A Soul for Vengeance Read Online Free

and retreated. “They are the ones who wish to control you. You are the closest thing to a goddess they will ever encounter. Remember that.”
    Her mind swirled as she rose to her feet, throwing her off balance for the first few steps. Who should she believe? Sazi? Loku? It wasn’t until she was halfway down the tower’s spiraling stairs that she decided she needed to be wary of both of them. Gravaria was a land seeped in both magic and secrets. It made her wish for the simple hostility of Ranello. At least there, she knew where she stood.
    When she reached the bottom, she went straight for the wing where the Mage’s Council met. These men and women were considered the ten most powerful mages in Gravaria, although she questioned their power after seeing what Sazi was capable of doing a few moments before. Since Nelos’s priest had killed the Mage Sextus in an attempt to get to Arden, a new mage had been elected to the council. She only hoped the new Mage Decius would be willing to divulge some information about the Empress’s entourage.
    Unfortunately, her path intersected with Empress Marist instead. The two women stopped a few feet apart and eyed each other warily. Arden had only recently learned that she and the Empress were cousins, although there was no denying the strong family resemblance. They were the same height, the same build, possessed the same golden hair and blue eyes. If her mother hadn’t clipped the tips when she was a baby, perhaps Arden’s ears would’ve formed the same elegant points as Marist’s.
    But instead of welcoming her to the family, the Empress seemed to view Arden as a threat to her power. She lifted her chin ever so slightly and regarded her with cold blue eyes.
    Arden mirrored her stance, the only person in the room who dared not bow before the Empress. “Your Imperial Majesty.”
    “Soulbearer.” Her eyes glittered silver for a moment, heightening the Empress’s icy nature.
    “To what do we owe the honor of your presence?” She secretly hoped Marist was here to lift the spell that kept Arden captive behind the Conclave’s walls. The Empress had arrested her after she and Loku defeated Nelos. The Tribunal of the Gods feared what would happen if she actually killed a god, but since the order of the world didn’t fall out of balance, Loku had reassured her that Nelos’s soul had survived. It was crippled, perhaps, but not destroyed. Hopefully, enough time had passed to convince the Empress of that.
    Marist arched one golden brow. “I’m here to oversee the selection of your new Protector.”
    Her supply of spit doubled, forcing her to swallow faster. “I already have a Protector.”
    “Yes, but he’s asked the Mage’s Council to be relieved of his duty.”
    The blood drained from her face so quickly, her head swam. She took a step back. “Dev no longer wants to be my Protector?”
    “Didn’t he tell you?” A slight smirk adorned the Marist’s lips.
    “I was hoping to wait until we’d found a suitable replacement before telling her, Your Imperial Majesty,” Dev said from behind Arden.
    She turned around, scarcely believing what she was hearing. Dev’s face remained unreadable, as always, but a glint of some unrecognizable emotion glowed from his dark green eyes. Yet, despite the news that he was planning to abandon her, her heart quickened, and she was drawn to him as though he’d looped a rope around her waist and was pulling her toward him. “Why?”
    He winced and tightened his jaw, his gaze stripping through all her defenses until he came to the raw pain of her soul. “You know why,” he replied in a hoarse whisper.
    She drew in a sharp breath, the air burning her nostrils and making her eyes water. Her hands trembled. Yes, she knew why. She’d crossed the line by letting him know she wanted something more. She’d risked her heart by showing him that she loved him. And this was his answer.
    Her feet backpedaled, stumbling over themselves as she placed