Page 167 of As Above, So Below

With a wave of my hand, darkness billows between us, producing his contract. “I release you Alaryc Witherhorn. I consider your contract fulfilled and hereby relinquish the binding of your soul in service to me.”

The contract ignites, turning to ash in a matter of seconds beforeit falls to the ground, pieces swept up in the breeze. A tingle runs down my spine, the demon mark vanishing from my skin.

The window in the hall of my mind slams shut, glass shattering before disappearing—the whole corridor going dark, the gold rope gone from view. There’s no more channel, no more connection between us.

So why do I feel him still?

“Ending the contract doesn’t change anything.” He gives me a soft smile. “I have failed in proving that to you, it seems.”

My heart pounds with his words. My panic, fear, andsharp, selfish regret of releasing him overshadow everything else. It turns me scathing and bitter.

“You mean proving youloveme, Ryc?” I ask, spitting the words at him in an emotion-driven snarl. “Demons do notlove. I cannotlove.”

Ryc’s smile grows, and gods damn that handsome face.

“What we have goes beyond love,” he says, the words hitting me square in the chest.

Reaching, he grasps the back of my neck, drawing me to him, resting his forehead against mine as my hands brace against his chest.

“You are my mate. Chosen by Nektos.”

His deep voice rings clearly through my mind, stealing the breath from my lungs. I should not be able to hear him—the channel between us should have been severed with the contract now dissolved.

And hearingthosewords—everything and nothing makes sense.

“How is this possible?” I breathe, my wide eyes growing narrow. “You lie.”

Ryc lifts his head but does not release his grip, his other hand traveling to my waist, drawing me tightly against him.

“I would not lie about the bond,” he whispers, slowly shaking his head. “I belong to you, just as you belong to me.”

Moments of our past flash through my mind.

Our eyes meeting for the first time three centuries prior, the pull in his direction during Celesta’s ascension, his scent unfurling around me the night of my induction, seeing him again for whohe really is on the rooftops in the Twilight Mire… It feels as if floodgates have been thrown open following days of heavy rain and I’m being swept away.

I’m going to drown, dragged under by the current.

There’s nothing I can do to save myself.

And there, despite the lack of corridor, window, or obsidian wall, the gleaming gold braided thread reemerges in the vast darkness. It shines bright, glowing in the pitch black of my mind, humming with magic that sends shivers down my spine.

It had never been a demonic channel—it’s something else entirely, something that shouldn’t exist for demons.

“How long have you known?”

He studies my face, his thumb brushing against my jaw. “For lifetimes.” He brushes his lips against mine.

On instinct, my eyes close, my arms wrapping themselves around his neck, my fingers burying themselves into his hair. There’s a feather-light brush against my arms, and a swirling gust sweeps my hair away from my face. Opening my eyes, I find Ryc’s golden gaze as he pulls away and I gasp.

Gleaming white-feathered wings rise over his shoulders and extend into the night sky. I release him, stepping back, unable to breathe. There, undeniably in the moonlight, Ryc stands with a set of proud, expansive wings.

They dwarf mine.

Not the sinew and bone constructs of a demon, not a singular feathered pair like mine, of the winged fae… but rather the bright, feathered wings of the nyraphim, of Life Bringers.

“You’re a Life Bringer…” the words are barely audible to my own ears.

He nods.