Soul Relenter (Soul Saga #3)

by Todd, E. L.

  “You told me you would always forgive me. You said I would never be able to keep you away.”

  Aleco remembered what he said. He had meant it at the time. Now he was a whole new person. “I’m not the same man that I was then, Accacia. So it doesn’t matter.”

  Accacia recognized the words she had said to him long ago, when they were in Asylinth Cottage making love. It seemed like an eternity had passed since that moment.

  “I want you to leave, Accacia,” he said. “This conversation is over.”

  “No,” she said. “You owe me an explanation.”

  “And what explanation is that?”

  Accacia felt the tears fall from her cheeks. She hated to feel the moisture dampen her skin. She had cried more in the past few days than any other time in her life, even when she had been captured by the duke. “What befell my father?”

  Aleco looked at her. “I’ll tell you only because Father Giloth would want me to,” he said with a sigh. “Otherwise I would throw you out the door. Don’t expect me to comfort you, Accacia. You weren’t there to comfort me through the nightmare I experienced.”

  “I would have been if you hadn’t sent me away.” Accacia felt the anger rise in her body. If she hadn’t left she could have comforted her father in his last moments. She could have been there for Aleco, supporting him with her weight. She never would have met Zyle and this would never have happened. Aleco wouldn’t hate her. “You are to blame for this, Aleco. I never would have married someone if you hadn’t sent me away or left me that memory. You can keep blaming me for this but you are equally at fault.”

  “You didn’t have to open your legs, Accacia.”

  Accacia slapped him across the face, leaving a red imprint on his skin from the impact. He closed his blue eyes and breathed for a moment before he bore his gaze on her. She could see he was livid by her actions. A part of her wanted him to hit her, just so she would have a reason to hate him, allowing her to move on from him.

  “Sit down,” he hissed.

  She fell into her seat and waited for him to do something. He stood in silence for a moment, controlling the fury circulating in his veins. Aleco didn’t react because he knew his words had crossed the line. He was surprised the smack hadn’t come sooner.

  “I will tell you what befell him,” he said. “Then I want you to leave.”

  Accacia stared at him, waiting for him to tell the tale.

  “Immediately after Drake was crowned the Sole Sovereign of the Unified Continent, he gathered his force of two-hundred thousand men and marched to our border, preparing to demolish the forest and kill Father Giloth.”

  Accacia shook her head. “Isn’t that excessive?” She was referring the size of the cavalry he had brought along.

  “He didn’t bring them because he needed them. He just wanted to display his power to intimidate Father Giloth. I doubt it worked.”

  “What happened?”

  “I can’t say,” he said. “I went to aid Father Giloth but he instilled a projection wall around the center of the forest, prohibiting me and the other Naturalists from coming to his aid.”

  Accacia nodded. “That sounds like something he would do. He didn’t want any of his subjects to die protecting him. He would rather deal with the challenge alone.” Accacia looked away from Aleco and gazed into the fire, which was burning low from the lack of wood. “I can’t believe the king defeated Father Giloth. With his elemental powers, he should have killed him.”

  “Well, he didn’t use his powers.”

  Accacia stared at him. “Why not?” she asked. “I understand why he didn’t use them to protect me when I was captured because Drake would have retaliated against the forest and its inhabitants, but Drake was intent on destroying the forest. Father Giloth had every right to unleash his force.”

  “I thought the same thing.” Aleco sat behind his desk and looked at Accacia. Discussing Father Giloth brought him to the past, when he and Accacia were friends and beginning lovers. Their conversations were easy and unforced. He felt like he could tell her anything. Their current relationship pained his heart. “It turns out Father Giloth made a promise to my father to protect Drake and I in the event of his passing, along with the death of my mother.” He ran his fingers through his hair before he continued. “Accacia, I never told you this but you should know something about me and Father Giloth.”

  “He’s your uncle.” Aleco stared at her in confusion. He didn’t remember telling her that and he was certain Father Giloth had never mentioned it. “Yes, I already know. I’ve been aware of it for some time. Lydia told me when I saw her in Morkarh. Apparently, she used to work in your palace.”

