Page 38 of The Soulbond and Her Beloved

Her words were kind, but Daemonikai still felt uneasy.

“At your age, you have been through at least eight eclipse moon nights,” the Oracle said. “Seven of them went well. Just because the last one was bad does not mean the next one will be.”

They passed by the garden, its entrance framed by blooming flowers and Daemonikai stopped, looking at the vibrant archway.

The Oracle came up beside him, her staff tapping lightly on the ground. “Your woman and Vladya’s are in there, aren’t they?”

“How did you—of course, you know.” Daemonikai shook his head.

“Amidst the tragedy, the gods have blessed you with something beautiful.” She leaned heavily on her cane, looking up at him.

“They did.” Daemonikai eyes softened as he stared at the garden entrance. “Soulbonds, rare as they are, are instantly recognizable to our kind. We can always tell because of the connection we feel. How come I never noticed with her?”

“Because you were blinded by grief and suffocating from misery. How could your soul reach out to recognize what is yours when it was bleeding?” She paused, her gaze shifting to the garden entrance. “Just like Vladya, whose soul is… gone completely.”

Daemonikai’s head snapped toward her. “Vladya? Aekeira is hisSoulbond, is she not?”

“I am old, Your Grace. Sometimes I speak nonsense.”

He did not believe that for a second.

Her gaze returned to the garden entrance. “Emeriel Galilea Evenstone. Do you think the gods did not know what they weredoing when they created that girl for you? When they brought her to you?”

Daemonikai glanced at the Oracle.

“In a species with a declining female population, where one parent births six boys yet cannot have a girl child, a woman bore not one, buttwodaughters. What does that tell you?”

Daemonikai fell silent. He… had not thought about it that way before.

“Their mother, Pandora, was touched by a god.Ukrae. The god of powerful beings."

Daemonikai stared... speechless.

The Oracle nodded. "Pandora bore children who have love so deep, it spills over into everything they touch.”

Daemonikai had witnessed that firsthand. He stared back at the garden entrance.

Emeriel and Aekeira came into view carrying baskets full of plants. They were laughing, holding hands, their smiles radiant as they talked animatedly about something he couldn’t hear.

The joy radiating from them was like sunlight breaking through shadows.

“What better pair could Mother Fate have given to two males with more darkness in them than a night can hold?” the Oracle mused, low and reflective. “Two females with hearts so full of love, so willing to sacrifice, it eclipses even their will to live.”

Daemonikai’s chestached.

“Don’t I know that?” he murmured bitterly. Breathing deeply, he confessed, “Emeriel and I no longer share a bond.”

The Oracle remained quiet, listening.

“I do not think it’s dormant anymore—If it were—my soul is healed, shouldn’t it have returned by now?—I think it wassevered. I think Ukrae is angry,” he said regretfully. “Taking his sweet time giving it back. It worries me. What if he dissolved the bond completely?”

The Oracle turned to him, her golden-streaked eyes locking onto his. “The gods are not cruel, Daemonikai. They test us, yes, but they do not abandon us. The gods do not take lightly the bonds they create. Have you ever heard of aSoulbondthat was dissolved except by death?”

“It is quite rare,” he conceded. “Almost an impossibility. But so is a severed bond. So is coming back from feral and fast-healing from a dying soul. So is talking to one’s dead bondmate.”

“Hmm.” The Oracle grew thoughtful.

Daemonikai’s gaze drifted back to the garden. “Two weeks ago, all I wanted was to feel our bond again. To better protect her. To hear her call whenever she was in danger. But now…”

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