“That is good to know.” She turned and moved toward the large opening that led to a balcony.
Part of him wanted to leave and go find a bed, but something that was said earlier continued to nag at the back of his mind. “What is this about the mark on her wrist?”
“She returned with a black bracelet bearing his insignia tattooed on her wrist, but the lines seem to be in constant motion.”
Much like the lines on Loku’s skin. “And you think there’s some significance to it?”
“Yes, Lore Keeper, I do. But she refuses to tell us anything, and I fear our troubles with Loku are far from over. Her Protector will have much to deal with.”
“Poor Dev.”
“I would echo your sentiments, but he has resigned his position because he feared his feelings for her would cloud his judgment. She is currently without a Protector.”
The last sentence was directed pointedly toward him, and that tiny flare of guilt burned inside his chest again. As much as he tried to suppress it, he couldn’t douse it completely. “Then I pity the fool who accepts that position.”
He trudged off to the room he’d been given at the Conclave, ignoring the little voice in the back of his mind that plagued him. The last time he listened to it, he ended up in Chaos and was almost killed in the process.
Lesson learned.
Chapter 21
Arden looked up at Dev’s face and beamed as they were finally declared husband and wife.
“Go on and kiss him, you silly girl,” Loku whispered. “And make it one that will cause your cousin to squirm uncomfortably on her throne.”
She mentally rolled her eyes and kissed Dev. It may not have been squirm-inducing, but it bore every ounce of passion she dared to display outside of the bedroom. After so many heartbreaks and setbacks, her wedding day had finally arrived, and she was looking forward to spending the rest of her life with him.
When the kiss ended, she murmured, “It’s official. You’re stuck with me.”
“Until I draw my last breath.” He lowered his head until their noses touched. “And I wouldn’t have it any other way, Trouble.”
She fought the urge to stick out her tongue like a petulant child. “I hate being called that.”
“But it fits you so well,” he teased before stepping back to receive the well-wishers.
As she shook hands and thanked their guests for coming to her wedding, almost none of them noticed the ribbon tied around her right wrist. She glanced down at it every once in a while, wondering if some of the lines had escaped out from under it.
“Worried our little secret will be revealed?” Loku asked.
“Yes and no. I just don’t want to endure any more questions about it.”
“Oh, but there will be more questions, my dear little Soulbearer, especially once you start to assert yourself as my high priestess.”
A storm of chaotic magic bloomed inside her, and she quickly cast a few containment spells to keep Loku from ruining her wedding day. “Remember our agreement.”
“Fine, but I was just trying to mark this memorable occasion by making it a little more memorable.”
“Please, don’t. They are already see me as a freak as it is.” She was the Soulbearer, but unlike her predecessors, she still hadn’t shown any signs of descending into madness. Between the empress and Mages Council, she’d been poked, prodded, and studied so much over the last few days, she wanted to act mad just so they’d leave her alone.
Dev nudged her, his brow creased with concern. “Is someone bothering you?”
“Yes, is someone bothering you?” Loku echoed. “I’ll gladly dispose of Marist for you.”
“Don’t you dare,” she silently replied before giving Dev a reassuring smile. “Just the same old nuisance.”
“Nuisance? Well, I like that!” the chaos god huffed.
“Shut up and let me enjoy the day.”
“Fine.” He retreated to the back of her mind, but his displeasure never truly faded.
Dev cocked his head to the side for a moment before guiding her to the table where an extensive feast was laid out. “You handle him better than the others.”
“Yes, well, it’s because we have an understanding with each other.”
“So I’ve noticed.” He held out a chair for her. “I hope you don’t intend to keep secrets from your husband.”
Her spine stiffened, and a reply sat poised on the tip of her tongue. She wanted to tell Dev everything, but her agreement with Loku bound her to silence until they set their plan into motion. It still didn’t ease the ache in her heart when she heard the suspicion in his voice.
“The sooner we carry it out, Arden, the less time you have to spend hiding your secrets from him.”
She pressed her lips together and nodded. “I’ll tell you everything when I can, Dev, but this isn’t the best time.”
The wariness in his green eyes added another blow to her heart, but he gave her a curt nod. “I hope so.”
What had started out as the happiest day of her life suddenly turned tense and cold. She reached over to squeeze his hand and silently ask for forgiveness.
He gave her a crooked smile. “Don’t let him get to you, Arden. You’re stronger than that.”
The knots in her neck loosened, and she rested her head on his shoulder. “Thank you, Dev.”
“He’s not the only person who understands you, after all.” He placed a peck on her forehead and started eating.
As the meal drew to a close, one of the apprentice mages approached the Mage Primus and whispered something in his ear before repeating the same with the empress. Arano stroked his chin, his lips twitching before his face became an emotionless mask. The empress revealed nothing other than a sideways glance at Arden. The two leaders spent several moments locked in a wordless exchange before the Mage Primus nodded. Marist rose, followed by Arano and the rest of the Mages Council, and they all filed out of the banquet hall together.
The flavor vanished from Arden’s food, and her stomach twisted. Something was wrong to command the attention of both the empress and the ten most powerful mages in the empire, and based on her cousin’s reaction to the news, she could only assume it involved her.
She leaned over to Dev. “Any idea what’s going on?”
The same suppressed smile played on his lips, just as it had on his father’s. “Perhaps.”