  Aleco nodded. He knew Lydia had even though he didn’t remember her. She failed to mention this part. “Well, because of the oath he made he couldn’t move against Drake, his nephew, because his vow was tied to the power of his office. So he let the king kill him.”

  Accacia closed her eyes and looked down. She hated Drake more than ever. The man had ruined her life, taking everyone she loved away from her. She had to kill him. It had to be done. “I hate him, Aleco.”

  Aleco knew who she as referring to. “Hate isn’t strong enough.”

  “No,” she said. “It isn’t.”

  They sat in silence for a while and they both brooded over the death of Father Giloth. He was important to both of them. For the first time, Aleco and Accacia felt connected, thinking about their beloved family member together. Accacia looked at him and met his gaze. “I’m sorry that I wasn’t there for you, Aleco. I know how hard this must be for you.” Aleco didn’t respond but continued to look at her. “For what it’s worth, I wish none of this had happened—I wish I had never left.”

  “You mean that?”

  She nodded. “Of course I do.”

  Aleco sighed. “I’m sorry for the way I’ve been treating you. Please understand this has been—difficult for me. I hate seeing you with him.” Accacia looked away, ashamed of herself for betraying him. “But it doesn’t justify my actions. I can’t keep feeling this way—it’s going to kill me. I accept your commitment to Zyle.” He stared at her for a moment and saw the paleness of her cheek and the dim color of her eyes. Aleco knew she was in as much pain as he was. “And I forgive you, Accacia.”

  She looked up at his words. Aleco saw her smile even though her eyes were flooding with tears. “Thank you,” she said. “And I do love you, Aleco. I hope you can believe me eventually. I’ve hated hurting you.”

  “I know,” he said. “I hope that we can—be friends—I guess. I’ll never stop loving you or wanting you, but we need to work together. We can’t keep fighting like this.” Accacia nodded at his words. He stared at her face and watched her features relax in relief. Aleco hated himself for hurting her. He wished he had never left her that memory. Zyle was a lucky man, the luckiest one in the world. “Do you love him?”

  Accacia met his gaze. “Yes,” she said. Aleco felt his heart drop at her words. He already knew she loved Zyle. She would have made love to him if she didn’t, but the knowledge didn’t soften the blow. He wasn’t sure why he had even asked. “He’s my soul mate, Aleco.” She saw Aleco close his eyes in pain at her words. “I—there was nothing I could do. We are meant for each other.”

  The Lorunien Tree had recognized their shared soul, but Aleco assumed that meant they had joined their souls together, similar to what he and Accacia had done when they exchanged Soul Catchers. He had a piece of her soul and she had a piece of his. “Accacia, just because he is your soul mate doesn’t mean you are destined for him—it just means you are more compatible. You still have free will. You can still be just as happy with someone else—it doesn’t have to be him.” Aleco secretly hoped she would leave Zyle for him but it was becoming clear she never would. She would have done it already if that was her intent. Aleco knew she loved Zyle more than him. He felt his heart throb at the realization. “Would you ever leave him for me?”

  Accacia hugged herself.
She had already hurt Aleco beyond repair and now she was going to give him a death blow. She shook her head. “I’m sorry, Aleco.”

  Aleco looked down. “Accacia, he may be your soul mate, a man that completes you on every level, but I have your soul as well. You gave it to me first. I have as much of a claim on your life as he does. So, does that change anything, Accacia? Is he still your fate?” He rose from his chair behind the desk and approached her. He kneeled at her feet and faced her. “Drake and I are exactly alike. We both share the same unbridled anger, something I know you have noticed, and we are both capable of doing unspeakable things. I could be just as disgusting as he is, fall into that darkness easily and accept my faith, but I choose not to, Accacia. I make my own destiny—I choose to be what I am.”

  “Please don’t do this to me, Aleco.”

