She reached for the pendant Dev had given her and prayed for strength. Her eyes stung with tears. Oh, Dev, what am I going to do?
“Arden?” a voice in her mind answered.
Her breath caught. Although the voice was garbled and distant, she recognized it. She focused her thoughts toward him and held the pendant even tighter. “Dev, is that you?”
“Is there someone else you wished to speak to?”
The tears tumbled out as she laughed. In the past, Dev had been able to reach out to her with his mind, but she’d never been able to initiate the conversation until now. Dozens of questions flooded her thoughts. “Where are you? Did they hurt you? Are you cold? Hungry?”
“I’m fine.” He paused and added with a rawness to his voice, “Just missing you.”
Her heart squeezed so tightly, she’d thought it would burst. “I miss you too, Dev. So much. And I’m not going to rest until you’re free.”
A gap of silence followed, and Arden worried that she’d lost her connection to him. Then, he uttered three words like a heavy sigh. “Be safe, Trouble.”
His presence slipped away from her consciousness, but a warm glow lingered inside her chest. Dev was alive, and even though he didn’t say it outright, his love for her echoed in his wish for her to be safe.
She balled her hands into fists around Cinder’s fur. I will find a way to save Dev.
I just hope there’s a way to do it without giving Loku what he wants.
***
Arden stopped halfway down the stairs and entered into a staring contest with Callix below. “Are you waiting to ambush me again?”
He placed his hand on his sword. “Only if you allow Loku to take over.”
“I won’t.” She ambled down the stairs, each step slower than the last as she closed the space between them. She trusted Loku more than her father’s apprentice. “He’s contained.”
“As he should be.”
She stopped on the bottom stair and held his gaze. “However, if you strike me again, I won’t be responsible for his actions.”
“Is that a threat?”
“More like a promise.” She cast a shield around herself before turning her back to him and going to the small dining room next to the study. If he was going to sneak up on her again, she’d give him a solid shock of magic in return.
The bright morning sun streamed in through the windows, filling the room with light and warmth. The smell of roasted sausages seeped out from a covered dish in the center of the table, and Cinder licked his lips. Sazi and her father sat at one end, their heads bent in quiet conversation, only looking up when Arden took the chair next to them.
Dark circles framed her father’s normally bright blue eyes, and fatigue sagged the corners of his mouth. Worry rumbled in her gut from his haggard appearance. “Are you ill, Varrik?”
His mouth tightened at the use of his name, but he shook his head. “Just tired, daughter.”
She lowered her eyes to her plate. Why can’t I call him ‘Father’? I know he wants me to, but I…
A handful of excuses offered themselves to her, but deep inside, she knew why. Her stubborn pride. In Ranello, the nearest male relative was a woman’s “blood” and controlled every aspect of her life. By calling him “Father,” she would be giving that power to him.
Cinder’s impatient whimper tore her from her thoughts, and she tossed a couple of sausages to the fire wolf. “Did you sleep poorly?”
“No, I didn’t sleep at all.” He took a long drink from the steaming cup of tea beside him. “I was working on something that might be of use to you.”
Her attention sharpened. “Oh?”
“First, let me warn you about the dangers of letting Loku persuade you to his path.”
She slumped back in her chair with an exasperated sigh and repeated all the things they’d told her. “I know, I know. I can’t let him find his ashes. If he does, it would destroy our world. I get it. No making deals with the god of chaos.”
Even though that might be her only chance of saving Dev’s life.
Varrik took another sip of tea, but not before she caught a hint of a smile hiding behind the cup. “Then I don’t need to worry about you allowing him to take control of you again to extract that information from me.”
Guilt hit her like a punch in the gut. She squirmed in her chair. “Yeah, about that…”
“There’s no need to apologize, Arden. I know you were trying to stop him, and in truth, if it had been your mother in Dev’s place, I might have done the same.”
A heavy lump formed in her throat. Growing up, she’d believed her father had abandoned her mother, leaving her alone and pregnant and at the mercy of her blood. But hearing the love in her father’s words, coupled with the way the sunlight gleaming on the pendant around his neck—the same pendant her mother had worn until she died and passed it on to Arden—made her believe that Varrik’s heart still belonged to her mother.
She turned her attention to the stack of paper between him and Sazi. “Any news from Arano?”
Sazi shook her head. “No, but he and the other mages are still trying to locate the Blood of Lireal.”
“Too bad the only person who knows exactly where it is won’t tell us unless we give him the means to destroy creation.” She bit into the juicy sausage, but to her it tasted like the dry biscuits soldiers carried in their ration packs. “Any ideas on how to trick him into revealing that information?”
“You know him best, Soulbearer.” Sazi came around the table and unrolled a map on the surface next to Arden. “The Ornathian kingdom is in the mountains to the north,” she said, pointing to the location on the map.
Arden estimated the distance from Lothmore Palace to it, and felt ill. “It will take me at least a week to get to the borders.”
“It is less than a day’s flight.”
“For you, maybe, but I don’t have wings. And then, once I’m there, I have no idea where to start.”
