A Soul For Chaos (The Soulbearer Trilogy) (32 page)

Arden ran down the hall, her eyes burning with unshed tears as her whole world sat on the brink of crumbling. Varrik was her father, the man who’d abandoned her mother. Or at least, that’s what her mother had always told her. But the scars along the tops of her ears reminded her that mother had never been completely honest with her. Her mother had hidden her elven heritage from her in order to protect her. What other lies had she spun in order to keep the truth hidden? Who was she to believe when everything she’d grown up knowing was cloaked in secrets?

She rounded a corner and stopped dead in her tracks. The open doors to the throne room loomed ahead, full of curious gawkers. No one needed to know what she’d just been through. She spun around and ran back in the direction she came from, hoping to find the door that would lead back to her quarters.

“Arden, wait,” Kell called from behind her.

She slowed her steps, allowing him to catch up with her. He’d been her friend when she needed one. He’d be willing to help her out of this place and back home.

He drew her into his arms. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she replied into his chest.

“I don’t believe you. You look like you’ve been crying.”

“I haven’t shed a single tear.”

He lifted her chin and studied her face. “Maybe not, but they are threatening to spill over any second now.”

“Aw, he thinks he knows you as well as I do.” Loku spoke for the first time since he cautioned her to control her anger earlier.

She took his hands in her own, prying them away from her face. “I can’t stay here a moment longer, Kell. I want to go home, away from this place, away from all the lies and secrets.”

He pressed his lips to her forehead and led her down the hall. “Then we shall leave at once, my dear. When we arrive in Trivinus, we can start planning the wedding—”

She dug in her heels, stopping him midsentence with a jerk. “The wedding?”

“Of course, Arden.”

“Kell, I…” She silently cursed. If she told him the truth—that she couldn’t marry him—would he still be willing to help her?

Kell’s lips thinned. “You weren’t accepting my proposal, were you?”

“Lie to him,” Loku urged. “You can always break his heart later. Or maybe you’ll decide to fall in love with him on the ship. It certainly helped get your dress off last time.”

Her throat tightened. “I can’t do that to him.”

“Because you still think you’re in love with Dev, the man you just accused of betraying you?”

She closed her eyes. When did my life become so messed up?

“Arden?”

Kell’s question brought her back to the man standing in front of her. She released his hand. “I’m sorry, Kell, I can’t marry you.”

His eyes darkened, and his nostrils flared. “Why?”

“Because I—” Her voice broke on her. She bit her bottom lip, preparing for the worst, and said, “I’m still in love with Dev.”

Kell released her with a curse. “I knew it. I knew it all along. How long did you wait before you hopped into bed with him? A day? A week?”

Her skin burned with fury. “How dare you accuse me of sleeping with him. It’s not like that.”

“Of course it’s not.” He paced the width of the hall, not letting her past him. His face turned violent from rage. “I bet you two had a good laugh at my expense.”

“You’re jumping to the wrong conclusion.” As soon as she said the words, she heard Dev’s voice in the back of her mind. Kell was assuming the worst, just like she had with Dev, and realization doused her anger. “Dev doesn’t care about me.”

“Then why do you continue to hold out your heart to him? Why can’t you give it to me?”

A stray tear finally broke free. “I don’t know. I tried to love you, Kell, I really did. But I can’t rationalize the way I feel.”

His face hardened with a mixture of pain and resentment. “You’re just like your mother, pining away over a man who doesn’t want you. And you’ll end up just like her as well.”

She slapped his face. It was one thing to insult her, but her mother’s heartache was too raw, especially after meeting her father tonight. Frost laced her words as she said, “I see now I made the right decision not to accept your proposal.”

Her hand left a print on his cheek, but he didn’t try to soothe it. Instead, his eyes turned cold, and his voice grew sharp with malice. “I couldn’t agree more.” Kell walked back toward the throne room, not even glancing at her as he passed.

Arden stood in the middle of the hallway, another renegade tear falling from her eye as she watched him disappear around the corner.

“Well, that went well, don’t you think?”

