by Bella Klaus
Valentine’s lips thinned. “Many of the shifters were turned into preternatural soldiers during Kresnik’s last reign. That would explain why the Shifter King is keen to take action. If the Demon King had a conscience, I would say he feels somewhat responsible for letting Kresnik’s soul escape from Hell.”
“He’s more embarrassed than anything else,” I muttered.
The elevator stopped descending and drifted sideways. “Why are you thinking about him now, of all times?”
“Macavity and I rode on his elevator. If it wasn’t for him lending me a priceless antiquity, I would never have survived for long enough to resurrect you.”
Valentine hummed, sounding unconvinced.
I stood on my tiptoes and pecked him on the lips. “Let’s wait until we’ve dealt with Kresnik before deciding what to do about him.”
“You really think he’s an ally?” he asked.
“He’s still incapable of causing me any harm, and he knows that hurting you will hurt me.”
The elevator drifted toward a spherical building containing curved windows on each of its five floors. Its sign said ATLANTIS HOSPITAL OF SOUL HEALING. I supposed the general hospital contained a number of wards with different specialties, each located in separate buildings, unlike how everything was centralized in Logris.
Tilting my head to the side, I frowned. “You remember the conversation we had about him in your soul landscape?”
Valentine leaned down and placed a soft kiss on my lips. “Thanks to Healer Hadriel, I remember every moment I experienced after dying. I’m sorry for putting so much pressure on you.”
“What?”
“My body making excuses not to resurrect, and my soul insisting that you restore me to life,” he said. “It must have been difficult.”
The elevator came to an abrupt stop, its elevator doors hissed open, and I turned to find Healer Hadriel sitting cross-legged and floating four feet in the air. White-blonde hair flowed down her shoulders, settling on her turquoise-silk pant suit. Just like the last time we’d met, she wore a huge transparent crystal that radiated the slicing magic of an angel.
The room was white, with pale blue floors, a matching examination table, and a celestite-blue unit at its far end that served as both a desk and a sink.
“You’re just in time.” She straightened her legs and drifted down to her feet.
I froze on the elevator’s glass floor, glancing between Valentine and the Healer. “When did you make an appointment?”
He ushered me into the room. “I left Logris the moment I discovered Kresnik had landed. When I saw the firefighters failing to extinguish the flames scattered about Hyde Park and beyond, I knew you had arrived with him.”
“You were that confident I’d be there?” I turned as the doors whooshed closed, leaving an entire glass wall that overlooked the ocean.
Valentine rubbed the back of his neck. “I would have taken you to Logris, but some of the more dogmatic members of the Council might call for your arrest.”
Healer Hadriel gestured toward the blue examination table. “It’s an honor to see you looking so well. His Highness tells me you just returned from the Realm of the Gods?”
Nodding, I shuffled forward and sat on its cushioned surface. “I feel fine, but Kresnik forced a mental connection and injected me with enough of his magic to control my body.”
A tiny crease formed between her brows, marring her unnaturally smooth face. “Is this something you would like to discuss alone?”
I reached for Valentine’s hand. “He stays with me.”
“Alright,” she said with an outward breath. “I’m qualified in both general medicine and soul healing. If you’d prefer, I can bring a second healer in to check the integrity of your physical body.”
“That won’t be necessary.” I shook my head for emphasis.
“Please remove your outer garment.” Healer Hadriel rubbed her hands together.
“I have a question, though.” I shouldered off the reaper cloak and pushed it to the side.
“Ask.”
“My aunt fled to Atlantis in November.” I swallowed hard. “She might have it as a route to somewhere else, or she could have stayed. Is there any way to let her know I’m in the country?”
“Of course.” The healer raised her head, and the door opened, revealing a dark-haired young man sitting behind the desk of a blue office. “Joshua, could you leave a message with the Exchange for…?”
“Arianna.” I cleared my throat. “Arianna Griffin.”
