Page 53 of Destined to the Reaper

“It will feel strange, but it will not cause you any pain,” Pharos warned in a reassuring tone.

“Okay,” I breathed out.

I rolled my shoulders and stretched my neck to release some of the tension building there. After shaking my hands to further loosen up, I gave him a stiff nod indicating for him to proceed.

He smiled again, then raised his blades in front of me. Very carefully, he poked the tips of each scythe in my chest, or more specifically into my lungs. I expected the sharp sting of a piercing wound, but it only provoked a cool sensation followed by a tingling. I stared in fascination as the ethereal blades sank deeper into me, the coolness of the tips reaching the base of my spine.

With the blades halfway in, Pharos stopped, and his eyes began to glow an intense red. Simultaneously, I felt a powerful tug, like when Cornelius was trying to pull Pharos back to him during the transfer I gasped, and my hands latched on to his waist, my nails digging into his skin.

I hadn’t meant to do that. Startling Pharos might cause him to involuntarily harm me. To my relief, he remained stoic, his eyes locked with his scythes, entirely focused on his task. The pulling sensation intensified. Like he had warned, it didn’t hurt, but it certainly wouldn’t qualify as pleasant either.

To my shock, the bones at the base of the blades of each scythe—and which gradually turned into the staff—began to fill with a bright and mesmerizing light. I didn’t need him to tell methat it was my essence infusing his primal blades. His ghostly scythes were an integral part of him, just like I was now.

For the briefest second, the nagging voice of doubt attempted to rear its head again, whispering that this might have been a mistake. But I immediately shut it down. It was done. And even if I could turn back time, I would still make the same decision.

A few moments later, Pharos pulled out his scythes. The cold sensation waned with their removal. A quick assessment of myself didn’t indicate any perceptible change. If not for him telling me this process had resulted in him now owning my soul, I’d have no way of knowing.

The affection, gratitude, and wonder shining bright in his eyes as he gazed upon me had me weak in the knees.

“My Kali…” he whispered with something akin to awe. “Thank you for trusting me. You are mine forever. And now, I will be yours forever as well.”

I blinked, confused as to what he meant. Before I could question him, he leaned forward and claimed my mouth. My lips voluntarily parted when he demanded entry. However, instead of the passionate, deep kiss I expected, I was shocked to receive instead a blast of energy similar to when he had transferred his soul to me in the crypt. It lasted no more than a few seconds, but even as he pulled back and straightened, I could feel his essence inside of me.

I pressed two fingers to my lips and stared at him wide-eyed.

He tenderly caressed my cheek as he studied my features with that same deep affection.

“I cannot give you my soul the way you gave me yours. But I can give you a part of me to always keep with you,” he softly explained. “I cannot take it back. Only you can return it should you no longer wish to have me—which I hope will never happen.”

Tears of joy pricked my eyes. I never would have demanded or even expected him to reciprocate in any way. But this cemented my conviction that I had made the right choice.

“My Pharos,” I whispered before melting against him.

We kissed again, this time for real, each of us expressing the depth of the feelings bubbling inside us and steadily growing for each other. He truly was my soulmate. Whatever the future held for us, we would surmount it together.

With much reluctance, we parted. I silenced the part of me that wanted him to carry me back to either one of our rooms and further seal our new bond in all kinds of naughty ways. But we had a serious matter to resolve before we could indulge in building our future together.

“We need to deal with Cornelius now,” I said with a frown.

He nodded, his expression hardening at the thought of his nemesis. “We do, but not now. Cornelius just arrived in Sageville,” he explained at my surprised expression.

“Sageville? How do you know?” I asked.

“I can feel him. I can teleport to people with whom I have formed a close bond. A simple thought suffices for me to know exactly where they are, and how to get to them.”

“That’s perfect!” I exclaimed. “Then we should go right away and take him out before he’s ready to perform his ritual.”

He shook his head and gave me an apologetic look. “We can’t. I need him to release my scythe from the secure location he currently holds it in. There are too many wards and protections on it. Cornelius is no fool. He will not make things easy for me. But even if I was willing to risk that, he has locked himself inside the Glocker Manor. There is no direct path to him. He stacked every possible banishment ward he could so that he could prepare. Only once he’s ready will he open them.”

“So you can’t teleport directly inside?” I asked, my shoulders slouching in advance as I already guessed what his answer would be.

“Correct. It is very much like with the crypt,” he explained. “Too much magic bars my ability to teleport within its walls. I can do so outside, but I would rather not. Cornelius knows the extent of my powers and limitations. There’s no question he will have set a trap to ensnare me should I be so foolish.”

“So what do we do? Ride there? It’s at least four or five hours,” I said pensively.

“We will fly,” Pharos replied. “You weigh next to nothing, and it will take me less than an hour to get us there. Then we can scout the perimeter and figure out the best way in.”

I nodded, my eyes flicking from side to side as I ran a variety of scenarios in my head.

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