Page 125 of Soul of a Witch

I stared at him for so long, at a loss for words. The jewelry adorning him carried such painful memories; I knew how hard it must have been for him to choose to wear them again.

But to accept anewmark after so long was on another level entirely.

His expression was vulnerable, unguarded. There was raw honesty in his voice as he said, “I swore to myself I would never accept a mark again. But that was when I also believed I would never love again. You proved me wrong on both counts.”

He cradled my face and pressed his forehead against mine. That closeness said more than his words ever could.

“I’m terrified of losing you every second of every day,” he said, his voice ragged. “I think of the task you have ahead and I want to rage. I want to take that burden from your shoulders and carry it alone. But I’m not enough without you. With or without a piercing from you, you’ve left your mark on me. I adore you endlessly.” He gripped me, sucking in his breath like it physically pained him to not be able to have me closer.

“I’ll mark you,” I said. He made a soft sound — a laugh, or a sigh of relief, I wasn’t entirely sure. “But you’ll have to tell me how.”

He grinned as he rose from the water. It dripped from him, streaking over his muscular form, and my breath caught as I admired every naked inch of him. “Gladly. Don’t be nervous; we’ll take our time. Now come with me. There’s bound to be a jeweler here somewhere.”

45

Everly

At first, as Callum led me naked through the caverns, I was overwhelmed with self-consciousness. But the demons we passed didn’t care. Not one of them even gave me a second glance, at least not until they sniffed the air and got a whiff of my magic.

Thenthey stared.

“There’s always a jeweler around somewhere,” Callum said, as we entered another large cavern. Hot springs were scattered around the space, and there was a bar situated on a wide ledge where drinks were served by the tallest demon I’d ever seen. A few others lounged in hammocks hung around the cavern, and it was one of these beings Callum approached.

If he didn’t care about being naked, I was determined not to either. Easier said than done when the demon sprawled in the hammock before us opened her eyes, giving us both a long look up and down.

Then she smirked.

“Well, well, if it isn’t our runaway prince. How damn long has it been, Cal?”

“A few centuries, at least,” Callum said, clasping the demon’s hand with familiar comradery. She didn’t bother to rise from her hammock. She wore a sheer skirt and nothing else, split at the hips so her long legs could sprawl freely. Richly colored, elaborate tattoos covered her; the colors shifted and moved as she did.

“Should’ve figured you’d return with a bang,” she said, looking me up and down again as I tried desperately to keep myself from blushing. “Bringing a living witch straight into Hell, eh? Cheeky of you.” She gave me a sharp-toothed smile. “Pardon me for not shaking your hand, love, but I can’t risk my sigil ending up earthside. Haven’t had the best experiences with witches.”

There was no judgment in her voice as she spoke to me, nor any dislike in her eyes. Although my first instinct was to blurt out that I wasn’t a threat to her, I settled with, “I understand. My name is Everly. It’s a pleasure.”

“Oh, the pleasure is mine,” she said, readjusting herself so that her legs were spreadverywide. “Call me Niamh. Lovely soul-binding marks you have.” She sat up, narrowing her eyes as she took a closer look at the scars on my stomach. Side-eying Callum, she said, “I’ve never known this soldier to have a very delicate hand; practically ripped his old claims to shreds. Aren’t you a special one?”

Callum sighed heavily, fingers snapping repeatedly behind his back. “Niamh, please. That was a long time ago.”

“You’ve still clung to other annoying habits,” she teased, and his fingers began snapping a bit harder. “Fuck, that sets my nerves on edge. Hurry it up then, you didn’t seek me out without purpose.” She gave a lazy groan and closed her eyes again. “Tell me what you need so I can go get another drink.”

“I’ll bring you two drinks, if you’ll allow my witch to pick a bit of metal from your collection,” Callum said. Without opening her eyes, Niamh raised her eyebrows in surprise.

“Metal, eh? Last I heard, Callum doesn’t wear metal anymore.”

“Again. That was long ago.”

She stared at him for a moment. Something changed in her face and she sat up, leaning against the rope holding her hammock aloft as she swung her legs. “I’ll have a firewater and figberry wine.Extrafiery!” She shouted the last part, craning her neck to look back at the bartender and make sure they heard her.

Callum rolled his eyes and leaned down to kiss my head before he left. “Pick out whatever you’d like. Just consider location when choosing.”

With my head buzzing, I barely managed an overwhelmed smile before he left for the bar. Niamh reached beneath her hammock, seizing a bag made of dyed red leather and holding it out to me.

“They’re not organized, so you’ll have to search through,” she said, before adding proudly, “Made ’em all myself. There’s some real special ones in there, rare gems from the wastes. Wasn’t easy to get them. There’s even some dragon glass in there.”

Opening the bag, I was instantly aghast. Numerous pieces of jewelry were within — studs, rings, barbells — all of them glittering in the light. Some were silver, some gold or black. Jewels of every cut and color adorned them.

“Did you saydragonglass?” I finally managed to sputter.

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