Page 101 of Judge of Saints and Sinners

I didn’t have to wait very much longer. As if summoned by my thoughts, I heard her feet—bare, I thought—racing along the edge of my flames until they reached me. Then my eyes remained closed as she flung her arms over me, her body falling into the waist-deep water with me.

My arms and shoulders ached as I buried my face in her hair, unable to hug her back but needing her to know how badly I wanted to.

“Nephesh, Nephesh, Nephesh…” Her voice cracked as she breathed out my name over and over into my chest. “What did they do to you?” Her fingers raced up my forearms and over the heavy cuffs that kept me suspended.

“Justine, you should get out. It's quite cold…”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Justine shouted, twisting to spit the words at where my family stood looking down at us. “Not until you take him down. This is inhumane, and it has to stop now!”

No one moved. I continued to breathe her in, letting the bond in my chest hum happily at the way she felt against me after our days apart. She was pissed, sure, but she was safe. And for the first time in a very long time, I had someone protecting me.

“He was injured when you two got here. We were able to convince him to release you and let us take you to Court to heal.”

“And you so you brought him here?” Justine was staring around the cavern, and I could see my clever mate putting the pieces together. I almost felt bad for my family. “Oh my God, this is where you kept him all those years, isn’t it? You disgust me. Family does not trap family in a fucking underground jail.”

“We aren't a normal family,” Arafel said after a long moment. “But you are right, Justine. We made a mistake.”

“And so you did it again?”

“Justine,” I whispered, “they know about my soul.”

“So what?” She jabbed a finger at Arafel. “He has a complete soul, and no one is chaining him up.”

“Nephesh’s soul has always been more volatile than the others.”

My father’s cool voice drew Justine’s attention back to him.

She blinked at him, her voice flat when she said, “Maybe because you have him locked in a cave? Did you think of that, genius?”

I cringed, the chains clanking slightly as I leaned forward. “Justine, meet my father, Lucifer, King of Hell.”

To my utter pleasure, Justine’s face didn’t change for a second. If anything, her eyes narrowed farther. “My pleasure. Now let him free.”

“We can’t do that.” My father sat down on the edge of a large stone, a sigh rattling the air after his words.

“Why not?”

“They were never locked,” Father said, his eyes finding mine. “Not once.”

“What the hell does that mean? Or what the— What does it mean?” Justine’s frustration was palpable, and it matched mine. Based on the way Arafel and Lucia were looking at Father, they were confused as well.

“What do you mean?” I echoed, the question directed towards Father.

“These chains, it is true that they are among very few types that can hold us and the upper-level demons. But this particular set was made by your mother, specifically made to keep you here, locked and held until you believe that you are no longer a danger to anyone else. The moment you’d trusted yourself to not lose control, they would’ve released you.”

Shocked silence filled the cavern, and then Arafel was snarling, stepping towards Father with his wings fluttering wide in agitation. Justine was repeating my father’s words as if trying to puzzle them out, even as I let my mind wander back.

“Of all the dirty tricks, Father,” Arafel growled.

“I still should not have put you here, knowing the guilt and worry you held over your powers. But I thought that it would help you. I thought you would realize that the only person here who is truly scared of you hurting someone is you.”

Justine finally spoke, this time her voice was barely a quivering whisper. “You are punishing him because he has a conscience? You’re insane.” But instead of continuing to berate my father, suddenly she was back in my arms, her body pressing wetly against mine. It calmed me instantly, soothing the burn in my heart that I knew was grief and a self-awareness that I suddenly had come face-to-face with.

“Nephesh, listen to me. Listen to me.”

I finally met her gaze, her hands on my face as she rose up against me, her legs tight around my waist.

“You are not dangerous. I’ve seen the good and I’ve seen the bad out there, and you are the perfect blend of them both. No one is perfect. No one is asking you to be perfect.”