“I only have three souls at present. I lost my entire army when I died.”
Her eyes widened. “All of them?”
He nodded. “Every single one.”
“Aren’t you upset? You don’t seem upset.”
He smiled. “I’m not upset. I suppose it was high time I let those souls go. I tortured them long enough.”
She rested her head back down. “They knew what they were getting into. They have no one to blame but themselves.”
His smile grew. His witch could be a bloodthirsty little thing when she wanted. He approved. “Yes, but some of them had served me for thousands of years. After enough time, that torture is worse than whatever they would’ve had to face in the Nine Rings. They screamed incessantly in my head, crying for their freedom, and it drove me mad. Now, they’re gone, and I find I’m enjoying the peace and quiet.”
“But you’re still rebuilding the army.”
“Yes. I have to keep up appearances after all. And I still have a territory to defend.”
“But?” she said, sensing there was more he hadn’t said.
“But,” he affirmed, “I won’t build it to the same size as before. And I won’t keep the souls forever. I think I’ll let them go after a couple hundred years or so.”
She lifted her head and gave him that soft smile that he’d come to cherish. “That sounds an awful lot like empathy, Necromancer.”
“Yes, well, this pesky little witch came around and made me feel all these inconvenient emotions, and I can’t seem to turn them off anymore.”
“She sounds like a handful.”
He reached down and pinched her bottom lightly. “You have no idea.”
She chuckled and lowered her head again. “I’m glad you have peace and quiet in your head, Murmur.”
“So am I.”
“Do your new souls bother you?”
“Not really. They still think they’re winning, having escaped the Rings, when all they had to do was agree to serve the Necromancer.”
She scoffed. “They’ll learn eventually, I suppose.”
“No doubt.”
“You still haven’t answered my question though. Why didn’t you use them to restrain me?”
“Well, for one, since there are only three, one is currently busy patrolling the newly fortified borders of my territory, the other is moving some furniture, and the third is currently floating somewhere above us, keeping watch over you.”
“Moving furniture.” She laughed. “Why am I not surprised?”
“And for two,” he continued, “I suppose I was reluctant to touch you with them again. I know they frightened you,and I didn’t want you to think that I don’t care for your comfort. I won’t do anything to you without your permission, and there will be no more negotiations or bargains between us. If you need something, you will ask, and I’ll give it to you if I’m able.”
“Murmur.” She lifted her head again and then leaned in and planted a light kiss on his lips. “That’s so sweet.”
“I live to serve,” he said wryly, still not sure he enjoyed being called “sweet.”
“I’ll admit the ghosts restraining me while we had sex freaked me out at first. But … it was a good kind of freaked out.” She grinned. “The kinky kind. Like when you used your tail venom on me. I was apprehensive as hell, but damn, I was glad I gave it a try afterward.”
His lips curved. “I’ll keep that in mind, witchling.”
She stuck her tongue out at the use of the nickname, and then she moved down to lay on his chest again. Silence fell for some time, and he contented himself with petting her silky hair and soft skin.
