Arden tripped over a stray rock and went sprawling across the damp stone floor of the tunnel. Pebbles dug into her palms and chin, but she ignored the stinging pain that came with them. Her mind focused on one goal—to get back to Dev. Maybe if the Lady Moon smiled on her, he'd still be alive, and she'd be able to heal him.
Her lungs burned from running and the sobs that tried to force their way to the surface. She refused to cry. Tears wouldn't solve anything. Action would.
"Keeping going, my little Soulbearer. You're almost there."
She picked herself off the ground and began sprinting. Darkness obscured her path, but she felt as though something other than her eyes guided her through the twists and turns.
"Turn left and you should see the first torches at the edge of the dungeon."
She followed Loku's direction and quickened her pace when she spied the faint orange glow reflecting off the wet walls. Her heart pounded. Please let him still be alive.
She ran along the line of cells, peeking through the small slats until she found the right one. She tugged on the door, then shouted in frustration when she found it locked. Magic flooded her fingertips and blew the door off its hinges.
"Your magic grows more impressive with each passing second."
"Shut up, Loku." She crossed the room in a few steps and cupped Dev's cheeks in her hands. His clammy skin sent a chill down her spine, turned her stomach into knots. "Dev?"
A faint groan answered her, and she finally let her tears fall. Thank the goddess! She reached up to unhook his chain and lower him to the floor, silently cursing the fact that she'd dropped the key to the manacles back in the cavern. His eyes remained closed, the sound of death rattling his breath. Sticky blood coated his tunic and gathered in a puddle at their feet. "Hang on, Dev. I'm not going to let you go this easily."
She pulled him close to her and pressed her ear against his chest, focusing on the faint thumps of his heart. Every fiber of her being pulsated with magic as she directed it toward his wounds. A strange emotion glowed within her.
She doubled her efforts to heal him. She wouldn't let him die until she drained all her magic into him. Images of the damaged organs filled her mind. A bright white light shone from the holes in them, becoming smaller and smaller as they knitted closed. It was working.
The magic began to ebb as though the well containing it had run empty, and only a trickle flowed from the cracks. Please let this be enough.
A pair of arms wrapped around her to answer her prayer, and the steady beat of Dev's heart vibrated through his chest. "Shh, Arden. I'm here."
Sobs wracked her body when she heard his voice, and he tightened his embrace. She hadn't lost Dev. He was alive, and she was safe in his arms once again. Giddy elation made her head swim, and laughter mixed with her weeping.
"Sweet Lady Moon," Kell gasped behind them. "Dev, are you..." His words trailed off before he finished his question.
"I'm fine now because of her." His voice sounded raw, and she dared to lift her eyes to see him. Just as she saw in her room that one morning, a myriad of emotions swirled in the dark green depths of his eyes. Awe slackened the normally sharp contours of his face. He traced the wound on her cheek. "You're hurt."
"Just a few scratches. Nothing compared to what Gandor did to you."
"I'll rip his heart out for this."
"Actually, Larenis did that to her." Kell knelt beside them and pulled one of Dev's hands off her. A click of a lock echoed through the cell. One of the manacles fell to the ground. "I'm glad I picked this up when you dropped it."
So was she. Numbness filled her fingers, making them clumsier than usual. The magic had leeched all her energy. She leaned against Dev and closed her eyes while Kell removed the chains.
"Where are they?" Dev asked.
"Bynn and Ortono are taking them upstairs to my father." A faint breath tickled the back of her neck. "Arden, are you well enough to travel?"
Travel? All she wanted to do was fall asleep right here.
"She will be," Dev answered for her. Warmth radiated from his hands and chased away some of her fatigue. The pain in her arm vanished, and she sighed. "Better?"
She nodded her head, too tired to thank him for healing her in return.
"Let's get out of here while we still have time." Kell wrapped one arm around her back and pulled her to her feet with Dev. "Sulaino said he'd attack if we didn't hand her over by midnight, and I want you as far away from here as possible before then."
His plan managed to snap her out of the sleepiness that threatened to overwhelm her. "What?"
Kell half led, half carried her out of the cell. "One of the tunnels leads to the front wall of the city, but there's another that goes under the river. If I can get you there, you should be halfway to Boznac before Sulaino realizes you're missing."
Her legs stiffened, and she jerked to a stop. Something had changed.
"He no longer wants you as his weapon, my little Soulbearer."
Her chest tightened. She hadn't expected this from him. "You're helping us escape?"
He simply nodded.
Before she could ask another question, Dev spoke. "I'll need to be better armed, then, if I want to get her safely to Boznac."
"There should be your choice of weapons in the main guard room. I'll start leading Arden down the tunnel. Meet us there when you're done."
The world seemed to be turned upside-down. Dev jogged into another room like he was in the prime of health. Never mind he'd nearly bled to death minutes before. Her own legs barely cooperated with her, and Kell was leading her to a place where she'd be free. She shook her head, trying to make sense of it all.
"You tend to do that sometimes."
"Do what?"
"Make men question themselves and change the course of their lives."
She almost laughed. Instead, she leaned closer to Kell and drew comfort from the subtle smell of bay leaf that rose with his own scent. So different than Dev, but just as familiar. Her mind mulled over everything that had happened in the last day. How could he have gone from trying to seduce her to helping her bruised and battered body out of a dungeon?
He cleared his throat. "Cinder's healing remarkably quickly. Is he magical, too?"
She halted again. "Is he well enough to come with us?" The thought of moving to a strange land without her beloved wolf almost made her want to start crying again. Damn, I need to pull myself together and stop acting like an over-emotional child.
