A Soul For Atonement (The Soulbearer Series Book 4) by Crista McHugh

doesn’t take over.” He nodded to Arden. “This one can’t be trusted.”
    Magic prickled along her arms like a thousand tiny flames. “We don’t need him.”
    Callix leveled his gaze on her and gave a cocky smile. “Are you so certain of that, Soulbearer? I’m well versed in Gravarian lore, as well as skilled in both magic and combat.”
    She closed the space between them, not caring that she had to lift her face to continue the staredown. “Then let me put it another way. I don’t want you coming along.”
    “You wound me, madam,” he said, covering his heart with his hand and wearing an exaggerated look of pain on his face.
    Warning bells went off in the back of her mind. From the moment she set foot in Lothmore Palace last year, he’d been her sullen shadow. Always watching her. Always suspicious she’d use her power to help the Milorian family wrestle control from his. Always ready to find some fault in her and let her know she was unworthy to be the Soulbearer.
    And now he was not only volunteering to help her, but lightening his normal seething hatred of her with a healthy dose of sarcasm.
    She turned to her father for assistance. “Tell him we don’t need him.”
    “On the contrary, I think you do for all the reasons he listed.”
    “But he hates me.” Fury burned in her cheeks. “Just last night, he whacked me over the head. I’d spend more time wondering when he was going to stab me in the back than looking for the Blood of Lireal.”
    In a remote corner of her mind, a familiar presence rattled the spell that confined Loku, reminding her of his presence even though she couldn’t hear his words.
    Time to get her known ally to weigh in. “Sazi, what do you think?”
    Sazi looked at Callix first, then Varrik, and finally Arden. “I think he should accompany us.”
    “Sweet Lady Moon, are you all mad?”
    “If anyone’s in danger of madness, it’s you, Soulbearer.” Callix gave her a smirk and secured his belongings. “Shall we?”
    Arden dropped her pack and crossed her arms. “There’s something you three are keeping from me, isn’t there? A reason why he would suddenly offer to come along?”
    They all exchanged wordless glances that confirmed her suspicions.
    “Fine. If you won’t tell me why, then I’ll have to ask the one person who will tell me the truth.”
    “Don’t.” Callix grabbed her forearm and sent a wave of reinforcing magic straight to the confinement spell. “He’s lied to you before, and he’ll do it again.”
    “As opposed to you?”
    Something flickered across his face. A split second of doubt, of remorse, of vulnerability. It happened so quickly, she couldn’t pin down the cause, but there was more to Callix than she’d first assumed.
    “Please, Arden, if you trust your father and Sazi, then trust their judgment.”
    His voice rang with a certain rawness that surprised her. She’d been prepared to tell him to piss off, but now those heated words lay frozen in her throat.
    “Hurry,” Sazi urged, “before it closes.”
    Arden studied Callix a second longer, looking for any clue as to why his attitude changed, but found none. She picked her pack up and nodded to Sazi. “Let’s go.”
    Sazi went through the portal first, followed by Callix.
    Arden cast one more glance toward her father. “Ask Lady Luck to send us a miracle or two.”
    “If anyone can do this, it’s you,” Varrik replied with a solemn smile. “Be safe.”
    Be safe . The same words Dev had said to her when she spoke to him the other night. She clasped her hand around her pendant and took a deep breath. “Okay, Cinder, here we go.”
    The wolf stayed pressed against her leg as they entered the portal. The only other time she’d ever passed through one was when Dev had created one through the wall that separated their rooms in Trivinus. Walking through that one was like walking through a spider’s web. The magic clung to her skin like a gossamer film that faded within a