  He stared at her for a moment. “You still choose him,” he said quietly. “You love him more than me.”

  “It isn’t like that, Aleco,” she said as she shook her head.

  “Yes, it is. And that’s fine. If he is the one you want then you should be with him. You choose him and I accept that choice.” Accacia pressed her forehead against his and cupped his cheek. The tears fell from her eyes like a flowing river. Aleco wiped them away. “He is a very lucky man, Accacia.” Accacia nodded but said nothing. She was too overwhelmed to speak.

  “I love you so much, Aleco,” she said as she felt his cheeks with her palms. She kissed the tears falling from his eyes and held him close, knowing how much this conversation hurt him.

  “I know you do.” Accacia smiled at him. She was relieved that he believed her. “I am happy for you, Accacia—I want you to be happy. I wish—things were—different, but they aren’t. I wish you were mine. But I accept our fate—I accept the loss.” She sobbed at his words and he wanted to kiss her tears away but he was bound by his oath not to touch her. He wanted her to kiss him so he could return the embrace but he knew she wouldn’t—she was married. Aleco took the Soul Catcher from his capsule and handed to her. “I can’t keep this anymore, Accacia.”

  Accacia looked at the stone in his palm then looked back at him. He was returning her soul back to her, forsaking his possession of it. He was severing his ties with her completely. The action made Accacia shake with tears. She didn’t want to lose him, but she knew she already had. She pushed his hand away. “It was a gift—keep it.”

  “No,” he said as he handed it to her. “It doesn’t belong to me. This contains your soul, Accacia. And now it belongs to your husband exclusively—I have no right keeping it.” He reached up and opened her capsule and took the Soul Catcher from the necklace. “And you shouldn’t burden yourself with mine either.” Accacia nodded through her tears, unable to say what she felt. Aleco remembered all the memories of his past, the ones she had seen, and he asked what he always wanted to know. “Accacia, did the memories change the way you feel about me? Is that why you chose him?”

  “No,” she said as she shook her head. She kissed him on the cheek. “It changed nothing Aleco. I love you as much as before. It was hard to watch—but I know you and he aren’t the same. I will never hold that against you.”

  Aleco sighed. “I’m that you feel that way.”

  “I love you, Aleco,” she said. “Please tell me you love me.”

  “I don’t need to. You already know.”

  “Please?”

  He grabbed her face and looked into the emerald eyes he adored. The flames in her eyes were absent, completely dead and barren of any light. His fingers grazed her cheek and stopped at her lips, staring at the thin lips he wanted to caress with his own. He remembered the first time he had kissed her and the intense feeling of love he held for her. Aleco didn’t know when the feelings began. It was as if they always existed. They argued and bickered excessively and she drove him insane with her stubbornness but he loved everything about her—even the annoying habits. He remembered the first time he made love to her and the way she held him to her, whispering his name as he showed her the depth of his devotion and loyalty to her. He was never happier than he was with her, and he knew he would never feel that way again—ever. He realized he was saying goodbye to her—that this was the end. He would never tell her that he loved her again and he would never look at her this way. He was going to move on—they were over. He felt the tears fall from his eyes in sheets like a rainstorm pounding on the sails of a ship. Aleco wished their fate was different, that she was his wife and the future mother of his children, but he knew she would never be. He breathed through the sobs that cracked his soul and forced the words to escape his lips—the very last time he would utter them—forever. “I love you, Accacia. And forever I will.”

  Orgoom Forest

  18

  “You look like hell,” The Chief said as they walked to the southern border of the forest, the area where the refugees of the neighboring cities had settled under tents and small houses. The guildsmen also occupied the area, preparing for the imminent battle by training the citizens of the Continent in the sword and other weapons. Nolan looked over at Aleco and saw him smiling. “I’ve never seen you look worse—and I have seen you bloodied and beaten beyond recognition.”

  “Yes,” Aleco said. “Those were some good times.”

  “You’re about to finally move against your greatest adversary. I am finally honoring my promise to you along with the aid of the guild—what could possibly have rendered you so broken?”

