Page 42 of Tortured Soul (Soulless #1)

My eyes briefly caught the blue ones of the giant man before he groaned and closed his outstretched hand into a fist. The creature exploded into dark slime and ashy particles, splashing the walls of the caverns.

The man’s chest was heaving as he half turned in my direction, studying me with wide eyes. They darted between mine as his lips parted.

I looked down at the shredded fabric covering his chest and the large claw marks bleeding out rapidly and running down his front.

A crippling panic rose inside of me. I had to save him. I had to do something. “ Ours ,” the voice echoed again and one of my hands went to my head, pulling at my hair.

“You-you’re bleeding,” I panted. My heart rate picked up in a strange rhythm as my feet moved to him of their own accord.

He tilted his head to the side.

“I am.”

The man didn’t even look down at his wounds to acknowledge my words, his entire focus on me.

“You–you…I can take you to my clan so they can heal you. I-I don’t know what—”

“No.”

His eyes finally left mine to briefly look over my shoulder as he wiped the blade of his sword against the fabric of his trousers.

“What’re you doing down here?” he asked, taking a few careful steps toward me. “It’s dangerous.”

My jaw dropped. His face was covered in the disgusting dark substance and somehow, I wanted to reach out to touch him. My eyes drifted on the deep slices on his chest and side and my heart constricted in my chest.

“You really should get those looked at, it’s not—”

“No,” he said again, his gaze searching mine in a way that made my stomach flutter.

His hand cupped the side of my face, sliding over my jaw. He was dangerously close. What if he tried to hurt me? He could try and crush me with his size alone.

“ He won’t, ” the distant voice crooned in my head. “ He’s ours, can’t you feel it? Ours. ”

“You’re bleeding out,” I insisted, voice trembling but firm. “At least, you should clean up the wounds. ”

One of his eyebrows lifted in surprise and I forced myself to hold my ground. To not lean into his touch.

“There’s a source farther down the cave.” I pointed behind him. “It’ll be cleaner than the sea, and it’ll help prevent infections from spreading.”

“What if the beast had some friends waiting for it down there?” the man asked, his voice now playful. “Are you willing to cross paths with more Hellhounds?”

Hellhounds .

Father had mentioned that some had been spotted recently, and worried that the Astral’s spell keeping Hellrisers and Divines mostly confined to their own worlds was weakening.

But here? In the cave? The water would kill any being who didn’t have human or Astral blood if they drank it.

“If there were any, we’d know,” I answered, lifting my head higher and turning it to the side, making his hand fall off my face. I walked past him to step deeper into the cavern. “The water is just behind this crease in the corner.”

Surprisingly, he followed me with a chuckle, dropping his sword on the floor with a loud clunk.

For a second, I was worried he wouldn't be able to go through the narrow opening, but he only struggled for a couple of seconds before joining me on the other side, freezing at the sight before him.

“What is—” He stopped himself, taking a careful step forward until he was standing right next to me. “How?”

The milky blue water glowed like trapped stardust, illuminating the small cavern walls.

“Come on,” I said, grabbing his arm, not thinking about how his bicep felt under my hand. He followed me without a word, looking around us with admiring eyes. “Sit.”

He frowned at me then.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he asked, but did not pull his arm away from my grasp.

“I’m going to clean the wounds.”

He scoffed again as I sat down, pulling him with me. With a grunt, he obliged.

“I can do that myself. ”

“I’m not allowed to bring people here and leave them unsupervised,” I said. I want to do it. I want to help you. I want to keep touching you , I thought.

What was happening to me?

With a long exhale, he pulled the shredded shirt over his head, displaying all the wounds. It stopped bleeding, but the drying blood was covered in the black slime.

“You’re not bleeding anymore,” I mused, inspecting the long slashes on his side.

“I heal fast.”

That, he did.

I bunched the destroyed fabric into a ball and dipped it in the water before swiping it against his skin.

“Are you living in the village at the top of the cliff?” he asked, staring in front of him with a thoughtful expression, his dark hair falling in front of his eyes.

“Yes.” I nodded. “What clan do you come from? I’ve never seen you before.”

He grunted, turning his face away.

“I’m not from here. I came with my father, but he’s been gone for a few days.”

I tilted my head to the side in curiosity. “Gone? You haven’t heard from him?”

He looked at me then and seemed surprised to find my eyes already staring at his face. He shook his head softly.

“Strange. Have you encountered many of these…creatures?”

“Less since he’s gone,” he mused.

“Maybe he’s gone to chase them, or something.” I shrugged. “I’m sure he’ll be back soon.”

His blue eyes reflected the glow of the water and I shivered as his gaze dropped to my lips then my throat for a second, his brows scrunching together slightly.

“Maybe. But now I’m hoping he won’t hurry.”

My hand halted over a wound, unable to move anymore. There was something strange about this man…Why did I feel such a pull toward him? Why did he look at me like he could also feel it?

“Tell me,” he said, leaning toward me, forcing me to lean back on my elbows. He hovered over me, searching for something on my face. In my eyes. “Why is my soulmate wearing such an enticing dress and a—collar, that smells like another man?”

My breath got stuck in my lungs.

Mates .

Very few could ever stumble upon their fated mates. The one the Fates had chosen to bind their souls to.

“Soulmate?” I echoed, the sound barely over a whisper. “I—”

“Don’t you feel it?” he asked, confused.

It clicked inside my brain. My heart. My soul. “ Ours, ” the voice echoed again, although it sounded more like a purr.

That explained the pull I felt.

“I–I do. I think.”

“Can you hear my soul calling yours?” he asked, and there was another fluttering in my heart. A strong tug in my stomach that made me want to pull him to me. My ears buzzed pleasantly. “You’re my mate,” he repeated, like trying to convince himself it was real. That it was not some kind of dream.

“I-I’m—”

I didn’t know what to say. I was promised to marry some savage Dragon from the eastern continent. A Dragon that was supposed to arrive tonight, even though I wasn’t to join him for at least another year.

And here was this man, showing up out of nowhere.

My mate.

I could feel it in my soul, deep in my bones.

And if Amyntas ever was to find out about him, this man—my mate—would die.

“I’m Dimitri,” he whispered, leaning over me, his gaze enrapturing mine.

“Anastasia,” I answered, swallowing audibly through the knot in my throat.

“Anastasia,” he repeated. “Cursebreaker.”