Page 89 of Tortured Soul
I tilted my head to the side. “Why?”
“Because I acted on a whim. I saw you fighting to escape in vain and, once again, I couldn’t hold back.”
I frowned. Was that what Kai meant when he said he struggled with his demonic powers? And that I, somehow, made him more in touch with them?
“I—is it my fault?” I asked, but he was interrupted by the waiter taking our orders. The two minutes it took him to leave again felt like an eternity.
“I think so. I’m assuming the mating link binding me to you made that side more…difficult to ignore and repress.”
There was something in his eyes. A glint that made his dark eye almost gleam.
“Why did you sell your soul?” he asked, interlacing our fingers over the table.
Why did that make me feel calm when that question usually pushed me into a fight or flight response?
“He’s your mate too, zhizn moya. You don’t have anything to hide from him,” Dimitri’s words from this morning echoed in my mind.
And he was right, in a way. I had told Blake, after a little while. I didn’t have to go too much into details…
“I fucked up,” I said, trying to keep my tone as detached as possible. “Made a selfish mistake that resulted in my father dying. I made the deal because that demon said he could bring him back if I joined their ranks and became the first Succubus. The first of Lilith’snew project.”
My voice had turned bitter at the memory. At the way the demon had sold it, omitting the complete loss of my soul and what my existence would become.
Nothing more than a whore.
“The mistake I made was related to Dimitri. To the fact that he was my mate and Iknew. To the fact that my Father was against it.”
Arc listened, never letting go of my hand. His eyes studying me like my face could give him the details I was purposefully omitting.
“I regret that mistake every day.” I shrugged, as if it was no big deal now. As if I got over it.
I didn’t.
“Is it selfish that I don’t regret your choice? I might never have met you if you hadn’t done it.”
I forced a smile. “So you prefer finding your mate but not being able to bind with their soul, than living in ignorance and peace?”
“I wasn’t aware that humans could be Immortal’s mates too,” he mused, ignoring my remark. “Must be why some of us never find ours. I wouldn’t have found you if you lived a human lifespan.”
I could swear I felt the empty space inside me ache at his words. Like my soul, wherever it was, was pained at the thought that I might never have met more of my mates if I had taken the path that was meant for me.
The path that my parents tried to force me to follow.
“Maybe,” I simply answered, staring at his hand covering mine.
He moved it to slide his fingers between mine again.
“So, how do we get your soul back?” he asked after the waiter brought drinks.
I lifted a brow. “What do you mean?”
He grabbed his glass, bringing it close to his lips for a sip. “Well, if a demon stole it, it has to be somewhere. Probably back in Hell or something. There must be a way to retrieve it.”
“I wouldn’t count on it,” I gritted out. “I never heard of this demon again after that day, and he made me promise to never even say his name.”
He leaned forward and pulled on my hand to make me come closer. Once only a few inches separated our lips and I could feel his warm breath fanning over my face, he continued, a smile growing on his face.
“We just need to find that scum,” he said. “In case you forgot, I can kill lower demons. That can be a good motivator for uncooperative Hellrisers."
