Page 34 of Tortured Soul (Soulless #1)

Lola

A rc grinned, but narrowed his eyes pensively. “I’m not sure I should spill his secrets,” he said. “After all, our deal was that we’d answer questions about ourselves.”

“Not fair,” I retorted. “I answered a question you had about Dimitri.”

The scoff that escaped his lips was nothing but playful, and my heart felt like it was getting bigger in my chest.

“You didn’t answer. You deflected, only to give me a completely unrelated snippet of information. I didn’t ask what color his eyes were before, I asked what his Immortal parent was.”

I rolled my eyes. “Isn’t it the same thing?”

“Not for a Nephilim, no. Unlike the Red, the color that comes before has nothing to do with their lineage.”

I knew that. But I didn’t feel comfortable talking about Dimitri without him being here.

“I’m guessing Divine,” Arc mused. “His canines look sharper than mine. Or even Carter’s. But that’s because Carter never bit anyone.”

I tilted my head to the side in interest. Dimitri always got carried away during our intimate moments, biting me most of the time.

Although I knew he thoroughly enjoyed the taste of my blood, I also heard his thoughts when his teeth pierced the skin.

His bites were more about staking a claim, marking me as his.

Goosebumps spread down my spine at the reminder that his mark from this morning was still visible in the crook of my neck.

“Are the size and sharpness of one’s teeth related to the amount of time he used them before?” Curiosity filled me.

“It’s a factor, yes. That and age.”

My brows pulled down in a frown. “But…as a higher angel, Carter is ageless. Shouldn’t he have fangs? ”

“He would have if he actually used them. He told me that, up there, when Divines drink blood, it’s never directly from people.”

I scoffed. “What, do they serve it in fancy jugs and crystal glasses?”

“Something like that.”

My jaw dropped. I was joking around, but was I right? I couldn’t help but picture Carter wrapped in a white sheet, large white wings spread, drinking red blood from a flute with his pinky lifted up in the air, surrounded by others looking just like him.

Wow.

That image was a far cry from the disheveled prick strolling around on earth.

“Is that funny?” Arc grinned.

“Extremely. But it doesn’t answer my initial question.”

Arc rolled his eyes and leaned forward, placing his elbows on each side of his empty plate, resting his chin on his crossed hands.

“It’s not my story to tell.”

“Come on,” I insisted, inching closer to him too. “Isn’t he my mate, whether he wants it or not?”

“Yes. And that’s why you should ask him directly.”

I groaned, fumbling with a piece of bread next to my plate.

“I did . He got mad.”

Arc laughed, throwing his head back. My eyes couldn’t help but drink him in. His long neck, smooth skin…I didn’t have fangs but I kind of wanted to grow some just to sink them in it.

“Of course he did. Did you expect him to share that story with you around a couple of beers?”

I didn’t. I asked to get a rise out of him, and it worked. But now, I was curious.

“Please, Arc,” I said, lowering my voice.

Intensity sparked in his eyes as he straightened up, not laughing anymore. His piercing gaze roamed my face and dipped to my lips for a short beat.

He leaned forward and I held my breath.

“I can’t,” he said. “If you want to know why he fell, you two are going to have to learn to get along so you can ask him yourself.”

I averted my eyes, brushing the goosebumps spreading along my arms off with a snort.

“You don’t know, do you? ”

“Oh, I do.” He chucked and I looked back at him, searching his face, any emotion that could tip me off. “But as I said, it’s not my story to tell. If—”

He stopped abruptly, his eyes glazing over, stuck looking at me without actually seeing me.

I titled my head to the side, but he didn’t follow, staring straight ahead.

What was—

He blinked and shook his head, wincing.

“Sorry,” he said. “I—It was Carter.”

It was what?

“Carter?”

He released a long exhale, fumbling with the corner of his napkin over the table, sliding his other hand in his hair to pull it back from his forehead.

“Dimitri’s about to leave. We should head to the gates.”

