“In another life, maybe,” he whispered.
She pulled away from him, her eyes flaring with anger and desperation. “No,” she gasped out. “Thislife. You’re the other half of my soul, Daimon. You fill every empty space of my heart.” Her eyes widened when she realized what she said.
The other half of my soul.
“Evelina—”
“You are,” she said, louder this time. “Youaremine—my soulbonded.”
He swallowed as tears welled in his eyes. There would never be another he loved as much as he loved her.
She’d always been so much more than his first love. What they had was deeper than that, something he never thought he was worthy enough to have. Especially not with her. There was no doubt in his mind that his soul was made to love hers. He had always known she was the other half of his soul, the answer buried inside of him, waiting for him to accept it.
But he had never imagined Evelina loving him the same way back. How could the dark blood that ran in his veins be fit for a Woodland princess—a queen? She’d be binding her soul to his own, which was bound to Vidaris by fate. He would be dooming her soul to be as tainted as his, corrupting the goodness inside of her. Not only that, but the pain for both of them to be separated while bonded when he was inevitably forced to become the Lord of Shadows… They had both already lost so much, had endured so much pain.
“You’re going to be queen,” he said gently. “And Senna is going to be king. Being soulbonded won’t change the oath he’s already made to the crown.”
“I need you, Daimon. My soul is already yours to have.” She shook her head. “Our physical bodies may not be here, but I want to declare it here, beneath the stars of Eurydice, that I am yours.”
“My soul was never mine to give,” he added. “We’ve run out of time, Eve. Even if we wanted to do a bonding ceremony, the next equinox is months away.”
She reached forward and cupped his cheeks. “Then we do it here.” Her eyes lifted to the stars above. “We’re in the realm of the gods—we don’t need an equinox.”
He wanted this—blessed Divine, did he want to bind his soul to hers forever. But he knew it would be better to walkaway. To let her live the burdens of their fate free of him—a soul always fading into shadow.
Still, as his gaze met hers, he found himself asking, “How do you know?”
She shook her head. “Do you have any doubts we were made for each other? That our souls are two halves of a whole?”
He looked into her eyes, seeing this beautifully courageous woman refusing to back down. She was so much braver than he was; the least he could do was jump with her.
Besides, he couldn’t lie. Not to her. If he were a better man, he would tell her they weren’t made for each other, wouldn’t be selfish enough to bind her soul to his.
But he wasn’t a better man.
He wrapped his arms around her waist, and her hands slid around to the back of his neck.
“I can feel you.” He laid a hand over her heart. “Your pain is my pain; your joy is my joy. You were made for me, Evelina Manor—and I for you.”
She buried her face against his chest and he pulled her in close.
“Bond with me,” she whispered.
He leaned back and watched her closely. His heart raced. The wordunworthyechoed through his head.
“You’re sure?” he asked slowly.
The corners of her mouth turned upward. “I’ve never been more sure in my life.”
His fears quieted with her words—she always had a way of doing that.
She crouched down and picked up a jagged rock from beneath their feet. There was no Sacred, no temple or special dagger. It was just them and the stars of the Divine.
“Just repeat after me,” Evelina began. Her voice gained an ethereal quality, as if Eurydice was echoing within her. “I’m certain my soul mirrors yours.”
He hadn’t been to many bonding ceremonies, but theManors had been to hundreds. His hands shook as he looked down at her. He didn’t know how he got so lucky as to be the one she deemed the other half of her soul.
“And I’m certain that mine mirrors yours,” he answered.
