Free Torn (Demon Kissed #3) by H.M. Ward Page B

save Apryl and undo the horrors I inflicted on Eric! Hope soared within me and deafened me to the solemn look on Collin’s face. If I’d noticed his expression, I wouldn’t have jacked myself up so high on hope, because as soon as he finished his story, I felt miserable.
    “Ivy, he gave me a piece of my soul. He said it was a down payment—a glimpse of what I would get when I completed my task. Kreturus went the Pool of Lost Souls and called my soul out. He took a portion of it and infused it into my Valefar body. My soul and my body were reunited. But, it didn’t work.” Collin released my shoulders and tipped his head toward the ground. The toe of his shoe scraped against the loose dirt. “As soon as my soul was reunited with my body, it became rancid—like it didn’t belong inside of me. When the Valefar killed me, I was a good man with a good soul. When Kreturus gave me back my soul, I was an evil man with an evil body. The good soul and the bad body couldn’t fuse again, not without force. So that’s what Kreturus did. He forced the soul to reattach to me, and in doing so, corrupted it. My soul had to become like me to live within me.”
    Collin laughed coldly, folding his arms tightly to his chest. “I thought I outsmarted Kreturus. I thought that piece of soul would free me from him, but it turns out he outsmarted me. Because it doesn’t matter how pure my soul was before, there is no way it will merge with my body ever again - not after living the life of a Valefar. But when he forced it, he forced the evil from hundreds of lifetimes onto that tiny piece of soul. And no soul could bear that kind of abuse. That bit of soul wasn’t enough to free me from being a Valefar. It wasn’t enough to lift the curse that binds me to Kreturus.” He looked haunted, revealing a memory filled with pain that he didn’t want to relive. He bargained with Kreturus.
    And lost.
    I threw my arms around him and kissed his cheek. He wouldn’t look me in the eye, so I placed my hands on his cheeks, and turned his face toward me. Looking him in the eyes I said, “It was still you who saved me. It was your soul, no matter how tiny, that saved me the night Jake tried to kill me.”
    The intensity of his stare worried me. He heard my words, but it wasn’t enough. He shook his head, disagreeing with me. “It was also my rancid soul that made you what you are. Ivy I did this to you. I set this whole prophecy into motion. It wasn’t you. It was me. I’m the one to blame, and it was all because I couldn’t accept my fate and live the life I’d been handed.” A violet ring formed around his blue eyes as he spoke. Rage stirred within him as he took on a vacant expression, no longer looking at me, but staring at nothing. Life as a Valefar was a horrible injustice and there was no way to change that.
    I nodded, “You’re preaching to the choir.” His head snapped towards me and I swallowed hard. Whenever he was enraged, I put my soul at risk. He could snap and suck it out of me without another thought. And apparently, I could do the same to him. The idea ignited a hunger inside of me that had been dormant. It wasn’t the bond, and it wasn’t lust, although I had plenty of that. It was raw hunger, but the feeling didn’t come from my stomach like I needed food. It came from somewhere else, deep within, and felt like I needed…I cut off the thought and jumped away from Collin before I could finish the horrifying conclusion. What if he saw that soul lust within me? My arms wrapped tightly around my middle as I paced. What was I becoming? Why was my Valefar side growing? It was becoming stronger and more demanding.
    What’s wrong? The thought brushed my mind as his hand touched my shoulder gently.
    I turned toward him, forcing a fake smile onto my face. The ring of purple had faded from his eyes. “Nothing,” I lied. “I just know exactly how you feel. I thought my life would be different. More… normal. Like right now, I