Page 76 of Eclipse Born

“The runes,” Cassiel said, his voice flat. “You traded your binding.”

I glanced up sharply. “That seemed to slip your mind during our little heart-to-heart, didn't it? The fact that I've got fecking Enochian symbols carved into my bones.”

“It wasn't relevant at the time,” Cassiel said stiffly.

“Not relevant?” I hissed, keeping my voice low to avoid waking Cade. “You tell me I'm a Nephilim, but leave out the part where my parents carved fecking angel graffiti into my skeleton? How is that not relevant?”

“The runes were protection,” Cassiel replied, unmoved by my anger. “They were keeping you safe, keeping you hidden.”

“From what?” I demanded.

Cassiel's gaze was steady. “From everyone. Angels, demons, anything that might want to use or destroy you because of what you are. Your parents knew the risk.”

“My parents who abandoned me,” I said bitterly.

“Your parents who saved you,” Cassiel countered. “Who hid you even from yourself to keep you alive.”

I wanted to argue further, to demand more answers about these runes, about what removing them would really mean. But there were more pressing issues at hand.

“Well, it doesn't matter now,” I said, holding up the vial. “Soon those runes will be gone, and we'll have Cade's soul back. Fair trade.”

Cassiel was visibly furious, his normally stoic demeanor cracking. “You don't know what you've done. Who you made this deal with. Zeryth isn't just anyone. He's?—”

“He's the bastard who took Cade's soul in the first place. And now he's giving it back.” I cut in.

“At what cost?” Cassiel pressed. “Do you think he's doing this out of the goodness of his heart? He wants you unbound for a reason, Sean.”

“I don't care what he wants,” I said, though the words rang hollow even to my own ears. “All that matters is that Cade gets his soul back.”

Cassiel studied me for a long moment, his ancient eyes seeing far too much. “You're afraid,” he said finally.

I scoffed, but it was empty. Because Cassiel was right. I was terrified. Terrified that Cade would reject his soul, that he would choose to remain hollow. Terrified that even with his soul back, he would never be the same. Terrified that I'd made a deal that would come back to haunt us both.

But fear didn't matter. What mattered was that Cade's soul was here. What mattered was that I wasn't too late.

“What have you got there?”

I stiffened at the voice behind me. Slowly, I turned. Cade stood in the doorway, his expression unreadable. Tired. Guarded. He wore only his jeans, his chest bare in the moonlight.

Cassiel was the first to speak. “Sean found a way to get your soul back.”

Cade's gaze flickered between us before settling on the vial still clutched in my hand. His breath hitched, recognition dawning in his eyes.

“You...” His voice was barely a whisper. Then, louder, anger creeping in: “You went behind my back?”

I exhaled sharply. “You wouldn't have agreed,” I shot back.

“That's not your decision to make!” Cade's voice rose, raw with anger and something deeper—hurt. I felt it like a knife to the gut.

“I had no choice,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “You weren't thinking straight. You still aren't.”

“Because I disagree with you?” Cade demanded, stepping closer. “Because I made a choice you don't like? That doesn't give you the right to go behind my back and make deals with...” He gestured to the vial. “Who was it? Demon? Angel? Some other monster we haven't even met yet?”

The accusation stung, especially because it wasn't entirely off the mark. “It's complicated,” I said, which was the truth but also a cop-out.

Cade's hands clenched at his sides, his jaw tight with barely controlled rage. “What did you trade for it?”

I hesitated, the weight of my decision suddenly crushing. That was all Cade needed.

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