Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 35195 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 176(@200wpm)___ 141(@250wpm)___ 117(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35195 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 176(@200wpm)___ 141(@250wpm)___ 117(@300wpm)
I swallowed hard. That didn’t sound good. “What are those ramifications?”
“Total destruction of the universe.”
Oh…okay then.
“Your bond is woven too deep. If you were to be extinguished, Kellan’s pain would be too much. He wouldn’t return to his father, as is assumed. He would destroy everything. The pain would be intolerable, and yes, your soulmate is powerful enough to bring about the destruction of the universe. His power would be unmatched, except by a few.”
“I didn’t know Kellan was that powerful.”
“He’s a full demon, but he grows more powerful the longer he is bound to you. He has woven your bond so tightly that if you were ever killed, he would take all of your power. You both have pockets of strength that neither of you is aware of. He would seek those pockets and empty them. It would be enough to end the universe.”
My head swam with all this information, and the figure broke off into two parts. One female. The other male. The male stepped forward, and both spoke out loud at the same time. “We are both you: the feminine and the masculine. We are your pure goodness and your celestial spirit. We are here to guide you, instruct you, and protect you. We are you, but we are your human guides as well. We are all-knowing. The binding is almost done. We will join with you again, but to prevent this from happening again, your soulmate must be allowed to be himself. To deny oneself is to starve oneself. The universe survives on both sides of the pendulum. Each side needs to fulfill its destiny.”
“What does that mean...?” I trailed off.
There was another flash of light and a sudden burst of wind. It came at me all at once. I felt like a part of me had been stretched thin to stand apart, and now I was whole again.
I opened my eyes, finding myself once again in the backyard of Damien’s fraternity house, but it wasn’t Kellan staring at me. Or at least, it wasn’t the Kellan I knew.
Panic lurched up in me, seizing my throat. “What just happened?”
* * *
CHAPTER 10
A DOUBLY EVIL KELLAN
I raced against time, chasing after myself, after Shay, and then time stopped.
He’d made a lunge for her, intent on shredding her from the inside out, when she threw up a hand, and everything paused.
I fell back, feeling the force of her power as it seeped into me—both of me—and a pure essence materialized. It was Shay’s soul. I was held immobile. My other self was held paralyzed, and a needle appeared, much like the scythe that had appeared to me in the Underworld. Glowing light from Shay’s essence began to weave the separated thread into me, her light helping to infuse it.
It burned into my soul as the needle moved in and out. In and out.
This wasn’t entirely Shay, but it was her, joining the separation back to me with herself attached. The pain of her essence helped return that thread to me, not by its own spirit, but with her power infused.
It was painful, like surgery without anesthesia, but in the end, this extra power from her seeped into my being. I couldn’t explain it, but I had so much power, I was engulfed in it. It was everywhere. In me. Behind me. In front of me. Above. Beneath.
It stretched as far as the world I could see, and I saw it all.
It was all within my grasp. I could reach out and take it—that easy.
But I knew that wasn’t the truth. It was just a feeling, the false sensation of being the ruler over all kingdoms, my father’s included. It was intoxicating and heady, but I knew there was a caveat. Every cell in my being wanted to seize it, take it, control it, and do what I wanted with it.
But I did nothing, and after a moment, time slowly restarted again.
I returned to where we’d been, and everything was the same.
Except it wasn’t.
I was different. I was more.
I looked, and Shay was there. She was more too.
There was an otherworldly glow to her, and I felt it inside of me, too. I was the mirror to her. The opposite of whatever she was, but we were connected, and we needed each other. If we didn’t have the other, there would be complete and utter destruction.
I didn’t understand it, but I knew it.
I breathed it, and it was there.
I needed her to ground me as if I were a human who needed air.
I started for her, and she cocked her head to the side.
“You’re different.”
Her words echoed inside my heart chamber.
It was a jolt, but it felt like a purring sensation. A caress. I liked it.
I moved closer. “So are you.”
I reached for her, feeling her inside, but needing to feel her on the outside.