An Echo in the Sorrow (Soulbound, #6)

by Hailey Turner

Patrick bit his tongue so he wouldn’t say something he’d regret about how anything with magic could become a weapon. He was living proof of that.

“Then eat something. You can’t have got much sleep last night.” Jono picked up half a sandwich. “I got enough.” Truth be told, it wasn’t much, but the hour-long nap he’d snatched in bed with Patrick that morning after closing up the bar had been worth it. Holding Patrick in his arms always put Jono in a better mood these days.

These days, Jono couldn’t imagine his life without Patrick in it. Soulbond aside, they were never going to walk away from each other, and helping out with Sage and Marek’s wedding had got him thinking about his own future with Patrick. They were already bound to each other, having promised to never leave, but Jono wouldn’t mind seeing Patrick wearing a wedding band. Maybe it could happen someday in an unknown future where Patrick’s soul debt was paid and the war dogging their heels was over.

He wouldn’t mind killing the bloke, but Jono had listened to Patrick whinge about leaving someone alive to question plenty of times.

Patrick arched against the pressure and the touch, humming softly, eyes still closed. “Gonna have to clean me up again if you continue.” Jono kissed the corner of his mouth, rocking forward. “Travesty.”

Wade sat on the sofa covered in crumbs and the detritus of what looked like six Pop-Tart boxes. Patrick followed Jono’s gaze. “Wade’s been stress eating.” “You almost get crushed like a soda can where the train you’re in is the can and tell me how you feel afterwards,” Wade retorted, opening another silvery foil packet.

“We’ll get through this,” Jono murmured against Patrick’s lips, kissing him softly. “Together.” Because that was the only way they’d ever stand against the world.

The lessons Patrick had learned at her hands had taken root in ways that would never die off. Ashanti had taught him to always question what was demanded of him and never put his faith in the gods, even her.

Patrick pressed his lips into a hard line, thinking about his words for once. He’d always been less knee-jerk in his responses when standing in front of Ashanti. If she didn’t like his answer, she tended to cuff him upside the head. Lucien would punch him in the face. As far as love taps went, he’d take Ashanti’s any day over her child’s.

It would be more than a fight, but a sacrifice—one Patrick might not ever escape from. He’d known that since he was a child.

The gargoyles were keeping those ones at bay.” “At least those stone rats are good for something.” Jono quirked a tired smile at him. “Be nice, love.” “They’re messy. They leave pigeon feathers everywhere and try to steal my coffee when I leave for work. They don’t even do that to Wade.” “They know Wade wouldn’t stand for it.”

“I supported you.” Patrick kept his eyes on the road, ignoring the way his stomach twisted in his gut. “Maybe. But a house doesn’t make a home if you’re a burden to the people in it.”