Soul Unleashed (Key to the Cursed Book 4) (11 page)

“No!” Kit backed away from her father, her heels
slipping into the water.

“You need to stay out of the river, Katherine.”
Her father raised his palms, cautioning her.

“Get away from me.” Kit retreated deeper into the
cold water, having nowhere else to go. The bank was too high and muddy on this
end to climb. The small patch upon which she stood narrowed with each step
back.

“Easy.” He warily eyed the black current. “I know
you are scared, but you need to come with me.”

“Go to hell.” How could she believe anything her
father said? He lied to her when he was alive. Apep would know this and would
use her father’s shadow to manipulate her.

“We are in hell. Duat, actually. It’s all the
same, no matter what you call it.”

God, it sounded just like her father’s
condescending tone. All the more reason to get away from him. She scanned the
area. Apep and his demons could be anywhere, ready to pick her off. Maybe this
was all a delay tactic. She grasped the exposed roots of the trees to keep her
footing.

“I don’t have much time to help you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I can only block him out for so long.” He rubbed
his temple. “He knows you are here.”

“Tell me something I don’t know.”

“It’s not your time to be here. Not yet. You need
to transition.”

The mere mention of the word,
transition
,
sent ice through Kit’s veins. Worse, he said she was destined to return to this
shit hole. She belonged in Duat? “No,” she said, shaking her head, not wanting
to accept her vision as Apep’s queen. She wouldn’t be like her father and
accept her fate. “I won’t.”

“You have no choice,” her father said with sorrow
filling his voice. His gaze strayed to the blackness along her arm. “It is the
only way to save your soul.”

“No,” Kit shouted and ran knee-deep into the
water. “There is always a choice.” She was in control of her life, no one else.
Unlike her father, she would fight her dreams. Fight becoming what her mother
wanted her to be.

“Not this time.”

As the water rushed around her waist, she
shivered. “I am no one’s slave.” Ripping her from the shore, the frigid water
took her breath away and settled a painful ache to her joints. The roar of the
current muffled her father’s cries. She struggled to keep her head above water
and fight the painful knots forming in her muscles.

A loud screech sounded above. The water sucked her
under before she could locate the source. Kicking, she surfaced to inhale another
breath before allowing the water to pull her back down. Shadows flickered above
the fast moving current. Her lungs burned, but she held the breath, allowing
the undercurrent to pull her harder and faster.

She breached the surface again and choked on the
water. Struggling to keep her head up, her entire body curled in painful
contractions. She was going to drown or die of hypothermia before she ever
reached the gates. Kit glimpsed a flicker of white in the distance.

A boat.

God, could it be the same one she had seen on the
beach? Shit, it didn’t matter. She fought the current in the direction of her
only hope. The once turbulent water flattened, halting any progress she may
have had towards the ship.

Behind her the water erupted in a frenzy. Large
eels snaked towards her. She swam as hard as she could towards the boat, instinct
and adrenalin driving her.

Jagged teeth cinched down on her leg and ripped
her back. She screamed and kicked at the eel’s head. Two others descended and
grabbed her other leg and dragged her beneath the water.

She kicked but couldn’t break the hold. A loud
splash sounded above her head. The last of her air escaped her lungs, leaving
room for the water to rush down her throat. She struggled to breathe but the
water suffocated her with darkness.

* * *

Kamen sliced his claws against the serpents
holding Kit. Blood flooded the water, and the two other creatures turned on
their own kind long enough for Kamen to thrust them both to the surface. With
one arm wrapped around her chest, Kamen side stroked back to the boat.

“Throw the line,” Kamen shouted.

Set stood on the side, holding onto the rigging.
“Give her to me.”

“Fuck you.” Kamen clung to Kit. He wasn’t giving
her up, not to his brother.

“By the time I loosen the knots, the serpents will
be upon you.” Set reached out his hand.

Kamen reluctantly released Kit’s limp body to his
brother. Set lifted her up and over the side. Not liking the fact he lost sight
of her, he thrust his arms and legs and launched himself up out of the water
and onto the deck.

Set hovered over Kit, staring at her with curious
black eyes. “Your fair lass has drowned herself.”

Kamen shoved Set out of the way and knelt down
next to Kit. “Get the blankets out of the back.” Her chest failed to rise and
fall and her lips had turned blue. He sealed his mouth over her lips and
exhaled a breath into her lungs. He let it escape and gave another breath.
“Com’on Kitten, breathe.” Kamen shook her. He gave several more breaths and
waited.

