Page 45 of Judge of Saints and Sinners

A wry smile lifted his lips, but I couldn’t see his eyes. “Mother was a powerful witch on her own, and I know that she and Father had the best intentions, but as you can imagine, removing our souls left my brothers and me struggling to manage the lands and tasks that had been given to us. So like any desperate fool, we began searching for our souls. Ironically, I was the first to be called to my soul. And it brought me to the living world.”

“To Anna?”

“To Anna.”

“She carried your soul? That’s so beautiful.” I blinked rapidly, crawling down to the bed to be closer to him. “But wouldn’t that mean you would have your soul back already?”

“It would if we had figured out how to take it from her. But I lost her long before that.”

“Wow, Nephesh, that is such a cruel twist of fate.”

“Fate had nothing to do with it. I failed her and didn’t deserve her friendship, or the power—my soul—would have returned to me.”

“Arafel was next. His soul bound, she is everything to him, the perfectly designed match.”

“So your soul bound… They are also like soul mates?”

“We weren’t sure. Anna and I didn’t share a romantic connection, but then, there’s no reason that a friend cannot be your soul mate. But it didn’t matter because we didn’t complete the process. I didn’t think I'd have another chance to meet my soul bound ever again. I thought perhaps we only had one chance.”

My heart broke a little at how hard that must have been for him. I started to speak, but he continued.

“But then something happened that I never would have imagined.”

Now my heart thumped as he looked at me. I couldn’t stop myself from asking, “What happened?”

“I found my soul again. This time in a fiery little thief who made me question everything.”

Everything around me seemed to slow to a crawl, almost as if time had stopped. For a moment, I worried because even my heart had sputtered. “N-Nephesh, what are you saying?”

“The deal I made, it might have been to protect you, but it was selfish as well. Because I had meant to ask for my soul back from you.”

“W-Wouldn’t that kill me?”

“No. Oddly enough, humans have proven time and time again that they don’t need to have a soul to live.” His jaw tightened. “Plus, your soul isn’t damaged. Mine is simply co-existing alongside it.”

“Wow…” I shook my head slowly. Curiosity, wonder, and trepidation were all warring within me. “I had no idea. But then, I guess that was the point. Something I didn’t need or knew existed.”

Nephesh nodded slowly. “I didn’t think the deal would continue like this. I didn’t want it to.”

“Because I’m a morally gray human woman?”

Suddenly his eyes went dark as they swept over my face. “Exactly why. I was drawn to you so much more than I was prepared for. At times I couldn’t tell whether it was the deal or my own desperate need to be close to you.”

“Does this mean… Does this mean I’m your soul mate?”

Nephesh’s eyes amber eyes flashed red now, but I wasn’t afraid. “You are.”

My chest was heaving as I stared at him. “But last night, after the kiss, you freaked out.”

“I’m not well-acquainted with fear, Justine, and suddenly finding myself terrified of your every move and need is a lot for me. I had never felt any of these things before, I didn’t… I don’t know how to handle them.”

“So, you invaded my dreams?”

“Arafel told me that your subconscious had to be open to letting me here in order for it to work.”

I flushed, my skin hot. “Oh, gotcha. That’s not embarrassing or anything.”

“I'm quite flattered, little thief, but more so, I’m just relieved.”