A Soul For Atonement (The Soulbearer Series Book 4) by Crista McHugh Read Free Book Online

betraying him and the fragile relationship they’d built.
    “ Why should you care?” Loku asked. “After all, wasn’t he the man who left your mother alone and pregnant? ”
    She reached for the pendant she’d worn for years, only now it was Dev’s pendant she wore, not her mother’s. “ She was the one who chose to stay behind in Ranello .”
    “ And yet, if he truly loved her, he would have come back for her .”
    Doubt slithered into the far corners of her mind. She’d only known her father for a year. She’d known Dev longer. And maybe her father would forgive her once she justified her actions by saving Dev.
    Arden met her cousin’s gaze and drew in a deep, determined breath. “I won’t fail.”
    ***
    Sazi perched on the roof of the tallest tower of the palace and searched the streets of Queembra below. Arden blended in with the city’s citizens, but Cinder burned as brightly as a torch before her sharp eyes. Even when he wasn’t on fire, his fur shimmered like flames. She waited, tracking their movements until they passed through the last of the city’s gates.
    Worry troubled her soul when she saw which road they took.
    She stretched out her wings and glided down to the balcony outside the empress’s private quarters. The open doors were the only invitation she needed, and she passed through the rooms until she found the empress writing at her desk in the study. “She’s taken the western road toward Lothmore.”
    Marist looked up from her papers, her cheeks paling. “Leave us,” she said to her attendants.
    Once they were alone, a silver halo flashed in her eyes, and she drew in a sharp breath. “So she lied to me.”
    “Perhaps. Or perhaps he is controlling her path.”
    “Ivis help us all if he succeeds.” Marist put down her pen and closed her eyes, her lips moving in silent words.
    It was something Sazi had seen many times over the years. Like herself, Marist was a high priestess, a mortal chosen by the gods to receive their words and wisdom. The empress served Ivis, the Lady Moon and most worshipped deity in the empire.
    Sazi waited patiently, resisting the temptation to commune with her own goddess. Unlike Ivis, Lireal rarely spoke. But when she did, Sazi listened.
    Marist opened her eyes, the silver glow fading from them. “We cannot allow him to find his ashes.”
    “And he will not. They are no longer at Lothmore, and Varrik knows not where they are hidden now.”
    “That won’t stop Loku from trying to extract that information from him.” The empress leaned back in her chair, the burdens of both protecting her empire and serving her goddess creasing lines into her young face. “We should warn him.”
    “Indeed.”
    Marist pulled out another sheet of paper and began writing.
    Sazi moved to a window and stretched out her wings, soaking up the warmth of the sun. The air had turned crisp and cool as of late, and winter would be here soon. Once again, her people’s crops had been meager, and the snow would bring a great time of starving.
    Unless they recovered the Blood of Lireal.
    Or appeased Lireal with a sacrifice.
    Sazi’s soul protested the latter. She’d seen into Dev’s soul and knew the nobility it possessed. He was a man who deserved to live.
    Please, merciful goddess, does it have to be this way?
    She waited, but no answer came to her prayer. She folded her wings back and turned to find Marist pressing her seal into the wax.
    “I’ll send this to Varrik right away so he’ll have time to prepare his defenses.”
    Sazi reached for the letter. “May I take it to him?”
    The empress blinked several times before narrowing her eyes. “Why?”
    “Because I can fly faster than the Soulbearer can ride.”
    “Why do I suspect there is more to this than you’ve told me?”
    “Because there is.” Sazi lowered her eyes and bowed her head. “Please, Your Imperial Majesty, allow me to take this message to the Lore Keeper so that I may continue with the task given to