Free Beguiled (Book 2 Immortal Essence series) by Rashelle Workman Page A

across their backs were dual swords. Worn much the same way as the Formytians .
    Zaren blew out a breath .
    “What?” I asked, wondering why he’d lost his composure. Usually he was so calm in the face of danger .
    “Nothing,” he said too quickly.
    I checked his fac e. He’d gone pale, his eyes were wide, his lips parted .
    “Zaren ?” I followed his gaze.
    He drew his sword, and I wished I had one.
    One of the cre atures took a step forward. “You always were over anxious for a fight, Zar-Zar , ” it said in a sultry female voice.
    “Do you know . . . it?” I whispered.
    He glanced at me sideways, terror and pain screwing up his gorgeous face. “ It-she reminds me of someone I knew a long time ago.”
    “It’s me. Palami na. Remember?” The soldier ’ s face softened, and momentarily looked kelarian.
    Zaren let out a battle cry. “No. Mina’s dead. You’re nothing but evil sent to torment me.” He lunged, his Ostwallow sword coming down on her neck, but he didn’t follow through. The soldier’s words had affected him. 
    “Do it, Zaren,” I shouted , desperate to get these soldiers gone —her gone. If she affected Zaren so deeply, we were in trouble . The other two soldiers still hadn’t moved , their empty crimson eyes stared blankly ahead. Palamina made no move to block his blow. I didn’t kn ow what they waited for.
    “I-I can’t.” Zaren stepped away, turning his back on her. His opponent. She really must’ve disturbed him.
    This was serious! Who the helker was Palamina? “ I don’t understand,” I uttered, stepping toward her. She’d called him Zar-Zar , and he called her Mina. Nicknames.
    “It could be Zaren still has guilt over the choices he made years ago,” Palamina said, keeping her eyes locked on Zaren . “Perhaps he regrets his decision to slay the woman he supposedly loved . His wife, no less, based on the word of one accuser.”
    Zaren swung around. “The king and queen ordered your death. I had no choice.” The words ripped from his throat. His sorrow so palpable I felt it. 
    I was stunned. He and Palamina had been husband and wife? He’d never mentioned her, that part of his life. And he was forced to kill her on orders from my parents. I wondered what she was like before Ramien altered her? I wondered if Zaren kissed her t he way he kissed me? I wondered . . .
    “ Show no mercy . These things won’t, ” Zaren yelled, but his face belied his anger. He pulled the smaller sword from over his right shoulder and handed it to me.
    “ What are they?” I asked , trying to understand . When he didn’t answer, I muttered, “ Got it. ” One thing was certain, come helker or high water, Palamina was mine. “Dervinias. Palmo. Are you p repared to fight?” I asked over my shoulder.
    “No,” Palmo hollered. He stood over the door, studying the words in the riddle .
    Chev was crying again. Dervinias held her, rocking.
    No matter. It was t wo against three.
    Th ose aren’t bad odds, I thought standing next to Zaren.
    “Come on,” I shouted. With all the power I possessed, I brought the sword down on Palamina’s body, slicing her in two with one blow.
    Palamina let out an agonizing scream. S he dropped her sword, and touched her hands to her body. Black blood gushed through her fingers. Her top half of her body slid from the bottom half and fell to the ground with a stomach-turning thud.
    Zaren sucked in his breath. “Venus . . . ”
    He didn’t finish, and I moved on to the next soldier. Maybe I’d kill them all before they could fight .
    This would be an easy first challenge. Ramien would need to do bette r than send a few altered souls.
    Before I could finish the thought though, the something the soldiers waited for happened.
    Water. Gallons o f it pushed its way through cracks in the ceiling , sending chunks of concrete, dirt, and debris down on our heads . The water broke through the walls, cascading like waterfalls . It was seawater, cold and pungent. A