Read Online A Soul for Vengeance by Crista McHugh - Free Book Online Page B

attacked when the Thallians crossed the mountains. They wouldn’t have had the time to be warned, to prepare. They were the front line. “Was the duke home, too?”
    “Yes,” Parros replied, his voice tight. The sword scraped against the loose gravel. “When he fell in battle, Lady Zara took over. She fought as well as any man, as bravely as any knight. And she suffered as much as any of us.”
    Kell turned his attention to the small, curled-up form across the fire. “If she was a leader, then why didn’t the Thallians take her prisoner?”
    “Because they left her for dead.” Parros’s shoulders tightened, and his sword disappeared under his cloak. “When she tells you to become stronger so you can help our cause, Your Highness, it’s only because she’s had to do it herself. I consider it an honor to fight alongside her, just as I had her father.”
    The knight’s gaze went from the fire to Zara, then traveled around the barn to all the men sleeping inside before coming to Kell. “Did you know that despite Lord Bynn’s hesitation, more than thirty men volunteered to join Lady Zara on this mission? These men you see here were chosen by her, and we all would follow her until we drew our last breath.”
    If he was going to lead his people, he could start by learning from Zara’s example. “And what is it about her that inspires such loyalty?”
    The corner of Parros’s mouth rose, deepening the wrinkles in his face. “It would take me all night to explain it to you, Your Highness. I suggest to watch her and see for yourself.”
    “Perhaps I shall.” Kell wrapped his blanket around him to trap the last warmth from the fire and lay down with more questions running through his mind than he’d started with. He’d come home to a world he no longer knew, and the only compass he had so far to steer him the right direction was a woman who both baffled and intrigued him.
     

Chapter 7
     
    The brown-haired elf who answered the door last night met Arden at the bottom of the stairs, regarding her with the same narrow-eyed suspicion as before. “Lord Varrik is in the drawing room.”
    “If I find myself in need of him, I’ll know where to find him,” she replied, stepping around him with Cinder close on her heels. She’d elected to stay in her room last night instead of joining her father for dinner, but the rumblings in her stomach forced her to emerge this morning.
    The elf cut her off with both speed and grace, ignoring the growl of warning from the fire wolf. “It is rude to ignore your host, Soulbearer.”
    “It’s also rude to order around my Soulbearer,” Loku whispered. Images of green lightning snaking down her arms filled her mind, even though she saw none when she looked down. “Why don’t you show him how to respectfully address a goddess?”
    Arden cast a mental net around Loku’s magic and pulled it back deep inside her where it belonged. The last thing she needed was for him to cause another earthquake to add to snow already clogging the pass. “Will you behave?”
    He laughed, and an invisible hand brushed against her cheek. “Come now, my little Soulbearer, you like it when I misbehave.”
    “Not lately . ” Because of Loku, she was trapped here with a man she loathed. A man she was being forced to interact with by the elf in front of her. She released a heavy sigh, letting the elf know what a pain in the ass he was being. “Very well, show me the way.”
    The elf’s gaze flickered over her, and his lips thinned before he turned to lead her down a hallway.
    “If anyone’s being a pain in the ass, it’s you,” Loku hissed. “You’re not being any fun.”
    “I’m not here for fun. I’m here for my mother’s necklace.” Reaffirming her purpose dashed away any second thoughts she might have had about sneaking away so she wouldn’t have to deal with the man who’d sired her. She lifted her chin and strode into the drawing room with her goal firmly in place.
    Varrik looked