Set dropped the blankets next to Kit, and Kamen
quickly covered her up then sealed his lips over hers again. Again and again he
blew breath into her lungs. Realizing she may not recover, his hands began to
shake. If she died in Duat, who knew what would happen to her soul. There was
only one way to bring her back. It would either revive her or finish her
completely.

He cut his finger open and raised a drop of his
blood.

“Do you think that wise,” Set said, sitting on the
bench like some damn spectator.

One drop of crimson landed on her lips and rolled
into her mouth. He did not dare give her more for fear of what the beast’s
blood would do to her. He sealed his lips over hers again and blew a long hard
breath.

Her back stiffened and she arched up off the deck.
Water spewed out her mouth in a protracted retch, followed by a high pitched
wheeze. Her eyes shot open and she clawed at his chest. His measure was only
temporary, anything more would bind her to him permanently. He had only given
enough to shock Kit into consciousness and get her breathing again, but he was
not certain how long it would last. He needed Lilly to save her.

“Get us back to Aaru—now!” Kamen barked.

Set pushed up off the bench and sauntered to the
oar. The boat shifted forward and gained speed. His brother searched the sky.
“Apep is on the move.”

“Do not fail me, brother.”

Set frowned. “Whatever you say.”

Kamen scooped Kit up and walked aft of the ship to
a small alcove. After stripping her out of her wet clothes, he shucked off his
shirt. Pressing her cold naked body against his chest, he wrapped the rest of
the blankets around her and forced his body to warm to an uncomfortable level.
Her breathing was much too shallow for his liking.

Screams sounded in the distance. Based on the ache
between his shoulders, the Dark Lord could not be far. Worse, he had to put his
faith in his brother and hope he would do as he was told.

Despite the dire circumstances, all that mattered
was the life cradled in his arms. He would not rest until she was safe. Only
then would he relinquish his hold on the beast.

The soft rocking and the smell of blood and death
woke Kit from her nightmare of being drowned by monsters. Large arms held her
tightly against a solid bare chest.
Kamen
. She had memorized every hard
plane of muscle down to the scattering of fine hair over his chest and abdomen.

Why had she ever doubted him? Tears slipped down
her cheeks in silent gratitude. His large hand slid up her back and pulled her
tighter under his chin. The warmth of his body blanketed her shivering one. She
buried her face in his chest and sobbed. “Thank you.”

“Are you okay?” he asked in a strained voice.

Cold, so very cold. Numbness consumed most of her
body, except the portions in direct contact with him. Her throat and lungs
burned with each breath. Remembering only the darkness, more tears fell down
her cheeks. There was no light at the end of her tunnel. “I don’t know.”

“Do not cry, Kitten.”

She cried all the harder. Was it any coincidence
Kamen used the same pet name as her father? However, it didn’t bring the anger
as it once did, only sorrow. Her body really shook then, remembering her
ordeal. The black spider veins may have faded, but the coldness remained and
burrowed deeper into her chest. Desperate for warmth, she tightened her grip on
him.

He cupped her face in his large palm and wiped the
tears from her cheek. “Look at me,” he said in a gentle but commanding voice,
one she couldn’t refuse. “Let me get you home to your sisters. Everything will
be better then.”

She forced a smile to reassure him. The problem
was she didn’t want her sisters’ comfort, she wanted his. “God, Kamen. I’m
sorry.” Her tears flowed again. She had treated him so badly, and yet he still
came for her. Sacrificed himself to protect her. She deserved none of his
loyalty.

“I—” He silenced her with a press of his finger to
her lips.

“Do not speak of it.” His thumb traced the line of
her mouth.

She closed her eyes, savoring his touch, knowing
it would not last beyond this moment. “I need to tell you something.” She
needed to explain her actions. It wasn’t anything he had done, it was her—all
her. He was an amazing male, everything she wanted and every reason why she had
fought to keep him at a distance.

“Save your strength. We are almost home.”

She followed Kamen’s gaze to a large white sail
held taut in the wind. It was then she realized she was on the boat.

A tremor resonated through the thick muscle of his
body when he shifted to stand.

“No,” she said, throwing her arms around him,
overcome with fear. “Don’t leave me.” If he let go, she would never see him
again.

