Page 101 of Soul of Salvation

She clears her throat. “When I was in the afterlife, I met your father.”

Every muscle in my body tenses, my fingers creasing the suddenly heavy paper in my hand. My chest feels tight as I stare at her unblinkingly, waiting.

She peers up at me, and those big, swirling grey eyes draw me in, slowly loosening whatever is fucking constricting my heart. “He had a message for each of you and asked me to tell you, but I thought it would be best if I wrote them down. A keepsake for his final words he wished he could have spoken, and this way you all can have privacy to hopefully get some closure.”

Swallowing roughly, my eyes zero in on the paper as if it will come to life and bite me. “This letter is for all of us?” I manage to rasp out, unable to tear my eyes away.

In my peripheral I can see her head shake. “No, this one is yours. I have already delivered your mother’s and brother’s letters to them.”

When the danger had passed, Fynn left to bring Emil and my mother back home, telling them the good news. But the best news was knowing they were safe.

Suddenly, my heart starts to race as it drums frantically in my ears. How many times have I wished that I could hear his voice again now that it’s started to fade these last five years? To have one more conversation or the chance to say goodbye?

My eyes are still locked on the parchment as Emma stands. “I’ll let you be alone to read it.”

As soon as the words leave her mouth, my heart sinks, and it’s hard to breathe. I can feel the blood drain from my face at the thought of her not being here. She’s the oxygen to keep me alive and the beat of my heart to keep it calm and steady.

Whipping my hand out, my fingers grasp her wrist, forcing her to stop her retreat as panic starts to creep in. “Please.” My broken whisper is barely audible over the crackling fire. When I finally manage to shift my gaze, I look up at her. “Stay.”

Wordlessly, she nods with a soft smile and climbs into my lap, wrapping her arms around my neck. The weight of her body against mine is comforting and I breathe in deeply through my nose and exhale out my mouth.

My grip shakes as I hold the letter up to her. “Will you read to me?”

Because I don’t trust my eyes to read the words he wishes to convey. I can’t. Already, my vision blurs. I blink it away and reach to grab my drink on the table beside me, tipping the rim to my lips. The bourbon burns down my throat, but it warms as it settles in my system.

Emma doesn’t say a word as the paper crinkles when she starts to unravel it, and I don’t dare to fucking look. I keep my eyes fixated on the flames feathering over the slabs of wood.

“Draven, my dear boy,” she quietly says as she shifts her hips to sit up a little higher on my lap. “I’m sorry I left you and never came back like I always promised I would.” My eyes squeeze tightly shut as she continues. “That has been my biggest regret, and I know there is no way for me to make that up to you now, but I hope you will forgive me.”

Bringing the glass to my lips, I struggle to swallow it down as my heart thumps unevenly.

Emma’s fingers softly play with my hair in a soothing way as she reads the next line. “There is not a day that goes by where you don’t make me proud.” Her voice wavers, making her draw in a shaky breath. “One day, we will be together again, but for now—”

A small sniffle from her sounds near my ear as a lone tear trails down my cheek.

“I will cherish the memories of our nights on the roof with all the stars in the sky above and the cool breeze that embraced us. Now, you have someone special to sit silently in the dark with. And boy—”

She pauses again, and when I turn my tear-soaked face to hers, I can’t help but wipe the wetness on her own cheeks away with my thumb.

Her breath hitches when she looks back down at the paper. “This girl loves you with every part of her soul. I can see it in her eyes, and it gives me peace to know your heart is protected and in good hands. And always remember that I love you with all my heart.”

Scrubbing a hand down my face, I try to pull in the overflow of tears prickling at my eyes. But I fail. They fall on their own and all I can manage to say is a choked, “Thank you.”

I set my glass down the moment Emma pulls my head into her chest, holding me like the world is erupting and she can shield me from the pieces falling. And I fucking let her. His words have torn fresh wounds into my heart, all the while stitching them back together. It was the closure I needed and never thought I would get. And I think my father knew that.

Words can’t express how thankful I am. What had been the kind of grief that kept me submerged beneath the surface is now a sorrow that pulls me back up to keep my head above water. His words are healing and so is my mate being here in my arms. She has no idea how much I fucking love her. And how every day we have together will be me cherishing her mind, body, and soul.

We sit silently in each other’s embrace while the orange glow of the fire basks us with its warmth. No words are needed as the night ticks by, and slowly, my heart mends.

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

Emma

We ended up falling asleep in the chair and woke to a dark fireplace that long since died away. I wake before him and can’t help but drink in every inch of his face. His hair is ruffled from my fingers sifting through it, his dark lashes that curl so beautifully frame his resting eyes. Stubble dusts his jaw and I just barely let my fingertips trace the sharp edge of it.

When I reach his lips, my fingers hover above a hairbreadth away. He is absolutely breathtaking. And mine.

My eyes drag up his face to look at the piercing glinting in his brow and how all the harsh creases fade away when he sleeps, looking so peaceful.

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