Page 45 of Commanding Flame and Shield
“That sounds bad.”
“Not bad. But it complicates your scenario a bit.”
“Oh good. It wasn’t, you know...complicated already.” He chuckled anxiously and ran his hand over his hair again.
“Fuck, this is awkward.”
August raised his eyebrows, but he seemed to know what was coming because he suddenly narrowed his eyes and then wrinkled his nose disapprovingly. I huffed.
“God intended the marriage covenant to start at consummation.”
“I’m afraid you’re a bit late forthe talk, coach.”
I laughed. “Now that you’ve awakened, the dimension your soul is on—it willholdyou to any contracts you make now, in a way your human body didn’t. Ascended souls are entangled, not just for life—but for the afterlife too. When we truly mate, we bond in such a way that our souls re-circulate, together.”
“So, Fae—”
“Had not known a man in any ascended lives before she found Alec. They’ve fallen and risen together both times since.”
“Damn. I mean, that’s kind of cool though. Takes the sting out of the loss a bit, knowing they’ll come back?”
“I wouldn’t know.”
August winced.
“It does seem to bring them some comfort. Except for the fact that they basically throw themselves into impossible scenarios to re-circulate with their mate’s timeline.” The horrifying image of Alec diving into a battlefield of Renown he’d known he could never come out of slammed into me. Fae had already fallen. August’s eyes widened.
“So, you—Aren?”
I shook my head slowly. “Neither of us have found the soul we’re bound to. And so, we wait.”
“For centuries?” His tone was dubious.
“For a millennium, evidently.”
His eyes grew wide, but there was a respect there, too. “Damn. I can’t imagine.”
“I mean, Aren has dated—Christ, have youseenthe man?—but he learned about soul-entanglement the hard way. And takes eternity very seriously after over sixteen centuries. Can’t blame him.”
“No. I guess not. But damn.”
“Layla—” I hesitated.
“Would be alone. In her afterlife.”
“Her soul would wait for her partner for eternity.”
Silence hung, heavy as the impending death between us. Finally, August’s eyes found mine again.
“Can you see her?” He tapped his temple.
“If you stop shielding me, I can look for her.”
“Her future, I mean?”
I nodded, embarrassed I hadn’t yet had the courage to look—I selfishly didn’t want to know if he would choose her. “Pull in your shield.”
He closed his eyes, and as I felt his energy draw back into his core, the hair on the back of my neck stood up, goosebumps erupting down my arms.