His grip tightened on her. “I will not fail you
again.”

Fail her? God, the male had bled and clawed his
way to save her. Her being here in Duat was her own doing. Not his.

“Kamen.”

Those tortured eyes met hers. Tired, she thought.
Not his normal dark black color. His rich olive skin appeared pale. Her heart
twisted with concern. She cupped his cheek with her hand. “I owe you my life.”

Her gaze drifted to his lips. She hesitated,
unsure of how he would react but leaned in and kissed him. His lips were soft
and receptive, spurring her to steal a longer kiss. The sensation that followed
was oddly familiar in some way, like it hadn’t been their first.

She was certain he would pull away, but instead he
leaned in and deepened the kiss. Heat shot through her when his tongue touched
hers. She welcomed the warmth into her cold body with only the lingering ache
behind her sternum.

A tremor shook his body. He hissed out a breath
and pulled away. Pain now tightened the lines of his face.

Guilt speared Kit through the chest. What was she
thinking? She was hurting Kamen even when she didn’t mean to.

Forgive me.

His hands trembled as he pulled the blankets
around her. The heavy wool did nothing to warm the ice forming in her heart.

“Rest,” he said hoarsely.

Kit closed her eyes to hide her tears. Too weak to
contain the pain, agony consumed her. All her doing, she lamented.

All her doing.

Kit’s kiss would forever haunt him. The sweetness
of her lips, but more importantly, the pure passion behind it. Even in her
weakest state, power resonated with a mere touch. Male and beast wanted her.
Any doubts he had on the beach vanished—she wanted
him
.

Shock and utter bewilderment restrained him. His
thin thread of control frayed to the point it would snap at any moment. The
ache between his shoulders burned with a vengeance to the point he was having trouble
focusing. Duat was draining his power with every passing second, to the point
his arms were shaking with Kit’s weight. He feared Set would not make it before
he succumbed to the beast’s demand to be free.

Kit had curled into a tight ball against his
chest. The salt of her tears drifted in the winds buffeting the boat. The bow
broke the thick fog and entered the gateway to Aaru. The gold glistened in the
sunlight above. Despite being minutes from home, uneasiness gnawed at Kamen’s
stomach. Set had done what Kamen had asked with little resistance. His brother
had no loyalty to him or anyone else. If Set had wanted, he could have taken
advantage of Kamen’s weakened state, yet he knew better than to think Set was
turning over a new leaf.

The shivers quaking through Kit’s body, drew his
gaze down. She whimpered and clenched her fist over her heart. “Kitten?” He
shifted her in his arms. Despite the heat against her skin, her body grew
colder. Had his blood damaged her?

“She has been infected?” Set said without looking
back.

“Liar,” Kamen snarled, despite pain flaring in his
spine.
No,
his transformation was a result of his lack of control,
nothing more. Kamen scanned her body but found no evidence of any wounds, yet
his bones shifted and grated together. He forced down the bile rising in his
throat. Despite all that his body was telling him, he refused to accept Kit was
tainted by Apep.

“Suit yourself.” Set pulled the oar from the ring
and the boat slowed. “We are here.”

Bakari leapt onto the deck with daggers in hand.
His nephew eyed the empty shackles still attached to the iron rings. He pointed
his dagger at Set. “Turnaround and put your arms behind your back.” Bakari
motioned to the guardian detail. A new set of venom laced shackles were locked
into place on Set’s wrists.

“I’ve done as you asked, and you still treat me
like a criminal.”

“You are a criminal. Now move.” Bakari shoved Set
towards the plank and onto the dock. He returned to the deck and walked towards
Kamen. “Uncle, I feared we would not see you again.” Grabbing Kamen under the
arm, Bakari pulled him to his feet. “Shall I take her,” Bakari asked in a low
tone as Kamen wavered on his feet.

“I alone will bring her to the palace. Get Kendra
and Lilly.” Kamen squeezed his nephew’s arm, drawing Bakari’s attention away
from Kit. He could barely breathe the words he needed to say. “I need you
there, as well.” Kamen looked upon the dagger clutched in Bakari’s hand.

His nephew’s silver gaze widened. “Are you sure?”

Kamen nodded.

“Father wants you to report to him as soon as you
return.”

“Please let him know I must return to the
chamber.”

“Of course.” Bakari waved to the security group.
“Secure the boat.”

