Page 15 of Thief of Souls
“What do you mean?” I ask slowly, because I need to sound surprised.
“I sent her to carry out a task for me, and she hasn’t responded to the last three of my communications.” The king clamps a hand around one of the vials around his throat. “She’s not even responding to this.”
“What happened to her?” I can’t stop my gaze from dropping to the tiny vial. The wisp of her soul lies still and dormant at the bottom of the soul-trap. They’re never quiet like that.
For the first time, I feel true worry.
When Keir mentioned her disappearance, I shrugged it off. Soraya is a survivor. No matter what she must face, she puts herself first. Even the sight of her amulet wasn’t enough to know true fear.
But this….
She’s not dead. The little wisp of soul in that glass vial would have evaporated if she was, but something is wrong with her.
The king waves off my concern. “She will either return or she will not. What matters now is that her task remains incomplete. And you will finish it.” His eyes become hard. “The Lord of Mistmark is marrying the Prince of Blood’s cousin. I want you to steal something from Malechus—"
I almost laugh, barely hearing the words. What are the odds? If he dares say it….
“I’ve heard rumor the Lord of Mistmark has managed to get his hands on a certain horn…, one that controls the hounds of the Great Hunt. And those hounds can lead me to the Cauldron of Creation.”
Fuck you, Fate. Fuck you, you capricious bitch.
“The cauldron?”
The Wraith King leans toward me, both pallid hands curling around the ends of his throne. “I warned you once that I would have an end to the curse that binds us to these misbegotten lands and tethers us to this warped flesh.” He holds up his claws. “You failed to bring me the Dragon’s Heart. The only other relic with the power to shatter our chains is the goddess’s cauldron.”
“There has to be another way.” The words blurt out of me. I can’t let him do this. I can’t let him say the words. “If we—"
“Enough. Bring me the horn,” my father declares. “And I will break our curse.”
What am I going to do?
If that was truly not a dream, then Keir just demanded I fulfill my debt to him. I can feel the magic of his glyphs under my skin. The agony as they branded themselves into my skin was indescribable. I can only imagine what would happen if I dared defy him.
But my father….
My lungs still ache. Every inch of me is cold and clammy and echoing with the caress of death.
If I betray my father, then he won’t just kill me.
He will make me suffer endlessly.
And with my lifespan, it might be centuries before I ever see the mercy of light again.
“Yes, my king,” I breathe, bending knee once more before I turn toward the doors in a flurry of sweat-fueled nerves.
“Zemira?”
I pause, glancing back over my shoulder.
“No more failures,” the Wraith King says in a menacing whisper.
Ruhle smirks at me from his side. “Fail again and maybe I’ll ask for a boon. Maybe it will be my hand that ends your wretched life.”
It’s not an idle threat.
I have no choice.
The only one who can save me is me.
