Page 52 of A Soul’s Curse (Fallen Souls #1)

Leon chuckled darkly, but he accepted our answers when he said, “I supposed I can work with that. Just so you know, all Syndicate members must be bound to us by a loyalty rune. Lucky for you, Markus is on his way here right now.” He whispered something to the guard stationed in the hallway, who left his post and disappeared.

“Kevin will wait for Markus to arrive, and he can etch the rune into your magic tonight to make things official. After you.”

Leon turned around, opening the door to a fourth room.

What greeted me was the most horrifying sight yet.

Ellie was on her knees, a ribbon of sheer fabric draped around her chest and hips.

Chains were fastened to the wall behind her, their links pulled tight around her wrists, forcing her into an unrelenting posture.

Her black hair hung in tangled strands around her face, and her eyes, once so full of fire, looked dim, unfocused, as if she’d already given up fighting.

“Ellie?” I ran to her and Leon didn’t stop me. “What the fuck did you do to her?” I snapped at him.

“Theo?” Her head lolled on her shoulders. “I swear to God, if you tell anyone about this skimpy little number I’m wearing, I’ll rip your arms off.” Her words were slurred, garbled, and rough.

“I promise. Never in a million years.” I crouched down in front of her, hands grasping either side of her head, My magic absorbed into her, searching for the cause of her loopiness. I turned to Leon and growled at him.

Leon shrugged, running a hand across his cropped hair.

“She’s a feisty one. We had to subdue her a little.

But no one has taken advantage of her. Yet, anyway.

There are Syndicate members lining up to claim their chance, though.

With her ability to pull out memories, she could act on the deepest, darkest desires that—”

“You said you’d let her go!” Anger boiled in my veins.

“Business first, then pleasure.” Caspian stood in between me and Leon before I did something stupid. “We do this and you let her go. Can we please proceed? And maybe have someone bring us some drinks. I feel like we’re going to be needing them.”

“Business first, then pleasure.” Caspian stood in between me and Leon before I did something stupid. “We do this and you let her go. Can we please proceed? And maybe have someone bring us some drinks? I feel like we’re going to be needing them.”

“Business first, then pleasure.” Caspian stood in between me and Leon as I continued to wash away Ellie’s discomfort with my magic. “Can we please proceed? And maybe have someone bring us some drinks? I feel like we’re going to be needing them.”

Right on cue, a young man was shoved into the room. His face was full, his cheeks puffed and red with exertion. The fact he was wearing an oversized hoodie and slippers had me wondering if he'd been suddenly pulled away from home.

“Y-you called?” Markus ran a hand down his hoodie, brushing off what appeared to be a blanket of cat hair.

“Our friends here would like to join the Syndicate. Bind them with the loyalty rune.” Leon stepped aside so Markus could approach.

The young man looked surprised to see me, probably just as much as I was shocked to see him.

I was glad he was still alive, unharmed from the looks of it.

What had Markus told him to make Leon believe he had nothing to do with Ellie’s successful magic revival? Could I still trust him?

My gaze flicked to Caspian, and Markus went to him first.

“What the fuck are you doing, Theo?” Ellie yanked on her chains, but if she had been strong enough to break them, she would have by now.

“Your arm.” Caspian pushed up his jacket, revealing his pale forearm to Markus.

With a single finger, Markus traced a symbol on Caspian’s wrist, magic searing into his skin as Markus sealed his rune.

The magic flashed a bright white, and what should have left a scar, completely disappeared.

Caspian stared at his arm in awe, and something shifted in his aura.

The magic that surrounded him gathered as he breathed it in like a fresh spring morning after a rain.

“Your turn.” Markus held out his hand and I presented to him my forearm.

His eyes studied me for a moment, but didn’t linger.

Pain lanced through my arm when his finger etched the same rune into my skin.

My hand clenched into a fist, and Markus’s gripped tightened.

With the same flash of bright white, the rune disappeared when he completed it.

Magic flourished through my body. I could feel it, the poison already corrupting my thoughts.

This wasn’t just a loyalty rune—it was something far worse.

It was an insidious force warping my mind, twisting my perceptions on reality, and if I waited too long to break it, both Caspian and I would be completely lost to it, consumed by the Syndicate’s dark agenda.

“Well, now that that’s done,” Leon said, clapping his hands together, “Caspian Vale, your first order as a member of the Syndicate is to cleanse Theo’s magic.

He obviously has no intention of actually working with the Syndicate, and he’s going to be too much of a hassle to tame.

His magic could still be helpful though.

Remove it from him and store it here for safekeeping. ”

Leon tossed Caspian his knife, blue runes flashing as power coursed through it. It had nearly severed Ellie’s magic from her body, and now Leon expected Caspian to do the same to me.

Caspian turned to me, his brown eyes gleaming with a golden glow of magic.

“Woah, hey Caspian, wait a minute.” I held up my hands defensively as I stepped backward.

Caspian growled, reeled back his arm, and took a swing at my head.

“Fuck.”