Page 67 of Judge of Saints and Sinners

“Isn’t that horrible?”

I shifted a little. “Among other abilities, my magic is uniquely designed for it. I can see a soul's measure, the scales of good or evil that every person is made up of.”

“Wow.”

“Wow is right. Most of the souls can be sorted by the river itself, where I have fixated my magic into a dam. The good and righteous move to Elysium. The evil are moved to Tartarus.”

“They don’t have a chance to plead their case?”

“They do, but only those who are very close to equal. I see that more and more lately. I cannot tell whether humans are becoming less concerned about the darkness of their souls or whether my magic had faded so much that I was not able to sort them in the traditional way. The process is taking too long, the souls held up and bottlenecked, unable to continue to the power that keeps the Underworld strong and secure. Perhaps once I…” I trailed off, realizing where I’d led the conversation to.

Justine lowered her head, her eyes focused on the food. “But you don’t want my soul—or your soul that I carried…”

“Justine, look at me.” I waited for a long breath until her gaze rose to me. “Taking your soul, feeling it in my hand, was one of the most beautiful moments of my entire life. But to take it back, to let myself have all of that power…” My body grew tense. “I was something else before I was the Judge. Something that was taken from the history books.”

“Why?”

“Because no one survived long enough to record it.”

Her sharp intake only cemented the awareness that I could never show this monster to her. But as usual, my soul mate surprised me. “Show me.”

“I cannot.”

“Because you haven’t taken the soul into you.” She reached across and brushed my forearm. “Nothing you show me will scare me away, Nephesh. You promised you would not underestimate me again.”

“I’m not underestimating you. I’m acknowledging the fact that to show you my true, basest form, it will forever change how you look at me.” I brushed my claws over her head, the strawberry-toned strands tangling there. “And I don’t think I can do that. So you see, it is I who is afraid.”

I released her head, letting my fingers trail down the side of her face until I cupped her cheek. “Do you understand?”

“No, but I’ll keep trying.” She smiled at me. “Tell me more.”

I rocked forward. “I will. I always will. But first…” I leaned in, pressing my lips against hers. The soft heat of her mouth ushered a shudder of pure need through my body. I had been kissing her for only a few moments when one of the guards began shouting. We ignored them, long enough for one of them to hurl one of their own empty food trays at the bars. It clanked loudly, and I pulled away, snarling at them as Justine let out a soft, breathy laugh against my neck before pressing her face there.

“Now, do you want to know about the smug bastard who runs the Underworld guards or the angsty one who guards the real evil of this world?”

Justine snorted. “The angsty one. Duh.”

I rolled my eyes and dived into the tale of Elon and all the chaos and destruction he had raised as a young demon, far before the war with the Drude began. Justine laughed when she should've, nodded solemnly when I got to the part about the Drude’s first attack on the Underworld, and when I talked about my brother withdrawing to Tartarus to heal, she slapped her hands against the floor.

“And you just let him? Obviously he needed help.”

I shrugged. “I was locked up at that point.’

Her hands trailed down my forearms, to my wrists where she delicately traces the scars there. “And you got these? I just don’t understand. Why would they do that to you?”

“That is too long of a story for tonight, little thief.”

“You can't just dangle that little tidbit out there and then not respond!”

“I can and I will. It is late, and you're tired.”

“I am not.”

“You are, and I cannot count on your help to fight your way out of here unless you are rested. I gestured at the half wall behind which I knew was a toilet and rudimentary shower. “Do whatever you need to do. I’ll watch them.”

Justine looked at me for a long time and then stood. But before she moved past me, she trailed her fingers across my shoulders. “I don’t know what happened to you yet, but when I do, I’ll hunt down every single person who hurt you.”

“I know you will.” That is why I know you were meant to be mine.