Page 9 of Tortured Soul (Soulless #1)

Lola

I ’ve had the best night of sleep in a long while.

It helped not being on the run anymore. Turns out, the Hell’s opal Kai gave me made me feel safer. The second I stepped foot into this room—barely furnished but surprisingly comfortable—I took my trusted, small hidden dagger out of my boot and cut a slice into my palm.

As Kai suggested, I let the blood drip on it until it was completely soaked, only stopping when the wound closed itself after about a minute.

Needless to say, I liked that stone better when it was covered in red and I didn’t have to look at the dreadful color that reminded me of a time I’d rather forget.

Apart from Kai’s words, I wasn’t even sure if the small rock worked or if it was some kind of placebo effect. But so far, no one climbed my window and I didn’t hear nor feel Marcus or Aymeric walk near my door.

I took it as a win— all about small victories here .

I stretched and turned to peer at the window. The sun was up behind the thick curtains, and I could faintly hear people starting to walk in the street.

I sat up with a yawn, sliding my hands along the braid to untie my hair. The heat had made me throw off the thick cover in the middle of the night, as I had been completely drenched in sweat.

I closed my eyes, searching inside myself for my well of energy as I fumbled with the usually hidden ring hanging loosely around my neck.

I was fine, but it was depleting quicker than it had the day before.

I would need to buy some clothes soon if I wanted to avoid using it to create a change of clothes everyday.

There was a door leading to a small personal bathroom and the shower I took was quick but felt rejuvenating after the week I’ve had.

I created a new pair of panties on myself and picked up the bra, T-shirt, and leather pants I left on the floor next to the bed.

That would have to do for today.

Once dressed and sure my hair was styled in a way that hid the tip of my ears, I pushed the ring back under my T-shirt and opened my door to peek outside. There were hushed voices and noises downstairs, accompanied by the amazing smell of fried bacon and eggs.

Aymeric was definitely going to be my new best friend here. Food and coffee were the way to my heart.

I locked the door behind me and went down the stairs, only to find Marcus sitting at the exact place he did last night, eating scrambled eggs, bacon, and reading the back of a cereal box. Aymeric was emptying the pan on two more plates.

“Good morning, Lola.” He smiled, dropping the couple of frying pans into the sink. “Did you sleep well?”

Marcus didn’t bother to lift his face from what I assumed was a very interesting list of ingredients as I stopped a few steps away, nervously double checking my hair with my hand.

“I did, thank you.”

“Have a seat, breakfast is ready.”

I took the same stool as I did the night before right as he took his, setting both plates in front of us. A shot of espresso was already waiting for me.

“Thank you. For the food and the coffee,” I said, reaching for the small cup.

He grinned. “Marcus poured it for you. I don’t understand how that thing works.”

My arm froze halfway between the table and my mouth. Marcus poured it for me? It was not poisoned before, but maybe this time he took a shot since he wasn’t making it in front of me…

“I’m to escort you to Kai as soon as you’re ready,” Marcus drawled after an awkward silence, not diverting his gaze away from the large box. “If I could do so in peace without you rambling about your lack of caffeine, I’d gladly pour you a coffee or ten.”

Oh . “Thank you?” I guess?

He only grunted, Aymeric shaking his head with a soft smile.

Marcus was a weird one.

“It’s your first official day here,” Aymeric said. “Kai will give you your resident ID and explain to you how things work. Then you can go around and explore. Visit the stores, find yourself a job, anything.”

“I have money set aside, can’t I use it here?”

Aymeric winced. “You’ll be able to, eventually. It’s a hidden camp. We can’t let humans track anything and find us here. It’ll take time for the Guardians to transfer your money into our secure bank system without leaving traces behind.”

“The Guardians?” I asked.

Marcus’ eyes narrowed briefly at Aymeric. “Kai will explain,” he said simply. Aymeric cleared his throat.

So…no money for the time being. And I was desperate to buy new clothes to save up my energy. I guess I’d have to find a job, then…Preferably a job where I’d be alone most of the time to not tempt anyone with my potential pheromones outbursts.

With this in mind, waitressing, bartending and possibly retail were out. Maybe Kai—or the Guardians, whatever or whomever they were—would have some leads.

Marcus dropped the box and began swallowing his food whole.

“You should finish your breakfast, dear,” Aymeric said, leaning closer to whisper in my ear. “Grumpy has to drop you at the temple and report back to Carrie to know where he’ll be stationed for the day.”

“Carrie?” I asked, finishing my coffee in one go and digging into my food.

“She’s the head of the camp’s security.”

Oh. Like a general or something? A woman? Good for her. Maybe she’d give me something to do. I haven’t trained in a while, but I knew I could still be useful.

“Hurry up, I don’t want to be late.”

“You’re always late,” Aymeric countered, pouring himself a glass of orange juice.

“And look what it got me,” Marcus said, tilting his head toward me. “I wouldn’t have been on the retrieval party with Carter if I was on time. Won’t happen again today, I won’t let them give us another roommate that I can’t shake off.”

