Soul Matched (The Soul Mark Series Book 1)

by Cara E Holt

  “Lorcen.” I say tentatively and his eye’s shoot up and meet mine.

  “Ebs!” He says clearly shocked by my sudden appearance. He reaches out for my hand but again it passes through mine. “What the..?”

  “I’m not really here, I’m asleep, dreaming. I thought I could use my magic to reach you in my dreams. “

  He sifts round the table so he is stood at the side of me and I turn to face him wishing so badly I could touch him.

  “Where are you? You just disappeared! I came back and you were gone!” He reaches out a hand to touch my face but then stops when he realises he can’t and he clenches them in a fist instead.

  “Devlon has taken me.” I tell him and the look of utter surprise on his face tells me he had not suspected this. “I don’t know where we are, we are in some kind of cave I think. He’s crazy Lorcen he’s talking about taking over the fae realm and then the human world!”

  “I’ll kill him! “ He growls clearly furious. “Has he hurt you?”

  I shake my head “No. To be honest he’s very protective of me. I think..” I pause as I’m not sure how he will react to what I tell him next, “he sees me as his, it’s almost like he actually cares for me in a creepy stalker way.”

  Lorcen moves away from me and begins pacing up and down and then he moves back before me.

  “I will find you and I will come for you. I will do whatever it takes to find you. “He says it with such determination and promise.

  I smile at him. “I know you will.” I look down and panic as I can see my body is fading out, “I can feel myself being pulled back. I’ll try to come to you tomorrow night!”

  He gently presses a hand so it’s almost against my cheek but not quite touching and all I want to do is lean my face into his palm. To be so close to him but not be able to touch him is torture. In a blink of an eye I am back in the bedroom with Devlon, somehow during sleep I am now lay across his chest his arm is circled around my waist. When I look at his sleeping face he looks so like my Lorcen, asleep he doesn’t look like the dark disturbed fuck up that he is. I tell myself to stay strong I know he will come for me, I just hope it is soon.

  I awake the next morning and find to my relief that I am alone. I get up out of bed and notice a blue velvet dress has been laid out for me. I take a quick shower anxious that Devlon may come back in when I am naked and get dressed as quickly as I can. My rumbling tummy takes me off out of the room to explore, I use my nose to follow the smell of food and find myself outside a room. Before I can attempt to open the door it flies open, inside there is a rectangular dining table and seated at the head of it with his feet up on the table is Devlon. To his right sits Rhoswen and next to her a man I haven’t met before, he has long dark hair that falls past his shoulder and a dark beard that is groomed into a point, he is clearly fae as I can see the points of his ears sticking out from his hair.

  Devlon smiles as I walk in “Good morning my queen. How did you sleep?” He beckons me to sit in the seat to the left of him which I reluctantly do.

  “I slept as well as can be expected considering I have been kidnapped and don’t know where I am.” I retort. I take in the food on the table and am just thinking I fancied some eggs when they appeared on my plate. I look up at Devlon in question.

  He shakes his head and smiles. “That was all you my little Shee-ra.”

  I did magic without even thinking about it! As if it was the most natural thing in the world. I had to admit some of these skills could come in super handy for me.

  He continues observing me closely. “We have a busy day today! First we are going to get the rest of that magic of yours to awaken and then we are off hunting for our cauldron.” He says it like he is planning a day out to the beach rather than some wicked part of his plans for wrecking the world.

  “I can’t wait!” I say somewhat sarcastically to which Devlon responds with a frown. Rhoswen is sat opposite me observing the whole exchange with a smirk on her face that I just want to slap off. The man sat beside her hasn’t even looked my way since I walked in the room. Devlon must see me looking at him as he decides to make introductions.

  “Ebony this man here is Raff. “ The man Raff lifts his head then and nods his head at me and then returns his attention to his food. I don’t know who this Raff is but he is rude I think to myself.