Sazi glided her finger farther north. “The Blood of Lireal was kept here.” Then she indicated a point to the southeast. “And Syd was found here a few days after it went missing. He did not have it on him when he was captured.”
“Are you certain he was the one who stole it?”
“Yes,” Sazi replied with fire in her normally calm voice. “That means he must have hidden it between here and there.”
Arden studied the segment on the map, hoping something would jump out at her. “Where did you hide it, Loku? It has to be somewhere near there.”
But since he was still contained, she only heard silence for an answer.
“The terrain there is steep and treacherous.” Callix strode into the room and stabbed three sausages with a knife before grabbing a plate and sitting down. “You’re more likely to fall off a cliff to your death than find it.”
A shiver snaked up her spine, and she looked to Sazi for confirmation.
“Yes, it is difficult for those without wings to traverse, but not impossible,” she replied, caution slowing her speech. “I am willing to carry you, but it will require us to make frequent stops.”
“Any way I can grow a set of wings before we leave?” Arden half-heartedly joked.
“It’s a fool’s quest,” Callix said with his mouth full. “You’d be better off learning to control Loku than risking your life over something no one has been able to find in almost a century of searching.”
The odds just keep getting better and better.
She reached for her pendant and remembered why she was willing to risk it all. “If there’s any chance of saving Dev, I’ll take it.”
She released a slow breath and went back to the map. “Are there any caves in that area, Sazi? Any crevices? Any place where Syd could have hid it?”
“Yes, Soulbearer, there are many.”
“And how many have been explored?”
Sazi’s dark eyes grew solemn. “All of them.”
“There has to be something we’re missing.”
Arden pushed back from the table and started pacing. “Some hidden location. Something protected by magic, perhaps.”
For the hundredth time that week, the temptation to give in to Loku’s demands threatened to buckle her resistance. It would be so easy to give him what he wanted in exchange for the relic.
“Oh, who am I kidding?” She stopped and threw her hands up in surrender. “Callix is right. Maybe this is a fool’s quest, and I’m the biggest fool of all.”
“Arden,” her father said at last, “it will be difficult, but not impossible.”
“But I don’t even know what this relic looks like.”
“That can easily be remedied.” Varrik rose from his chair and beckoned them to follow him.
The library of Lothmore Palace was a vast room with rows of shelves that spanned from ceiling to floor, yet Varrik knew the exact location of the text he wanted. The scents of leather and dust swirled in the air around them when he pulled the heavy tome from the shelf. “Sazi, would you be so kind as to translate?”
“Of course.” She handled the book as though it weighed no more than a feather and carried it to a small table.
The text inside was different than any language Arden had been taught. Instead of the familiar letters of the human alphabet or the graceful swirls of the Elvish one, the words in the book were composed of stark, straight lines and dots.
Sazi flipped through the yellowed pages until she came upon a detailed painting illuminating the text. “This is what the Blood of Lireal looks like.”
The blood rushed out of Arden’s head as she stared at the large, heart-shaped ruby. “I know where it is.”
Sazi’s eye widened a fraction of an inch. “You do?”
Arden nodded, her mind reeling from the implications. “Yes, he’s already shown me.”
A wave of dizziness forced her to sink into a nearby chair and wrap her arms around her middle. Loku never manipulated her dreams without a reason, and now she realized he’d done it the other night to taunt her. He’d hidden the Blood of Lireal in the one place where no one would ever find it. The one place where he controlled everything. The one place she had no chance of ever reaching.
Sazi knelt in front of her, concern etched in the lines of her normally placid face. “Where is it?”
Arden’s voice shook as she answered, “The Realm of Chaos.”
Chapter 9
“Impossible!” The word fell from Callix’s lips before he could stop it. “The gates to Chaos were all destroyed when Loku was defeated.”
Arden jumped to her feet. “No, I saw it. He’s hidden it there.”
“You’re lying.” His pulse quickened, but not from anger. Fear sped through his veins like a lit fuse. If there was even a fraction of truth to what she said, then they had more to fear from the god of chaos than just him having the relic.
“Let me be the judge of that.” Sazi turned to Arden and spoke in soothing tones. “May I look inside your soul to see if you speak the truth?”
Arden’s gaze flickered to her father as though she was looking for reassurance.
At least she has enough common sense not to let the Ornathian muck around in her soul without consequence. Once a person granted a soul mage permission to look inside their soul, all their secrets would be revealed.
Varrik gave a slow nod, and a moment later, Arden did the same.
Sazi moved behind Arden and wrapped her arms and wings around the Soulbearer. A melodious chant followed in words Callix dared not interpret for fear he’d be captured by the spell. Arden closed her eyes, and a few seconds later, her body went limp in the Ornathian’s arms. The chanting ceased, and a golden glow surrounded the two women.
The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, and Callix reached for his sword. He’d grown up in a world of magic, but there was something about reaching into the depths of someone’s soul that seemed unnatural to him.
The glow retreated, but Arden still appeared to be deeply entranced.
“She speaks the truth,” Sazi announced like a judge delivering a sentence.
A curse flew from his lips. If there was a remaining gate, then Loku still had the means to wreak havoc on the world. “Where is it?”
