The Opal Witch

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Soulmates and Search Parties

Declan

Declan was a traitor. Or at least, that's how he felt, listening to Bella and Gideon discuss the best ways to convince Lux to follow their plan. Because he knew how desperately Lux wanted to avoid this fate, but he wasn't willing to watch her waste away.

"How much time do you think she has left?" Bella asked. She had her elbows propped on the dining room table, and her face pressed into her palms. The angel rubbed her back in comforting circles, but his lips were pressed thin.

They were asking him. Of all the people in their daughter's life, Declan was her most trusted friend. Even after the things he'd done to her in the name of protecting her, she had confided in him.

"I don't know. I think it all depends on how often she uses her magic," he answered, unwilling to divulge her theory about their relationship. He could only imagine explaining to a girl's parents that having sex with their daughter might save her life, and on the off chance that he got her pregnant, their child would be condemned to death for the crime of existing. Yeah, he would pass on that one.

"She seems better around you," Bella said, lifting her head to study him. He could see the calculations running in the stormy depths of her gaze. Perhaps no explanations were needed, and- his pulse stuttered- perhaps Bella agreed with her daughter.

"I have noticed that her symptoms seem to abate when I'm near her," Declan conceded, shifting in his chair and looking up at the ceiling.

"What do you mean?" Gideon pulled out a chair and sat. "Do you feel anything different when you're around Lux?"

"Yes, I do. It's hard to explain since a sorcerer's magic differs from a witch's magic. We don't really have our own innate source to pull from. We use the magic in the things around us. When I'm near Lux, I swear I have my own source. Or it's hers, and she's sharing it with me. I feel complete. But it's even more than that. Something inside of me reaches for her."

Bella flinched and looked at Gideon. He nodded and said, "Declan, what I'm about to tell you cannot leave this room. There are two things at play here: both incredibly rare but similar. Are you familiar with the concept of soulmates?"

The young sorcerer snorted. "Yes, I'm familiar."

"But you don't believe. That's fine. I've always had the knowledge that such things exist, but I didn't truly believe it until I met my soulmate." The look Gideon gave Bella was filled with so much longing and heat, Declan was forced to look away. "Amongst supernaturals, it's the magic that is the first sign. It recognizes its mate first."

Declan thought of the way being near Lux had immediately felt right. Perfect. He couldn't argue. "But you said there were two things at play."

"This is going to be complicated."

"Witches and sorcerers are unique because they have two parts to their souls- a human half and an angelic half. It's why sorcerers and witches can't be together. It causes an imbalance in their offspring."

"An imbalance?"

Gideon exhaled, the sound thick with suppressed tears. "I think this might be what's wrong with Lux."

"But you're not a sorcerer," Bella pulled her hand from his and study the angel warily. "This is the first you've mentioned this."

"No. I'm an angel, and your soul is half human, half angel. It's your angel half which is mated to mine. Children of soulmates are powerful. It's something about the unity they're born from. When a witch and sorcerer reproduce, especially soulmates, the unity in one half of their soul fights against the other half. In every instance, they've become corrupted and had to be put down. It's like something is fractured inside of them.