by Eva Brandt
Eva Brandt
Beloved Rebel
The Accursed Saga 2
Copyright © 2019 by Eva Brandt
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names used in this book and on its cover are trade names, service marks, trademarks and registered trademarks of their respective owners. The publishers and the book are not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. None of the companies referenced within the book have endorsed the book.
Cover art is for illustrative purposes only. Cover by Rainbow Danger Designs.
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Contents
Beloved Rebel
The Accursed Saga Index
The Fourth One
The Vampire and the Incubus
Reverse
Secrets and Soulmates
The Unlikely Ally
Family
Beasts
The Trial Begins
Privilege
Switched
Anchors
Togetherness
Nightmarish Bonds
The Power of Death
Loss
Epilogue
About the Author
Also by Eva Brandt
Beloved Rebel
What would you do if you found out the only person who can help you is your worst enemy? Would you turn him away out of pride and distrust, or would you betray everything you’ve ever believed in for your own self-interest?
One week ago, I found my soulmates. One week ago, my touch condemned us to a fate worse than death. It’s only been one week, but my life is broken and shattered, and I’ve broken and shattered their lives in turn.
Everybody claims that there is nothing I can do, that I should just accept their unavoidable fate. But I’m not ready to give up, not ever, not when I know that there is still hope.
Apparently, I still have one soulmate left who has some sense and is willing to help me. He might be an incubus, but his priorities are in the right place, and he has a plan that might save us. And I have something—or rather, somebody else. An enemy who is interested in keeping us alive.
How far would I be willing to go for the people I love? The answer is simple. As far as I have to. Would I be willing to turn to my worst enemy? What kind of question is that? Of course.
I’ve never been very fond of following rules anyway. If saving my soulmates involves taking the hand of the same person who tried to murder us, I will do it and I will not look back.
And if he tries to stab us in the back... Well, he’ll be the first to pay the price.
Beloved Rebel is an 87k words dark paranormal romance that contains steamy scenes between the heroine and her soulmates, spiced up with a dash of romance of the m/m variety. Vampires, demons, werewolves, they’re all here, and there will be no choosing. Be advised that some content might not be for every reader.
The Accursed Saga Index
The Accursed are a special race of paranormal creatures created by exploiting the bond between soulmates through the use of dark magic. There are several different types of Accursed, all aligned with different elements and possessing different abilities.
Shape-shifters. Originally aligned with the element of earth. Feeding source: flesh. Abilities: can shape-shift into different animals. Superior strength, speed, senses, and healing factor. Physically the strongest of all Accursed. Main vulnerability: unable to use magic of any kind.
Vampires. Originally aligned with water. Feeding source: blood. Abilities: Superior strength, speed, senses, longevity and healing factor. Limited mind magic skills. Limited shape-shifting skills. Skills are impaired if vampires do not feed properly. Main vulnerability: sunlight.
Incubi. Aligned with spirit. Feeding source: emotions. Abilities: mental and emotional manipulation, astral projection, power absorption. Main vulnerability: can easily become overwhelmed by the emotions of others.
Twice-blessed. Originally aligned with fire. Feeding source: magic. Abilities: telekinesis, shielding, fire manipulation, levitation. Main vulnerability: not as physically strong as other Accursed.
Plagues. Aligned with air. Feeding source: life. Abilities: electricity and air current manipulation. Older plagues can use an ability called life steal that allows them to kill their targets by cutting off their oxygen supply.
Alarians. Alignment - multiple elements. No feeding source. Abilities can vary from one Alarian to the other. Specializations include mind magic, battle magic, healing. Main vulnerability: inability to feel.
All Accursed are vulnerable to silver weapons.
Factions
The Pure Kingdom of Alaria is the only organized nation of the Accursed, founded by the High King Alaric, the son of the ancestor of all Accursed. Currently led by King Sterling Alarisson.
Internal Organization
The Paladin Corps – guards mostly meant to protect the headquarters and garrisons of the kingdom. Leader: Queen Sarai
The Enforcer Corps – fighter units formed strictly out of Alarian warriors. Current leader: Prince Darius Alarisson
The Guardian Corps – fighter units formed by other Accursed who pledge themselves to the Alarian creed, despite not being Alarian. Current leader: Prince Darius Alarisson.
The Pure Inquisition – interrogators and investigators of the Pure Kingdom of Alaria. Led by Cardinal Theodore Vaughn.
The Pure Council of Nobles – consultative assembly formed of high ranking Alarians who act as advisors for the king in the decision-making process.
