“Correct. There is no hurry, Lyall. Go slow and steady. And remember not to give yourself away,” Azrael cautioned.
I gave him a stiff nod and sat at the edge of the altar. I took Eleni’s right hand in mine, and she held onto it with what little strength she had left. The trust with which she gazed upon me did the funniest thing to me. As arrogant as I could often be, this task felt beyond daunting. But at the same time, the strangest confidence settled in my heart. Pharos and Azrael both said there was a path to success. My own eyes saw her long thread of life. And more importantly, my love for her dictated that I wouldn’t fail.
“Ready, my love?” I asked.
She smiled and nodded. “Ready.”
Taking a deep breath, I invoked my divine light and stared at the Amulet. The soul contained within nearly leapt at me. The instant greed I previously felt with Azrael struck me even harder this time. This was my soulmate, the other half of me right there for the taking. She could entirely be mine, our souls as one, no more talks of leaving for fear she might turn into something too dangerous for me.
No word could describe the potency of the temptation that burned in my gut. I severed the connection before I could give in and looked at my mate to find the flimsy remains of her soul still within her vessel. It took me a moment to figure out how to establish some kind of bridge between my woman and the amulet. And then, I realized that it was just like when I streamed a mystifying illusion towards one of my prey. That changed everything.
Keeping the connection with that white flame, I glanced back at the medallion and started tugging on its contents. Once more, it seemed to want to rush towards me, but I pushed it away towards Eleni’s white flame. The part of her soul contained in the amulet resisted at first, seeming determined to drain my mate further or to come to me. However, the more it challenged me, and the more of my divine light I used to push it forward. Itquickly dawned on me what Azrael meant when he warned me to be cautious not to give myself away.
The closer I got to the seat of Eleni’s soul, the more my divine light wanted to go to her. I had to hold it back while still pushing her own soul towards her. It was a slow and arduous trickle as I funneled her back into her vessel. But as the Amulet started to deplete, the transfer quickly accelerated.
My joy at seeing her finally becoming whole quickly shifted to worry. Eleni was no longer simply trying to reclaim the remaining parts of her soul from the Amulet. I could feel her actively tugging at my own soul, trying to draw me in. The more I resisted, the harder she pulled. Soon, it felt like a gaping hole of darkness was trying to flood into me through the psychic bridge I had created.
On instinct, I blasted a wave of divine light at that darkness. It immediately receded, but my mate’s claws shot out of her fingertips, and dug into my skin, piercing it. I clenched my teeth but didn’t pull away and focused on my task. As the last slivers of her soul transferred out of the amulet and into her body, Eleni’s features began to shift, taking on the demonic traits I had witnessed twice before, during the battle in the Sanctuary and when the Djarins attacked us.
However, the demonic traits previously looked almost like a ghostly overlay on her face. This time, a physical reshaping was clearly happening. Two sets of black horns extruded from her forehead, the main ones about twelve centimeters long flanked by two smaller ones about half their length. A smattering of dark scales spread over her forehead and the sides of her cheeks, with bone ridges protruding above her brow, giving it an ominous edge. Around her irises, a glowing gold ring appeared, granting them an otherworldly appearance.
I freed my hands from her hold. She immediately sat up and grabbed my upper arms, digging her claws in while hissingat me, her teeth bared, revealing a small pair of fangs. In that instant, I could almost see the war raging inside of her between the light and the darkness, each one attempting to establish dominance. I didn’t pull away from her even as blood began to trickle down my arms.
I cupped her face with both hands, and she hissed even more viciously. On instinct, I sent a sliver of my light into her. With a will of their own, my light wings extruded and wrapped around her. Eleni’s pupils dilated, swallowing her irises only to be stopped by that new golden ring surrounding them. Part of her feral stance faded, replaced by an air of confusion.
“Esto quod es, my love,” I whispered, eyes locked with hers. “Be what you are, in all your beauty, in all your glory. Do not fight your darkness. It is not your enemy, just another facet of your perfection. You are my soulmate, my heart, my everything. Do not fear the unknown. Embrace all that you were always meant to be.”
A powerful shudder coursed through her. Confusion gave way to fear, and an almost pleading glimmer flashed through her otherworldly gaze.
“Do not fear, my love. Be what you are. I will not let you fall.”
Somehow, those last words seemed to get through to her. She took in a deep breath, her body stiffened, and then she let go. She threw her head back and breathed out in a raspy exhale. Mesmerized, I stared as a wave of energy radiated out of her, and the air shifted all around us. A few more scales appeared on her shoulders, and a few strands of her hair took on a fiery tinge. They weren’t flames, but they seemed to glow from an inner fire.
Mouth open, her head still thrown back, Eleni blinked a couple of times as she stared at the skylight without truly seeing it. I kept holding her, giving her the time she needed, my wings still wrapped around her. And then she lowered her head to look at me.
“Lyall,” she whispered.
“Yes, my love. It’s me,” I replied, fighting the overwhelming emotions sweeping through me.
She threw her arms around my neck and crushed my lips in a desperate kiss. I emitted the strangest chuckle, driven by happiness, relief, the endless terror that had been eating away at me ever since the witches had ripped out part of her soul, and a mix of infinite love and gratitude. My heart full to bursting, I returned her kiss, pouring into it every ounce of the depth of feelings she stirred within me. We broke the kiss, and I rested my forehead against hers, savoring the moment. She tore off the necklace, threw it on the floor, then sunk her fingers in my hair. We quietly remained like this, in perfect communion.
Movement at the edge of my vision drew my attention away from my mate.
My jaw dropped when I found my mother standing next to Azrael, as well as Pharos and Haroth standing next to their father. Eleni gasped, her eyes all but popping out of her head as she stared at my mother.
“The Weaver?” Eleni breathed out, stunned.
“Mother,” I said as she started walking towards us.
Eleni jerked her head towards me with a shocked expression. “Mother?! Did you just say mother?”
“Huh, yeah,” I said sheepishly. “I told you my mother was special.”
“But the Weaver?!” Eleni exclaimed, flabbergasted.
But my mother stopping in front of us silenced my mate. Eleni stared at her in complete awe and disbelief.
“See how beautiful you are Lyall, now that you’ve stopped fighting your inner light?” Mother asked. “Are you finally at peace?”
