Free The Soulstoy Inheritance by Jane Washington Page B

of the right card, and the shouted, “Winner!” that came from Teddy had everyone groaning.
    “What word would you have shouted, Lady Queen?” Teddy asked me, refilling his glass.
    “Hot,” I decided, as I felt rather than saw Harbringer shift to my right.
    Three sets of eyes swung to me, and Teddy muttered, “Interesting,” with a chuckle.
    “Very interesting,” added Sweet, a spark in his eye that hadn’t been there before.
    “Mine would have also been hot.” Quick smiled, and when his eyes flicked to me, I followed his gaze downward, only now remembering my shift.
    “And mine is bedtime,” Harbringer grumbled. “Now.” He pulled me from my seat, draping the coat over me amid the sudden laughter of the other three, as if they had expected such a response.
    “Goodnight, Lady Queen.” Quick rose—true to his name—and caught my hand, pressing a kiss to my fingers before Harbringer drew me away. “Sleep tonight bereft of the wild dogs that chase you along these walls.”
    I smiled at them all lopsidedly, embarrassed at my slip, but unable to really feel it as Harbringer drew me back out into the cold. It was harder to get down the ladder in my inebriated state, and he had to sling me over his shoulder, but he set me back onto my feet once we reached the bottom, and started to pull my coat closed. I brushed his fingers away, liking the cool air on my skin, and he sighed, taking my arm and marching me back to the castle. Our progress to my chambers was blessedly unheeded, and once there, Harbringer looked at me skeptically, as if trying to understand what to do with me.
    “I warned you not to ever run off without me again,” he said, as I shrugged out of the coat and moved to the dresser, sitting on the stool to confront the mess my hair had become.
    “I wish I were still afraid of you enough to obey,” I said, almost cheerfully, as I began to untangle the braid.
    “Why?” He hovered behind me, a dark, brooding presence in my mirror.
    “Because then we wouldn’t have felt like equals. And what you said wouldn’t have hurt so much.”
    “You jumped to the worst conclusion, Harrow, and wouldn’t give me time to explain.”
    A faint, flowering hope sprung up in my chest, but I pushed it down, unwilling to be crushed again. I spun on the stool, abandoning my hair, and then I stood up.
    “When I see these synfees, most of the time, I can forget that it’s what they are. They seem so human to me, Joseph. Is that only because I am one of them? I know what it is like to be drawn to someone without wanting it. Nareon used to compel me all the time, have you forgotten? I’m horrified at the thought that I might do that to people.”
    There was a look of surprise on his face that I couldn’t place. I though back over what I had said. Did I just call him Joseph ?
    “It’s not that significant, certainly not enough to alter a person’s feelings… unless…”
    I took a step closer, feeling as if my whole world hung on the balance of that small word. Unless .
    “Unless that person was already affected by you, in a significant way.”
    I furrowed my brow. “I don’t understand.”
    “When you’re not guarding yourself so closely, I see these strange glimpses of brilliance, like something small coming to life beneath a sudden, bright light. It’s always over so quickly that I can’t really be sure it was ever there, but it leaves me inexplicably breathless and drawn to you.”
    “I don’t understand,” I repeated dumbly. “Do you think that it’s the synfee in me?”
    “Possibly, but like I said, it’s not significant enough to alter any person’s opinion of you. Most people wouldn’t even see it, unless they knew you well.”
    “Well…” I clutched my fingers before me, beginning to wonder if I had overreacted by running off in the first place, my head swimming with drunkenness and relief. “That’s not so bad, I suppose.”
    He chuckled, “not for you, maybe. But it makes my job a