Page 124 of His Atonement

I shake my head. "I do not."

Thologar rushes me and gets right in my face. "We have made a deal!"

"A deal that was never going to happen the way it was meant to," I growl. "My mate offered her soul to me willingly, therefore cannot be damned to The End despite The Caster of Shadows’ request. I do not offer her body to you or anyone because she will be interred as fae, buried in accordance with their ritual so that she may reside in The After with The Maker as she should. No part of her shall go with you or The Destroyer this night."

The Caster of Shadows lifts an arm in my direction and I am immediately forced to my knees, my guts twisting, my skin on fire as his red light snakes out and wraps around my chest. "The deal has been done, demon. Her soul is mine."

"I… refuse…" I choke out as he squeezes the air from my lungs. "I refuse… to give her… give her up. I shall… shall keep her with me, go back on our deal and… and offer my soul and my freedom in her place."

He laughs, laughs loud and hard as my chest constricts further. "I do not accept. Your worthless soul means nothing to me. Your freedom even less. Her soul is mine!"

"Enough!" The Maker glides forward, her black light shining directly on my face. "You would offer what you covet most in place of your mate?"

"Yes." I choke out, my vision fading in and out as my lungs compress further. "I offer myself in her place!"

She lifts her arm, flicks her wrist and sends The Destroyer back a few feet, breaking his hold on me. "And why would you do such a thing, demon?"

I fall forward and cough until the veins in my neck nearly pop. "Because… because I love her… "

"Demons are incapable of love."

"Forgive me, Creator, but… but it is not so in my case." I draw lungful after lungful of air. "I love my mate deeply, love her more than I thought possible and would offer myself in her place that her soul may reside with you where it belongs."

"Why?" she asks, her curiosity evident and something I'm hoping to use to my advantage.

"She offered her soul willingly, sacrificed it in order for me to obtain what Thologar promised me, gave herself freely so that I may have my soul returned to me and no longer be enslaved to The Caster of Shadows."

"Terms I never agreed to!" The Destroyer barks before He turns His wrath on Thologar. "It appears my son has gone rogue, has added lies to my request for the purest of souls. Ueltorrhzan was never to acquire his soul or freedom as punishment for his many failures, he would remain indentured to me in addition to obtaining a soul I had always coveted as further torture. I never agreed to such things."

"A request you made knowing you had no right to make it!" The Maker sends The Caster of Shadows back further. "The souls of all beings I have created in my image belong to me and me alone unless tinged by your evil ways. You shall never have what is mine!"

"The deal is done," he spits. "The human's soul is mine!"

"The Sinner's Sacrifice!" I blurt. "I request that I be able to perform The Sinner’s Sacrifice for my mate!"

The room falls silent for a beat before The Maker moves closer to me, her black light reaching out to force my head up. "You are not fae."

"No, but I was taught by them. The king and queen themselves taught me of love and various bonds, showed me what it means to have both and shared the many ways one can express them. I humbly request to perform The Sinner's Sacrifice in order to save my mate from a fate worse than death, one she does not deserve to suffer because of my lifetimes of sin."

"Request denied!" The Destroyer shouts. "You are not fae, are nothing more than a disgraceful, sorry excuse for a demon and will not change what has—"

"I will allow it." The Maker speaks over her brother. "I will allow the demon to perform The Sinner's Sacrifice in order to try to save his mate’s soul."

I sigh in relief and bow my head in gratitude and submission. "Thank you, Creator of Life." Then I draw from what little strength I currently have. "What are your terms?"

She considers me briefly before stepping back. "For his disobedience to my brother, you shall battle Thologar in The Desolate Plane. If you succeed in killing the disgusting demon that has sired you, your mate’s soul shall return to where it belongs, go untouched by any evil and I will personally grant you your freedom from The Caster of Shadows and restore your soul to you."

"And if I fail?" Which is definitely not a fucking option now.

"Your mate’s soul will be delivered to The End, her body denied burial, and you will be denied death to remain in The Desolate Plane as a Fallen One, your own soul tortured for eternity by my brother himself."

"I do not agree!" Thologar shrieks as The Destroyer tightens His grip on him. "I do not agree to any of this!"

"You have no choice. You betray your sire, toy with souls and lives you have no say in, therefore you will be punished accordingly."

"You cannot! You have no right to do so! I only answer to The Destroyer! I—"

"And He answers to me!" she barks. "My terms have been given, my words spoken as truth!" Her black light falls over me as The Maker turns. "Do you agree, Ueltorrhzan?"

---