inwardly groaned. “If you keep secrets from me, how will I ever learn to trust you?”
“It’s not you I’m keeping secrets from.” He nodded, sending a wave of magic toward her.
And for the first time in days, a familiar presence roared to life within her.
Or to be more precise, exploded with a flurry of curses and swearing that made her ears sting. “That arrogant, small-pricked, son of a whore! How dare he toy with me?”
“Loku?” Her heart fluttered, both from fear and excitement. She closed her eyes and quickly erected a series of mental barriers in place as Varrik had taught her to do to keep the chaos god from taking control of her body.
“Who else would be talking in your head? Dev?”
Bitter laughter died in her throat. She’d only heard Dev’s voice in her mind once—the night she’d battled Nelos. Since then, he hadn’t bothered to contact her that way. “Do you have any idea what he’s hiding from us?”
“Ask him about what he’s guarding here in this palace.”
She opened her eyes, only to find Varrik missing from his chair. A finger pressed against her left temple, and Loku’s voice died within her. When she turned in that direction, she found her father standing next to her, his face grim. “You let him distract you too much, Arden. One of the many ways he’s a danger to you.”
“And you’re not?” She knocked his hand away and jumped to her feet, adding some much needed distance between them. “Funny how you decided to silence him when he was about to tell me the truth about what you’re guarding here.”
An expressionless mask settled over his face, revealing nothing. “Ah, so he managed to convince you I’m hiding something here? Very well, I’ll tell you the truth.”
He beckoned her to follow him out of the drawing room. Cinder clung to her skirts as she went into the hallway after him, his amber eyes never leaving her father until they came to the library. He opened the doors and gestured to the rows of bookshelves. “This is what I’m guarding here.”
“Books?”
“Not just books, Arden. Knowledge.” He ran his fingers along the spine of a book like he would a lover’s cheek. “Lothmore Palace is the home for all Gravarian lore, and I’m its keeper.”
“And let me guess—you got this position because of family connections?”
“Yes, and no.” He tucked his hands behind his back and continued down one of the aisles. “What has Dev told you about the history of the Soulbearers?”
“That they all go mad.” Like I’m about to become if you don’t stop dodging my questions . “I don’t see what that has to do with you, me, or the grouch out there.”
“Patience.” He led her to a tapestry along the far wall and stood beside it. “Tell me what you see here.”
The silk threads depicted a war-torn landscape with shattered castles and charred homes. People ran toward the edges of the fabric, their screams echoing through the embroidery. In the center, a group of humans and elves wearing the crests of the three kingdoms circled a man consumed by flames, their solemn faces and pointed fingers so out of place among the chaos surrounding them. The tips of the man’s black hair burned, and his yellow-green eyes flashed with anger. But even though the tapestry had to be hundreds of years old, she recognized his face immediately. “Loku?”
Varrik nodded. “This tells the story of how his body was destroyed and his soul was trapped within the first Soulbearer, Piramus.” He pointed to the green mist that rose from Loku’s body and the brown-haired elf standing beside it.
An elf that looked a great deal like Callix.
“Let me guess—Piramus was a member of the Jaquoix family?”
“Yes, as were the next four Soulbearers, ending with the Soulbearer Dev was first charged with protecting, Quertus.”
She traced Loku’s face on the tapestry, marveling at how accurate it was to the face that haunted her dreams some nights. A shock raced up
“It’s not you I’m keeping secrets from.” He nodded, sending a wave of magic toward her.
And for the first time in days, a familiar presence roared to life within her.
Or to be more precise, exploded with a flurry of curses and swearing that made her ears sting. “That arrogant, small-pricked, son of a whore! How dare he toy with me?”
“Loku?” Her heart fluttered, both from fear and excitement. She closed her eyes and quickly erected a series of mental barriers in place as Varrik had taught her to do to keep the chaos god from taking control of her body.
“Who else would be talking in your head? Dev?”
Bitter laughter died in her throat. She’d only heard Dev’s voice in her mind once—the night she’d battled Nelos. Since then, he hadn’t bothered to contact her that way. “Do you have any idea what he’s hiding from us?”
“Ask him about what he’s guarding here in this palace.”
She opened her eyes, only to find Varrik missing from his chair. A finger pressed against her left temple, and Loku’s voice died within her. When she turned in that direction, she found her father standing next to her, his face grim. “You let him distract you too much, Arden. One of the many ways he’s a danger to you.”
“And you’re not?” She knocked his hand away and jumped to her feet, adding some much needed distance between them. “Funny how you decided to silence him when he was about to tell me the truth about what you’re guarding here.”
An expressionless mask settled over his face, revealing nothing. “Ah, so he managed to convince you I’m hiding something here? Very well, I’ll tell you the truth.”
He beckoned her to follow him out of the drawing room. Cinder clung to her skirts as she went into the hallway after him, his amber eyes never leaving her father until they came to the library. He opened the doors and gestured to the rows of bookshelves. “This is what I’m guarding here.”
“Books?”
“Not just books, Arden. Knowledge.” He ran his fingers along the spine of a book like he would a lover’s cheek. “Lothmore Palace is the home for all Gravarian lore, and I’m its keeper.”
“And let me guess—you got this position because of family connections?”
“Yes, and no.” He tucked his hands behind his back and continued down one of the aisles. “What has Dev told you about the history of the Soulbearers?”
“That they all go mad.” Like I’m about to become if you don’t stop dodging my questions . “I don’t see what that has to do with you, me, or the grouch out there.”
“Patience.” He led her to a tapestry along the far wall and stood beside it. “Tell me what you see here.”
The silk threads depicted a war-torn landscape with shattered castles and charred homes. People ran toward the edges of the fabric, their screams echoing through the embroidery. In the center, a group of humans and elves wearing the crests of the three kingdoms circled a man consumed by flames, their solemn faces and pointed fingers so out of place among the chaos surrounding them. The tips of the man’s black hair burned, and his yellow-green eyes flashed with anger. But even though the tapestry had to be hundreds of years old, she recognized his face immediately. “Loku?”
Varrik nodded. “This tells the story of how his body was destroyed and his soul was trapped within the first Soulbearer, Piramus.” He pointed to the green mist that rose from Loku’s body and the brown-haired elf standing beside it.
An elf that looked a great deal like Callix.
“Let me guess—Piramus was a member of the Jaquoix family?”
“Yes, as were the next four Soulbearers, ending with the Soulbearer Dev was first charged with protecting, Quertus.”
She traced Loku’s face on the tapestry, marveling at how accurate it was to the face that haunted her dreams some nights. A shock raced up
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