The Soul Bond (Rite World: Blackthorn Hunters Academy Book 3)

by Juliana Haygert

  Erin

  I walked from Rey’s townhouse back to the dorms like a zombie.

  What had I expected? That once I told him I had found a way of breaking the soul bond that he would give up on his facade? That he would hang on to me, beg me to not go through with it? That he would confess his love?

  Thing was, as much as I hated to admit, I didn’t think there was a facade. Before, I had my doubts that he was pretending to not like me, that he was pushing me away for whatever noble ideal he had in mind. But now … now I was starting to think he really didn’t like me.

  But what about the times he had kissed me? Was that some pathetic guy thing? He couldn’t resist a pretty girl who was willing to give him everything? Had he been playing with me? If it was, then he was an even bigger jerk than I first anticipated.

  A headache started blooming in my skull, probably from thinking too much. There was nothing more to think. Tonight, Rey and I would break the damn soul bond and he would be free of me, like he wanted.

  Just like I wanted.

  Right?

  Claire and Harper were waiting for me in my bedroom, with the spell book and the wand over my desk. With a sigh, I sat down on my chair.

  Harper leaned against the window. “Erin, I have to ask. Are you sure you want to go through with this? You heard my grandma. Once you do this, there’s no going back.”

  “It’s time they broke up,” Claire said, sounding harsher than usual. “I mean, they were never together, but he keeps pulling and pushing her. It’s annoying. I agree with Erin. It’s time to end this. If he doesn’t want to be with her, then they should erase all connections between them.” Claire lowered her voice. “This is the only way she’ll be able to move on.”

  “That is true,” I said, “but I don’t want to move on.”

  Claire frowned. “You don’t?”

  “By moving on, you mean finding some other guy to have a relationship with,” I explained. “I don’t want that. I don’t want a relationship. Not now, not in a few years.”

  “But …”

  “It’s okay,” I continued, not letting Harper finish her barely formed sentence. “I have bigger things to worry about. If I survive my father, then I’ll think about what comes next.”

  “You will survive your father,” Claire blurted.

  I snorted. “Yeah, because a half-demon like me stands a chance against the king of the underworld. Right.” Tired of this subject, I stood up. “You know what? I’m hungry. Who wants to go to the cafeteria and have dinner with me?”

  The girls didn’t object and followed me downstairs. A bunch of students were eating, filling half of the tables and chairs. In a corner, some demon hunters talked shit to a couple of half-demons.

  On another day, I would have gone there and joined the fight, and pushed those damn demon hunters away, but today … today I was too down to do anything. Even eat. I had lied about being hungry. I had wanted to do something instead of being holed up in my bedroom, wallowing in self-pity.

  To make my day worse, I ended up behind Ava in the line to self-service.

  Back to being a blond bitch, Ava turned around and snickered at me. “Hey, you. I feel irritated. I think that if I beat you up in a fight, I’ll feel better.”

  I brushed past her. “Not today.”

  “Hey! For old time’s sake! You know you like it when I hand your ass to you!” she shouted as I walked away, my tray practically empty.

  I sat at my usual table and picked at my food. A moment later, Claire and Harper joined me, their plates full.

  Claire frowned at my tray. “You said you were hungry.”

  I pushed the mashed potato and gravy with my fork—the only thing on my plate. “I think I lost it after bumping into Ava.”

  “Speaking of Ava, what’s up with her? I thought she was becoming more friendly,” Harper mused.

  Claire shook her head vehemently. “More friendly? No. She hates us. Didn’t you see that day when she yelled at us? That’s her normal behavior.”

  “Hm, it’s odd, then,” Harper muttered. “I could have sworn she was warming up.”

  This wasn’t the first time Harper had seen things not there. Before, she had also thought Rey really like me. All illusions.

  The two of them continued talking—about Ava, school, upcoming exams, the midterm games, whatever that was … Meanwhile, I was lost in my numb mind, wishing this day could be over already.

