedom from his wrath, but nothing worked. Dev had told her to remain grounded in who she was if she wanted to keep from surrendering to Loku completely, but the necklace didn’t offer the comfort it usually possessed. She was sinking into the black pit of madness, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

A pair of hands grabbed her ankles, jerking her back to the ground, followed by a pair of strong arms around her waist. The familiar smell of spices and evergreens surrounded her.

Dev.

“Find the thing that grounds you, Arden,” he murmured in her ear. “Fight back.”

“It’s too late, Dev.” Loku’s voice came from her mouth, full of triumph. “She’s already given into me.”

“No,”
she screamed, but no one heard her.
“Let me go, Loku
.
”

“Please, come back to me, Arden.” An uncharacteristic surge of emotion choked Dev as he added, “I need you.”

Loku’s magic welled up inside her, this time aimed for Dev. Her heart thundered through her chest, fueled by her fury. The son-of-a-bitch would destroy the man she loved next, and it would all be her fault. She replayed Dev’s plea. Tears streamed down her face when she came to the part about him needing her. And then she knew what she’d been doing wrong.

Her necklace didn’t ground her. All it did was remind her about her and about the bitterness of her past. Dev was her future.

She hung on to the desperation of his words. Her fingers flexed under her command, clinging to his jerkin, drawing strength from his presence. She let his love feed her own magic until it dwarfed Loku’s. Her inner voice became strong, confident.
“I won’t let you hurt him.”

She unleashed her magic on the chaos god inside her, shoving him back as he’d done to her.

“What are you doing, you horrible, ungrateful bitch?”

A slew of curses followed from Loku, each of them growing more and more distant as she erected layers of confining spells around him. At last, she reached the point of silence.

Her body melted into Dev as though she’d lost her bones during the battle. “I won’t ever let him hurt you, Dev. You’re what grounds me.”

“And I will never leave your side.” He stroked her hair, the vibrations of his voice comforting her. “Remember, you’re stuck with me until one of us draws our last breath.”

A laugh mixed with a sob of relief. Dev was never the type to come out and say he loved her. Instead, he had his own way of showing it, going all the way back to their first few days together. She lifted her face and smiled at the man she desired above all else. “I love you, too.”

Chapter 29

A scream of rage echoed through the castle, shaking the chandeliers and rattling the crockery all the way in the kitchen.

“Uh-oh,” Liverna murmured. “Her ladyship is in a foul mood. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere near her tonight.”

“Thanks for the warning,” Zara replied, gathering the last of the silverware she needed to set the table for dinner. “I wonder if there’s a way to serve them dinner without having to be in the same room with them.”

“You’ll be smart to find a way. Now get up there before we feel the brunt of her ladyship’s wrath.”

Zara climbed into the lift with her tray of plates, glasses, utensils, and napkins. Her heart hammered with each crank of the wheel. Something bad had happened, and she could only hope it meant good news for the rebellion.

Sobs filled the corridor when she reached the Triumvirate’s quarters. The cracked door to their study gave her a glimpse of Decindra crying with her face in her hands while Ermane stoically stared out the window. A sliver of delight filled her as she counted back the days and realized Barsaulus’s troops would’ve met with the Gravarian forces by now. Based on the scene she witnessed, he hadn’t been successful.

It was just more one thing that had gone in their favor. A storm had sunk the Thallian armada bound for Gravaria. Ortono had managed to capture a store of weapons and supplies bound for Trivinus. And now, one of the Triumvirate had fallen. She grinned, her hands shaking from excitement. With each day, they came closer to defeating the Thallians and reclaiming the throne for Kell.

And in a few days, her plan would come to fruition. She’d added the last of her kokalla powder to their sherry the other night. When they’d drained that barrel in the next couple of days, they would experience the same cruel withdrawals they’d inflicted on her people.

Just in time for the armies to arrive at the city walls.

The dining room door opened, and Ermane led a still sobbing Decindra into the room. “Calm down and have a drink. We can’t let the—” He paused when he saw Zara, his mouth pressing into a stern grimace. “Fetch her some sherry now.”

Zara poured a small glass from the crystal decanter and handed it to the near hysterical member of the Triumvirate.

Decindra stopped crying long enough to turn her gaze on Zara. “I bet you’re happy to hear the news, you horrid little slave.”

“What news?” she asked, feigning innocence.

“Barsaulus is dead.”

A bolt of magic flew from her fingers and hit Zara squarely in the stomach. Her breath rushed out, and her head swam. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes as she stumbled back. The pain only added to her joy, though. One member of the Triumvirate was gone, and another was torn apart by grief.

Decindra raised her hand to deliver another spell, but Ermane caught it. “There’s no need to take it out on a slave like her. I need you to clear your mind and help me find a way to fight back.”

He turned to Zara. “Fetch dinner and be quick about it. We have much to decide tonight, and I do not want any disruption in our schedule.”

Zara ran back to the kitchen, practically skipping by the time she was safely within the world of the Ranellian slaves. “Barsaulus is dead,” she whispered to Liverna.

The startled woman dropped her pan with a clang. “How?”

“I suspect the Gravarians.” She set the tureen of soup on her tray. “We’ll be free soon.”

“I pray to the Lady Moon you’re right.” The head cook pinched her cheek. “Until then, we’d best keep our heads down and ears open for more news.”

****

Kell looked through the spyglass at the enormous sinkhole and the lines of Gravarian soldiers skirting around it. He handed the glass to Bynn. “It looks like Arden was here.”

Bynn held it up to his one eye and cursed. “Damn witch. Is she capable of using magic without destroying everything in her path?”

“Why don’t we ride ahead and find out what happened here?” He kicked his horse forward, galloping past his men and across the gap between the two armies. By the time he caught up with her, both he and his horse were breathless.

Complicating matters was a thin, blond woman who nearly knocked him to the ground the moment he slid from his saddle. “Kell!”

He managed to catch his balance and wrap his arms around her. “Arden, it’s so good to see you again.”

And he meant it. His heart no longer stung from her rejection. Instead, it beat with the love he bore her as a dear friend, a love she’d once offered him but he’d been too disappointed to accept. Now he welcomed it. “And you, too.” He nodded toward the sinkhole. “You’ve been busy.”

Two blotches of color appeared in her cheeks, and she stepped back toward Dev. “Loku got a little out of control.”

One look at her protector told him that things had gotten more than just a little out of control. He’d have to ask Dev later what really happened.

“The good news is that we managed to take out the Thallian leader and his army without suffering any huge losses ourselves.”

“
Huge losses
is debatable,” Dev said dryly. “You weren’t the one turned into a pin cushion.”

“But I still had enough magic left over to heal you, right?” She gave him a playful pat on the nose, earning a rare smile from the elven knight.

As Kell watched them together, he realized he’d been a fool for thinking he could compete with Dev for Arden’s heart. Those two understood each other in ways he couldn’t possibly fathom. They were truly meant for each other, just like Zara was meant for him. The sight of them together revived his yearning for Zara. Soon, he’d be with her again. Soon, he’d convince her that she was the only woman he’d never need.

He scanned the others around them, spotting another familiar face. “Sir Fane, welcome to Ranello.”