“We are home, Kitten.”

She turned her face into his chest and said
nothing. Her tears had dried on her cheeks. No emotion was more alarming than
her usual outbursts. He kept telling himself her sisters would make it better.

After crossing the threshold of the gate, he
dematerialized and reappeared outside her room. Bakari appeared to his right,
along with sentries posted at the door. “I will fetch Kendra and Lilly.”

Kamen’s chest tightened, a sure sign Asar knew he
was back in Aaru. He moved quickly to the bed.

“No, bathroom,” Kit whispered.

He pivoted and entered the wide stone room with a
circular bath. He set her down on the bench and drew the water.

“Help me before my sisters come. I don’t want them
to see me this way.”

Kamen met her pleading gaze. He could barely
stand, let alone play caretaker. Yet, he returned to her side and carefully removed
the blankets. Cold and pale, her arms, abdomen and legs were covered in bruises
and abrasions.

Refusing to dwell on it, he picked her up and
descended into the bath. Inch by inch he washed her hair and skin, despite his
body screaming in protest. She just stared straight ahead, even when he passed
over the cuts in her flesh. Not even a flinch or grimace.

“It’s too late, isn’t it?” she asked, finally
breaking her silence. Her eyes searched his face. His heart broke in two in
that moment. She knew, he could tell from the look in her eyes.

“No,” he replied. “There are no absolutes.”

Kendra and Lilly’s voices echoed from the bedroom.
He rose out of the water with her in his arms. Her entire body shivered under
his touch as he set her down onto the chair. Pulling a warm towel from the
shelf, he dried Kit’s hair and blotted her skin. Without prompting, she wrapped
her arms around his neck and he took her weight in his arms.

“You’re a horrible liar,” she whispered against
his neck.

Her sisters rushed forward before he could respond.
Based on the horror in their eyes, Bakari had told them of Kit’s condition.
Kendra held the Book of Creation in her small arms. The book held the strongest
healing and protection spells. Kamen prayed the gods would show mercy.

He settled her into the bed and pulled the thick
duvet up to her chin. He stepped back and let Lilly and Kit fill his space.

He turned his back on the reunion. The Mother
Goddess stood in all her white splendor at the entrance.

A spark of anger ignited in his chest, along with
a sense of injustice with each step towards the goddess. If anyone could have
seen this coming, it was Kit’s mother. She could have prevented her daughter’s demise.

“Thank you, Kamen,” the Mother Goddess said with a
nod.

“I hope it is worth it.” He glared at her.

“Excuse me?”

He stopped and glowered down at the goddess. Did
she create Kit to live a life of suffering? For what? “Do not dare fane
ignorance. Kit is innocent of all of this but suffers the brunt of your plans.
I hope this war is worth her life.”

The goddess straightened and looked towards the
bed. “We all have our role. Kit must accept hers. Her stubbornness has led to
this.”

Fury shot up his spine, threatening to split it
open once and for all. “Bullshit, this is your doing. Gods help you, if she—”
He cut his words short. The thought of being forced to consume Kit’s soul
ignited an agony beyond anything he had endured even at the will of the beast.

The Mother Goddess stepped back, fear filling her
eyes.

“Fix this, or I
will
come for you.”

“What you ask is impossible. There is no cure.”

Bakari planted his hand on Kamen’s chest. “Please
do not do this. Not here.” His nephew motioned to the bed. Three females’ gazes
rested on Kamen and the Mother Goddess. “You must go to the chamber, Uncle.”

Kamen settled his glare back on the goddess. “Pray
that you find one.” He shoved Bakari out of the way and stormed down the
palace. Kamen’s only saving grace was Asar sealing him in the chamber. Gods
help him, he would lose his sanity completely. It would not be long before he
could no longer be in Kit’s presence. The evil would soon replace the goodness
of her soul.

He would be forced to destroy the only thing he
had ever truly cared about, perhaps even loved. There would be no saving him
then. The Creation Pantheon would achieve what they had set out to do thousands
of years ago—imprison him forever in the soul of the beast.

He staggered down the long black steps of the
chamber and collapsed to his knees at the bottom. Wrought with agony beyond what
any curse could inflict upon his soul, he arched back in the darkness and cried
out.

No amount of love Kamen had for Kit would stop the
beast from clawing its way free and destroying the only thing worth living for.