Page 13 of Tortured Soul (Soulless #1)

Lola

A ll the sounds that I knew I could produce were stuck in my throat as my lips parted.

He looked genuinely confused.

“I’m going to kill him,” I groaned.

“Who?”

“Kai! I asked him not to put it in my file, but he obviously told you.”

He frowned. “He didn’t. I saw them.”

One of my hands let go of his shirt to check my hair but his free hand snapped around my wrist.

“Not now ,” he said, holding my arm against his chest. His thumb rubbed circles on my skin distractedly. “I had a vision of you and your hair was up.”

Right . The visions. I had forgotten about that…

“If you saw them, no matter that my eyes are blue, you should have known that I was—”

“Not in that first vision,” he corrected, growing irritated. “The last one I had.”

“You had more than one ?” I tried to take a step back, but his hold didn’t allow me to.

He tilted his head to the side in amusement. I was not amused.

“Wait, are your visions just showing you people or things that will actually happen?”

The amusement left his face, his lips that were tilting upward suddenly going down.

“It depends.”

I waited for him to say more. He didn’t. I glanced at his hand circling my wrist. My hand, grasping his black shirt. His arm keeping me up and flushed against him. When I looked back up at his face, his pupils were wide, studying me .

“What—”

“Ah good! I thought you already left.”

All the fog, the dizziness that took over my mind, suddenly cleared and I jumped back. Too quickly for Arc to be able to stop me. Not that he would have since he seemed as taken aback by our closeness as I was. His hands were back in his pockets, the frown back on his handsome face.

What the hell had happened?

“Oh. Are we interrupting something?”

Both our heads turned toward Kai who stood in front of the closed door, surrounded by three Immortals I’ve never seen before.

“If you’d like us to come back later…” He grinned. I didn’t care about his past kindness anymore, I wanted to punch him in his smirking face.

The woman on his right was an Earthwalker; a shifter. Her chestnut hair was cascading over her shoulder, partially hiding her hospital scrubs. Her eyes were a bright hazel with small gold flecks. The embarrassment made her tanned skin pinkish.

“We’re good,” Arc said, walking toward the door. “I’ll let you introduce yourselves, there’s somewhere I have to go.”

The Divine man on Kai’s left took a step to the side to let Arc get to the door.

He felt like a higher angel, probably that Jeremiah they had mentioned a few times.

Short brown hair, dark blue eyes and scruffy stubble—in opposition to Arc and Kai’s clean shaven faces.

He was wearing a dark blue suit with a beige shirt.

If he noticed the proximity in which Arc and I were standing a couple of seconds ago or the blush creeping up my face, he didn’t say anything.

Arc didn’t turn back as he left the room and closed the door behind him.

The third Immortal, another woman, chuckled, moving her head slowly from side to side.

A Hellriser, lower demon. Her black afro hair was shaved with patterns on the sides, skin a dark brown, eyes inky black.

She was wearing some lighter version of the guards uniform.

Probably the commander Marcus mentioned this morning.

“Lola, let me introduce Ann”—Kai pointed to the shifter who gave me a warm smile—“Carrie”—then the chuckling suspected commander—“and Jeremiah”—the stoic Divine wearing a suit. “ All four of us and Arc have created this camp. Together, we’re protecting it and its residents.”

Hence, the Guardians . That made sense. Although, their name could have been better.

“And what about Carter? What’s his role here? If he’s not part of your little band, why does he act like it?”

Ann groaned and rolled her eyes, strolling toward me. She looped her arm in mine to lead me to their group as Jeremiah pushed open the door for all of us.

“Carter’s a pain in the ass, that’s what he is. Don’t worry about him.”

“So, what do you think about the Archives?” Kai asked, smiling broadly and following after us in the corridors.

“It’s great. Thanks for the warning about Casper, by the way.”

I didn’t see his face as he answered. “I call her Margaret. I picture her as a gray-haired Victorian old Lady who doesn’t like pompous men making a mess of her space.”

“Wow,” I said. “That’s…oddly specific.”

We reached the hall and came to a stop.

