Page 56 of Tortured Soul
She studied me for a beat, her eyes drifting repeatedly between Dimitri and me.
“We’ll see,” she said, standing up. “For now, he’ll need to go with Arc to settle the paperwork.”
I nodded. “Sure, we’ll—”
“Not you,” she interrupted, lifting her hand to stop me. “Have a seat, I’d like for us to have a word.”
Dimitri tensed again next to me, gripping my hand harder. I gave him a reassuring squeeze and met his gaze.I’ll be fine, my eyes said to him.
“I’ll see you at home as soon as we’re both done,” I said out loud.
He frowned, uneasiness and anxiety clearly visible on his atypical handsome face. Our hands unclasped after everyone else had already left the office, and he followed reluctantly.
I sat, exhaling slowly.
Carrie stared at me with narrowed eyes.
“He’s your mate, isn’t he?” she asked, her voice surprisingly kind.
I darted my eyes away, worrying my lower lip.
“I can see it in the way he’s looking at you. Occupying the space around you,” she mused. “There’s a lot of history there, isn’t it?”
I scoffed. “That’s an understatement.”
She tilted her head to the side in wonder, her demeanor a far cry from our last exchange in this same office a week before.
“Why has his curse taken over?” she asked, her voice displaying actual confusion. “Was he already old when you met? Already too far gone?”
I didn’t answer, my stomach churning with guilt.
“I know we’ve started out on the wrong foot. And I apologize for my past words. I’ve been meaning to for the last week, but could never find the right time. I’m doing it now. I’ve been unfair. Suspicious, when I shouldn’t have been. I understand that you don’t want to talk about your private life and relationships with me, but I’m the commander of the guards here. I need to know if a newcomer is likely to cause trouble.
“And I don’t understand what’s happening between you and yourfriend. He’s your mate. And his curse has taken over.Completely, it seems. I just want to understand why.”
“Succubi and Incubi don’t have souls,” I whispered, avoiding her gaze. I could hear her flinch and her back meeting the backrest of her chair. “When I became one, I broke him. I severed my abilities to ever bind myself to another soulmate.”
She cursed under her breath and I let out a dry chuckle.
“I’m the reason his curse won. And the worst is, he can still feel the dead link connecting us.Idon’t. Because my soul is gone, owned by someone who lied and manipulated me to get it.”
Our eyes met then. I wasn’t sure what she saw in mine, but hers were sad. Sad, but confused.
“You’re wrong,” she said, her voice soft. I tilted my head in confusion. “I mean, you’re right when you’re saying you don’t have your soul. I could feel from the start that something was strange about you. But it’s not all Succubi and Incubi.”
What? That couldn’t be right.
“When I confronted the demon the next day, he told me that it was that way. That he couldn’t hold his end of the deal and turn me into a Succubus without taking my soul.”
She shook her head, closing her eyes. “He must have lied.”
My heartbeat picked up and I stood up abruptly.
“What do youmeanhe must have lied?”
“I’m probably not as old as you, but I’ve been collecting souls for a long time,” she explains, lifting her hands in a placating way. “Selling your soul means giving away your control over it.”
I narrowed my eyes, searching her face.
