He tapped his temple. “Ivis showed me all I needed to know. When she grants me a vision, I am bound to her request.”
None of this made any sense. He was talking to blind man about visions from the Lady Moon and ending up with more questions than answers. “Are all your creations based off your visions?”
“Ivis guides my hand and my hammer, shaping the weapon I cannot see, all to fulfill her glory.” Foresco smiled, his face creasing to reveal his age.
“It sounds all well and good, but I’m still puzzled why she would ask you to create a weapon for me.”
The elf leaned forward, his smile broadening. “You want me to reveal the visions she gave me, don’t you?”
Kell gulped. Something in Foresco’s expression warned him about the dangers of knowing too much about his future. But curiosity got the better of him. “If you feel comfortable telling me what you saw.”
His smile dimmed, and he reclined back in his chair, his hands folded on his stomach. “You are wise to be cautious, Prince Kell. Only a fool wishes to ignore the gifts of Ivis when presented to him, but you are also wary of the power they contain.”
The swordsmith was giving him one more chance to leave without knowing his future, of what the Lady Moon had planned for him, but he remained determined. “Is there a reason why you made his sword able to pierce magical shields?”
“Have you not already witnessed the benefit of that spell?”
“Yes, I have.” When Sulaino attacked Trivinus, it was his sword that managed to breech the shields around him and bring an end to the necromancer’s life.
“Then you do not need to ask why I gave that particular quality to your sword.”
“And is that all I’ll need it for?”
Both of Foresco’s brows rose. “Are you asking if you’ll be tested again?”
Kell’s palms grew damp. The sharp edge in the elf’s voice warned him that he might not like what he heard. But as the seconds ticked by, he came to his decision. His father always stressed the importance of thinking three steps ahead, and if he knew what trials were in store for him, he’d be better prepared. “Yes.”
Foresco’s eyes shimmered, turning silver like the largest moon. “Ivis has shown me many things about you, Prince Kell. You’ve just begun your journey, and although you will know disappointment and heartache, if you remain faithful to her, she will reward you in the end.”
Frustration rankled inside his gut. The man spoke only in riddles. “Is there anything specific I should know?”
The elf’s sightless eyes rolled toward Fane. “He is quite determined, isn’t he?”
The knight laughed. “You haven’t witnessed his conversations with the Empress lately.”
“Let me pray on it then.” Foresco closed his eyes, his lips moving in a wordless conversation with the Lady Moon. When he opened them again, he said, “Ivis has granted me permission to tell you these things.”
The glow of his silver eyes seemed to tear straight through Kell. “You will see your dream of a new Ranello take shape, but not without sacrifice. You will know defeat. You will lose those you hold dear. But in the process, Ivis will bless you. You will help destroy a god, and you will save your homeland yet again.”
Kell’s stomach dropped. He’d asked to know more about his future, but now that he had that information, he wished he hadn’t. It raised too many questions. Who would he lose? How will he be defeated? Was Loku the god he would destroy?
The light faded from Foresco’s eyes, leaving them the dull scarred white color they were before. “Please do not ask for more, Prince Kell. I have shared all Ivis will allow me.”
Fane let out a low whistle. “And now I know why I’ll never ask for information about my future.”
Kell sat with his head down, dissecting the prophetic declaration. He’d been so focused on the negative that he almost forgot the first thing Foresco had shared with him. He would bring change to Ranello, and a sensation of peace washed over him. As long as he knew the end result, he could face the challenges ahead of him. “Thank you, Foresco.”
“It is not me you should be thanking, but Ivis.”
If he lingered any longer, he’d be tempted to pry one more answer out of the seer, one that involved Arden. As much as he missed her, he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear what Ivis had planned for them. The mention of heartache already had his guard raised.
He stood and bowed to Foresco. “We’ve kept you from your work long enough.”
The other two men rose from their seats, and their host extended his hands. “Please, may I hold the sword once again? It is like saying hello to an old friend.”
Kell pulled the sword from the scabbard and handed it to the elf.
Foresco ran his fingers along the blade, a wistful smile on his lips. “I remember this sword very well. It’s one of my finest creations.”
The blue light infused the blade as its creator continued to inspect it with his hands. When it faded, the metal shimmered with a mirror-like polish.
Foresco returned it to him. “I pray it will continue to serve you well. Take good care of it, for you’ll need it in the days ahead.”
“I will.” Kell slid the sword back into its scabbard, but his fingers remained on the hilt.
“This way, Your Highness.” Fane ushered him back through the workshop and into the alley.
“One more thing,” Foresco called out to them. He moved toward them, his steps unhampered by his blindness, and rested his hand on Kell’s shoulder. “Remember what I said about remaining faithful to Ivis. Trust in her plan, no matter how different it is from what you desire now.”
His stomach dropped again. The thing he desired most was Arden. Would he lose her through all this? He removed the elf’s hand. “I will bear that in mind.”
Chapter 23
Arden sat atop an outcropping along the edge of the Conclave, letting the wind ripple her hair. There would be no lessons today. Sazi had been called back to her home deep within the mountains, and Arden was determined to enjoy the warm spring day after spending weeks cooped up in the cold tower room.