Other factions
Banished – Accursed who still believe it is possible to break the curse and continue to search for a solution, despite this method leading to the deaths of their soulmate.
Scavengers – Accursed who exploit the curse and seek to kill their own soulmates in order to gain more power.
Other terms
The Accursed Syndrome – the official name of the disease that generally kills the soulmates of the Accursed. It usually manifests within a month of the soulmates meeting and touching, in the form of a virulent form of cancer or other such diseases
The Accursed Anomaly – the second way through which the curse affects soulmates. It manifests erratically, through freak accidents or sudden fatal injuries. The fastest known death through an Anomaly took place a week after the meeting between the two soulmates.
The Soulmate Protection Dictate – the Alarian law that forbids contact between an Accursed and their human soulmate.
One
The Fourth One
Lucienne
Once upon a time, when I’d been a teenager desperately clinging to the last traces of my innocence, I’d read a legend. It spoke of soulmates, of the true origin of mankind, of togetherness and hope for the future. I’d found it silly, but on some level, it had still appealed to me. If I co
uld find that special person, I’d thought to myself, I would be happy. I’d never have to be alone again. After all, maybe the word ‘soulmate’ was a little corny, but that didn’t mean you couldn’t find true love in a more realistic way.
Realistic. What a laugh. Everything I’d ever deemed real and solid had only been a lie, and I’d been so very wrong and stupid.
“What do you mean you won’t allow me to see Malachai?” I glowered at the guards in front of the cell block, willing them to move out of my path. “He’s my soulmate.”
“I’m sorry, Ms. Hastings, but it’s just not possible,” the paladin replied impassively. “You need permission from His Majesty, King Sterling, or His Holiness, Cardinal Vaughn, before you can see Malachai Braun.”
I clenched my fists, struggling with the sudden urge to throttle the Alarian. Such a course of action would end very poorly since paladins were highly trained guards and just one of them could break me with his pinkie. “He’s not a criminal! He’s one of you. Everything he did, he did to help me and Prince Darius. Doesn’t that matter?”
The latter question was rhetorical more than anything else, but such things didn’t work with Alarians. Most of them interpreted every inquiry as an actual question they needed to reply to. This one was no different, although the answers he gave me were pretty much along the line of what I had expected. “Malachai Braun’s reasons for his actions are irrelevant. Additionally, he is no longer a part of the Guardian Corps. He is, in fact, a criminal now.”
I was wasting my breath. No matter what I said, the guards would not let me pass. I had been prepared for it when I’d decided to make this attempt, but that didn’t mean my failure didn’t sting. It was a good thing I hadn’t relied on the paladins’ generosity too much when I’d come here and had made a second plan.
“Fine,” I said. “Can you at least give him a letter from me then?”
I hoped that by making a bit of a scene about an actual visit, I’d soften the guards’ resistance and they’d be more inclined to accept a compromise and take my letter to Malachai. It wasn’t much, only a piece of paper that wouldn’t change things in any way, but I wanted him to have it, to remember that he was not alone.
I had not forgotten about him or about Declan. I might not have been prepared for the clusterfuck I’d landed myself in, but I was learning, and I would not let him be punished for something that was not his fault.
I produced the letter from my pocket and offered it to the guard. He scrutinized the envelope as if he expected it to explode, which was not wholly unwarranted considering my general opinion of him and his superior officers. “Your missive will have to be read beforehand,” he offered curtly.
I’d expected that too. “I understand. There’s no sensitive information inside. It’s only a letter.”
How could I explain the desire to provide emotional comfort to someone who did not have emotions? It seemed like an insurmountable task. Fortunately, I didn’t have to find an answer to that dilemma today, since the guard accepted my explanation. “Very well,” he answered, taking the letter from me. “I will deliver your missive to Malachai Braun after its contents are vetted.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it.”
The words tasted bitter on my tongue since there was very little I appreciated these days, especially when it came to the Alarians. Still, the empty platitude was necessary, if only to preserve a modicum of civility and the delicate balance that existed between me and my hosts.
“Praised be the High King. With honor, we move forward.”
I wasn’t doing much moving forward as of late, but I refrained from pointing that out and walked away from the guards. I’d done what I’d come there to do. I now needed to focus on the more practical aspects of my plan. Providing emotional comfort to Malachai was all well and good, but it was not enough. I still needed to find a way to save his life, among countless other things.
I’d been at the Palasion for a little over a week, and throughout that time, I’d been unable to do much of anything. At first, the healers hadn’t even allowed me to leave their care, swearing up and down that I would collapse and lose my mind if I tried anything more strenuous than going to the bathroom. I’d fought them every step of the way, though, far too terrified that by the time they finally deemed me healed, everyone I cared about would be dead.