  I lay in my bed in the dark, trying to sleep even if for only a few minutes, but I couldn’t. Though my head felt like it had been stuffed with cotton balls, my body was uneasy, restless.

  I tried counting sheep, to pass the time, but that only made me aware of how long I still had to wait.

  After dinner, I retired to my bedroom. It seemed Claire and Harper wanted to get together and talk more, but I wasn’t up for it. So I took a shower, put on a clean combat training uniform, and lay in bed.

  All I was missing was the teasing tick-tock of a clock.

  Then I would go nuts.

  Finally, my phone rang with the alarm I had set—for two in the morning—and I jumped from my bed. My hands shook, my breathing didn’t feel right, my legs wanted to run, but I forced myself to take a deep breath.

  It was okay. It would be okay. This was for the best.

  I put on a jacket over my clothes, grabbed the book and the wand, and sneaked down to the foyer. Three seconds later, Claire and Harper joined me.

  “Ready?” Claire asked in a low voice.

  I didn’t answer. Instead, I jerked my chin toward the door. As silent as we could, we walked out of the building. Tiptoeing to the courtyard, we glanced side to side every few seconds, watching out for security guards who could be on patrol.

  Thankfully, we didn’t see any.

  I looked to the sky. The moon was a tiny sliver in a dark canvas and a few clouds covered the stars. Still, it was a beautiful night, only a bit too chilly for my taste. I tightened my jacket around me.

  Under the tree, I set the book and the wand on the ground. “You think you can start the silencing spell without me?”

  Claire nodded. “Sure.”

  “I’ll be right back, then.”

  With my heart beating through my chest, I walked to Rey’s house. I raised my hand to knock on the door, but it opened before I could touch it.

  He stood there. Impassive. Stoic. Strong.

  As handsome as ever in his dark combat clothes.

  My heart broke more.

  “Ready?”

  Rey’s brows knotted. “If you insist.”

  What did that mean?

  I shook my head and walked away, not interested in any more gray areas. Between us, it would be only white and black from now on.

  Rey followed me back to the courtyard. Under the blackthorn tree, he remained quiet while I helped Claire and Harper set up the silencing spell.

  Then, I took the wand and uttered the words in the spell book.

  A strong whoosh washed over us, the indication that the area around the courtyard had been sealed. Though this spell was called a silencing spell, it was much more than that. It also created a mirage around the designated area. If someone looked out from the Aster building, for example, they would see the normal courtyard. No students under the blackthorn tree. And if a guard walked around it, they wouldn’t see or hear anything, unless they bumped into one of us.

  This way, we could summon a demon and kill it without being afraid of getting caught.

  “I think we can start,” I said. “Claire, Harper, you two should stand back. Don’t interfere unless you have to.”

  Claire nodded. “Only if Tornar is too hard to handle. Got it.”

  Both girls took several steps back, distancing themselves from Rey and me.

  Then I faced Rey. My stomach tightened. I handed him the spell book. “Here. This is the chant.” I spoke it out loud so he would know how to pronounce it correctly. “We’ll repeat it while I start the ritual.”


  I turned from him.

  “Erin …”

  I stilled, but didn’t look back. “What?”

  I heard his sharp inhale. “Nothing. Let’s just get this over with.”

  What was left of my heart broke into a million pieces. Tears choked me, but I forced a long breath to calm down. I wouldn’t cry in front of him.

  I summoned my Dawnblade and started the ritual.

  22

  Rey

  I couldn’t believe I was going through with this. It was insane, right? And who said this ritual would work? Honestly, I was hoping it wouldn’t.

  Without much choice, I chanted the fucking words while Erin went around us, carving symbols on the patch of grass right in front of the tree with the tip of her Dawnblade. It was a witch’s summoning circle.

  Muttering the words with me, Erin came back and stood in front of me. She took the book, laid it on the ground, then picked up my hand in hers. She turned my palm up and looked into my eyes.