Cinder lifted his head from where he sat beside her and growled.
Raggia slowed her steps toward them, lifting the hem of her skirt. Her smile seemed forced. “Oh, Cinder, stop being silly. You know me.”
The fire wolf lowered his lips but not his hackles.
“I’d follow the wolf’s lead,” Loku said. “She’s up to something.”
It was the first time Raggia had come near her since the day of the testing. Arden raised her shields. “Good morning, Mage Sextus.”
“Finally free of Sazi?” She climbed up the rock, her feet slipping out from under her, and her body wobbling with each step. “Could you give me a hand?”
Arden cast a glance to where Dev stood talking with his father about a hundred yards away. If Raggia tried anything, they would be close enough to intervene.
“Or you can just let me take care of her for you,” Loku offered.
Raggia still waited on the ledge below, her hand outstretched. Her smile was beginning to fade into a look of pure desperation.
Arden helped her up to the top of the rock. “Why are you seeking me out?”
“Are Ranellians always this blunt?” Raggia tucked her skirts under her as she sat. “I wanted to apologize for putting you through such difficult tasks during your testing.”
Arden followed her gaze to where Dev and his father stood. Raggia seemed more interested in them than her. She was probably trying to get back into their good graces. “Apology accepted.”
Arden had hoped her clipped reply would be the end of the conversation, but Raggia wouldn’t take a hint. “How well do you know Dev?”
I’m done playing nice. “If you’re trying to get on my good side to get to him—”
“On the contrary, I wanted to tell you a little bit more about the man charged with protecting you.”
A thread of doubt wove itself into the back of Arden�
�s mind. She’d been trying to learn more about Dev’s past for months, but Raggia didn’t strike her as the most reliable source of information. She agreed with Loku—the Mage Sextus was up to something. “What do you wish to tell me?”
A wave of magic rippled through the air around Raggia, and the winds died down. She smoothed her hair back into place. “Has Dev ever told you how he came to be the Soulbearer’s Protector?”
“I heard it was some sort punishment.”
“It was.” Raggia leaned closer and lowered her voice to a whisper. “For murder.”
Arden’s breath froze. It had to be a lie, some tale Raggia was spinning so she could dig her claws into Dev.
But as her gaze drifted toward her protector, Arden’s thoughts turned to his hidden arsenal of weapons, his quiet anger. Dev could be deadly if crossed. Very deadly. But murder? “I find that hard to believe.”
Raggia shrugged off her disbelief. “It happened over a century ago, but it’s still common knowledge. Ask around.”
She began picking apart the holes in the story, her heart racing. “If he murdered someone, wouldn’t he have been executed?”
“The son of the Mage Primus?” Raggia laughed. “Obviously, you don’t know how things work here.”
“And I suppose you want to enlighten me on what really happened?”
“When Dev was younger, he was a sporting man. Very competitive. Never wanted to lose a bet. You know how men can be.”
Yes, she’d heard enough about Dev’s gambling past and seen the lingering traces of it. “You’re suggesting he killed someone to win a bet?”
“He and his best friend, Minius, made a bet to see who could make it to the top of Mt. Kyros over there.” She pointed to one of the snow-capped peaks. “Dev returned carrying Minius’s body. When he was asked what happened, Dev claimed responsibility for his friend’s death and said he would accept the punishment for it. A hundred years later, and he’s still the Soulbearer’s Protector.”
Her thoughts raced in a dizzying circle of denial. Dev couldn’t have murdered his friend. And yet, why did he claim responsibility for Minius’s death? Why did he accept the punishment?
She scrambled down the rock, the warmth of the spring day vanishing with this revelation. Was this why Dev kept his past shrouded in secrets, why he withheld information from her? Loku had told her Dev became the Soulbearer’s Protector as a punishment, but was it for something as serious as murder? And if it was, could she still trust him?
She needed time alone to sort this out, to learn how much of what Raggia told her was actually the truth. If Sazi had been there, she would have asked her, but the Ornathian was gone. She’d either have to find Sazi or face the one option that she dreaded—confronting Dev.
***
The priest of Nelos watched from the shadows as the Soulbearer ran back into the Conclave. “You were wise, my lord and master, to suggest this.”
“Trust in me, my servant, and soon we will rid the world of Loku.”
Raggia slid down the rock and came toward him, a smirk marring the remaining traces of beauty on her face. “She’ll be heading to her room now.”
“And I shall counsel her on the light of the law.” He bowed to her and followed the Soulbearer. It had been all too easy to convince the Mage Sextus to tell the girl about Sir Devarius’s past, to drive a wedge between her and her protector. One more barrier removed from completing the will of Nelos.
He reached inside his robe, wrapping his hand around the vial of precious serum he’d extracted from the Flower of Lireal. All he had to do was coat his dagger with it and drive the blade into the heart of the Soulbearer. Loku’s soul would be destroyed, and chaos would be vanquished.
“Arden,” a man called behind him. “Wait up.”
