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  Father Giloth lost his bearings and gave into the sobs himself. He clutched her tighter. “And—I—you,” he managed to get out.

  He pulled away and kissed her on the brow. “Goodbye, my daughter,” he whispered. He turned away before she repeated the words, too overcome to hear them.

  Accacia looked around the deck and spotted Aleco off to the side. He stood alone with his gaze fixed on her. His face had a stoic expression, but she noticed the clear outline of red circling his eyes. He looked more handsome than she could ever remember seeing him. He was unveiled, outside in the rays of the sun, and his blue eyes matched the hue of the crashing waves. She stared at the outlines of his trim body through his light shirt and wished they could be together once more, but she knew that time had passed. The thought alone caused her tears to resurface.

  He walked to her, and her heartbeat quickened in her chest. She didn’t want to say goodbye—she didn’t know if she could. He read her mind. “Don’t say it,” he whispered as he kissed her tears away. He cupped the side of her face and pressed his forehead against hers. She felt his hot breath fall on her face and wished she could have him on that very deck. He read her mind again. “I’m still tired from last night.” He smiled.

  The gesture squeezed her heart painfully. He was trying to comfort her, make this as easy as possible for her, even though she was the one being spared the horrific crimes of the Continent. He would be stuck there, hunted for the rest of his life.

  The tears came—she couldn’t stop them.

  His own words were choked with tears. “Hush,” he whispered. “Please don’t cry.”

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I can’t help it.”

  “I know,” he said through his own tears. Aleco felt the vulnerability of his soul leak through. He wanted to shed his tears after she left, wishing to spare her the sight. He decided to give her his final gift. “I have something for you.” He pulled away from her and opened the capsule around his neck; the one she knew was empty. His Soul Catcher fell into his palm and he handed it to her. “I regret not sharing everything with you,” he said, “and I hope this makes amends for what I did to you.”

  She grabbed the Soul Catcher. The meaning of his actions flooded her body. He was so furious when she had pried into his past that they had almost parted forever. Now she was the closest person to him, and no one knew him better than she. “I can’t accept this, Aleco,” she said as she handed it back. “But I appreciate the gesture.”

  “Please, Accacia,” he said. “I want you to have it. Now you will always know what our time together meant to me.” He handed it back.

  Accacia wiped the tears from her face and looked at the gem. She withdrew her own soul gem and handed it to him. “Let’s exchange,” she reasoned. “You will know all my memories, and I will know all of yours.”

  Aleco looked down at her gem and smiled. He took the stone and placed it within his necklace. She did the same.

  “Thank you,” they said together. They both laughed with weak chuckles.

  “You should get going,” he whispered. “Weather is always unpredictable. Take advantage of its blessing while you can.”

  Accacia felt her heart pound while she stared at him. She didn’t want to be apart from him; she wouldn’t survive. Accacia wished she had appreciated him more when they were together. She regretted not accepting him into her heart long ago; he was already there anyway. Aleco was the only man she ever loved, and she couldn’t believe she was being forced away from him after she was finally happy.

  Accacia ran her palm across his face and kissed him, oblivious to sailors whistling from the ship. Father Giloth and the Naturalists were standing close by, but she didn’t care what they saw. His tears splashed onto her face, and her own tears ran down his neck. He squeezed her body to his chest and cupped her face, feeling the softness of her cheek. When Aleco pulled away, he was heaving with sobs. “I’m going to miss you so much,” he whispered. “You changed my life, Accacia. This is the first time I have ever been happy, ever been whole. You are my family—you are everything to me.”

  “I will miss you too,” she said through her own tears. She kissed his cheeks. “I’ve never been happier either, Aleco. You made me feel safe for the first time in my life, that nothing could ever hurt me. I am indebted to you for saving me—however many times it’s been.” They both laughed through their tears. “You saved my life,” she said. “How can I ever repay you?”

  “You already did,” he smiled, “and quite handsomely, I might add.” She blushed at his reference. He noticed the color of her cheeks and smiled. “After everything we have done, that makes you blush.” He laughed.