  The door opens at this point and a girl I’d say about my age comes skipping into the room. She is dressed in Goth clothing sporting purple lipstick. She sits herself down beside me and gives Devlon a beaming smile. She then looks at me. “Oh you are far too pretty for Devlon here. I’m Melantha,” She offers out her hand and I reluctantly take it and shake her hand. “Uh my head hurts,” She exclaims rubbing her forehead gently. “Those trolls know how to drink. They are a very bad influence on me!”

  I look at her in surprise. I can’t imagine this petite looking girl partying with trolls. Her black hair is up in pigtails so I can see that her ears are not pointy and she is therefore not fae.

  “You’re not fae.” I state rather than ask and she chuckles as she chews on a piece of bacon.

  “Indeed I am not. I am a witch. A very good one!” She tells me quite proudly. I must be sat there with my jaw on the floor again, which seems to be happening a lot as Melantha laughs at my reaction.

  “You never met a witch before?” She asks and I shake my head in response.

  “So witches, fae, trolls all real. Are vampires real?” I ask Devlon hoping he says no but then wondering if it would be a bad thing if they looked anything like the vampires in some of the films I have seen.

  Devlon laughs. “Vampires are very much real. “ He looks at Melantha. “I’m going to take Ebony on a little history lesson. Can you have everybody gathered in the hall for when we return?”

  She nods. “Aye aye boss.” Giving him a salute. Devlon stands and comes to the back of my chair so taking the hint I grab a piece of toast to take with me and stand. He pulls me against him and we sift into another cavernous room that is wall to wall books and holds a large imposing desk in its centre.

  He sees me taking in the books and smiles. “Quite a collection isn’t it? You see while Daddy dearest was spending all his time teaching Lorcen how to rule I was in the library learning. It was in a certain book that I acquired when on a little outing in Ireland.” He moves round the desk and drops into the chair. “This very old book tells quite a tale about a seer who foretold of a child born to the long forgotten Tuatha and the demon of death who would hold the power to control the ancient treasures of the Tuatha.” He flicks his finger and a large and very old looking book drops onto the desk and I move forward to look at it.

  “It also goes on to say that this child would be soul matched to two princes and that she would be the destroyer of worlds.”

  A feeling of dread runs through me. “You aren’t talking about me.” I tell him. “I’m half human.”

  He smiles all smug at me. “Ah my sweet, there is nothing human at all about you, except of course that you grew up in that world. You see your mother dearest was a Tuatha princess, who could control all the four elements and she made the mistake of falling for a demon prince. They fell in love and you were the result.”

  I shake my head. “You’re lying to me!”

  He stands from his chair laughing and comes around the desk and places himself in front of me.

  “You have darkness in you.” He puts his hand on my chest . “In here buried inside you are the genes of your father. You are like the perfect balance of all that is good and all that is bad. Why do you think mummy and daddy hid you away in the human world?” He plays with a piece of my hair with his fingers. “You see Daddy dearest owed Lucifer a great debt and the payment Lucifer demanded had been that of his first born daughter for one of his sons. Naturally daddy dearest didn’t like the thought of his beautiful angelic daughter wed to a son of the devil so he and your lovely mother hid the pregnancy from everyone and when you were born you were whisked away to the
human world. A powerful coven of white witches that owed Daddy dearest a favour placed a powerful glamour and suppressant over your magic so that you could grow up in the human world and no one would suspect you were anything but a pathetic boring human!”

  I stumble and fall back into the chair behind me. “I’m not human.” I whisper.

  Devlon crouches down to his knees before me and shakes his head. “Not one bit. You are half Tuatha fae half demon and you my sweet are my ticket to everything I desire!”

  I shake my head. “It can’t be true.” I say to myself more than to Devlon. Half demon, I mean weren’t demons like monstrous looking with tails and horns and scaly skin. “My mother surely wouldn’t fall in love with a demon, I mean they are hideous looking aren’t they?”

  Devlon sifts back round to his side of his desk and sits down with his legs resting on the table.

