Free A Soul for Trouble by Crista McHugh

next to him, it almost frightened him.
    She stopped shivering after a few minutes, and her warm breath tickled the side of his neck. Sleep claimed her, but before he joined her, he tried to ignore the nagging feeling that he could get entirely too comfortable with her presence.

    ***
    When Arden awoke, she was surprised to find herself sandwiched between Cinder and Dev. Not that she minded, initially. She appreciated the warm coziness of the situation. Then she realized she had draped her thigh over Dev’s and wrapped her arm around his chest.
    Perhaps there was such a thing as too cozy.
    “ Admit it, my little Soulbearer. You like sleeping next to him or you wouldn’t have agreed to it .”
    She bolted up, but Dev’s hand snatched her wrist and pulled her back down against his rock-hard chest. “You’re not planning on running away, are you, Trouble?”
    “I will if you don’t stop calling me that.” She yanked her wrist free, sitting up. The sun shone high overhead through the branches of the fig tree, and the breeze rustled the red grass around them. “How long do you think we were asleep?”
    He raised his head and squinted at the sun. “I’d say about six or seven hours.” Thoughts of what happened the night before haunted her, and she pulled her knees up to her chest. The necromancer wanted her. She had called upon magic she didn’t know was possible for her to wield, and she had slept next to a man who hadn’t taken advantage of her.
    What was the world coming to?
    Laughter rang in her mind. “ You wouldn’t have stopped him if he tried to take advantage of you. ”
    “ You’re wrong .” She cast a sideways glance at Dev, and her cheeks burned. Would she have minded if Dev kissed like her like he had in his dream?
    “ You are a wench in prude’s clothing ,” Loku replied, followed by more laughter.
    Her hands bunched up into fists. “ Will you stop implying that I’m nothing more than a common whore? I’m beginning to think the reason why the others went insane is because they had to listen to your constant stream of lewd insinuations .”
    “Is Loku misbehaving again?” Dev held out a piece of dried meat to her.
    She took it and tore off a bite. When it was soft enough to swallow, she replied, “How can you tell?”
    “The ring in your eyes flashes, followed by this expression on your face that can only be described as one of pure annoyance.”
    “Yes, you can say he’s pissing me off.”
    Cinder rested his head on her lap and fixed his ocher gaze on what was left of the piece of meat in her hand. She tossed it to him. It was too tough for her liking, anyway.
    “You’re going to spoil him if you keep doing that.”
    “And what’s so bad about that? I’d rather stay on his good side.” The wolf licked her fingertips. When he finished she ran her hands through his thick, rust-colored fur. No burns, no blisters, no evidence of what she’d witnessed last night. “Dev, did you heal Cinder?”
    “What do you mean?” He dropped the saddle and knelt next to them. Concern etched his face as he examined his pet. “Was he hurt?”
    “One of those undead set him on fire last night. How could you have missed that?” He threw his head back and laughed. “Cinder’s a fire wolf. He can ignite himself and use it to attack others, but the flames never hurt him.”
    The wolf panted with his tongue hanging out of his mouth like he was laughing at her, too.
    “I’ve never heard of such of thing.”
    “I’m not surprised,” he replied. “Fire wolves can only be found in the extreme northern reaches of Gravaria. About ten years ago, Robb killed one, leaving three young cubs without a mother. I took Cinder and found homes for the other two.”
    “He’s getting up in age now, isn’t he?”
    That muffled chuckle answered her. “Cinder’s still a pup. Fire wolves easily live into their fifties.”
    She stood and combed through what was left of her tangled hair. Until last night, it had