Page 61 of A Soul’s Awakening

My magic knew what to do, and although I didn’t know who it was actually summoning, I trusted it completely. I could feel the heartbeat of the array beneath me, a living pulse responding to my fear, my resolve, my exhaustion. The array wasn’t holding me, it was listening to me.

I groaned, dropping my forehead to the concrete, the runes beneath my hands scorching into the skin of my palms. The lattice pulsed faster, faster, and I let myself fall into it, guiding the energy toward the center, toward the innermost circle, toward me, even as my body screamed for relief. Alistair might have been confident that I’d survive this, but I would never be the same again. Every nerve was on fire. Every breath was a battle. But I forced the magic to bend, forced it to flow, because if I failed now …

It wouldn’t just be me who paid the price. It would be Alex and the entire city of Salem.

27

Alistair’s sinister laugh sliced through me like a blade. “This is magnificent, Theo!”

My knees burned where they pressed against the cold concrete, slick with blood from both new and existing wounds. My arms trembled violently, fingers numb and blistered from the pressure of the sigils. Every pulse of the lattice drained me further, tugging at my magic like a tide pulling sand from the shore. I was hollow, a vessel ‌barely keeping myself upright, every muscle screaming in protest.

“I … can’t do this.” My chest heaved with ragged breaths that felt too shallow to fill my lungs.

“Hold on, Theo!” Alex’s voice cut through the throbbing inside my head. I glanced over at him, still bound in chains and being restrained by the broad-shouldered rift warden. “You have to hold on a little longer. Please. I’ll save you. I promise.”

A humorless laugh escaped my lips. Hold on a little longer? I admired his determination, but I saw no way Alex could save me. His magic barely listened to him. How did he expect to take down Alistar, Mandy, and the entire Syndicate base by himself?

Despite this, I could feel a faint pulse of Alex’s magic reaching out to mine, giving me the strength I needed to keep going.

“Complete the array, Theo,” Alistair demanded. “Find him.”

“Find who?” I spat a wad of blood onto the floor. “What the fuck do you want from me?”

And yet, as the innermost circle blazed with magic, I felt something tugging at my senses. It was weak, splintered, but alive, and it pulled at something deep inside me. My magic surged instinctively, threading through the runes, weaving stability into the array as the silver chains bit deeper into my flesh. Every spark of red energy that shot across the sigils felt like it was ripping at the edges of my own being, threatening to tear me apart entirely.

I glanced over at Alex. He looked nervous, but his gaze wasn’t focused on me. It was staring off toward the entrance to the bay. With my vision swimming, I couldn’t tell what had caught his attention, but I could have sworn I saw a shadow dart behind a tank.

All that was left was activating the last part of the array … the one that made me a living anchor, the emotional core needed to find the missing person the Syndicate was after.

My hands trembled as I slammed my palm onto the final rune, forcing the last shreds of magic from the hollow ache in my chest into the carved sigil. For one breath, nothing happened. Then the innermost circle erupted chaotically around me, red light shooting upward in a blinding column as everything snapped into perfect synchronization. Pressure crushed inward against my ribs, prying at my chest as if something inside me was being forced open.

Beneath the roar of magic, there was something faint and fractured. It felt like a heartbeat, but it wasn’t mine.

My magic reached out and locked onto it, the array narrowing around that distant pulse. I felt it shifting closer, and as it did, I saw it: dormant runes flared awake in violent synchronization with mine, reviving the innermost array with a flood of bright light.

Red light burst around me, and matter knitted together at its center. It reminded me of Thomas when I had released him from being trapped in that urn. At first, bone traced itself in lines of white light. Muscle layered over it in slow, horrifying precision. Then skin followed, translucent at first, then solidifying.

The sight froze me solid. The naked man’s eyes were closed, the figure was merely a body, an empty shell void of life. He was thin, his skin slightly tanned but lacking luster, his light brown hair tied back into a bun.

Caspian.

“You’re not done yet,” Alistair roared. “Find his soul! Bring him back alive!”

His soul? Alive? Caspian had given up his soul over a hundred years ago, and gave up his life when his magic latched onto me instead. Was there even anything left of him to find?

My hands trembled faster, palms burning against the sigils as I desperately tried to keep the array steady. As much as I craved to release Caspian from this horror I’d dragged him into, letting him go now would only bring him endless pain and suffering, a half-broken body with no soul, no will to live.

I squeezed my eyes shut, guilt gnawing through me for everything I’d risked, everything I was about to do. My magic, the magic he’d gifted me, was seeking its original owner, bringing him back from a death he so desperately yearned for.

When I forced my eyes open, a yellow flower petal drifted past my face.

“What’s going on?” Alistair demanded, his voice sharp as more petals floated down from the ceiling. “What is this?”

“Theo.” I looked over at Alex and froze. He was smiling … a small, subtle, half-crooked smirk I was well familiar with. Except not from him.

Electricity snapped violently through Alistair’s body as the petals landed on his skin, forcing a grunt from his throat as the current locked his muscles in place.

Alex’s form flickered. The glamour cracked like light through broken glass. His features shifted, reshaping into a tattooed demon with tousled auburn hair, sharp jawline, and angular nose. Maroon eyes met mine, filled with fierce determination.