Read Online Drake of Tanith (Chosen Soul) by Heather Killough-Walden - Free Book Online

without a second thought. She let out a whoosh of air when he jerked her into his arms and bear hugged her. And then, a second later, she was hugging him back just as tightly.
    “I’m so sorry I scared you,” she said, her voice tight due to her temporarily compressed air passages. “I couldn’t get out and I didn’t even know that I couldn’t get out.” She was mumbling now, speaking quickly, but he understood perfectly.
    “It’s okay, sis. It’s not your fault,” he told her. Finally, and very slowly, he pulled away. She had tears on her cheeks. As a breeze brushed by him and chilled his own face, he was surprised to find that he did as well. “How did you get here?” he asked.
    “Zeta helped me. But I had to make a promise in exchange,” she told him.
    Loki’s face dropped a bit. “What promise?” he asked warily.
    She shook her head. “I don’t want to talk about it right now,” she said, “and anyway it’s not important.”
    Loki frowned. “If a promise to the elven princess isn’t important, what is?”
    “Finding Drake and getting him out of the prison realm he was sent to.”
    Loki’s eyes widened. “You want to go to the Witherlands ?” Concern blossomed within him. It wasn’t exactly an everyday occurrence to step into another realm, and he certainly had mixed feelings about Tanith. Besides, beings capable of opening portals to other realms were few and far between. He wasn’t one of them and neither was Raven.
    But Raven didn’t reply; the look on her face was answer enough.
    “So you do plan to go after Tanith,” Loki said, stepping back a bit. He ran a rough hand through his shock of fine blond hair. “I know what he is, Raven.” He looked down, closed his eyes to take a deep breath, and then looked up again. “While you were gone, I found out. Drake is the son of Asmodeus.”
    Raven looked at him with an unreadable expression on her face. And then she blinked. “I know.”
    Loki wasn’t surprised by this statement. His sister and the bounty hunter had shared something powerful during the battle with Cruor. Loki knew his sister. She wasn’t stupid. She was stubborn and sometimes she was naïve, but she had the Chosen Soul inside of her, and that soul most likely recognized a soul as powerful as Drake of Tanith’s.
    “I imagine you’re not going to let this drop,” he said. “The ork was right.”
    “What ork?”
    “Drake’s friend, goes by the name of Grolsch. He came looking for me yesterday. He’s out hunting at the moment but will return at night fall. He wanted to help get you out of Eidolon in the hopes that you would in turn help him get Tanith out of the Witherlands.”
    “I don’t know how he thought I would be able to help,” Raven said, shrugging. “But I’m sure there is more power in numbers.”
    “Alright,” Loki breathed. “We can talk about it. But first, I have to ask. Will the prince be coming after you again?” Lord Astriel was notorious amongst the humans of Trimontium. They adored him and they were terrified of him. He always got what he wanted – and it was quite clear that he wanted Raven. Yet, here she was, standing in front of Loki. It boded ill.
    Raven looked bewildered. “I honestly don’t know,” she said. Her voice sounded thin, perhaps tired. “But we shouldn’t wait around to find out. And one sure way to escape the elf prince is to go to the one place he probably wouldn’t follow us.”
    “The Witherlands,” finished Loki. Fine, he thought. He honestly had no plans and no idea of what else to do anyway. “Very well. The first thing we need to do is find someone who can open a portal.”
    Raven looked up. “Can’t you do it? Or you and some of the other priests?” She looked clearly confused.
    Loki ran a nervous and frustrated hand through his hair. “No,” he said, shaking his head. “That’s not something Haledon’s acolytes are good at doing.” And he wasn’t sure that even if they were, he would succeed