Chapter 35 #2
At the urgency in her tone, I back down. I’ll try to talk to Sin about his grudge later.
As we follow her into the room, a fresh wave of anxiety sweeps through me.
What could possibly be wrong now?
Sin closes the door, and Morgana’s gaze narrows on me. “You’re injured.” There’s a strain to her voice, like she’s trying to sound calmer than she really is.
“What?” I ask, bewildered.
“You’re what?” Sin whirls me around to face him, holding me at arm’s length as he scans me from head to toe. Panic bleeds into his words, “Kitten, why didn’t you say something? You’ve been healing people this entire–”
“I’m not injured,” I cut in, cupping his cheek in an attempt to soothe him.
He still looks unconvinced, and I turn to Morgana, ready to ask what she’s playing at. My frustration melts away, though, when I notice she seems just as concerned as Sin.
“It isn’t a physical injury. It’s deeper than that,” she starts, taking a step closer.
“The day I became the leader of the Shadow Realm, I was imbued with the power to sense souls, both living and dead. Just like every leader before me, it’s my duty to care for the broken spirits.
And Vivian, I’m so sorry, but your soul…
It’s deeply injured.” She all but whispers the confession.
A numb cold spreads through my body, and Sin pulls me back against him, wrapping possessive arms around me. The scent of woodsmoke envelops me, helping to calm my racing heart.
“That isn’t funny.” His tone is dangerous. “If this is some kind of ploy to–”
“She’s telling the truth,” I all but choke out.
Sin goes completely rigid.
Swallowing, I keep my attention centered on Morgana. “You’re right.”
“How did this happen?” Her inky black eyes are wide with horror.
“Leon. When he used his Destroyer power to break my mate bond with Sin, there was, uhm, collateral damage.” The words scrape at my throat. While I could already feel something was wrong, hearing it from someone else makes it feel real.
My soul is broken.
Morgana looks appalled. “I’m so sorry.”
Sin still hasn’t moved a muscle. His silence is deafening. And even though I fight it, a single tear escapes, rolling down my cheek.
“I’m not sure how you’re even managing to stand right now. You’ve seen what happens to the dead when they have a broken soul. If you haven’t already started to feel the physical effects, you will, very shortly,” Morgana continues.
“What effects?” Sin asks. It comes out as a threat, and the room is bathed in a red glow as his tattoos flare with power.
Morgana’s eyes shutter, like she’s loathing having to answer.
“You’ve seen the Forsaken. They aren’t… they don’t feel, not like we do.
When a soul is fractured, it becomes unstable.
The pieces start to rot. And the worse the fracture, the faster it decays, until eventually…
they’re lost. For a living person to experience it… Vivian, you’re dying.”
My throat tightens with every word. “How bad is the damage?” I manage to choke out.
Maybe this is one of those things that hurts a lot but isn’t that bad.
Maybe I have a low soul-pain tolerance.
The hope is fleeting. Because even without Morgana’s pitying expression, I can feel the jagged edges deep inside my chest.
Thousands of shards split by spiderwebbing cracks, slowly drifting further apart.
“It’s shattered,” she whispers.
Even though she confirms my suspicions, her words knock the air from my lungs.
“How do we fix it?” Sin grits.
Morgana averts her gaze and says nothing.
“How, Morgana?” he growls.
Finally, she shakes her head at me. “You can’t,” she chokes out.
The words land like a death sentence, and my knees nearly buckle when Sin’s warmth vanishes. In a blink, he’s in front of Morgana, lifting her by the throat.
She doesn’t fight him.
“Sin, what the fuck?” I shout, rushing over to pry him away.
His eyes are nothing but pools of red light when he turns to face me. Deadly intent radiates from him. It’s the kind I’ve only ever seen when my life is in danger.
He doesn’t release her. “She’s lying.”
“She’s your Keeper. You can’t hurt her. She wouldn’t lie!” I insist, stunned by his actions. I’ve seen Sin get angry before, but he’s never been violent toward the people he loves.
“I know she’s lying because she is my Keeper. I let her live after she sacrificed you, but I’m not going to let her continue breathing when she dares to do it again,” he growls.
There’s a slight tremble in his arm, and his face is strained, as if hurting his Keeper is physically painful for him. Still, his grip doesn’t waver.
My heart breaks as I look between them, and a new tide of guilt surfaces within me. They’ve been friends for over two thousand years, and now Sin is looking at Morgana like he might kill her. And it’s all because of my actions.
Morgana’s eyes don’t leave Sin’s, silently begging.
I can’t tell if it’s for forgiveness or for him to end it. I’m not about to find out.
“Sin, put her down. Now,” I order.
His gaze shifts to me, and he takes a shuddering breath before slowly lowering her to the ground. His power continues to simmer at the surface. Still, I’m taking it as a win.
“Why are you lying?” I ask Morgana, more hurt than angry. “We might not know each other well, but I know you wouldn’t do something to harm me, not unless you had a good reason.”
“No reason is good enough,” Sin snarls.
Morgana rubs her throat, looking at me apologetically. “As Sin’s Keeper, it’s my job to keep him safe. And I can’t tell you how to fix your soul without endangering him.”
I frown, fear and confusion twisting in my gut. “Morgana, I would never do something to hurt Sin. And why bring up my soul at all, if it could hurt him?”
She crosses her arms in a protective gesture. “Because I know you’ll want to reforge your mate bond… and I need you not to.”
“Like fucking hell, we won’t,” Sin growls back, but his power retreats.
His eyes widen as hope replaces his fury. He reaches for me, and our fingers curl together. He places a light kiss on my knuckles. “When we fix our mate bond, another piece of my soul will fuse to yours. It could repair the damage.”
Morgana is already shaking her head. “Only some of the damage. It would only slow the decay. It won’t cure her,” she corrects.
I nod but stay silent. I’m still waiting to hear why Sin is in danger.
“But a mate bond only works through an equal exchange. You each give a piece, and then the part of your soul that has been given is replaced by your mate’s.
To do any meaningful repair to your soul, Sin would need to give much more of himself,” she pauses to take a breath. “He’d have to fracture his own soul.”
Her pleading eyes find mine. “Reforging a mate bond may buy you some time… but ultimately, it will kill him.”