“Ignore him,” Ann said, squeezing my arm. “Just make sure to always be respectful of the books and documents you touch or use in the archives. I always say hello when I go there and goodbye when I leave. Last time, there was a lemon bar waiting for me on the desk.”

Kai snorted, walking to stand in front of us.

“ Or the person using the computer before you simply forgot to eat their snack. Maybe it’d been there for days.”

Ann shrugged. “It tasted fresh.”

“I wouldn’t have eaten it. What if Margaret tried to poison you? Maybe she thought you were Carter…”

“Don’t insult me,” she snapped at Kai, her brow furrowing. I tried to pull on my arm, but she held onto it firmly.

“Would you have eaten it?” Kai asked, turning to Carrie.

She looked at him with a bored expression before looking at each of us. “No, Lemon is gross.”

With that, she turned around and left the hall toward the street. All of us remained silent for a few seconds, looking at the door she just left through.

“She definitely would have eaten it if it was chocolate,” Jeremiah taunted, lifting his arm to check his watch .

“I was about to say the same thing!” Ann said, throwing her head back in laughter.

Jeremiah merely smirked. He turned back to me.

“It was lovely meeting you. Let me know if any Divine other than Carter causes you any trouble.”

Was Arc considered a Divine? Because he was definitely causing me some kind of trouble. Like, how the hell did I end up dizzy and grasping for him? The energy that fueled me was not that depleted. Depleting, yes. But the amount I had left was not critical.

I’ve had worse. Can’t let it get that bad…

“Could we have a word?” Kai asked me kindly.

Ann squeezed my arm one last time before letting it go, leaving the building like Carrie did barely a minute before. Jeremiah silently walked away toward the right side corridor, sliding a phone out of his pocket.

“Sure.” I smiled, admittedly a little tightly.

We walked in silence to his office, proud that I knew the way in my mind, guessing each and every turn correctly.

Perks of going there for the fourth time in less than twenty-four hours…

Instead of going to his desk, he led me to the sitting area where Arc and I went over the contract an hour ago. He fetched a glass bottle filled with ember liquid and poured two glasses.

“Congratulations on your new job.” He grinned, handing me one before sitting on the armchair facing mine. “I’m sure Margaret and you are going to get along just fine.” His grin widened as he brought the glass to his lips. “Especially if you get naughty in there.”

My eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. “That’s not what happened.”

“It definitely smelled like sex.”

“We didn’t! I—”

“I mean, the old woman must be bored up there, so it’s good if you—”

“Oh hell, stop!” I cringed. The smile reached his eyes even as he took a sip. “We didn’t and we won't have sex up there.”

“But you might do it somewhere else?”

“That’s not what I said!” I groaned, my hand tightening around the glass in frustration .

He shrugged, gulping down the rest of his glass in one go as mine stayed untouched. “Wouldn’t be such a bad idea.”

A scoff escaped me as my head shook from side to side in disbelief.

“I mean, I haven’t seen that man so worked up in decades.”

Suddenly, I felt cold.

Of course .

My pheromones probably tried to lure him in. That’s why his eyes seemed so unfocused, like in a trance-like state. That’s why I felt dizzy.

I subconsciously felt his power. Felt the energy he could provide me. So my whole body reacted to it. That explained the momentary lapse in judgment, the sudden grasping, my body seeking his touch, his proximity.

This couldn’t happen again.

“—don’t you think?”

My head perked up toward Kai, away from my spiraling mind.

“Huh?”

“You weren’t listening, were you?” A wince pulled at my face. “I’m saying you could do worse.” Noticing my confused frown, he continued. “We all noticed that there was something there. Between Arc and you? I’m sure he would keep your pheromones at bay.”

“No.”

He paused, studying me for a few seconds.

“Why?”

I huffed out a frustrated breath, pinching the bridge of my nose.

“It’s not because I’m a damn Succubus that I have to fuck anything or anyone that goes my way.”

There it was again. With our talk from yesterday, I thought Kai understood me.

“If we put sex aside, that’s not what I was suggesting,” he corrected me, his tone wary.