“I did not inquire about the gate, Callix.” Sazi took the still half-dazed Soulbearer by the hand and led her back to the chair. “I only had permission to confirm what she said. The Blood of Lireal is in Chaos.”
Callix could only imagine how corrupted the relic had become from its stay there. Even if there was a way to return it to the Ornathians, he doubted they’d want anything to do with it once they saw the taint of Chaos on it.
Varrik rubbed his chin. “This explains why no one has been able to find it over the years.”
“Indeed.” Sazi brushed a strand of Arden’s hair out of her face, but the Soulbearer continued to stare into nothingness. “That was rather clever of him to hide it on another plane.”
She didn’t have to say Loku. Syd had had more balls than brains, but it was the chaos god who’d been the mastermind behind the theft of the relic.
Callix cursed again. “Too bad you couldn’t search Loku’s soul while you were in there.”
“I can only search souls with permission, and I doubt he would ever grant me that. The god of chaos holds too many secrets.”
Arden’s eyelids fluttered, and her face turned pale. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
“Perhaps you should lie down.” Varrik helped his daughter to her feet and wrapped his arm over her shoulders. “I’ll be back in a few minutes to discuss this further.”
The Soulbearer leaned heavily on her father as she stumbled out of the library.
Sazi cradled her chin in her hand, lost in thought for several moments. “I did not see that scenario.”
“Don’t feel bad. None of us did.” Callix kicked at the floor and stirred up a flurry of dust motes. “We were all under the belief that we were safe from chaos.”
“And we are, as long as Loku’s soul is contained.” She lowered her hand. “I must inform the Mage Primus and the empress.”
She hurried out of the library, leaving him alone with the lore of Gravaria.
He approached the Ornathian book that had been left open on the table and read the legend of how the winged goddess, Lireal, saved the Ornathians by cutting her own throat and spilling her blood. Her divine essence hardened into a heart-shaped gem, and as long as it remained in her temple, the Ornathians would be protected from the wrath of the other gods.
It would easier to plead with whichever god sent the blight than to go into Chaos. Too bad their attempts to do so had failed over the years.
“My poor daughter has quite the task ahead of her,” Varrik said behind him.
“She’d be better off letting them all die.”
“This coming from a man who never loved anyone more than himself.”
Callix spun around on his heels, his temper flaring. “And what is that supposed to mean?”
“Just that.” Varrik crossed his arms in a nonchalant manner. “It is easy for you to dismiss her efforts because you’ve only ever thought of yourself.”
“Nonsense. I’m thinking of the good of the empire. If she finds a way to open that portal, we could have a repeat of history, especially if Loku gains control of her.”
“Then perhaps she needs someone who will make sure that doesn’t happen. A Protector, perhaps.”
Callix opened his mouth to agree, but hesitated when he caught the underlying implication of what Varrik had said. Bitter laughter rolled from his chest. “Nice try, Varrik, but I was relieved of that duty long ago.”
“By the man whose very life hangs in the balance.”
The same rush of guilt rose in his chest, smothering him. “He was a condemned man before this.”
“He was acquitted of his crime, but still bore the punishment. That speaks far more about him than the suspicions that tarnished his name.”
“He’s a Tel’Brien. Arano would
’ve found some other way to get him out of it.”
“And yet Dev wouldn’t let him.” Varrik closed the Ornathian book and placed it back on the shelf. “He’s a man I would gladly give my only daughter to in marriage. I just hope he lives long enough to see that day.”
“Instead of worrying about Dev’s life, why don’t you worry more about your daughter’s? She’s determined to do anything to save him. No amount of imperial ties will help her if she actually manages to find a way into Chaos.”
“I’m quite aware of what she is capable of doing, especially under Loku’s influence.” Varrik gave him one more guilt-inducing glare. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to discuss a new plan of action with Sazi. Arden needs all the allies she can get, and so far, Sazi’s the only one who’s offered to help.”
“What about you? Why aren’t you following her into Chaos?”
“We both know why I can’t.”
Yeah, because if Varrik found himself trapped in Loku’s realm, yesterday’s demonstration would seem like an innocent parlor trick.
“So you do know where the urn is.”
Varrik shook his head and flicked his gaze to where Sazi stood in the doorway. “I don’t, but I would be in danger of revealing who does.”
The Lore Keeper led Sazi out of the library, their murmured conversation too distant for Callix to comprehend. Instead of following them, he wandered through the stacks, hoping something would jump out at him. A text. A scroll. A sign of some kind from Ivis.
And he got it when he came to the end of one of the rows and found himself standing in front of the tapestry depicting Loku’s defeat. For centuries, the tapestry had guarded the entrance to the vault where Loku’s ashes had been kept. Now it was nothing more than a visual reminder of how Callix had abandoned his family legacy.
He studied the tapestry from every angle. The stark terror in the faces of the people running toward the edges. The fury in Loku’s eyes as his body burned. And finally, the calm acceptance as Piramus accepted the burden of becoming the first Soulbearer.
A Soul For Atonement (The Soulbearer Series Book 4) Page 6
