Soulless (Maiden of Time Book 2) Read Online Free
Author: Crystal Collier
five teardrop petals, his vow to her. Her father, Charles, didn’t approve of them. He believed the Passionate to be cursed, destined for tragedy, but he had agreed on this one point: Kiren protect her as no other.
Kiren traced the chain and she trembled beneath his touch. He grinned, loving her reaction. Unclasping the necklace, he teased the glittering snake until it surrendered her ring and slipped it onto her finger.
Alexia grasped his hands. “What if Father sees?”
“I intend that he shall.”
She seized his shoulders, seeking his eyes. “You convinced him?”
Kiren bit down, keeping the grin plastered on his face.
“This is wonderful!”
Oh, that it could be as wonderful as she believed. He wished he could share in her rejoicing, but he would not taint her happiness with the truth. Not yet.
He released her, gaze bouncing down her thinly veiled form. He quickly averted his attention. “Please, dearest, you must put something on. We need to leave.”
She reddened and hugged herself. Kiren rose and escaped to the hall.
Three
Breeders
Two quiet shadows raced toward the manor house, cutting through the woods and dodging branches. Elizabeth glanced at her companion, snorting at his wild hair and too-short legs as he stumbled and nearly tripped on a protruding root. They could make this journey so much faster on horseback, but the dwarf was far too jittery around animals, plus he might crush the creature on accident with those massive, too-strong hands.
She grinned wickedly into the night, brushing the leaves away from her famous auburn locks. He was just the kind of ally she needed on this mission: to capture and return the young woman who could alter time before the leader of the Kingdom faction stood between them.
She hoped the leader had returned. She’d never had a reason to attack him, but she’d always wondered if he would fall under her power.
Red Pain they called her. She loved the title. Let anyone challenge her and she would launch an attack on their minds that could cripple an elephant.
She glanced up at the moonless sky, hoping the Soulless had not arrived before them.
Four
Choosing
Despite Kiren’s mending, every movement set off a twinge of pain as Alexia tucked into a corset, stomacher, and fastened her petticoats. She silently wished she had a domestic to assist her, as the process would go much smoother, but she’d been playing the role of a servant since returning to Father’s home.
No one knew her secret. Father (a prominent country baron) maintained that his daughter had “fallen prey to wolves” last winter when she disappeared. He had dressed her as a domestic, allowing people to believe her presence a boon of charity, nothing more.
And she never should have had that much.
Alexia retrieved a single black hairpin from her bureau, examining it in the starlight before tucking it over her neckline, right over her heart.
Dana’s gift.
She wasn’t sure if its placement was correct.
Dana had been but a child when she and Father fell in love, but that love resulted in the death of Alexia’s grandparents, the destruction Father’s marriage, and his broken heart. Only Kiren, she, and Father knew he’d sired a child out of wedlock with his Passionate mistress who then died in childbirth. Alexia had been raised by Rosalind, Father’s now-dead wife—a woman who’d selflessly claimed the babe for her own. The sorrow eventually killed her surrogate mother.
Alexia missed the quiet woman with her perfect poise, flaxen tresses, and admonishing looks. She never said a word, merely led and expected to be followed. Rosalind should have sent Alexia to be with her kind instead of sacrificing her own heart day in and day out. At least then Father would have avoided that terrible raid on his home...
She hugged herself against a tremor, unwilling to remember.
It was good that one of her Passionate friends possessed the power to
Kiren traced the chain and she trembled beneath his touch. He grinned, loving her reaction. Unclasping the necklace, he teased the glittering snake until it surrendered her ring and slipped it onto her finger.
Alexia grasped his hands. “What if Father sees?”
“I intend that he shall.”
She seized his shoulders, seeking his eyes. “You convinced him?”
Kiren bit down, keeping the grin plastered on his face.
“This is wonderful!”
Oh, that it could be as wonderful as she believed. He wished he could share in her rejoicing, but he would not taint her happiness with the truth. Not yet.
He released her, gaze bouncing down her thinly veiled form. He quickly averted his attention. “Please, dearest, you must put something on. We need to leave.”
She reddened and hugged herself. Kiren rose and escaped to the hall.
Three
Breeders
Two quiet shadows raced toward the manor house, cutting through the woods and dodging branches. Elizabeth glanced at her companion, snorting at his wild hair and too-short legs as he stumbled and nearly tripped on a protruding root. They could make this journey so much faster on horseback, but the dwarf was far too jittery around animals, plus he might crush the creature on accident with those massive, too-strong hands.
She grinned wickedly into the night, brushing the leaves away from her famous auburn locks. He was just the kind of ally she needed on this mission: to capture and return the young woman who could alter time before the leader of the Kingdom faction stood between them.
She hoped the leader had returned. She’d never had a reason to attack him, but she’d always wondered if he would fall under her power.
Red Pain they called her. She loved the title. Let anyone challenge her and she would launch an attack on their minds that could cripple an elephant.
She glanced up at the moonless sky, hoping the Soulless had not arrived before them.
Four
Choosing
Despite Kiren’s mending, every movement set off a twinge of pain as Alexia tucked into a corset, stomacher, and fastened her petticoats. She silently wished she had a domestic to assist her, as the process would go much smoother, but she’d been playing the role of a servant since returning to Father’s home.
No one knew her secret. Father (a prominent country baron) maintained that his daughter had “fallen prey to wolves” last winter when she disappeared. He had dressed her as a domestic, allowing people to believe her presence a boon of charity, nothing more.
And she never should have had that much.
Alexia retrieved a single black hairpin from her bureau, examining it in the starlight before tucking it over her neckline, right over her heart.
Dana’s gift.
She wasn’t sure if its placement was correct.
Dana had been but a child when she and Father fell in love, but that love resulted in the death of Alexia’s grandparents, the destruction Father’s marriage, and his broken heart. Only Kiren, she, and Father knew he’d sired a child out of wedlock with his Passionate mistress who then died in childbirth. Alexia had been raised by Rosalind, Father’s now-dead wife—a woman who’d selflessly claimed the babe for her own. The sorrow eventually killed her surrogate mother.
Alexia missed the quiet woman with her perfect poise, flaxen tresses, and admonishing looks. She never said a word, merely led and expected to be followed. Rosalind should have sent Alexia to be with her kind instead of sacrificing her own heart day in and day out. At least then Father would have avoided that terrible raid on his home...
She hugged herself against a tremor, unwilling to remember.
It was good that one of her Passionate friends possessed the power to
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