A Soul For Trouble

Chapter 21

Dev couldn't decide if the new, self-proclaimed guardian of the Soulbearer was more of a nuisance or an overly eager helper. Either way, he didn't like the way the young human fawned over Trouble. He glared at the ring on the soldier's finger. "Don't you have a wife?"

The human had the decency to blush. "Yes."

"And what would she think if she saw you looking at Trouble that way?"

The color deepened until his ears practically glowed. "She'd probably smack me."

He grunted in agreement and bent over Trouble. Her blue eyes stared blankly ahead. A curse broke free under his breath. Either Loku had finally pushed her over the edge of sanity, or she was still wrapped up in her casting. And he didn't want an audience watching when he tried to determine which one it was. "Go get me a cloth and some water."

The soldier jumped to his feet, running to fetch the items.

One problem taken care of. Now for the next one. He pressed his palms on either side of her face. "Trouble, can you hear me?"

The rings in her eyes intensified until the green overwhelmed every hint of blue. "Worried, Dev?" Loku's voice said from her mouth.

Although the rest of his body jerked in response to hearing the chaos god speak, his hands remained fastened to her face. "Let her go, Loku."

Her lips curled up in a sly grin. "That's where you have it all wrong. I'm trying to bring her back, just like you."

"Where is she?"

"Here, but a bit stunned from having her spell interrupted. You know how disorienting that can be."

"Enough with the games." He focused his magic toward her mind, searching for a way to snap her out of her trance. He sensed another magic within her, dark and green and filled with random disorder. They both searched for cracks in her shield, poking at them when they spotted one.

He closed his eyes, applied more force on a particularly large crack. Arden, wake up, he silently ordered. His heart skipped a beat. He hated to admit how much he worried about her. It made him think irrationally. He almost slaughtered the prince for doing this to her. But once he brought her back to reality, he would settle the score with Kell.

The shield shattered, and she bolted from the ground. He didn't move fast enough to avoid the collision of their heads. The impact sent a jolt of pain from his forehead all the way down his neck.

She moaned and covered her temple. "I knew you had a hard head, but I never realized how hard."

He mirrored her posture. "I could say the same for you."

The soldier returned with a water skin and a damp cloth. When he saw Trouble sitting up, a huge grin split his face. "You're awake," the man said, offering her the cloth.

Much to her credit, she smiled back at him and pressed the material to her forehead. "Ortono, right?"

"Yes, m'lady."

Dev raised a brow at her new title. If he only knew how little of a lady she really was.

"Is your arm better?"

He opened the slit in his shirt and proudly displayed the neat scar snaking along his bicep. "Better than it's ever been, thanks to you."

"Will one of you please explain what happened?" Dev sat back on his heels so the smell of gangrenous flesh that clung to the soldier's clothes wouldn't overwhelm him.

"Prince Kell asked me to heal Ortono."

"And why did you agree to do a foolish thing like that?"