He stood up, ignoring my question and pushed his chair back. His hand twitched at his side, like he held himself from handing it to me, before he slid it in his jeans pockets.

Why was he all flirty and touchy one minute, then cold and distant the next?

I groaned as Arc waited for me, holding the door open.

“I’m not sure I want to go back here,” I said. “Last time you left me here to rot for hours.”

“Carter’s fault,” Arc said, tapping his foot on the floor in impatience. “He can be a petty bastard.”

Yeah, right .

I walked past him, my shoulder brushing his chest, and climbed up the stairs.

“The only surprising thing in that sentence is that you insinuate that he’s not always a petty bastard. ”

His non-response only made me more confident about my own statement.

I didn’t have the time to place my hand on the handle before the door opened in front of me, welcoming me in the strange but familiar room.

Still cold and dusty.

Dimitri was standing in the middle, his arms crossed over his chest, Jeremiah facing him in the same stance. Both men were staring each other down while Ann stood next to the door, holding a chart close to herself.

“Is that really necessary?” Dimitri drawled, right as we entered.

“Without it, our other scouts could attack you on sight. It ensures you’re recognized as one of us.”

“Isn’t there another way?” he asked, gritting his teeth. “It’s uncomfortable. And I don’t need that many weapons.”

Dimitri was dressed in a lighter version of the guards uniform, a more masculine alternative of Carrie’s usual attire.

His chest was covered in dark, reinforced leather pieces strapped together. His thighs circled with sheathed knives, and a couple of guns.

He looked damn hot, and I found myself picturing what happened this morning but with him wearing that.

He turned his face toward me slightly, just enough for me to see the anger swirling in the corner of his eyes.

Well, it was never going to happen, then…

“It’s for your own good,” Jeremiah justified as he turned around to pick up a few more blades, clearly done with their exchange.

Ann took a step forward and Dimitri tensed, growling. She froze, a wince pulling at her face.

“Bring that needle to my neck or any other part of me, and we’re going to have a problem.”

“You’re not—”

“What’s going on, here?” I interrupted Arc, joining Dimitri with quick steps.

“Um, it’s—” Ann started, hesitant as she met my stare. “It’s protocol that I examine and chip scouts. So we can find them if they go missing.”

I frowned and she turned her eyes away.

Something didn’t add up .

“How are you not able to locate the place where the missing Immortals are being held if they’re chipped?”

She blushed, fingers tapping on the chart.

“Because we only started doing this a few months ago, and for now, the chipped ones were not captured but simply killed,” Jeremiah explained, handing Dimitri another dagger to add to the dozen already strapped to his body.

“Is that supposed to reassure me?”

I forced Dimitri’s arms to uncross as I slid my hand in his, interlacing our fingers. He was wearing gloves, something he never did. I didn’t like not being able to feel his skin.

“Look, Nephilims are some of the only truly Immortal Earthwalkers,” Arc said, walking closer as Ann slowly retreated to the back of the room.

He planted himself next to Jeremiah, forming two sides on the matter.

“If they somehow get to you, even though you’re neither Divine nor Hellriser, they’ll have to either let you go—which we assume they will—or take you in.

And that turn of event will allow us to find you, and probably all the others, even if you fail in locating them.

It’s nothing, really. You won’t even feel—”

“I won’t fail .” Dimitri’s tone was harsh, face tight. “You can stab that needle into your own fucking ass.”

Arc’s jaw twitched as he stared Dimitri down.

“And keep those damn weapons, I’m not a powerless child,” Dimitri added, ignoring the one Jeremiah was still handing out to him.

The angel frowned, his grip tightening on the handle.

“I’ll believe that when you tell me what your powers are, like I’ve asked you about ten times.”

“They are enough that I won’t be needing any of that.”

Things didn’t feel right. Why were they pressing him about it? Nephilims powers were known to vary from one to the other, but to be deadly anyway.

I took a step, placing myself between them, plastering my back against Dimitri’s chest. If they were ganging up on him, I wasn’t going to stand by and watch.

