Soulless (Maiden of Time Book 2) Read Free

Bellezza wanted him to see those things, wanted him to suffer. Not Alexia. Reacting would only reward and incite her.
    He delved deeper into her chocolate eyes. The fury smoldering behind her glare was meant for men, or a man—one she couldn’t reach, one she feared above all.
    “Stop reading me!” Bellezza’s fingers flexed like claws, her brows low, body poised to spring on Alexia like a ravening lioness.
    He inhaled, the weight around his neck lifting with his chest. The pendant might be able to stop her if she decided to attack, but he didn’t want to hurt her.
    So much hate. So much pain. He ached for the child, for all she’d suffered. Had she ever known love?
    And at the same time, he wanted nothing more than to toss her tiny carcass out the window for even contemplating harming Alexia.
    Corralling the overwhelming instinct, he extended a hand. The best he could do was show her a different world, one where she didn’t have to fear, one where she could thrive in her gifts and become a civilized being.
    He glanced at the balcony, out into the moonless night. How much time did he have?
    Kiren cleared his throat. “I see your irons can no longer hold you.”
    The skin about her wrists was healed, no longer charred black from the manacles she’d carried for decades. She wore a choker with a ruby stone, likely to cover the healing flesh.
    He’d never witnessed it before—one of the Passionate so powerful they could conquer the dead weight of iron shackles. She was strong, so much stronger than she knew. If only he could help her use that strength for worthy purposes.
    He smiled. “Good for you.”
    Bellezza’s lip pulled up in a snarl, but the question hung in her eyes: Does he really mean that?
    He nodded, holding her glare.
    Her shoulders relaxed inward, limbs trembling as she blinked repeatedly. Her head tilted. You really meant to free me? To grant my wish? To make me strong enough that no one will chain me again?
    Once more he nodded, adding a proud grin she couldn’t misinterpret. “You are exceptional, Bellezza.”
    Her eyes widened. Hope sprouted behind them, a tentative plant pressing through desert soil that had oppressed its growth for too long—but he couldn’t read the direction it tilted.
    He asked, “What do you want now?”
    Her hands writhed over one another before falling to her sides, determination in the set of her shoulders. “Sanctuary.”
    “Sanctuary?” He scrutinized her. After inciting a war with the Soulless and slaying dozens of noblemen in the most brutal manner, she couldn’t possibly mean to align herself under his command. Then again, perhaps she hoped an allegiance would spare her.
    The answer hovered in her eyes: A man stood before her at the doorway of a thatched-roof house, grinning greedily as golden coins fell into his palm from the stranger outside. She’ll be perfect for breeding. ...Hours later the man chased after her, a red-hot firebrand in his gloved hand, his screams echoing after her as she misted into the trees: You belong to me. You are mine, mia bella!
    Her eyes widened, then tightened. I want to destroy them. You can give me that? “Sanctuary.”
    He neared a step. Never could he condone the cold blooded murder she desired, but since she’d launched this war between Passionate and Soulless, they would either have to reconcile the different agendas among the Passionate or succumb to their enemies. He had been working toward that union a long time. She’d destroyed all hopes of bringing it about peacefully, and all that remained was war. If she wanted to be a soldier, indeed she would prove an invaluable ally—but only if she could take orders.
    “Sanctuary.” He nodded slowly. “You know the rules.” Rules she had learned and flouted when she abandoned her prison and started the war. “One more offense and you will be tossed into the deepest prison.”
    Bellezza’s brow twitched. She bit back a snarl and curtsied. “Hail, o mighty king.”
    He