In the end, the healers had had no choice but to release me, although they had still warned me to avoid excessive stress. This would have been easier to accomplish if every passing second hadn’t weighed on me so badly, if the memory of agonizing screams, crushed skulls, and bloodied lips hadn’t still haunted my every step. On occasion, I thought that maybe the healers had been right to be concerned, but unfortunately, I didn’t have the time to wait until they decided I wouldn’t end up hurting myself or others. Besides, they were a nation of people who suffered from magic-induced psychopathy. I could hardly rely on them to give me an accurate assessment of my mental health.
Today, I had the tentative idea of going to the Palasion library again. I’d yet to find something of use there, as the place was massive, and no one seemed that inclined to point me in the right direction. Worse still, most of the books that might have been able to provide me with some answers were written in languages I didn’t understand.
But I was not ready to give up. There had to be something there that I could use.
If only the voice in my head hadn’t disappeared after the confrontation with Vandale… Some advice from my disembodied friend could’ve come in handy. But when it rained, it poured, and I was all alone. Between that, and the fact that my mind magic was all over the place, I couldn’t even use my astral projection powers properly. It was yet another problem I hoped to find the answer to in the library, although so far, I’d been unsuccessful.
I’d just reached my destination when I ran into someone I had hoped to not have to deal with today. Enforcer Serena Ayers had posted herself outside the library, blocking my entrance to the sole place where I could find a solution to my predicament.
I hadn’t spoken to her much since the day I’d woken up in the healing wing. She’d helped accommodate me in the Palasion during my first visit, but that had been just because Darius had told her to. Enforcers didn’t usually have that job.
Her presence here was an anomaly that made me very uncomfortable. “Good morning, Enforcer Ayers,” I greeted her with some apprehension. “Were you waiting for me?”
I didn’t want to make any foolish suppositions, but what other reasons could she have for standing around in front of the library no one else really visited? I didn’t know much about what enforcers did when they weren’t hunting scavengers, but their duties certainly didn’t involve catering to the whims of women who couldn’t leave things well enough alone.
“Actually, yes, Ms. Hastings,” Serena replied. “I’ve been asked to give you this message.”
In an act that reminded me of my earlier exchange with the guard, she offered me a white envelope with a silvery glow. I took it, brushing my fingers over the seal I only vaguely recognized. When Serena didn’t provide me with further information, I ripped the seal open and extracted the message from inside the envelope.
Ten seconds later, I felt the sudden urge to vomit, throw something at Serena’s head, or blow the whole Palasion sky high. I stared at the notice, struggling to take in the meaning of the words on the paper and trying to figure out if this was actually happening. When my first read-through didn’t help, I took a deep breath and rubbed my eyes. Once I thought I’d regained a level of clarity, I read the notice again. To my dismay, the words hadn’t changed.
“What is the meaning of this, Enforcer Ayers? A trial? Not just for Malachai, but for Darius?”
Serena met my gaze unflinchingly, just like she always did. “Yes, of course. It is standard practice in handling all matters pertaining breaches of the Soulmate Protection Dictate.”
If the words ‘glaring daggers’ had been anything else except a fi
gure of speech, I’d have killed Serena on the spot. I’d never hated her and everything she represented more. “But Darius is in a coma! He might not even make it! What is the point?”
“The rules must be obeyed, regardless of the unusual circumstances. In Prince Darius’s case, the trial will be held in absentia. It is not our preference, but his family will be there to hear out the accusations.”
Right. His family. The same people who’d cast the curse that was currently killing him. That would go over well.
I forced myself to leash my temper and went over the notice Serena had brought me once more.
Soulmate Notification for Prisoner Darius Alarisson
Esteemed Ms. Hastings,
The court of The Pure Kingdom of Alaria hereby notifies you that your soulmate, Darius Alarisson, has been arrested for crimes committed against The Pure Kingdom of Alaria. The trial will be held in two days’ time, at the Palasion.
Your presence is not mandatory.
Praised be the High King.
Cardinal Theodore Vaughn
There was so much wrong with this picture I didn’t even know where to start. These people were Darius’s family, and they were supposed to care for him in his time of need. Instead, after he’d been wounded in battle, they had decided his ‘crimes’ took priority and intended to try him for hiding the truth about his connection with me.
I’d thought Malachai’s situation was bad, but at least in his case, I could understand the logic behind the decision. This was just so utterly senseless.
