Soul of a Witch (Souls Trilogy, #3)

by Harley Laroux

“Home is wherever I can keep you safe,” he said. He was still holding one of my hands, embraced between his palms. Irrationally, I longed to lean into his touch. I wanted to press myself against his chest, and finally, after so long, just be held.

But as he stood there shuddering with the effort to hold back, waiting for me to give him permission before he even touched me, I was so turned on I felt feral. Nothing I’d read about, no porn I’d watched, had ever been so erotic as simply knowing how desperately he wanted me.

“My loyalty is to you, and you alone. I relinquished fealty to Hell for you. I waited…for so…fucking long…”

“Fate took everything from me but offered you in exchange. Who am I to deny what fate provides? You know I saw you. I heard your voice and you were calling my name. Demons do not dream of witches, Everly.” On a sharp exhale, he continued, “But you’ve overtaken my dreams. A woman I don’t even know.

There were a million doubts in my mind but not one was stronger than my certainty.

“I’m not going to break you this time. But you broke me the moment I laid eyes on you.”

“My beautiful thread of fate. My lady. My mistress.”

“I could not own you any more than one can own the ocean, or a storm, or a forest fire. Those are not things one owns; their beauty and power cannot be claimed in such a way. But they can be chased. And they can be worshiped.”

“Literary pornography.” I smirked as I read the first passage on her marked page.

“There’s nothing wrong with what you like. Humans have such a ridiculous habit of shaming each other for what they enjoy. Erotica, porn, sex, unusual fetishes — so long as the participants are willing, there is no shame in it.”

From this day, until the end of eternity, we would be bound together.

“I bind myself to you, from this moment until the end of eternity. I offer you my obedience, my loyalty, and my protection, in exchange for your soul. I offer this willingly. I offer this desperately. Stay with me.”

She was mine. Entirely, wholly, irrevocably mine.

Laying my head against her chest, I listened to its beat, reassuring me with every throb that she was still with me.

I belonged to him, and my soul was destined for Hell.

“I have no reason to live without you,” he said, his sharp teeth clenched. “Perhaps what I’ve done was incredibly selfish, but I would save your life again. I swore to protect you, and now, I’m bound by the demands of our bargain to do so. No matter what it takes. No matter what I must sacrifice. No matter who I must kill. For you, I would burn this world and the next.”

This obsession might mean the death of me, but that is an end I will meet gladly. Humans have their deities, their great and powerful gods,

“You’re mine. You’ve always been mine. Even when this world is nothing more than ash and dust, your soul will belong to me.”

“Regardless. Fiancé carries the significance I wanted it to. Makes the point clear.” “What point is that?” “That you’re mine.” He crowded my personal space, pressing me against the wall as he caressed the back of his hand against my cheek. “Does that sound a bit too serious? I own your soul, darling. And unlike some others of my kind, that actually means a significant amount to me. Do you understand?”

“That I own you, body and soul, and always will. Humans do have difficulty with the concept of forever, after all. Doesn’t sit right in your sweet little heads, does it? But I’ll set you right.” He gave my chin a little nudge and grinned when my words came out as nothing more than a squeak.

But if I was going to be a villain, I would be hers. Her protector in the shadows, her tool of chaos. If I couldn’t charm her with poetry and politeness, then I would use the skills I did have.

“I am not a gentle creature, Everly. I know my flaws; I’ve lived with them for centuries. I know the places I fall short and I see it in your eyes when I do.”

“I offer you power, and yet when it comes time to relinquish mine, I struggle to do it

“I can protect you from harm, but I can’t protect you from what you feel. But I can give you shelter to experience the emotions you need to. If you need to speak, I want to listen. I want to understand.”

“Face me. Teach me. Let me learn how to take care of you.”

“Thank you,” he said. I was quite certain I should have been the one thanking him for going to all this trouble. Looking at him curiously, I said, “For what?” With a heavy sigh, he closed his eyes again and leaned back. The sun kissed his skin, turning that pale flesh faintly golden. With the soft, airy tone of someone on the verge of sleep, he said, “For giving me peace.”

As the knife sliced me again, drawing across my chest with gentle brutality, I said breathlessly, “Fuck, I love you.”

But I would make up for that. Eternity was ahead, and I would spend all of it repeating those words in any way I knew how. Her face was still so close to mine, and she whispered, “Say it again.” Smearing my hand through my own blood, I lifted my arm and traced my fingers across her chest, spelling out the words. “I love you,” I said. “I love you more than life itself, more than my own freedom. For you and you alone, I’ve stayed alive, Everly. For you, I would face everything I ever feared. I’ve lived a thousand lifetimes and I swear I’ve loved you in every one of them.”

“For so long, you haunted me. The familiar face of a stranger in a hundred lifetimes. As if we were always circling each other, two planets in cosmic alignment, thrown into a continuous loop by the power of one another. I waited for you, before I even knew it was you I was waiting for.”

“To my last breath, I’ll fight for you. Beyond this life, beyond death, I’ll love you always.” “I love you. My guardian. My demon. My warrior. We’ll find our way out of the dark. Your war will end. You’ll lay down your weapons. We’ll have peace.”

“To you, darling. You will have me in life. I will keep you in death. For eternity, I am yours, and you are mine.”