Healer Hadriel nodded and smiled. “Please let the operators know that Hemera Griffin can be reached in Atlantis for the next few hours at my office.”
The young man behind the desk inclined his head. “Yes, My Lady.”
Every butterfly in my stomach trembled as I hoped Aunt Arianna hadn’t moved on to another supernatural city. She’d left her home because of me, and had taken our entire coven. We weren’t wealthy by anyone’s standards, so it would have been a struggle to find accommodation and work. I just needed to know she was alright.
The door closed with a click, and Healer Hadriel turned to me, clasping her hands in prayer. “Your Majesty, please could you retreat to the other side of the room so I may take a clear reading of Mera’s energy body?”
“Of course.” Valentine pressed a kiss on my cheek before walking to the corner.
A pale-haired, pale-eyed angel hybrid capable of floating, and Valentine standing in a corner wearing a reaper’s cloak? It reminded me too much of the ritual that had stolen my magic. I shook off those thoughts. Even if she liked me because I was a phoenix, that didn’t mean she wanted to strip me of my power. Did she?
Her magic sliced through my body, making me shift uncomfortably on the examination table and pull my eyes shut. That cutting energy was a characteristic of all with angel magic. At heart, they were warriors. The lower levels of their species served as reapers, using scythes to cleanse impure souls.
“Mera.” The healer’s magic fell away with a snap.
My eyes flew open. “Is there anything wrong?”
She shot Valentine a nervous glance and wrapped her fingers around the crystal pendant hanging over her heart chakra. “This is a little indelicate. May we speak alone?”
My stomach plummeted, and a kaleidoscope of memories attacked me all at once. Waking up naked and unconscious after an indeterminate time. Kresnik being unusually nice. The tunic that barely covered his balls. Valentine said I’d gone missing for a month, but on what basis could I possibly insist that I was only gone for less than twenty-four hours?
Kresnik had no problem with copulating with his daughters—look at what he did with Martika. Nausea barreled through my guts with the intensity of an ogre’s fist.
What the hell was Healer Hadriel going to say next?
Chapter Six
I slumped forward, my heart heavy, and my insides churning and twisting with dread at what Healer Hadriel had seen that she had found so alarming. The walls of her office were suddenly too bright, and the window that looked out into the water now seemed like it might shatter and let in the Atlantic Ocean.
My gaze locked with the healer’s pale irises, their pearlescent sheen reflecting secrets I ached to uncover.
Valentine stepped out from the corner, breathing hard. His magic curled around me like a blanket, but I felt no comfort with so many knots tightening in my stomach. I turned toward him, cringing as his violet eyes turned red, and veins stood out on his temples.
“Healer Hadriel,” he said in a voice trembling with rage. “If Mera is hurt—”
“Your Majesty, I apologize for causing you both alarm.” The healer broke eye contact with me to address Valentine. “The issue I found isn’t physical, but I would like to discuss it with Mera alone.”
I tried to inhale, but the muscles around my chest were too tight to let in anything but the barest amount of air. How bad could it be? Valentine crossed the room, stopped at the side of the examination
table, and wrapped a strong arm around my shoulders.
“Could you just say what’s happened? I’m going to tell Valentine anyway.”
Healer Hadriel turned back to me and hesitated.
“Please.” My voice broke.
She lowered her gaze for a moment, seeming to debate whether to break the news with Valentine in the room. His hand squeezed my shoulder, and he pressed a soft kiss on my temple, a silent assurance that whatever the healer had discovered, we would handle it together.
Healer Hadriel walked to the other side of the room and leaned against the stone desk with her hands clasped in front of her solar plexus. “While you were gone, I worked with King Valentine to track your location.” Her voice was calm, melodic, and without a trace of alarm, but something about the way she distanced herself from us was telling, especially when the solar plexus was the most frequent target of psychic attacks.
My gaze flicked to Valentine. He’d told me about the sessions he’d had with her, so this wasn’t exactly news.
“Are you familiar with the concept of soulmates?” she asked.
