A Soul For Atonement (The Soulbearer Series Book 4) (18 page)
Read A Soul For Atonement (The Soulbearer Series Book 4) Online
Authors: Crista McHugh
Tags: #Fantasy, #Epic Fantasy, #Sword and Sorcery, #Fantasy Romance
“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!
- Would you like to know when my next book is available? You can sign up for my 99c New Release Newsletter at
www.cristamchugh.com
, follow me on twitter at
@crista_mchugh
, or like my Facebook page at
http://facebook.com/cristamchugh
.
- Reviews help other readers find books. I appreciate all reviews, whether positive or negative.
- 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 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:
The Deizian Empire:
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
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