“Shut up, Loku.” She’d lost a dear friend, and that stupid chaos god was making light of it. Now she had no one she could depend on, no one she could trust.

“You still have me,” he offered.

“And what good are you to me?”

Instead of answering with a huff, Loku retreated to the deepest part of her subconscious until she no longer felt his presence.

Perfect. I’ve managed to piss off everyone tonight.

The rumble of voices came closer, and she ran down the hall before someone caught her. She meant what she said—she couldn’t stay here any longer. She’d find her way back to Ranello, even if she had to travel alone.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she found a door leading out into the gardens. Her tears dried up. She knew what she had to do, and no one would stop her.

***

The high priest of Nelos stood twenty feet away from the main building of the palace and snarled. Ivis had interfered. That stupid goddess! She’s set up a protective shield around the palace that would alert her and her servants if he or his master entered. As long as the Soulbearer remained inside, he couldn’t get near her.

Nelos laughed. “Patience, my servant. We will not have to wait long for her.”

“Yes, master.” He pulled his cowl lower to hide his face and hid deeper in the shadows. No one could know he was here. If they recognized him, then he’d be forced to dispose of them as he had the Mage Sextus. He was carrying out the work of a god, and these infidels were standing in his way.

“Go to the Grand Canal and await my orders. We will destroy Loku before the sun rises.”

The high priest nodded and hurried through the gardens, his heart fluttering. Tonight, they would rid the world of chaos.

***

Dev stood behind Varrik, tapping his foot. The man said he only needed a few minutes to break the ward, but each second felt like an eternity.

“I think I have it,” Varrik said at last.

A flash of blue surrounded the frame, and Dev forced the door open. The hallway was empty. No clues remained where Arden had gone, but that didn’t matter. He knew one person who could always find her.

He ran toward the Soulbearers quarters to get Cinder and slammed into Kell. “Have you seen Arden?” he asked as soon as he regained his balance.

Kell answered with a right hook to Dev’s jaw, sending him sprawling onto the floor. “That’s for trying to steal her away from me.”

Dev rubbed his aching jaw. “What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play naïve with me, Dev. I know you were seducing her the whole time you were up there. You couldn’t wait to get her alone and into your bed.”

“Do you have any idea how stupid you sound?” He picked himself off of the ground. “Nothing like that has ever happened between us.” Except for that night I was drunk.

Kell’s eyes narrowed. He reached for his sword. “Then why would she leave me for you?”

Dev’s pulse quickened. Arden had chosen him over Kell?

Varrik moved between them, shoving them aside. “Gentlemen, please, we need to find my dau—I mean, the Soulbearer.”

Dev almost smiled. Varrik had just met Arden, and already, he was referring to her as his daughter. Maybe there was still hope that she could form a relationship with her father. But first they needed to find her.

Kell kept his hand on the hilt of his sword. “Why do we need to find her? Is she in danger?”

The air around them dropped at least ten degrees. A shiver coursed through Dev’s body, and Kell’s eyes grew larger. Dev exchanged glances with the prince. “What do you think?”

“I last saw her this way.” Kell pointed down the hallway he’d just come from.

Dev nodded. It would eventually lead to the west gardens and the Grand Canal. “Varrik, you stay with Kell. I’m going to get Cinder and meet you in the gardens.”

As he ran back to his quarters, he kept praying to Lady Luck over and over again, Please don’t let her have done something stupid.

***

Arden wandered through the gardens, refusing to admit she was lost. All she needed to do was find the wall that surrounded the complex and then follow it to a gate. From there, she would be able to find her way to the sea.

Two of the moons had entered the dark stage of their cycle, and the third only provided a thin crescent of light. The farther she travelled from the main building of the complex, the darker the gardens grew. Her feet tripped over the roots hidden in the long shadows. A chill snaked down her spine. She rubbed her arms and slowed her steps.

“Loku?”

But the god didn’t answer her. Her palms grew damp, and her mouth went dry. Perhaps I should turn back…

But then she remembered Dev’s betrayal and Kell’s anger. There was no reason to go back. She was better off on her own.

