Soulbound

17. Ashe

The punching bag swings around just as my fist connects, the force from the blow rocking it back and rattling the chains it hung on. Brushing wild strands of hair from my eyes, I throw another flurry of punches.

It has been two weeks since Dani moved in with me. All things considered she was, surprisingly, a decent roommate. She rarely ever questioned what I was up to and the barista had even taken it upon herself to tidy up the place a bit, although work kept me busy and away from the apartment most of the time. And after our brief interaction that first night, keeping my distance was probably for the best. There was no sense in further complicating our situation by falling victim to bouts of arousal, especially on nights when Catalina made her usual dinner calls.

Which, lately, seemed to be just about every night.

The vampire has taken every liberty to make her disapproval alarmingly clear with each visit and made a point to reiterate what dire straits I was in for allowing this to happen. I was beginning to think that she wanted the soul ring off of Dani's finger even more than I did. She may lose her influence on the Tribunal's council if they discovered that a human was in possession of a forbidden artifact while under her watch, but I could very well lose my life over it. The sooner I figure out a way to remove it the better it would be for everyone.

With a grunt, I unleash a combination of jabs and crosses on the bag as my mind wanders. I was not able to glean much information without inciting questions from upper management, but with Catalina's help I did learn enough about their investigation into the mystery of the backdoor to quell any growing concerns I had.

As I predicted, Public Affairs had followed the trail and searched Dani's apartment for clues. Thankfully, Marco had helped her clear the place out by the time the investigators arrived. They had left nothing incriminating behind and, after the unfortunate break-in at the building's main office that destroyed their tenant records and left them without their computers, the assumption was that the guilty witch had covered their tracks and fled Trinity Valley.

Even though she had packed up her things and scrubbed her apartment clean of any trace of who she is, Dani still insisted on working at the café. And I still cannot believe that I agreed to let her go. I hated her being out in the open, the ring on her hand flashing like a shining silver beacon to anyone who had any inkling of what it was, but I hated that it made sense even more. If Dani was to shed any suspicion then she would have to keep up her own routines. Public Affairs would connect the dots if their mystery target seemingly fled and Dani was reported missing only days later.

But if she asks me how to unbind the magic of the soul ring one more time I was going to explode. Death was not on the table and Nadia was still out of reach. I was not even sure if she could help, but she knew more about the ring than I did. Our only option at this point was to wait it out and stay off the radar—both the Tribunal's and each other's.

Good luck with that. The bag teeters toward me and I kick it again.

“Releasing some pent-up frustration?”

I inwardly groan at the familiar voice, a clipped tone with a slight nasal inflection, and turn around. Selene was perched casually against the glass railing that encased the second floor of the Liquidation Department, her dark hair pulled back into a tight ponytail and almond eyes brimming with intrigue. The dark tank top and matching leggings she wore, a stark contrast to the florescent white tile that surrounded us, hugged her lithe frame and accentuated her curves as the Reaper's mark wove across the exposed sun-kissed canvas of her skin like calligraphy.