  “Ah that’s what the stories tell you but actually demons are strikingly beautiful. It’s their beauty that lures you in. Demons are actually just fallen angels those who fell with Lucifer. According to some of the books I have acquired Daddy dearest was a very handsome looking creature with unusually striking blue eyes.”

  Blue eyes, like mine. “So why do you need me?” I ask him not quite sure how all this fits in with his plans.

  He claps his hands together. “Ah now this is the good bit! You see I want to rule, this world and the human one and to do that I need an army. Now there is a cauldron, which is one of the treasures of the Tuatha, this cauldron can raise the dead but to do that it needs the blood of a true Tuatha. I need your blood.”

  I gasp in horror. “I thought you said I would be your queen but you actually plan to kill me!”

  He bats his hand as if dismissing my comment. “Ah relax love. I only need a small amount of your blood. You will be my queen and with my brains and your unique blend of power we will create the most perfect little children to continue our reign.”

  I shudder inside. There is no way on gods earth am I having any babies with this nut job!

  “What about Lorcen and Blaine being my mates.” To that he slams his fist on the table making me jump out of my seat.

  “That is a minor inconvenience and one that will be resolved soon enough when you are bound to me. Now, you’ve had your history lesson and now it’s time for our people to see what a truly magnificent creature you are!” He sifts to my side and sliding a hand around my waist sifts us back into the hall from last night. The hall is packed tight with creatures of all nightmares. Devlon leaves my side and sifts into his throne seat. I look down and realise I am in some kind of pentagon drawing on the floor.

  “Devlon!” I shout to him suddenly feeling panicked. Melantha comes skipping up and lights the candles situated around the pentagon I am stood in and then comes to stand before me. She rubs her hands together.

  “I can’t believe I get to do this! This is proper dark magic. I love dark magic.” She tells me, a crazy and strange look comes over her. “Okay let’s do this! “ She stands before me and a book appears from nowhere into her hands she then starts to chant in a language that is foreign to me. The room goes dark and a wind whips around the room as she chants, she chants faster and louder and as she chants blood drips from her nose. A shadow wraps itself around me and pain beyond anything I have ever felt rips through my body causing me to scream in agony. I feel myself fall to my knees but then I feel my body lifted by the shadows and held in the air adrift from the floor. A rush of dark shadow enters my chest and it feels like it is splitting my soul from my body it is so painful. All at once everything stops! The shadows disperse and the cold and wind drops. I open my eyes and I am sat on the floor in the middle of the pentagon, Melantha claps her hands and jumps up and down in excitement.

  “I did it my lord! I told you I would.” She shouts excitedly.

  I look up at Devlon and he sits up taking me in like I’m the most intriguing thing he has ever seen. He smiles and tilts his head to the side. “Not what I expected, but magnificent all the same!”

  He sifts down to stand beside Melantha. “Behold!” He says to everyone gathered in the hall, holding his hands in the air. “Your queen and our means of taking what is ours!” A large roar and shouts of celebration erupts around the room.

  I shakily try to stand but a huge weight at my back stops me from doing so and I stumble back down to the ground. I feel heavy and unbalanced. I hear Devlon tell Melantha to remove the pentagon and when she does he steps forward and takes my hands in his and helps me to my feet. He looks past my shoulders in awe smiling.

  “Now they are magnificent! Beautiful but yet deadly and fierce!”

  I frown wondering what on earth he is talking about and he sees my expression. “Your wings my Shee-ra, they are wonderful!”

  I look anxiously over my shoulder and scream at what I see. Two large wings span from my back. They are not like fae wings which are iridescent and beautiful. They are hideous! They are like the wings of a bat, flesh like but red with flecks of silver in the veins that run through them, at the ends of the wings at the points are black claw looking things that look sharp and dangerous.

  “I’m a monster” I whisper my heart breaking at what I have become. Devlon laughs and keeping hold of my hands to hold me steady walks me towards a mirror that has appeared from nowhere.

  “You are splendid! A perfect blend of purity and darkness.”

