Page 12 of Called By Fate

Vin contemplates my words for a moment, staring at me with those golden eyes of his. “Is it dangerous to do this? Will it hurt you?” he asks, always more concerned with my safety than his own as he cups my cheek.

“It’ll only weaken me for a bit, according to the Goddess.” I place a gentle kiss against his lips. “For you, it’s completely worth it. I’d give all of you a piece of me if you guys needed it.”

“You’ve given us that and so much more,” he responds. “I’ll gladly take a piece of your soul, Sadie, but only if you allow me to give you a piece of mine in return.” He punctuates his point with a soft poke to my chest.

I shake my head. “I couldn’t, Vin. Your soul needs to heal, whereas mine is fine.”

“I’m not negotiating on this, Luna. I want you to have a piece of me too.” I can see in his eyes how determined he is about this. It’s mixing with the love and adoration on his face.

Even though we’re on a time crunch, I decide to go along with it, knowing he’s not going to change his mind. “I’m not exactly sure how to do this, so bear with me, okay?”

“All right. Let’s do this,” Vin agrees.

I close my eyes to concentrate and let my magic guide me, urging it to give a piece of myself to Vinson, forever. I open my eyes to catch the shadows wrapped around me come to life, swirling as they form themselves into a ball. Opening my palm, I beckon that part of myself to me and instinctively place the shadows over Vin’s heart, watching as they dissolve into him.

The expression on his face can only be described as awe. He looks up from where the shadows—a piece of my magic and my soul—went into his chest and his face lights up like he’s feeling me inside of him. I’ve never seen him look so happy as he does in this moment, and it makes my heart leap for joy. For him.

Vin does the same for me, but instead pulls the power from his head. It’s golden, like his eyes. When he places the ball over my heart, I feel his essence enter me and it’s a shock to my system. For the first time, I canfeelhim inside of me. A piece of his soul, so wild and untamed. His foresty scent wraps around me, gifting me with his adoration. I love feeling him inside me like this. It’s foreign, but also not.

I know why he looks as happy as he does, because now I feel it too and it’s… unlike anything I’ve ever felt before.

So perfect. So beautiful. Mine,I hear him say in my head, and I blush.

“Ready to go home?” he asks aloud, and I nod, still giddy with the feelings coursing through me.

I bite my lip. "Wait, I have a question.”

“Ask me anything, Luna. I’ll answer it if I can.” His face is soft and caring as he gazes at me. It makes my heart swell knowing he means it.

“Do you think the shifters will follow me?” I ask, a certain vulnerability in my tone. I know it’s not solely my responsibility, but I want to atone for what they’ve been through. They deserve better. Plus, they’re my people too, and I’ll fight just as hard for them as I will for the Weavers.

Vin strokes my cheek. "I know they will," he responds with complete conviction. “Some of them will choose to stay with the Elders because that’s all they’ve ever known, but a lot of us want freedom and our salvation.”

I glance away from him. “I'm afraid, Vin.”

He brings my gaze back to his. "Of what?"

"Failing," I admit softly.

“I've never known you to be a quitter, Luna. Or a failure. You can do this. You have a whole Circle of Sworn rooting for you. We won't let you fail."

"You mean it?"

“Of course, my Moon.” The firmness of his statement fills me with joy because he doesn't even know I’m part shifter yet. So the fact he has such confidence in me before knowing is a testament to his faith in me. “Now, how do we get out of here?”

I pull out the small chunk of shadestone Bedi gave me after my ceremony and stare at it. Confusion rocks through me at how this small stone is both my ticket to home and a weapon of destruction. I'll never forget how Elder Reginald used my own dagger to kill Vin.

That's something else I haven't been able to figure out. How was he able to handle it? I thought only those who were considered worthy could wield it. And it certainly burned Elian's father when he tried to use it against us, so why not Reginald?

What are we missing?

"You're staring at that piece of shadestone like it holds the key to the universe," Vinson softly interrupts my mental thoughts, stroking his fingers down my arms.

I sigh. "Yeah, it's... Well, nothing makes sense. Reginald…" I have to pause and crush down the grief that wants to well up inside of me thinking about Vin’s death. "He killed you with a shadestone dagger—myshadestone dagger," I correct, guiltily.

“Don't,” he says, imploring me with his eyes to listen as he rubs his hands up and down my arms. “Don't do that to yourself, my Moon. It wasn't your fault.” When I look at him, there’s nothing but honesty written on his face.

"But wasn't it?" I whisper.

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