She kept moving forward, replaying Varrik’s reaction when he saw her. He almost seemed surprised to learn she was his daughter. She couldn’t believe him when he said her mother had left him, though, not based on the hours her mother spent crying over him. It had to be the other way around.

Or maybe he was telling the truth, and her mother’s tears were due to regret rather than heartache. And if that was the case, why did her mother leave him? And did she know she was pregnant at the time?

A long, narrow lake cut off the path she’d been walking on. She stopped and pressed her palms against her temples. She didn’t remember this. Where am I?

The placid water reflected the twinkling stars overhead, undisturbed by the chaos in her life. She stared at it, wishing she could harness its peace.

A ripple formed in the water, disturbing its surface with the circles. The waves grew faster, higher, with each new ripple. The lake came toward her, licking her toes. A new chill raced through her body, setting off every warning bell. She backed away.

A wall of water rose from the lake, taking the same shape of a hand as the prior attack. Arden raised her shield and ran away from it, praying her feet would be fast enough to carry her out of its reach. The hand of water slapped against the earth behind her. Its remnants rained down in her, soaking her dress, but she’d managed to escape it.

She paused between two vine-covered arches to ease the burning in her lungs. Her attacker had to be near. She needed to let Dev and the Mage Primus know he was here.

The air around her became charged, and her stomach dropped. Another attack was coming. She darted forward, but the knee-high shrub ahead quadrupled in size, blocking the path. She turned around, trying to find a new way out, only to be greeted by a growing wall of plants.

“Loku, help!”

The vines on the arches slithered toward her like snakes. Her heart pounded. She tried to elude them, but one managed to snare her ankle. She fell. The taste of blood filled her mouth. She battled with the ever tightening vine on her ankle. Another snatched her wrist, pulling her back.

The plants closed in around her, blocking out the sky. They coiled around her arms, her legs, her throat. The more she struggled, the tighter they squeezed. She screamed.

Then a flash of magic pierced her shield.  Waves of pain rocked her body before she lost consciousness.

Chapter 29

Cinder bolted out the door as soon as Dev opened it. The claw-marks scratched into the door revealed the fire wolf would have carved his way through the door if Dev hadn’t released him when he did.

This doesn’t bode well.

A chill hung in the air and constricted his airways. He cursed Arden’s hair-trigger temper over and over again while chasing after Cinder. When he found her, he was going to lock her up in those mithral chains just so she would quit being a danger to herself and everyone around her.

He caught up with Kell and Varrik. “Any sign of her?”

Kell shook his head.

Cinder plunged deeper into the gardens, not caring if he stayed on the paths. Dev struggled to keep him in sight under the dim light of the one moon. Magic rushed past him, drawn to a source gathering it up ahead. He ran until his legs burned, hoping he could catch the person behind the attacks before he harmed Arden.

A thunderclap ripped apart the silence. The shockwaves that followed sent them all sprawling on the gravel. A woman’s scream faded into the distance. Dev’s gut knotted up when he heard it.

Arden.

He jumped to his feet and raced toward the source, running into a half-dead hedge as tall as him. The leaves withered before his eyes, revealing black branches. They snapped in his hands, but still prevented him from moving forward.

“Arden!” he called. No reply came back. Kell and Varrik joined him, but their calls were answered by the unnatural silence.

The hedge finally gave way to allow them in a small circle. Tangled vines covered the ground, also in the final stages of death. Cinder sniffed the area, whining the whole time. The heavy aura of magic hung in the air with the familiar taint of law. But Arden was nowhere to be seen.

“Dev, come here,” Kell said. He went to where the prince knelt. “Recognize this?”

The blood rushed from his head, and he fell to his knees.

There, dangling from Kell’s fingers, was Arden’s necklace.

***

The Empress burst into the room, a scowl on her face. “Tell me what happened.”

Dev looked around the Empress’s study, wondering who would answer first. Varrik clutched the necklace in his hand and stared straight ahead. Kell paced back and forth, raking his fingers through his hair. Arano stood by the window overlooking the gardens. None of them said anything.