Rude .

Aymeric gave him a disapproving look, resting a reassuring hand on my shoulder. But Marcus’ comment still stung.

I dropped my fork next to my barely touched plate and stood up.

“We can go now. I wasn’t that hungry.”

Aymeric turned his head toward me and studied my face with sad eyes.

Of course I was starving. But Marcus was getting on my nerves, and I needed to get away.

Maybe being a brat got me out of unwanted situations before, but it didn’t seem like it would help here.

He was a bigger pain in the ass than me.

One of his brows rose up, suspicion etching his face.

“Good. We leave in five minutes.”

And with that, he was gone. Probably in his room facing the front door.

“I’ll put this in a lunch box for you,” Aymeric said, grabbing my plate with a small smile. “You can eat in Kai’s office, he won’t mind.”

It wasn’t much, but his kindness made me fight to repress the tears building up behind my eyes. Was it weird that one of the only kindnesses I’ve gotten in the last half century had been from Lucifer and Lilith themselves and now Aymeric?

I was never able to count on my Archdemons or tied group.

After all, what did I have to complain about?

I was the first of my kind. The first Succubus.

I had powers other Succubi never had the chance to get.

Powers most Immortals could never imagine.

So what if they were bridled and my pheromones were sometimes out of control?

So what if, sometimes, some Immortals felt entitled to force themselves on me?

It’s not a big deal , most of my Archdemons have told me in the past. I was an asset. A chest piece in their power games.

Too bad I was not the Succubus they hoped I’d be. A bad one, as they liked to say…

“There you go,” Aymeric said, giving me a little lunch bag. “Don’t worry about buying food for now, we have plenty in the fridge. Kai will help you find your marks here. Take your time though, you won’t be charged for the ridiculously low rent for the time being.”

I nodded, accepting the little bag.

“And ignore Marcus,” he added, patting my shoulder. “He’s a grump, especially in the morning. But he’s kind in his own way. I’m sure he’s regretting his words as we speak, and you can expect him to make you your coffee everyday for the rest of your stay here. ”

A forced smile stretched my lips. “It’s alright,” I said. “My kind has a bad rep. I’m used to it.”

He shook his head softly. “It’s not—”

“Let’s go,” the demon said as he closed his door and stood in front of the entrance, interrupting Aymeric.

I gave the angel one last smile, thanked him for the lunch box and followed after Marcus.

Our walk was silent. Tense. I forced my legs to follow his quick steps as he seemed to force his to slow down.

Now that the sun was up, shops were slowly opening. People were walking and talking in the street, casting us— me —curious glances. We walked past a flower shop—where they could get flowers in this arid land was a mystery—a small open café, and a few still closed restaurants.

So far, there were no clothing stores…

“It’s not about you being a Succubus,” Marcus grumbled next to me.

“Hm?”

He let out an annoyed sound. “I heard you and Aymeric talk. I don’t have a problem because you’re a Succubus. I don’t think anyone does.”

“That’s not what Carter said,” I mumbled.

“Carter has issues of his own.” He waved dismissively. “He was out of line, and Arc will make sure he doesn’t overstep again.”

A dry scoff breached my throat and he gave me a strange look. We took a turn and the temple appeared a few blocks away. It looked holy in the bright sunlight.

“You forget that Arc isn’t a fan of me either.”

After all, Marcus was in the room during our exchange. He obviously saw and heard the animosity. The blatant distrust.

“You can think whatever you want about Arc. He’s looking after us all. And since his last vision, that includes you.”

“Right. His visions ,” I said. “Like that’s a common trait among…Whatever he is.”

I was confused by the almost smile that stretched his lips. Who knew this ass was capable of such a thing?

“He definitely is something.”

Great. That didn’t give me any more clues about what he was.

It would make sense if he was some type of Earthwalker as Kai told me he was in charge of all Hellrisers and Jeremiah—I guessed I would meet him at some point—was looking after the Divines.

It could also explain the ears—that, unlike me, he didn’t bother to hide—since about half of the Earthwalker population had Hellrisers’ origins.

But that didn’t explain the whole aura surrounding him, both holy and sinful. That didn’t explain why Kai said that since Arc was busy, he was the one getting my paperwork done.

“Stop torturing yourself,” Marcus said next to me. We were both standing still in front of the temple, his arms crossed over his chest, mine falling by my side. “He’ll tell you eventually. Or you’ll figure it out, whatever comes first. I trust you remember the way? I gotta go or I’ll be late.”

“Actually, I—”

“Don’t remember?” he asked in a condescending voice. “Left corridor. Don’t go right and don’t linger if you want to avoid Carter. Alright? See ya!”

I didn’t have time to object as he was walking away quickly, hands in his pockets. He didn’t turn back, hence, didn’t notice me standing still like a lunatic, my hand halfway up in wasted protest, for a whole two minutes after he left.