My feet stutter to a stop. No more living halfway. I refuse to feel guilty about my feelings.
“No.”
Omen freezes, then slowly spins around. “No?”
I tip my chin up. “No. We're having this out right here, right now. No going inside. No banishing or vanishing until we've had a proper conversation. Oh, and if someone else shows up, I'm kicking them in the shins.”
His eyebrows rise with each word I say. “Shins? Worried you won't be able to reach their knees?”
“Listen here, bucko. Just because you're demons and I can't get my foot that high doesn't mean you have to point it out.”
He tilts his head, eyes narrowing, and I finally see the resemblance to his sister. “Don't love that you called me bucko.”
“Well, I don't love that you're keeping shit from me. What's soulbound?”
His throat bobs and he glances away. “Souls have holes in them. Not literally, obviously. They're like…”
“Puzzle pieces?”
“Yes. On their own, they function just fine. They're still a piece, but it doesn't show the entire picture. When souls find the pieces that fit their own, they become whole. They merge seamlessly, creating something new.”
“Their magic flows from one to the other,” I whisper.
He finally meets my gaze. “If one has magic, yes. I believe humans call it soulmates.”
“Humans are more loosey-goosey about it. At least, some of them are.”
“Some demons don't believe in soulbounds. There's a skeptic in every group. Keeps us from falling for fools, I suppose.”
“And we're—I mean, that's us? Is that why you came when I summoned a demon?”
He shakes his head. “You drew my sigil. Was there some divine force involved? I don't know. They're meddlesome, but also flighty. Might have been that damned book of yours. We could have gone our entire existence without meeting. And we would have been fine.”
“Fine, but not content. Fine, but not happy. Not truly.”
“It doesn't mean we have to…I didn't want you to find out,” he snarls, frustration sending his shadows whirling. Flames burst from his fingertips and lick up his arms.
“So you were never going to say anything. You came here for months, helped me when you didn't need to, you…youfuckedme. You did all of that without telling me we were soulmates—soulbound—and you had no intention of ever saying anything. You were going to disappear and leave me to be incomplete. Do I have that right?”
“I wanted you to choose me,” he explodes. “I didn't want to influence you, thinking you were stuck with me. Besides, none of that erases the issue of you being a witch. I can't stay on this plane without losing everything in Hell, including my magic.”
I nod, chewing on the inside of my cheek. It's a nervous habit I haven't done in years. While I don't agree with his reasonings, I can understand them. I also don't have a counterargument. Yet. With the fire blazing over his skin, I have a little time to figure it out.
“You wanted me to choose you, but didn't give me all the information to make an informed decision. Which is moot anyways, because if you wouldn't have sent me back, you would have known I was going to ask if I could stay in Hell.” It takes him a few seconds to process what I've said. “You let fear control you. What do you want, Omen?”
His flames wink out, his shadows dissipating until only he remains. Reddish skin glowing in the sunlight. A soft glimmer flickering in his eyes. Dark hair ruffling in the soft breeze. He's infuriating and comforting. He drives me up a wall, yet all I want is him to say he wants me.
“I want you to be happy. Blissfully, deliriously happy. I want you to thrive, no matter where you are. I want you to see yourworth—to know that you're enough. I want to know every single version of you. That's what I want.”
Tears fill my eyes and I swipe them away as soon as they escape. “Is there a way to put my house in Hell?”
He rocks back on his heels. “I could probably pull some strings.”
“You know”—I step closer to him—”I think you deserve happiness, too.” I close the gap between us, but he doesn't move to touch me.
“Don't tell anyone, but you make me happy.”
“Then I suppose we should try doing this whole happy thing together, shouldn't we?”