I nodded but didn’t elaborate.
“Only those with connections deep enough to travel across souls can qualify as mates. It’s a bond deeper than family or telepathy and formed by threads so subtle that only the most sensitive of supernaturals can detect it.”
Painful spasms squeezed my heart, and I breathed through the pulsing ache. This was common knowledge for anyone who had gone to the academy. We also learned that it was impossible for scanners to identify soulmate bonds, but what the hell did that mean for us? Had Kresnik broken our bond?
“You confirmed that my bond with Mera was intact but frayed,” Valentine said, his voice hoarse.
She inclined her head. “It was understandable given that you were forcibly separated across realms.”
My pulse beat hard enough to muffle her words. I clutched the edge of the examination table, straining to listen, but it was difficult because of the roar of blood between my ears. When would she stop giving us all the background information and get to the point?
“There’s another way soulmate bonds can be weakened,” she said in a quieter voice, her gaze darting to Valentine. “When one party forms a stronger bond with another.”
“What?” I shook my head. “That can’t be right. Valentine and I spent three years of courtship forming our bond.”
“Mera, you have another soulmate. Whoever he or she is wields more power than King Valentine.”
“Impossible,” Valentine said. “The time she spent in the Realm of the Gods was less than twenty-four hours. Time distortion—”
The healer raised her hand. “The passage of time is irrelevant. This new bond is deep and strong enough to supersede the one you have with King Valentine.”
“It has to be Kresnik,” I growled. “But how?”
She inclined her head. “Perhaps, but I didn’t spend long enough analyzing your magic to verify the other person’s identity. Given the rare elemental magic flowing through your bond, I can only conclude that your new soulmate is a very powerful fire user.”
Every ounce of blood drained from my face, leaving me lightheaded and slumping against Valentine, who stood more rigid than a statue. Through the shock and horror and disgust, my mind scrambled for an explanation.
I blurted, “What if it’s a parent and child bond? Kresnik saved my life when we were out in the Realm of the Gods. Could it have slotted into place then?”
Healer Hadriel stilled, but her lack of response said she didn’t believe that one event could make people soulmates.
“Perhaps,” she replied in a less steady voice. “The only time I’ve seen such profound bonds are from couples who have spent centuries together. That depth of love and connection can’t be formed overnight.”
I turned to Valentine, meeting his crimson eyes. “Nothing happened between Kresnik and me—”
He placed a finger over my lips. “You never need to assure me of anything. My belief in you is unshakable.”
At his words, only a fraction of the tightness in my chest eased, but that didn’t solve the problem of Kresnik’s latest machinations. I licked my dry lips. If I was going to break this wretched soul bond with that monster, it would probably be useful to know how he’d managed to ensnare me and why.
“Weeks ago, there was a ritual where Kresnik’s followers created a parasitical attachment between me for Kresnik to steal my magic. Is that what you’re seeing? Do you think it could have re-formed?”
“Mera,” she said with a sigh. “Such abominations are obvious to even the least sensitive of healers. The last time I examined your energy body, the only subtle bond you had was with King Valentine’s soul nucleus.”
Her pale eyes bored into mine, and I imagined them burning with accusation. She probably thought I’d spent the past month as the protagonist of a Hades and Persephone style scenario where I’d fallen for my abductor.
“How do we get rid of it?” Valentine’s voice cut through our stare-off, and the healer moved her gaze to his.
“It’s impossible to remove such a bond,” she replied.
I flinched at her proclamation, and my throat tightened. She had to be wrong. If my soulmate bond with Valentine could fray even though our love remained constant, then anything Kresnik could have done to me could be undone. I wrapped my arms around my middle, trying not to hyperventilate.
“Remember that parasitical bond I told you about?” I licked my dry lips. “We managed to get rid of it with sound healing. Can’t you do something like that?”
Healer Hadriel inhaled a deep breath and rolled her shoulders. I could tell she was getting frustrated with my incessant questions and my constant refusal to accept her authority, but I was too desperate to care. Nothing was impossible—there was always a way.