  The pain stabbed her heart as she looked at him smile. She was going to miss him—more than she thought she would. She hugged him tightly and buried her face in his shoulder. He returned her embrace with equal force. She drank in his smell, memorized the feel of his skin on her fingers, and the taste of his lips. Her sobs returned. They held each other for several minutes, neither one saying a word, and savored their last embrace.

  He pulled away and looked at her. “Accacia, I need to tell you something,” he said, locking his gaze onto hers. “It may seem redundant or obvious, after everything I’ve said to you, done for you, and done to you, but just in case it wasn’t clear—I love you.” Aleco searched her gaze for a reaction, but her face was already flooded with tears, and he couldn’t distinguish any new emotions. He noticed that even when she was drenched in tears, she was still absolutely gorgeous. Most people just look ugly when they cry, in his opinion, but not her. “And I will forever,” he added.

  She hugged him, and he embraced her. She said nothing as they held each other, and Aleco felt worried. He knew she loved him. He couldn’t understand why she didn’t confess it, in their last moment together—ever. Pain flooded his heart at her rejection. He thought her feelings were as obvious as his—but clearly he had been wrong. “Aleco—”

  “Shhh,” he hushed her. He didn’t want to hear her explanation.

  “I love you, too,” she whispered into this ear.

  Aleco shook as the words entered his head. He had suspected her feelings, but hadn’t always been certain of it. If he had known, he would have confessed his love for her months ago, without fear of chasing her away. He sighed in relief at the revelation, and happiness flooded his body—followed by a great depression at their current circumstance. But Aleco would never forget the words she spoke to him. She loved him. She loved him.

  “Accacia, I love you,” he repeated as he held her tighter.

  “And I love you, Aleco.”

  “Thank the gods.” He sighed.

  She laughed at his words. Accacia pulled away and looked at him one last time. She held back her next words since Aleco had instructed her not to say them. She was glad he did—they were too difficult to say anyway. She wanted her last words to be what they were—that they loved each other.

  She kissed him once more, and without looking at him, walked towards the ship. She crossed the deck and stood at the rail. The crew untied the ropes and tossed them into the boat then kicked off the wooden pier and sailed out to open sea.

  The wind billowed through her hair and tapered the strands around her shoulders. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, on the inside as well as the outside. He couldn’t believe he was watching her leave his life—forever. The sun glinted off her tan skin, and made her eyes shine a brighter shade of green, which he could distinguish even at that distance. She looked like the mermaids men depicted in statues at the keel of their ships. His heart tugged painfully as the ship sailed further out to sea. He watched her grow smaller and smaller as she left his sight. When he could no longer distinguish her form, or even the dimensions of the boat, he fell to the deck floor and gave in to soul-breaking sobs at the loss of his life’s love.

  About The Author

  E. L. Todd graduated from California State University, Stanislaus with a bachelor’s in b
iological sciences and is receiving her master’s in education. She works as a full-time writer and part-time editor. She lives in California with her friends and family.

  The Soul Saga

  Book One: Soul Catcher

  Book Two: Soul Binder

  Book Three: Soul Relenter

  Table of Contents

  Copyright

  dedication

  epigraph

  Severstein Sea1

  Orgoom Forest2

  Asylinth House3

  Morkarh4

  Roslyn Pass5

  Roslyn6

  Roslyn Thoroughfare7

  House of Asylinth, Orgoom Forest8

  Aleutian Keep, Letumian Province9

  Severstein Sea10

  Aleutian Keep, Letumian Province11

  Severstein Sea12

  Aequor Plains13

  Severstein Sea14

  Roslyn Keep15

  Aequor Plains16

  Serpentine Guild Hideaway17

  Chamber of the Vast18

  Vast Prison19

  Aequor Forest20

  Morkarh21

  Aleutian Keep, Letumian Province22

  Roslyn Thoroughfare23

  The Hideaway24

  Roslyn Thoroughfare25

  Orgoom Forest26

  Orgoom Forest27

  Asylinth Cottage28

  Asylinth House29

  Aleutian Keep, Letumian Province30

  Orgoom Forest31

  Orgoom Forest32

  Asylinth House33

  Roslyn Palace34

  Harbor of Orgoom Forest35

  About The Author

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