  The Nature Priest moved forward and said nothing for a moment. Images of he and Accacia flooded his mind. The deserted glade where they had made love under the stars wasn’t too far away from where they were standing and it froze his heart in pain. Accacia had denied his love. He didn’t want to live anymore. “I guess I don’t care anymore.”

  “Why?”

  “I already told you there are worse things than dying, Nolan—betraying someone you love is one of them.”

  The Chief wasn’t oblivious to the cause of his pain. He saw Accacia with her husband in the meeting, holding hands, as they publicly declared their commitment to one another. Nolan had never discussed the scene, assuming Aleco didn’t want to speak of it. Now he understood just how much it troubled his friend, his apprentice. “I’m sorry, Aleco.”

  Aleco nodded.

  “Now you understand why marriage and child-bearing are strictly prohibited in the guild—they will only cause you pain—betray you.”

  “I suppose,” he said. “You never loved someone, Nolan?”

  The Chief stared at him for a moment. “Yes,” he admitted. “A very long time ago. But I realized how unreal it was. Love doesn’t exist. It is mere infatuation mixed with lust. It was the biggest waste of my time.”

  “I don’t agree with that, Nolan, but I understand why you feel that way.”

  “Even after what that whore did to you? You’re trying to save her kin from the Void, knowing it’s the only way you two can be reunited, and she runs off with the first guy she sees? She never loved you, Aleco.”

  Aleco didn’t react to his harsh words, but let them wash over him in a wave of pain. The union of Accacia and Zyle broke his heart, shattered his soul, and when he thought about it he felt his body give out. He didn’t want to continue on. “Perhaps,” he said simply.

  “I’m sorry, Aleco, but it’s the truth. The woman doesn’t deserve your undying affection.”

  “Do you not remember what she did for me?” Aleco asked. The Chief said nothing, unsure what he was referring to. “She sacrificed herself so she could spare me from the wrath of the guild, even after what I did to her. Perhaps it seems like she doesn’t love me now, but I know she does—she has to.”

  “She still doesn’t deserve your loyalty,” he said.

  “That’s debatable.”

  “What’s your fascination with this woman?” he asked. “Why is she special? I admit she is beautiful and alluring, and a very attractive woman, but that’s all—nothing more. She is weak and a constant liability, h
as no loyalty to those who matter, and she is conflicted—always bouncing back and forth between emotions and decisions. Why do you care for her?”

  “There are many reasons,” he said simply. “And I don’t expect you to understand them. She accepts me for who I am and has forgiven me for my sins. I am identical to the man who tortured her, but she loves me despite that association. She cares for me so much that she looks past our similarities. She is caring and good, always choosing the right decision in the face of overwhelming adversity. I know Accacia loved me with her whole heart—I still believe that she does.”

  “I think it’s just because she’s good in the sack.”

  Aleco laughed despite the vulgarity of his comment. “It doesn’t hurt.” He smiled.

  The two men approached the congregation of men along the tents. The peasants came to Aleco and shook his hand, bowing their heads in gratitude. The Nature Priest expressed his thanks and examined the progression of the plans. Most of the men had mastered the basics of the sword and were motivated to dominate in battle. The guildsmen showed Aleco and the Chief the carts, and they both nodded their approval.

  Aleco and Nolan moved away from the crowds of people and headed toward a mound in the earth that overlooked the inhabitants before them. Aleco cleared his throat before he spoke. “I need to discuss something with you, Nolan.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “Devry’s sister lives in the house with me. She doesn’t know that Devry is dead—I have to tell her.”

  “And why would I care about that?”

  “She is going to want to know who killed him,” he explained. “And I cannot lie.”

  “If she comes after me, I will stab her in the heart. There is no issue.”

  “I sincerely hope you are kidding, Nolan. You know I would never let that happen. You will not touch her.”

  The Chief sighed loudly. “Then what do you want me to do? Let her attack me? I won’t be useful to your cause if I’m a corpse.”