Page 17 of Soul Hate

I walk home. Rage has left a vile energy inside me. I need it gone like I’ve never needed anything before. Blistering sweat batters my skin, soaking into the black fabric of my tunic and baking my nose. The pain is a mild punishment for my own stupidity.

Bellandi is a traitor.

It all makes too much sense. I was supposed to be in the Grand Temple when it exploded, as I normally go every week. Bellandi also had no idea that Idris would be returning to Halice, no idea that someone who could rally the people might be left.

I’m going to make him pay. I’ll find a way to make sure this city is free from his clutches forever.

And apparently Idris is going to help me? With this Soulhatred between us?

Fate really does hate me.

My arms still sting, remembering the tightness of his grip. My shoulders ache from being pressed into the tiled floor.

Strong. Swift. He’d been trained to do that. He clearly knows how to hold his own in a fight. I want to scream, self-loathing curled up between my ribs. I’d attacked him, slipped from my self-control and attacked him like a common animal. Fausta is screaming at me from her grave for my stupidity.

How on earth are we supposed to work together with the Soulhate bond in the way? Would I have seen Bellandi’s treachery sooner if I hadn’t had all this revulsion and hatred distracting me? I was all too willing to believe that Idris was the bad guy, because of course he was. He was my Soulhate. I wanted it to be true.

These blinkers are too dangerous. Too new and untested. They could ruin everything.

But what choice do I have? Idris is invaluable as an ally. Someone with real influence on the other side of the chamber—people who saw Maineri as the political rival.

I reach home, my skin flushed, tunic drenched with sweat. As I step inside, I catch sight of my reflection in the window. My nose is beginning to blister, my brow resembling a tomato. Great, just what I need.

I close the front door behind me. I slide down the wood to sit on the intricate mosaic floor, letting the coolness of the stone sink in for a long moment. I let my mind drift and go blank. I close my eyes for just a second.

“Signora? Are you well?”

Giulia’s nurse interrupts the numbness. I peel my eyes open to spy her pause at the base of the stairs, a glass of something in her hands. I nod, throwing myself back to reality.

“Yes,” I answer, throat tight as I pull myself into a sitting position. “Yes, I walked home.”

“I can see. I have a salve in my bag that might help. For the sunburn.”

“Thank you.” I haul myself to my feet as the two of us head towards Giulia’s room. It isn’t a long walk, and the nurse babbles gently about how the salve worked wonders on her nose this time last year. I don’t have to say anything to keep the chatter coming. I push open the door to Giulia’s room, and my stomach drops.

A man in a dark cloak is leaning over Giulia’s body. A vicious knife gleams in his hands, hovering above Giulia’s throat.

“No!” I scream, throwing myself at the assailant. I leap onto his back, grabbing hold of his arm with both hands as we descend to the floor, the knife clattering like a clanging bell. The nurse is screaming, the glass in her hands shatters on the ground as the assassin throws me off with an elbow to my stomach. He turns around, slamming a fist into my face. I yelp in pain, my jaw aching as I’m dazed. He snatches his knife from the floor, spinning back to face me and with both hands, he plunges the knife towards my neck.

I throw up my hands, grabbing his wrists, trying to stop the impending knife with all my strength. My arms shake, my back pressed flat to the floor. My entire body screams as he pushes down harder, starting to win as inch by inch the knife descends towards my throat.

I scream with the effort, realising I’m going to lose.

I’m going to die.

A roar erupts behind me like a beast unleashed. In a blur the assassin is wrestled off me. I’m gasping for breath. Nouis is suddenly on top of him, a knife in his own hands. He slams the short blade deep into the assassin’s chest. The assailant shrieks in agony, hands scrabbling hopelessly at the wound for a few moments and then he goes completely still, his glassy eyes staring at the ceiling.

The silence is deafening. Panting furiously, Nouis staggers back, hand still slick with crimson as he stares at the lifeless body on the floor.

He rounds to see me, eyes wild.

“Are you okay? Renza, are you hurt?” he demands, dropping next to me on the floor. That dripping red knife in his grip slips and hits the stone floor as he takes me into his arms, blood still wet on his hand.

“Who is he? Who is he?” I babble frantically.

“Renza. Renza, stop!” Nouis instructs, firm but calm, “He’s dead. He’s not going anywhere. Answer me, are you hurt?” I shake my head, gaping at the dead man on the floor of my sister’s bedroom. I can barely breathe, I can’t even think.

They tried to kill Giulia .

“It’s okay. I’m here now. I’m here.”

“He was going to kill her,” I manage to garble between my pants. Nouis frowns, crouching in front of me. He takes my face in both his hands, looking at me seriously.

“Her? Not you? He tried to hurt Giulia?”

I nod. Energy surges into my numb limbs as I scramble to my feet and throw myself to Giulia’s side, scanning up and down her unconscious form for any sign of damage. I grab her wrist, pressing my fingers in tight to make sure. The wave of relief in finding her steady pulse almost makes me pass out.

“Is she okay?” asks Nouis.

I nod, sinking into the bed as new tears form in my eyes. I reach for her blonde hair, stroking it out of the way. My little sister. Lying here, she’s so vulnerable. Who would ever want to hurt her? She is loved by everyone.

Why would they want to hurt her?

Suspicion crawls up my back like a frost. The question builds on my tongue.

What did she know?

“Good, I’ll call the doctor to be sure. And we should hire some security. More security, private, not the Militia,” Nouis babbles. “I’ll ask around. You don’t recognise him?”

I shake my head, not daring to turn back and look at the fresh corpse in my sister’s bedroom.

“I’ll make sure to ask the City Guard when they arrive—maybe they’ll have a record or people they can ask or something,” Nouis says, nodding as he formulates his plan.

I turn to look at him. His funeral tunic is slashed open and splattered with gore. His bare feet pad on the stone as he talks, hands gripping the sides of his head like he could physically force himself to think of everything.

“You saved us,” I croak in gratitude. Could my debt to this man ever be repaid? He’s done so much for me and he just keeps adding more to the pile.

Nouis faces me, a kind smile filling his face. “It’s okay. I’m just glad I could help.”

“We’d be dead. Both of us. You saved us.” The words catch in my throat as I think of what this ghastly man would’ve done to my sister had I not arrived. Or after I had failed to protect her and died myself.

Nouis had saved us. Risked his life for us. Again.

He sits down next to me on the bed, pulling me closer. The smell of him, almonds and vanilla, washes over me like it could wipe away everything bad that’s ever happened. I grip him tightly, like he’s my only lifeline in this awful hurricane.

“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you,” I garble into his warm chest. He holds me closer still, arms so strong they could be a fortress.

“Shhh, it’s okay. I’m here now. You’re safe. You’re both safe.”

I wrap my arms around him so tightly they’re shaking with the effort. I press my head into his shoulder until my blistering nose is squished almost flat.

“I’m here for you throughout everything, Renza. I hope you know that, no matter what,” Nouis whispers softly in my ear, “I just want to help.”

I let out a short breath. I know that. Of course I know that. I twist my head up, pushing forwards to kiss him softly. Gentle, whisper soft. I sit back slightly, looking at him and those intense green eyes. I press my hand to the side of his face.

“What are you doing tomorrow evening?”