Page 111 of Bonds of Starfall

"In a way," Auren replied. "That is where it all started." He held the doctor’s eyes as he said, "Vesperin and I are Soulbonds. And I know you are her Soulbond, as well."

His arm dropped, the muzzle of the gun falling to point at the floor, dangling from the doctor’s limp fingers. Like all the air had been sucked from him, he stood deflated on the other side of the desk.

Auren inclined his head to the chair. "I believe you should sit, Lucien. As I said, I am not here to hurt you, I am here to help you—to help Vesperin."

Lucien sat heavily, and Auren did the same, leaning his scythe against the desk as he sat on the small chair across from Lucien. The gun rested on the desk, and Lucien stared down at it, eyes wide.

"What do you know?" the doctor rasped.

"I know that you have been trying to keep Vesperin safe, on your own," Auren started. "I know that you are being used by Blackfall Industries, and I know that you are being threatened."

"How—" Lucien cleared his throat. "How?" he finally settled on, the word a mere exhale.

"Since you and I first… met"—Auren doubted the first time he had cornered the doctor could be called a mere meeting; it had been a warning, plain and simple—"I have been digging in the shadows, and what I saw hidden there, it frightened me."As he spoke, he realized the truth in it. And across from him, Lucien’s jaw dropped slightly. It was no feat for an immortal to be scared, yet, here he was—deeply, deeply concerned about what was transpiring here, with Blackfall Industries, the Aetherborns, and Vesperin herself. "I do not frighten easily, Lucien, that is why I’ve come to you. To offer my help, but to seek your own, in turn."

"What could a Soul Searcher need from me?"

"Your knowledge. Your position," Auren said.

"My position?" Lucien questioned.

"Sabine and Talor Blackfall are using you, and I believe they trust you, as well as they can. It is that trust, I desire."

Understanding flashed in the doctor’s eyes. "You want me to spy on them for you."

"More than that—I want you to help mebring them down."

Lucien drew a sharp breath. "How did you come to know of Vesperin and me’s connection? And how can you be her Soulbond, as well? You are a Soul Searcher. Immortal. Have you known her longer than that day you brought her to the hospital?"

There was a wariness in his eyes, in the set of his shoulders. Auren knew it would take more than a common enemy to bring them together.

"My name is Auren Neris. I met Vesperin Vox the first time on Earth. I have known her for three lives, and each one, I have been forced to reap her Soul." The words dredged up such painful memories. "I have loved her and waited for her for centuries. Until now. That day when she collapsed and was admitted to the hospital. What did she tell you of it?"

"Merely that a Soul Searcher had brought her there."

Auren held Lucien’s eyes, then he told him everything.

Starting with that day, when he had first seen Vesperin in Nova Zone 21, then, again, entranced by the girl who held thesame softness as the one of his memories, yet tainted by a cold persona, with hair and eyes and skin, leached of all color, of all warmth.

He told him of how he had been searching for answers to why she no longer remembered, and how the search had led to Blackfall Industries, and Sabine and Talor, who had been illegally experimenting on Aetherborns, trying in vain to replicate the perfect storm that had bred Vesperin.

This, the doctor knew, and his knuckles grew white, shame falling over him, but Auren had not lied—he did not fault Lucien for trying his best. He had put himself on the line to keep their Soulbond safe. And now, he would no longer have to do so alone.

Throughout it all, the doctor was silent until the last word fell from Auren’s lips, and a strangled sound tore from the doctor’s chest.

"She’s your Soulbond," Lucien breathed.

"As she is yours," Auren countered calmly.

"Do you know about Kiton?" His words were shrouded in pain and grief.

Auren nodded, just once. "I know that he was subject to many of the experiments Vesperin endured at the hands of the Blackfalls."

"Then, you must know he is—he has died." Lucien’s voice broke, grief cutting his words off jaggedly. "On a mission off-planet. But Auren, I do not believe it was a mere accident."

"Neither do I." Auren held his eyes. "That is why we need each other, to keep her safe.Together."

Rin’sskin was sticky with blood.