Page 28 of A Soul’s Curse (Fallen Souls #1)

There was nothing romantic about snuggling with Ren last night—he needed my magic, and I was there to give it—but that didn’t mean it still wasn’t intimate.

I couldn’t remember the last time Sly and I had fallen asleep together like that, and the safety of being held in Ren’s arms made me realize how much I missed the simplicity of just feeling close to someone.

That’s why, when I woke up the next morning alone in bed and feeling like I was hungover, that emptiness hit harder than the headache I was currently experiencing. His warmth was gone, and all that was left was the hollow echo of comfort I wanted back.

“Ugh,” I groaned, reaching for my bottle of water on the nightstand.

Ren must have completely depleted my magic while we slept.

I could barely tilt my head back to take a drink, and the persistent pounding inside my head was like a clang, clang, clang of a hammer nailing together my coffin. And then there was the chatter …

“What the hell is going on?” I slowly pushed myself off the bed, searching for my clothes from last night.

I sighed, realizing I’d be stuck with this dirty outfit for a while, since I didn’t have a chance to grab anything from my apartment before I left.

Then I remembered the first time I was here, Ren grabbed a shirt and hoodie from the dresser.

I went to investigate, smiling when I saw a few shirts and athletic stretch pants in a size that definitely wasn’t Ren’s. It was like the smug bastard knew I’d be back again and expected that the next time I’d be sticking around.

After changing into a pair of black joggers and a soft pullover shirt, I grabbed the medical kit Dr. Brooks had left behind and went in search of Ren to clean his wounds and re-wrap his bandages. I followed the noise, way too loud for this early in the morning, and found myself in the living room.

“You can put that over there for now.” Ivy directed a broad-shouldered troll carrying two giant boxes that probably weighed more than I did to the corner of the room. “Oh, Theo! You’re up. Were we being too loud? Did we wake you?”

I shook my head. “It’s fine. What’s going on?” I watched as a few more people entered the house carrying various boxes and plants. “Wait, is this all my stuff?”

Ivy's face lit up with a radiant smile, her deep purple eyes shimmering with pride. “I figured you’d want to stay with Ren after what happened last night, so I called up Nick and he found a few people willing to help pack up your stuff and bring it here. I hope you don’t mind.

I had to break into your place again, but I wanted to get everything done before Sly came back and I had to head into work. ”

“You did this for me?” My throat tightened as I tried to swallow. “Thank you, Ivy. This is … really nice. I thought I had lost everything.” I picked up a game controller from a cardboard box. “So, uh, how did you know what was mine and what was Sly’s?”

Stella came barreling into the room. “We didn’t.

I told them if it looked important, or expensive, they should take it.

” The fairy had been beat up pretty badly last night, with a swollen eye and several nasty bruises.

While evidence of the attack was still present against her tanned skin, it looked like the healing process had been fast-tracked several weeks.

The cuts were already scabbed over, and the bruises shifted from their original dark purple to more of a yellowish-brown.

“For what it’s worth, Sly was a dickhead.

I know it doesn’t make the situation any better, but I saw a lot of the things he did behind your back.

He didn’t appreciate you, and you deserve better. ”

I resisted the urge to hug both her and Ivy as appreciation swelled inside my chest. “Yeah, deep down I guess I kinda knew he was an ass. I kept making excuses for his inappropriate behavior, but it was time to face reality for what it was. Oh, but something good did come out of this …”

Stella quirked an eyebrow. “You mean besides finally ditching the demon-hating, cheating ex-boyfriend from the bargain bin of bad decisions?”

I scratched my head and chuckled. “Well, yeah. Besides that. Ren and I were talking last night. Since I’m now out of a home, he offered the suggestion of staying here, and that there was room for the both of you too.

I know you’ve been sleeping on Ivy’s couch, but, if you wanted an upgrade, the three of us could stay here and have our own space.

The rent is pretty cheap and I heard good things about the landlord. ”

Ivy glanced at Stella to gauge her reaction. Surely Stella didn’t want to keep crashing on Ivy’s couch, but if Ivy agreed to move in, Stella would either be forced to come with her or find another place to stay. When Stella offered her approval through a firm nod, Ivy bounced with excitement.

