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After a moment's silence, Daithi sighed. “You are still angry with me.”
After waking up this morning to such a turbulent situation, I’d put yesterday’s anger at Daithi to the back of my mind. I tried not to look at him so I wouldn’t be frustrated, but as he stared at me with emotionless, dismissive eyes, the fury I felt came rushing back.
I clenched my teeth and glared at the wall. “Clawdia suggested that perhaps I was wrong to assume your vision was one of us trapped. Perhaps it was one where you saw us escaping, so you thought we didn’t need your help.” I looked at him for a clue that she was right and saw nothing. I continued, “But she's being far too generous in her judgment of you, isn’t she?”
His jaw clenched. “I have to protect my soul mate.”
His avoidance told me all I needed to know. He saw us trapped and chose to ignore our plight.
“You had time to unearth fifty buried demons. You portaled forty-nine of them back to their home but couldn't think of any way to help us without endangering Savida? I find that difficult to believe.”
“Perhaps I could have. I apologize for not having that thought earlier, but my priority was ensuring Savida was safe and happy.” He looked at Savida, who sat forlorn with his wings drooped and his head bowed. “You don’t understand.”
I ground my teeth. “What don’t I understand? I almost lost my soul pair in our attempt to rescue Savida. We risked everything, and you couldn’t return the favor?”
“It isn’t remotely the same. Soul mates—”
I interrupted. “Yes. Don’t think I missed your soul mate revelation. Why would you keep that from me? What aren’t you telling me?”
Savida whimpered, and his head fell into his hands. “You are going to be angry.”
My stomach dropped as my suspicions were confirmed. “I’m already angry, Savida. I want the truth.”
Daithi patted Savida on the back, his green brows drawn and skin paling. “We didn’t want to tell you because having a soul mate requires a full soul. Which you didn’t have.”
“We didn’t want to hurt you with our happiness,” Savida added.
I scoffed. “That’s ridiculous. I always understood that there would be no romantic love for me without my soul pair.”
Daithi slowly shook his head. "Nor with a soul pair. Soul pairs have occurred through the unnatural and horrific process of splitting a soul in half. I theorized the process of splitting might warp the souls, that the damage and trauma through many lives would have changed their shape. Their magic would cement a bond, but the splintered souls wouldn’t be able to connect emotionally.”
Charlie had come back into the room unnoticed and startled us as he said, “You’re saying that soul mates are made to be companions, but soul pairs are like evil twins?”
“It’s not how I would have phrased it, but the premise is correct. I assumed Zaide’s pair would allow him to get his power and fertility back but that love wouldn't factor into it at all."
Silence followed. My mind tried to understand his words because his tone suggested this was nothing but an uninteresting fact. However, the pain in my heart told me this was significant.
"You don’t think soul pairs can love each other?" Charlie questioned, disbelief clear in his tone.
I shook my head as Charlie often did to dispel his thoughts and pointed, "You told me they did. You said we were looking for my other half, someone I could love."
Daithi closed his eyes. "You weren't interested in getting your titan gifts or having intimacy. You wouldn't have wanted to stop searching for your family for any reason other than a true love. Someone who longed for you as much as you longed for them."
"You lied," I choked out, the pain of his betrayal tightening the knot in my stomach.
Daithi continued, “I cannot guarantee my theory is true, but it was after studying souls and titans and watching you both that I confirmed my belief. I don’t believe the soul pair bond creates an emotional bond.”
But I love Clawdia.There was no doubt about it. Yet if Daithi was to be believed, I loved her in spite of the bond not because of it. I didn’t know if that was a good thing, since I’d promised her a guaranteed love from our soul pair bond.
Will she be upset when I tell her? Will she be relieved that it was our choice to love? Will she forgive me for being so misinformed?
“Are you fucking serious with this shit?” Charlie shouted, shocking us all. "You were going to coach him into a hump-and-dump situation so you could satisfy your curiosity about his powers? And when Clawdia also got her powers, what were you going to do with her?"
It was a good question, and his anger triggered my own. My fists clenched at my sides.
"Charlie, I'm not as villainous as you are making out. I didn't plan to do anything with his soul pair. She would have been free to live her life." Daithi rolled his eyes as though we were the ridiculous ones.
I took a calming breath before asking, "Did you free me with the intention of helping me find my soul pair?"
