Suddenly, I feel a slight vibration, a hum of energy. It sounds like music and birdsong. My magic streams towards it, hope building in my chest. When I find her soul, it's hiding in a dark corner, trembling. But the music is like a soothing balm. I coax it out of the darkness until it's close enough for my magic to caress. Briar's soul leans into my power and I can feel it's trepidation.
But I found it.
My own soul is much more easy to grasp. It rises willingly, eager to reach Briar’s. I feed her portions of my soul, building up her own with my magic. My lips caress hers, kissing her gently but wholly. She doesn’t stir as our souls twist in tandem and dance together—searing into one. The sensation is like a drug in my veins. My mind drifts into the pleasure of kissing her, peace easing my muscles. Slowly, her lips move against mine. I slip my tongue into her mouth, tasting her.
Our souls explode inside her, and her body shudders as she comes to awareness. Light floods through me, batting at my darkness. I let the heady sensation run through me. I’ve never felt life without my ever present darkness, and somehow I feel like I could float in the warmth of her light forever. The thought sends warning signals flitting through my mind but I’m drunk on our tangling souls.
Her hands rise, fingers curling into my hair. I pull her closer to my chest and withdraw my power now that her soul has been restored, bolstered by my own. Her breath comes short and fast and she arches into me. I pull away, leaving her keening. She stares up at me, black eyes bright with awareness. I sag into her, shoulders curving with relief. Her eyes are filled with disbelief and confusion, even a hint of fear.
I can’t stop myself from pressing my lips to hers again with relief. I’ve lost friends and lovers to enemies before. But it’s been years since such a thing happened, and I forgot how hollow such a thing can make me. But I haven’t lost Briar, and the relief has my heart soaring and my blood humming through my veins. Her lips are soft and supple, molding to mine. She follows my lead, letting my tongue ease her lips apart so I can taste her again. She sighs against my lips and I feel her nipples stiffen in response to my slow kisses. I tug at her bottom lip, fangs scraping against the soft flesh of her mouth.
Warmth blooms in my chest, pooling through my body like a slow-moving river. I don’t understand the sensation, but it’s comfortable and exciting. Briar presses into me hungrily and I can’t stop my thoughts from flitting to her body naked, dripping wet, only last week. I bite back a growl of desire as the vision plays over my mind. Instead of running my hands over her body and tearing the buttons off of her dress, I dig them into the small of her back.
Mine, I think as Briar clings to me. Briar is mine again.
Chapter 19
Briar
I'm swimming from the depths of the ocean, focused on the beacon of light glimmering above me. I push, struggling to reach up. Something tugs me down, back into the abyss. But I don't want to go back to the dark loneliness of that place. I kick and thrash until the darkness releases me. I surge upwards, fingers outstretched to the light. Music floats through the water towards me; it's familiar and peaceful. I want to reach it.
Slowly, darkness pools over the light above me, blotting it out. I don’t feel the same ominous emptiness from the darkness, and so I continue to struggle upwards. But the light pierces through the dark veil, burning the shadows away. I feel my fingers slip above the water, into the warmth of the light. And then I crest the water and take a deep lungful of air.
My eyes fly open and all I see is Kane’s pale skin and his thick brows. His hair is sweaty, matted to his forehead and nothing like the well-groomed elegance I expect from him. His lips are on mine, moving gently. My heart hammers at the realization that Kane and I are sharing our first kiss. Panic slips through me when I remember the Nephilim. But he’s nowhere to be seen, and I feel safe and whole in Kane’s arms. I let the pleasure of his kiss push away the fear until I feel heat wash through me. Desire builds in my core, throbbing and desperate. I gasp, unused to the sensation. His tongue is in my mouth, tangling with my tongue and making me think of the different ways he could use it. Heat creeps to my cheeks as I flush, but the excitement of this first kiss has my mind scattered.
Kane pulls away, panting softly. I study his face, noting for the first time how youthful it looks. He normally wears such a harsh expression that it ages him. Now, he looks my age. He stares at me in silence and lifts a hand to brush a leaf from my hair. I shiver in his arms. This version of Kane, panicked and sweet and gentle, has my heart thrumming with uncertainty. His fingers curl into the small of my back and I can’t help but think of those long, elegant fingers trailing over my skin. I blush.
“How do you feel?” He asks, eyes sharp and piercing.
I press my hand against my chest, where I felt a hollowness before. “Whole