  At that moment, when her bright golden eyes were locked on mine, when she was holding my hand, so close to me, I almost told her the truth—that I loved her and that I didn’t want to break the soul bond.

  But I swallowed those words and manned up. This was for the best. This was what her mother would have wanted for her, if she knew about the soul bond. This was the best for Erin, no doubt. This way, she would have less things to worry about. This way, she would be in less danger.

  Erin drew the tip of her Dawnblade across my palm, and a red line of blood appeared. Still chanting, she closed my hand into a fist. Understanding what I had to do, I squeezed my hand and the blood dripped onto the ground, right in the middle of the crude summoning circle.

  Next, she repeated the process with her hand, her dark and thick blood mixing with mine on the ground.

  I watched as she winced, probably in pain because of the shallow cut. An urge to take her hand in mine, to wrap something around it, even my jacket, hit me hard.

  But I stood my ground.

  My teeth gritted, I kept on chanting while Erin picked up the wand—a long, wooden stick with symbols carved along the tip—pointed it to the ground, and swirled it, drawing some symbols in the air.

  A faint white light came from the summoning circle, and a tingling sensation crawled up my legs, the powerful magic pressing against me.

  It was working. It was fucking working, and soon Erin would be free of me.

  It was for the best.

  It was for the best.

  It was for the best, right?

  The ground underneath my feet shook.

  Erin and I took several steps back to steady ourselves as a dark cloud swirled in the middle of the circle, hovering a couple of feet from the ground.

  “You can stop chanting now,” Erin said, her wide eyes fixed on the cloud.

  The cloud stretched, becoming long and slim. And then it took shape. A male with milk-white skin, black symbols carved over his arms, pitch black eyes, big bull-like hooves and horns. The demon stood in the middle of the circle as if it owned it.

  From atop his seven plus foot height, the demon glanced down at us.

  “What do you want?” Tornar asked, his voice grave.

  “We want you to break the soul bond that connects us,” Erin said without any hesitation.

  Was this fucking easy for her?

  Tornar glanced from her to me. “Hm, that’s a powerful bond, but it shouldn’t be a problem.” The demon paused. “Just be warned. Once the bond is broken, there’s no way to restore it.”

  “That’s what we want,” Erin said, her tone flat.

  “As you wish.” Tornar clasped his hands together.

  The magic swirled around me. Desperation gripped my heart. No, no, I didn’t want to do this.

  I opened my mouth to stop this, to tell Erin we had to stop this, but before I could say anything, I felt it. A hand reaching inside my core, grabbing my soul.

  And picking it apart.

  I fell on my knees as the pain spread through my chest. Through my entire body.

  “We need to kill him,” Erin rasped. She too was on the ground like me, writhing in pain. “If we don’t kill him, he’ll escape.”

  Fighting through the pain, I extended my hand and tried summoning my Dawnblade, but nothing happened. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t even keep my arm from shaking, or my head upright.

  This was too fucking much.

  “What if we can’t?” I asked, my throat hurting with the effort to speak through the pain.

  “I-I don’t know.” Erin groaned and curled into herself, her body shaking uncontrollably.

  I wanted to reach for her, to smooth my hand down her back while the pain ran its course, but I couldn’t even move an inch, much less comfort someone else while I was going through the same thing.

  From the corner of my eyes, I saw as Tornar grew another foot or two and faced Harper and Claire. Both of them tried fighting him, containing him, but he was too much for them.

  Harper summoned her Dawnblade and advanced on the demon. Trembling, Claire did the same, but she didn’t look as confident with the sword in her hand as her friend.

  Tornar sneered as he rammed into Harper and flung her several feet back. Even though she was shaking from head to toe, Claire tried standing her ground, but the moment the demon swapped at her, she crumbled to the ground.

  That was it. The demon easily overpowered all of us.