“Oh, I like that,” Loku huffed. “Here he is, making you feel guilty about keeping information from him, yet he turns around and does the same thing.”
“I thought you didn’t want any secrets between us?” she asked.
“Touché.”
She opened her mouth to pry some more information from him, but was interrupted by the same apprentice mage who’d spoken to the Mage Primus earlier.
“Soulbearer, the empress and the Mages Council request an audience with you and Sir Devarius.”
Her fingers turned cold as she accepted Dev’s hand and made her way to the chamber where the Mages Council convened. “What do you think this is about?” she asked Loku.
“They probably want to interrogate you again. But you know what to say if they do.”
“I know. The question is, will they listen?”
“We’ll make them listen.”
But when she entered the chamber with Dev, she stopped short at the unexpected person standing in front of the Mages Council. “Callix, what are you doing here? Is something wrong at Lothmore? Do we need to bring my father from the feast?”
Callix shook his head, but didn’t give her any other answer. The day after they returned to the Conclave, he’d left without a word to return to Lothmore. After their ordeal in Chaos, she wasn’t quite sure how to interpret his departure, but she’d assumed it was because he was glad to be rid of her.
The doors closed with a heavy thud behind her, adding another layer of ominous tension to the room. She searched each face of the others in the chamber, hoping to find a clue as to why she was summoned
here, and finding nothing.
Arano cleared his throat, drawing her attention back to him. “Arden Soulbearer, as you know, your prior Protector has asked to be relieved of his duty.”
She looked at Dev and squeezed his hand. She’d much rather have him as her husband than her Protector.
“After much searching, we have finally found a suitable replacement.” He nodded toward Callix.
Her breath hitched, and she let go of Dev’s hand to take a step toward Callix. “But I thought you didn’t want to be the Protector?”
His expression remained stoic, but the knob at the base of his throat bobbed as he swallowed hard. “I changed my mind.”
“Why?” she asked, coming closer.
“Because this time, it’s personal.” He curled his fingers into a fist before rubbing them on his spotless tunic. “That is, if you’re agreeable to allowing me to be your Protector.”
She waited for Loku to say something, but all she got was silence from the chaos god. Perhaps he was as stunned as she was. Or already plotting something.
She turned back to Dev. “And what do you think?”
“He’s the only candidate I found acceptable.” The respect his reply bore eased some of her doubts.
She took a deep breath and waited for any warning bell, any sign that she shouldn’t agree to this, but found none. All she needed to do was ask one more question of him. “Are you certain you want this, Callix? You know what he’s capable of doing.”
A hint of an arrogant grin played on his lips. “I’ve been to Chaos and back. It can’t be much worse than that.”
Loku snickered.
“Then if you’re certain…”
Dev drew the sword he’d carried for as long as she’d known him and handed it to Callix. Loku’s emblem flashed in the light as he took it and weighed the blade in his hands. Then he knelt before her and said in a solemn voice, “I, Callix de Jaquoix, vow to protect the Soulbearer with my life, to keep her safe until I draw my last breath, and I will carry out the necessary duties required of me, assuming the role of Soulbearer if needed. This I swear before the Mages Council and Her Imperial Majesty.”
Maniacal laughter echoed through her mind. “Oh, things have just gotten far more interesting, my little Soulbearer.”
Note to Readers
Thank you!
Thanks for reading A Soul For Atonement. I hope you enjoyed it!
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You’ve just read the fourth full-length book in The Soulbearer Series. The other books in the series are A Soul For Trouble (Book 1), A Soul For Chaos (Book 2), and A Soul For Vengeance (Book 3). I hope you enjoy them all!
Thanks again,
Crista
Books by Crista McHugh
The Soulbearer Series
A Soul For Trouble
A Soul For Chaos
A Soul For Vengeance
A Soul For Atonement
The Kelly Brothers
The Sweetest Seduction, Book 1
Breakaway Hearts, Book 2
Falling for the Wingman, Book 3
The Heart’s Game, Book 4
A Seductive Melody, Book 5
In The Red Zone, Book 6 (Feb. 2015)
Here All Along, Book 7 (May 2015)
The Elgean Chronicles:
A Thread of Magic
The Tears of Elios
The Deizian Empire:
Tangled Web
Poisoned Web
Deception’s Web
Shattered Web
The Kavanaugh Foundation:
Heart of a Huntress, Book 1
Angelic Surrender, Book 2
“A High Stakes Game”, Book 2.5 (a free read)
Kiss of Temptation, Book 3
Night of the Huntress (Print Anthology of Books 1 and 2)
Other titles by Crista McHugh
The Alchemy of Desire
“A Waltz at Midnight”
Cat’s Eyes
“More Than a Fling”
“Provoking the Spirit”
Eight Tiny Flames (part of A Very Scandalous Holiday Anthology)
A Soul For Atonement
Copyright 2014 by Crista McHugh
Edited by Rhonda Helms
Copyedits by EMS Flynn
Cover Art by Yocla Designs
Stock photo from MJ Ranum and used with permission
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author or publisher except for the use of brief quotations in critical articles or reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, businesses, characters and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, actual events or locales is purely coincidental.
ISBN-13: 978-1-940559-87-2
A Soul For Atonement (The Soulbearer Series Book 4) Page 13