“Was it not?” Our gazes latched. “Did you not mention his potential interest in me and did you not suggest that I use said interest to my advantage?”

He sucked on his teeth with pensive narrowed eyes.

“Not really,” he muttered. “Did he tell you what he is?” I nodded. “Do you realize what that implies?”

“If your point is that he’s powerful and that it would be beneficial for me, I’m—”

“ My point is that he’s not utilizing his power how he could. How he should .”

The crease between my brows deepened.

“What does it have to do with me?”

“A lot more than you think.” He chuckled dryly. “He’s half Divine, half Hellriser. More than this, he’s half Archangel and half Prince of Hell.”

I shook my head dismissively. “No matter what level of power a Hellriser parent has, their offspring will have nothing in comparison. A Nephilim born from a low level demon will probably be as powerful as a Nephilim born from a Prince of Hell.”

“Arc isn’t a Nephilim. And I beg to differ, I’ve met a few of them, they don’t all have the same amount of powers. Some of it depends on the progress of their madness…”

I refrained from saying that I knew a Nephilim too— very well—and that I knew what I was talking about.

“Arc’s other parent is not a human or Earthwalker. He comes from two very different and immensely powerful species.”

Right, sure . “Alright. What’s your point?”

“I’m getting to that,” he gritted out. “Stop interrupting me.”

I snorted but complied, rolling the ember liquid inside my untouched glass.

“Since before we created this camp, Arc’s made a point to be good.

Helpful. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t have anything against that.

But we need him to be fair. To himself, and his people.

He’s put a tight leash on his demon side.

He’s afraid of its power—rightfully so as I’ve seen what he’s capable of when he unleashes it.

But placing it in a cage is not the answer.

“And before you interrupt me again, that’s where your presence here is so interesting. You’ve been here for what…a little over twenty-four hours? Until yesterday, he hadn't lost it since the beginning of the war. Always the picture of perfect control and restraint.”

One of my brow arched in suspicion.

“I thought Carter was going to die last night,” Kai said, his eyes darkening. “I’m sure he himself thought it too. And the asshole’s Immortal. ”

I finally brought the glass to my lips, letting the smoky aroma burn my throat as I swallowed it down. Who cared that it was barely noon? It was five o’clock somewhere.

“When I got back to my office after I dropped you at your new house because I forgot my damned phone, Carter was suspended in the air, flat against a wall. Because of how he treated you.”

I gave him a pointed look. “Everyone has been adamant about the fact that Arc is protective of all the people living here.”

“And yet, Carter always got away with the shit he pulled on other people.” At my worried look, he clarified, “Not as bad as what he did to you yesterday. He’s not a complete sociopath.

” I snorted, taking another sip of my drink.

“We’re getting off topic here. What I mean is, somehow, you unlocked that cage inside of him. ”

He paused, refilling his glass and hovering the bottle over mine. I shook my head and he placed the bottle back on the wooden table between us.

“I’m not saying you should fuck his demon out of its slumber. I’m not even sure he remembers how to have sex…But him letting go is a good thing.”

How could someone not remember how sex works? Or was it a typical Succubus thing to think?

“I just think that spending time with you would be beneficial. If you end up having sex, then good for you. And him, I guess. The guy needs it ,” he muttered.

“So far, he met you a little over twelve hours ago. During this time, Carter got his ass handed to him twice, and the human that was caught last night and admitted to murdering one of our own three weeks ago did not get out with a warning and memory wipe like the ones before.”

My face was kept carefully blank. There were humans around. Bad ones.

“I’m asking you this as a favor,” he continued, leaning back in his chair. “From one free demon to another. Stick around, okay? Your mere presence here is picking at the cage’s locks. And we need him to be whole.”

I didn’t like that plan.

In fact, from the moment they entered the Archives and the magnetic pull vanished, I decided that Arc and I should not be together and alone in a room again.

But I nodded anyway.

Because Kai just said that they were humans around. Humans that were hunting and hurting our kind.

Bad humans that I could feed from.

And if I could get my pheromones under control, I could control myself around Arc and he wouldn’t react that strongly to me.