Closing her eyes, she exhaled delicately through her nostrils. It was a trick Istabelle had taught me for centering my energies in times of annoyance. When she opened her eyes again, she appeared perfectly composed.
“In my profession, sound healing is a blunt instrument only suitable for amateurs,” she said.
“But it works,” I replied.
“Unfortunately not on the subtle soul threads that connect mates.” She pressed her palms together. “True love is the most powerful force in existence and beyond the scope of most supernatural healers. I don’t know how Kresnik tethered himself to you, but I cannot cut your connection.”
“How do we weaken it?” My voice was hoarse.
“This isn’t my specialty, I’m afraid,” she said with a weary breath.
“Then who can help us?” I glanced from Healer Hadriel to Valentine, who held his features tight with restrained fury. “Someone in history must have discovered they had a soulmate and wanted to get rid of them.”
“I can refer you to a shifter healer.” She plucked a white card from the air. “Shifters tend to form bonds that break upon death. Healer Asena has dealt with many cases of rejected mates, but I doubt she’ll have the experience required to help you with anything deeper.”
As the card drifted through the examination room, Valentine reached into the pocket of his cloak, extracted his phone, and held it up. The card floated into the screen with a beep.
My pulse rattled in my skull, thrumming out the beat of my escalating panic. My instincts told me that Healer Hadriel didn’t think the shifter healer could help me. Beneath that unlined and inexpressive face was a woman who believed I was stuck with Kresnik for the rest of my life.
“What happens if Kresnik gets sent back to Hell?” I rasped. “Will I get dragged down with him?”
The healer’s pale brows drew together, and she scratched her chin. “It’s rare for someone who has experienced the joy of an eternal soulmate bond to resort to the depth of evil that warrants condemnation.”
“And Heaven?” Valentine’s voice wavered.
She placed a hand over her mouth, her eyes widening.
; A jolt of fresh alarm lanced through my heart, and I slid down from the examination table and stepped back to look Valentine full in the face. “What are you two talking about?”
“There are two types of soul bond.” His words thickened with sorrow, and he gulped a mouthful of air. “The type that lasts only a lifetime, and the other, which connects two souls for an eternity.”
He paused, staring down at me to check that I was following. When I nodded, he continued.
“When an eternal mate dies, so does his or her partner. The legends describe such an event as a blessing, because the mates remain together for eternity, reincarnating at the same time and always finding each other.”
“No.” My gaze dropped to the marble floor, following the way its pale gray veins bled into unique patterns. If I continued this line of conversation, the phoenix inside me might explode from the surface and burn down the entire room.
Of all the crimes Kresnik had committed against me, this had to be the sickest, the most twisted, and the cruelest. It was even worse than the needle in my heart.
“Kresnik just ensured that if he’s defeated, he will have your soul at his side, ready to help fuel a fresh campaign of terror.” Valentine’s words hit me like a burning meteorite.
Rage seared through my veins, and the acid in my stomach simmered to a boil. The back of my throat burned with the urge to scream my fury, to lash out at Kresnik and reduce him to ash. I wasn’t even sure that was a viable option, considering he could turn himself into an ifrit and survive my attacks.
Raising my gaze from the floor, I met Valentine’s sad eyes. My lips tried to form a smile, but the muscles in my face wouldn’t cooperate. On the other side of the room, Healer Hadriel clutched her giant pendant. I couldn’t tell if she was holding it for comfort or as a barrier, considering I was the soulmate of such a wicked creature.
I cleared my throat. “So, even if I sacrificed myself to rid the world of Kresnik—”
“He will resurface unless he’s imprisoned,” Healer Hadriel said. “But you will be trapped with him.”
My throat tightened. I couldn’t condemn myself to an eternity with Kresnik. The few hours I’d spent with him had been bad enough. I shook my head. “What if the shifter healer says she can’t help? There has to be another way to break our connection.”