"You've been through a lot. Don't be so hard on yourself." A sensation of someone hugging her filled her with warmth and comforted her.
"Not yet. I'll keep him with me until I can return him to you."
She turned and searched his face, looking for some sort of clue in his transformation. Last night, he'd acted like she betrayed him by not wanting to fight. "Why are you doing this, Kell?"
He sucked in a breath through his teeth. His face revealed his inner turmoil, tightening one minute, then going blank the next. "Arden, I—" He stopped, glanced at the floor, and licked his lips. When he looked back at her, he tried again. "That is, I—" Again, he struggled to find the right words. He pulled her into his arms and crushed his lips against hers.
His kiss wasn't like any of his previous ones. It seemed raw, gritty, demanding. When she gasped in response to it, his tongue filled her mouth, pleading with her to allow him this moment to express his feelings for her. She yielded, and the rhythm of the kiss changed. It grew more tender, almost sad, as if he hated saying goodbye to her but knew it had to be done. Each stroke of his tongue and lips spoke of his desperation and told her that his heart was breaking.
Something in his kiss frightened her more than the threat of the necromancer waiting outside the city walls for her. Kell really did care for her. Maybe even loved her. But she knew her heart belonged to someone else. Someone who would never show her this type of intense emotion. Someone who valued duty above everything else.
A moan came from the depths of his throat, and he finally withdrew. He held her face in his hands, wiped the moisture from it. "Please don't make this any harder than it already is."
"Kell, I'm sorry."
He shushed her and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Right now, the only thing that matters to me is getting you out of here alive. I'll deal with Sulaino, and I promise I'll find you if I survive."
The end of his sentence pierced her already aching heart like an arrow. If he survives. An image of Kell's hazel eyes staring lifelessly up at the heavens sent a shiver down her spine and made her skin burn where he touched her. She wrestled free of him and turned away, unable to bear being this close to him and keep herself together. Confusion swirled in her chest, making it hard to breathe. How could she care this much for him when she loved Dev?
"It is possible to love two men in entirely different ways, my little Soulbearer."
She chewed her swollen lip and tasted his kiss. Steel formed in her veins. She knew what she needed to do. She wasn't going to let Kell die, either. Not when she could do something to save him.
"Arden, did I say or do something wrong?"
She looked at him, and her heart wrenched when she saw the pain etched on his normally carefree face. She took one of his hands in her own and caressed his cheek with the other. He brought their hands to his chest. The steady beat of his heart helped her find the right words. "I'm not leaving."
His pulse quickened, and his fingers tightened around hers. "Don't be ridiculous. It's the only way."
She shook her head, grinning. It was time to stop playing the coward and destroy Sulaino once and for all.
"Ah, vengeance suits you. Of course, we'll cause a little chaos along the way, right, my dear?"
"I can't do this without you, Loku."
The god's squeal of delight widened her smile and renewed her energy like a good night's sleep.
Kell's fingers fell slack, but he didn't release her even when Dev joined them. "Talk some sense into her. She's refusing to leave now."
Dev lunged for her as if he wanted to throw her over his shoulder, but she easily danced away from him. A scowl twisted his mouth. "Trouble, stop playing games."
"I will once I'm done with Sulaino." She took a deep breath and stared at both of them with her back straight and gaze steady. "I'm going to fight, and you're either with me or against me."
For a moment, neither man said anything. A heady delight, almost like having too much ale, rolled through her.
"Trouble, don't be ridiculous."
Kell nodded. "Dev's right. There's no way you can take on that army alone."
She stubbornly lifted her chin and crossed her arms. "I won't be taking them on alone." She let her gaze rest on Dev to let him know exactly what she was planning.
His face hardened. "Don't even consider it. The consequences—"
"Are mine alone to bear. Personally, I'd rather live in an insane state of bliss knowing I did something to help others rather than have guilt slowly consume my mind."
"I have half the mind to beat some sense into you." He took another step toward her and swiped his hand, hoping to catch her arm. Instead, he only fanned the air.
"What kind of protector would you be if you did that?"
"One who kept you alive."
"Do you doubt our power?"
"That's right. Remind him I'm still a god, even if I'm trapped inside your body."
"Dev may be able to use magic, but I'm just an ordinary human."
"She's not talking about us." Dev clenched his hands into fists. "Don't do it, Trouble."
"You're not changing my mind. I told you before: I'm a Ranellian, and I won't sit back and watch my homeland overrun with undead."
"Damn it, woman, it's a suicide mission."
"Perhaps, but I'll take my chances. Besides, I'm the Soulbearer. You're my protector. Time to remember that oath you pledged."
Kell's forehead wrinkled in confusion. "Am I missing something?"
"It's none of your business, Your Highness." Dev's face darkened, and he stared at her as if daring her to challenge him further.
"Let's just say I have an ally I can call upon when needed." She looped her arm through Kell's. "Now, if you would be so kind as to show me which tunnel leads to the city wall, I'd greatly appreciate it."
He shook his head, but his feet moved with hers. "This is insane."
Her lips curled up into a smile. "Exactly. Sulaino will never expect it. It's the only thing we have to our advantage." She paused and looked behind her. "Are you coming, Dev?"
His knuckles glowed white in the torchlight. "You're going to be the death of me, Trouble."
Her laughter sounded hollow to her ears, but she needed to bolster her courage if she was going to go through with this. "Nonsense." Once they crowded into the dark, narrow tunnel, her smile faded. "I hope we know what we're doing, Loku."
Something that felt like a hand pressed against the small of her back in a possessive gesture. "Trust me. Now that I'm no longer restrained, I won't let anyone hurt us."