The priest lowered his hood and pressed his body against the wall of the corridor as Sir Devarius chased after his charge. His blood boiled. No! He needed to catch her alone. He couldn’t let her Protector come to her aid again.
“Patience, my servant,” Nelos ordered. “There is another way to remove him.”
The priest released the vial and took a deep breath, calming his anger. “Tell me how, and I will do it.”
***
Dev cursed under his breath. He didn’t know what Raggia said to Arden, but he didn’t like the look on her face when she took off. Even now, she walked as quickly as she could without appearing to be running, her face tight and pale.
He called after her again, but she ignored him like before, her pace quickening. At least Cinder had the good sense to stick close to her. The girl needed constant supervision, even if it was from a wolf.
He finally caught up with her in her room. Her half-packed bag lay on her bed. “Where are you planning on going?”
She stuffed a dress into the bag, not looking up. “I want to talk to Sazi.”
“You can’t go into the Ornathian lands alone.”
“Just watch me.”
A wave of magic shoved him back three steps, but he regained his footing and charged forward, grabbing her bag. “You haven’t finished your training.”
She snatched it back and pushed past him into the main room of her chambers. “I can’t stay here any longer, not when you keep hiding things from me.”
He channeled his magic, slamming the door shut and sealing it before she could escape. “No, you are going to sit down and tell me what set you off.”
“Or you’ll do what? Put me in those mithral chains?” She kept her back to him, her shoulders set in a rigid line of defiance.
Arden could get under his skin and have him wanting to punch something faster than any person he’d ever known. He forced his arms to stay locked at his sides. “I’m your protector, and I have to follow you wherever you go, so if I’m going into Ornathian territory, I bloody well want to know why.”
“I have my reasons, and Sazi’s the one only I can trust to tell me the truth.”
By Jussip, he was tired of this game. He grabbed her shoulder and whirled her around, ready to lecture her on her petulant behavior.
The words died in his mouth when he saw the doubt glistening in her eyes.
“I need to know the truth, Dev. Did you murder Minius?”
His heart skipped a beat, and his lungs refused to work. “Where did you hear that?”
“The Mage Sextus told this wild story of how you made a bet with your best friend. How you murdered him so you wouldn’t lose it. How your father’s sway saved you from execution.”
The blood rushed from his head. He steeled his legs to keep standing in front of her when all he wanted to do was retreat. Scenes from that day, forever burned into his memory, flashed by. The icy determination on Minius’s face. The moment when everything changed. The look of panic as his best friend met his death.
He struggled to form words between his quickened breaths. “It’s not what you think.”
“And what should I think? I know I shouldn’t believe a word she says, but I can’t quiet that nagging voice in my mind that says there might be some truth to her words when you keep hiding things from me.” Her voice cracked. “I’m so tired of the secrets, the lies. I want to trust you, but I’m finding it harder and harder to do so the longer I’m here.”
His world seemed to slip from his grasp, just as Minius had. “Please, just listen to me.”
“Are you going to tell me the truth?”
The air warped around them, and the flames in the fireplace doubled in size. She was testing him, trying to intimidate him with her power. “I’ll tell you what you need to know when the time is right.”
“And when will that be?”
“When you’re calm and being rational.”
She sucked in a breath through her teeth. “I’m trying to remain calm, but the way you keep dancing around my question makes me wonder if what I heard was true.”
He grabbed her wrist and pulled her to him, his emotions barely held in check. A cyclone of pain, anger, and fear swirled insid
e him. The doubt in her face tore at his heart. He refused to let go of her like this, but telling her about the events of that day would revive old wounds that still hadn’t healed. And even then, would her doubt turn to disgust? “I’m sworn to protect you to the point of giving up my own life.”
The fire rose higher behind her, leaving her face bathed in shadows. She stared at him, never wavering as she asked quietly, “But who’s going to protect me from you?”
His skin tingled, the sensation growing more intense with each second. He had no answer.
She blinked several times and turned away. “I can’t be with someone who can’t be honest with me.”
His face burned. All he’d ever wanted to do was spare her the pain he knew. But now his plan had backfired, and she seemed more distant than ever. He pressed her hand against his chest, hoping she could feel the desperate beat of his heart. “Please, give me one more chance to set things right.”
Her fingers splayed out across his jerkin, the muscles in her arm loosening. “I’m listening.”
The air rippled and swayed around them. At first, he thought he dreamed it up, a by-product of his twisted emotions. Then a shock raced down his spine, knotting his stomach. His body tensed. He’d felt this before. “Arden—”
He’d barely said her name before a ball of flames exploded from the fireplace.
Chapter 24
Arden’s breath whooshed out of her lungs as Dev knocked her to the floor. Fire burned the world around her, consuming it in the inferno. The smell of singed hair rose into her nostrils. Sweat dripped down her face from the rush of hot air.
“Shields,” Loku urged.
She clung to Dev and wrapped her protective magic around both of them. The heat lessened, but she still choked on the smoke filling the room.
Dev coughed and lifted his head from her chest. “Are you hurt?”
She shook her head. The few bumps and bruises she’d gained would mean nothing if they burned to death.
A Soul For Chaos (The Soulbearer Trilogy) Page 21