“If you’re going to be picky about his help, you can both shove it up your asses. He offered to go. If you don’t want his assistance, we’re done here. ”

Dimitri’s hand let go of mine to settle on my hip and bring me closer to him. Arc’s expression was unreadable under his careful masked features.

“Don’t you find it strange that your friend won’t disclose the extent of his powers?” Arc asked, his eyes not leaving the place over my head where Dimitri’s face was.

My hands tightened into fists by my sides.

“I don’t. I know what his powers are, and you haven’t earned that right yet. The device said he was to be avoided at all costs, that should be enough information for you to know he won’t fail, nor need any weapons to carry out his task.”

The air around us shifted, the hairs on my arms and the back of my neck rising.

“Huh, guys—” Ann’s voice said from her spot next to the door.

A loud crash echoed all around us and the room shook under our feet. I forced myself to stand unmovable under the pressure around us, to fight the need to cower and hide at Dimitri’s outburst.

Jeremiah and Arc took defensive stances, looking around the room at the sudden carnage, searching for the threat.

Every piece of glass except the windows were shattered on the floor.

The table and chairs that were moved to the side had shards of wood sticking out in awkward angles.

The couch I had spent a few hours on when I first got here was destroyed beyond measure, feathers and shredded cotton flying around it.

Dark red smoke moved slowly on the ground, circling everyone menacingly.

After a couple of seconds, Arc and Jeremiah’s focuses were back on us.

“What’s that?” Ann asked, her voice shaking.

I turned to glance at her. She was pushing her back against the wall, eyes wide toward the living smoke moving around her feet. And I understood her fear. She was an Earthwalker, after all. Not a human, but still fragile and killable.

“A party trick,” Dimitri crooned.

Jeremiah sighed and turned around, picking the few weapons scattered on the floor. Arc kept his cold eyes on Dimitri’s form.

“Fine,” he conceded, albeit reluctantly. “But you keep the clothes. If you don’t, you might get attacked by our scouts. ”

And that was it. The argument that must have started well before we arrived was over with just a few words.

Dimitri grunted in my back as Jeremiah left the room without a word, followed by Ann who gave me an apologetic look.

“Carrie will be here in a minute to escort you outside,” Arc said, walking toward the door as well. “Lola, we need you at the archives today. Kai will probably drop by to request a few files.”

Our eyes didn’t meet once as he followed after them.

We went from having a nice meal and nicer conversation back to a cold and awkward interaction.

That damn man was going to be the death of me.

“I know I defended you here, but are you sure you want to go?” I asked, turning to face Dimitri.

He circled me with his arms, hugging me tight.

“If I find that place and destroy it, I can make sure this camp is safe enough for you. So I will, no matter how pissed I am about their actions.”

I pulled back just enough to lift my eyes and study his face. My pout must have been an amusing sight to behold as he grinned, bringing one of his hands to cup the side of my face.

“Your love is my sole reason to exist, zhizn moya ,” he said softly. “But if one of your mates insists on chipping me like a dog again, I don’t care how powerful he thinks he is, he’ll be a rotten vegetable stuck in a useless piece of meat when I’m done with him.”

The air shifted again and goosebumps erupted along my spine. He would do it. He wasn’t one for making empty threats.

Dimitri dropped a soft kiss against my forehead.

“I promise I’ll be back in under five days and that the prison will be left in ashes.”

“Three days.”

He arched a brow, his smile widening.

“I know I’m powerful, but you might be overestimating me.”

“Three days,” I insisted. “Three days and you come back with the coordinates, without taking care of it yourself. That’s what we agreed on.”

He tilted his head to the side, his hold tightening around me.

“Are you worried about me?”

I swatted at his chest.

“Of course I am, you smug idiot.”

His fingers grabbed onto my chin, lifting my head further up to brush my lips with his.

“Don’t be,” he whispered. “I’ve got this.”

Even after Carrie came to fetch us and Dimitri had disappeared well beyond the safety of the barrier, my heart was still pounding anxiously in my chest.

Something felt off.