  He stands me in front of the mirror and I lean forward able to take in a better view of my wings. They are strange, there is something hideous about them but then something beautiful in the way they shimmer and the way the veins run silver underneath the skin. I am the daughter of death, my black hair and the red demonic like wings paint me for what I am. I am purity, goodness and light mixed with the darkness and blackness of evil. The books prophesise I am the bringer of death and destruction but I say I choose my own fate and I will not be the weapon that destroys this world and the world I call home.

  There is an almighty crash and the ceiling of the hall crashes in causing chaos and screaming as the creature’s present scramble to escape from falling debris. All I see are two huge wings descending through the now gaping hole in the ceiling, the owner of the wings a blonde haired giant of a man who swoops and lands with a thud. He looks around the room angrily and then his eyes fall upon me and he smiles and it is then I see his eyes they are the same deep blue as mine.

  “Daughter!” He says and he walks towards me. The ground shakes as he walks and the creatures in the room cower in fear. Devlon goes to grab my wrist but he is flung across the room and lands with a thud and a crunch and sags to the floor. Melantha is stood to my left with her mouth gaping open! My Fathers eyes fall upon her. “You! You are a disgrace to your coven! Do you know what you have done?!”

  Melantha cowers and steps behind me and I can’t help but feel sympathy for her, I only met her today but she seems to me like a lost lonely individual. I put my hand out “Please don’t hurt her.”

  My father stops in his step and a twitch of a smile appears but then is gone. He stands before me and takes my face in his hands and takes in my face as if he is memorising every small detail.

  “You have your mother’s nose and her beautiful raven hair.” He pulls me to him to my surprise and hugs me. Isn’t this giant of a man supposed to be a demon! I relax into his hold, I feel strangely safe in his arms. He touches the gold band around my wrist and it melts away as does the engagement ring.

  “We need to leave!” He tells me and I nod, I am more than happy to get out of this weird and horrible place. He looks at Melantha behind me and suddenly her hands and legs are bound together by what look to be black snakes. With his arm around my waist he swoops into the air and out through the huge hole in roof. I look down and I can see that Melantha is with us. One of the snakes that was wrapped around her hands has wrapped the other end of itself around my father’s ankle.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE.

  We fly for what seems like hours
until I can see the Unseelie castle coming into view. My father soars down and we land in the courtyard causing poor fae folk who are going about their business to scream and scatter as we stand there. Together I imagine we must look a formidable sight. A bell is rung and suddenly a regiment of fae soldiers surround us on all sides. Through the middle of them my heart soars when I see Lorcen coming through closely followed by his mother and Noah. My first reaction is to run to him but then I remember my sinister wings, will he still want me once he knows what I am.

  His eyes meet mine and then I see them look behind me as he takes in my wings. I guess I expect a look of horror or disgust but he gives neither and moves to come to me but stops when he takes in the hulk of a demon behind me that is my father.

  “Ebony! Who is this?” Lorcen asks giving my father a hard stare. Only he would not tremble at my father’s presence.

  I turn to look at my father and smile at him. “Father, this is Lorcen, my soul mate.” I tell him. I turn back to Lorcen who looks at me and shaking his head smiles at me.

  “Finally ready to say it princess?”

  I return his smile with a blush and nod my head. Queen Eira steps forward and takes in both myself and my father. I hear her tell the soldiers to stand down and they disperse as quickly as they came.

  “I think we should take this inside the hall.” She says to us all but mainly to my father who nods and taking my hand he sifts us to the great hall. I say sift but I’m sure demons don’t sift, it sounds much too pretty and nice a word for a demon. A second later Lorcen, his mother and Noah all sift into the room and stand before us. My father releases my hand and steps forward and bows to Lorcen’s mother.

  “I apologise for the unusual entrance but time is of the essence. I am Azazel, one of the fallen and a prince of hell.” Now there’s an introduction if ever I’ve heard one I think to myself with a smile on my face.