“I would love that!” Ivy answered, her grin stretching from ear to ear. “My apartment isn’t in the best part of town, the rent keeps going up, and well, I’ve never lived with such … nice things. It’ll be fun.”

“Great. Speaking of Ren, do either of you know where he is? I have to check on his burns.”

“Last I saw he was sitting at the kitchen table, pouting while he read through that grimoire.” Stella attempted to mimic Ren’s sour face by frowning and pressing her lips together.

I thanked both Ivy and Stella again for what they did, and on my way to the kitchen, grabbed Nick to tell him and the two other people who stopped by how much I appreciated their help.

I couldn’t believe all this was happening.

Last night I was dumped and lost my home.

This morning I now had a nice, affordable place to live with two new roommates who were my friends, all my stuff survived the night, and if it wasn’t for the looming fact that I still had a deal with the Syndicate to fulfill, things would have seemed to be going well for me.

“Morning!” I found Ren sitting at the kitchen table as Stella predicted.

There was a half-eaten bowl of fruit and yogurt pushed aside as he stared intently at the grimoire.

Since he was facing the window, the buttery glow of the morning sun brightened his reddish skin and glinted against the piercings on his face.

He hadn’t bothered putting on a shirt, the white bandages still wrapped around most of his torso, but he had changed into a pair of jeans.

His damp hair looked recently washed, but it looked like was smart enough not to get the bandages wet when he cleaned himself up.

Ren grunted his greeting, acknowledging me for a moment before returning his attention back to the grimoire.

“I was hoping to look at your back. I need to re-bandage it.”

“Fine.” Ren shifted in his chair, exposing his back toward me while his gaze read something on a yellowed page in the book. “Are you doing okay?”

I scratched my chest, a reminder of my own burns suffered from when I released Thomas from that urn. “Oh me? Dr. Brooks helped heal the burns on my stomach. They’re nothing more an irritating itch now. And thanks to you, I made it out of last night with minimal injuries. So I’m fine.”

I stood beside Ren as I delicately unwrapped the white rolls of gauze to examine how well the healing was coming along. I froze, my hands shaking while unraveling the front around his chest when I saw another glint of metal from a different piercing—two silver loops, one on each of his nipples.

“Something wrong?” Ren turned his gaze toward me. A warm flush crept over my cheeks, prickling with awkwardness.

“Nope.” I hurried to finish removing all the bandages.

Magic was amazing, and most times a talented healer could speed up the process by two or three times what it would normally have been, but it wasn’t a miracle cure.

Serious injuries, like Ren’s second-degree burns, couldn’t be healed instantaneously even by the best of healers.

What would have likely taken several months without magic could be condensed into maybe a few weeks, but Ren still had to be mindful of making sure it didn’t get infected or re-injured.

“Wow. This looks fantastic. The raw flesh has already healed over, and it looks like it’s forming some thick, raised scars.

I don’t see any signs of infection. But I’m sorry about your tattoo.

It’s kinda … ruined.” I tried to picture what it might have once looked like.

I knew it was an octopus, with its eight arms coiling down his back, arms, and chest. It was mostly black with some hints of various shades of blue mixed throughout.

“Oh, the tattoo will grow back over the scars.”

“What?” I blinked.

“I paid good money for the magical ink. It’s never supposed to fade or become damaged by injuries, and over time as I age, it’ll adapt to fit my changing body.”

“Wow. That’s … interesting. I’ve been wanting to ask you though … why an octopus?” I couldn’t help my curiosity, and I wanted to keep the conversation going because I knew the ointment Dr. Brooks had left would sting a bit when I applied it. Sure enough, Ren winced the second I touched him.

Ren let out a sigh. “Dragons and snakes are overrated. Besides, octopuses are badass. They’re strong, venomous, and enjoy toying with their prey.”

I snorted. “Seems fitting for you.” After applying the medication, I placed my fingertips onto his back and released my magic. There was more effort involved than I was used to, with Ren having depleted my energy reserves last night.

Ren jerked in his chair, turning around to face me. “What do you think you’re doing?”

I held up my hands and stepped back. “Sorry. Did I hurt you? I just thought I could do another round of cleansing with my magic, remove some more dead tissue to help it regenerate faster.”

“No.” His reply was stern and didn’t leave room for argument.

“No?” I asked, utterly confused and admittedly somewhat hurt. “Why not?”