  He turned to us, a wicked grin in his wicked mouth. “Thank you.”

  Then he fled.

  Tornar was now free to wreak havoc in the human world.

  And it was all because of Erin and me.

  I pushed up on my legs, but the pain shot like a shock to my limbs, and I ended up crumpling forward. Writhing on the ground, I gritted my teeth and tried enduring it.

  It had to pass. This pain had to end at some point.

  But instead of lessening, the pain only intensified.

  The last thing I remember seeing before passing out was Claire kneeling beside Erin, crying for her friend.

  23

  Erin

  I stared at the ceiling above my bed, not seeing anything.

  A knock came from the door, but I didn’t answer it.

  For a week now, I hadn’t done anything but stared at the white, plain, and mostly flat ceiling.

  The ritual had been successful, but all the rest hadn’t worked well. We were supposed to kill Tornar after the ritual, mostly a symbolic death, as he was enchanted to go back to his supernatural prison, until someone else summoned him, used him to break something, then killed him so he could do it all again.

  But we had failed that part.

  To break the soul bond, Tornar had to rip a piece of our souls out—I learned that only after the ritual—and that hurt more than being stabbed in the heart. The demon took advantage of our suffering and inflicted more pain on us.

  Then he escaped.

  There was a freaking curse-breaking demon on the loose, and it was all my fault. I should do something about it, go after him, track him down, fight him, kill him … but even thinking about that took too much of my energy. I didn’t have the strength to get out of bed lately, or even raise a finger. I wouldn’t be hunting demons any time soon.

  After Tornar escaped, Rey and I fainted because of the pain. When I woke up the next day, I was in my bedroom—Claire and Harper had called Harvey to help out. I was told Harvey had gotten Rey to his house too, but I hadn’t heard anything else about him since then.

  I lowered the neckline of my blouse and glanced at my chest. The mark was gone. Erased as if it had been a henna tattoo. And a part of my soul had been taken away from me. Just a tiny bit, but enough to make me feel broken. In pieces. Incomplete.

  I had been so sure that once the soul bond was gone that my feelings for Rey would disappear too. But that hadn’t been true. To be honest, I thought I was even more in love with him now, since there was nothing connecting us, no fate that tied
us together.

  It was only our feelings.

  My feelings.

  But if Rey had rejected me before when we were connected, now he was probably indifferent to me.

  And that … that hurt most of all.

  My bedroom door burst open and my mother stomped in. “All right, I’m done being patient.” She slammed the door closed. “I was considerate for an entire week while you went through whatever this is.” She wiggled her fingers at me, as if I had a contagious disease. “But enough is enough. You’re going to tell me what is wrong, and we’ll fix it.”

  I appreciated the sentiment, but there was nothing she could do for me. “I just want to be alone.”

  “Being alone and skipping classes won’t help you graduate.” She stood in front of me, her eyes impassive. “Whatever it is, you need to push through. You’re stronger than this.”

  Shit, how I wished that was true. “Just … leave me alone.”

  “Erin,” she snarled. My mother knelt down before me. “Listen to me. The midterm games start this weekend, and all third-year students have to participate.”

  “Midterm games?” I asked, confused. Something in the back of my mind sparked. I had heard about this. Third-year student didn’t have normal midterm exams. They have some kind of physical games to go through, to show all they learned so far. “Oh, shit.”

  “Language!” my mother snapped.

  “Oh, pardon me. Oh, poop,” I said, provoking her.

  She groaned, annoyed at me. “If you’re done joking, then I suggest you get your ass off that chair and get ready. The games are supposed to be fun, but they can also be brutal. You need to be ready.” She stood and smoothed out her suit. “Come on. You need to come to the arena and find out in which team you are on.”

  I stared at her. “What do you mean?”

  “Students are assigned to teams of three. Go to the arena, check in, and find out who else is on your team.” She offered me a small, knowing smile. “Pray they are as good as you are, because you’ll need them to win.”