“I understand your intent,” I said, “But demon souls aren’t like human souls. Unlike Sophie’s soul, which sought to connect with yours, Asher’s soul could possess you. It could destroy you. Or you could destroy him. We just don’t know, Gray. The risks are too great, the possible outcomes too many.”
Gray considered all of this, her lips pressed together in a thin line. After only a moment’s pause, she said, “That’s not a reason not to try.”
“But, Gray—”
“Liam. You keep telling me this magic is a gift, not a curse.” She raised her hands between us, her dark blue flame surging into the night, flickering the same shade as her determined blue eyes. “Well, this is our chance to find out.”
I felt my human mouth curve into a smile, and a feeling inside my chest I couldn’t name sparked to life. “Indeed it is, little witch. Indeed it is.”
Forty-Five
Gray
I was back in the attic.
“Gray?” The whisper floated to my ears.
After several heartbeats, I took a deep breath and opened my eyes.
I heard nothing, saw nothing, felt nothing but the demon before me, pale and shattered, fading from this realm.
“Whatever you’re thinking,” Asher said, his head lolling forward, “don’t.”
Looking at him strapped to the chair, bruises covering his face, blood pouring from the gashes in his chest, I steeled my resolve.
His voice was faint, his body broken, his essence dimming. But the fire in his eyes blazed as bright as it had the day we’d met.
“Whatever horrible things you’ve heard about me, they’re all true…”
“Please,” he whispered, almost begging now. “I’m not worth…”
His words trailed off into a cough, blood spraying his lips.
He was wrong. He wasmorethan worth it. Between the two of us, maybe only one would make it out of this room alive. If that were true, it had to be him; I couldn’t live in a world where he didn’t exist. Where any of them didn’t exist.
This was my fate. My purpose. My gift.
There was no going back.
I held up my hands, the indigo flames surging bright in the darkness.
And as I reached for him, I closed my eyes, sealing the memory of his ocean-blue gaze inside, knowing it could very well be the last time I saw it.
Acting purely on instinct, I guided my magic forward, searching for his soul. There was no fear this time, only decisiveness. Only hope.
“Gray…” Asher was fighting me with everything he had.
Fortunately, he didn’t have much.
I nudged harder, seeking his boundaries, pushing past them, trusting that Liam was with me. That he’d follow through.
Seconds later, Asher’s resistance finally broke, and I opened my eyes.
He was unconscious, his body slowly shutting down.
The mist of his soul slithered from between his lips, dark gray and eerily beautiful, points of light sparkling behind it like stars in a stormy night sky. Slowly, carefully, I drew it inward, feeling it slide into me, seeking its mate in my soul.
His sweet-and-spicy demon scent surrounded me—ground cinnamon, hot peppers, candle flame—calling up a memory of the day we’d first met at the park. But that memory was quickly chased away by others—memories we hadn’t shared. Memories that belonged to Asher and Asher alone, from a time long before I was even born.
