LOST AND FOUND

SEAN

I found Cade already asleep, sprawled across our bed, his chest rising and falling in an easy rhythm.

For a moment, I just watched him. The weight of what I had done sat heavy in my chest, but in this moment—seeing Cade safe, breathing, untouched by the horrors he couldn't remember—it almost felt worth it. Almost.

The soul vial felt impossibly heavy in my pocket. Zeryth's words echoed in my mind.

I wasn't sure how long I stood there, just watching Cade sleep.

In rest, he looked like himself again, not the empty shell that had been walking around.

The streetlight filtering through the blinds cast stripes across his face, highlighting the familiar curve of his jaw, the slope of his nose.

If I tried hard enough, I could almost pretend nothing had changed.

I leaned down, pressing a kiss to his lips, slow and lingering. He stirred, responding instinctively, pulling me closer. His eyes fluttered open, clouded with sleep but clearing quickly.

“Sean?” His voice was rough, confused but not unwelcoming.

“Shh,” I murmured, kissing him again.

We didn't speak further, didn't need to.

What followed wasn't rushed or desperate but something softer, something grounding.

His hands found their way under my shirt, warm against my skin.

I traced the familiar planes of his body, cataloging every scar, every mark.

Trying to convince myself that this was still Cade, still the man I'd gone to hell and back for.

And for a while, with his heart beating against mine, his breath warm against my neck, it was easy to believe. This, I thought, might be the last moment of peace between us once he learned what I'd done.

Later, with Cade sleeping soundly beside me, I slipped out of bed.

I moved silently across the hardwood floor, stepping onto the balcony and into the crisp night air.

The city stretched beneath me, a sea of lights in the darkness, but my eyes weren't on the skyline.

They were locked on the small glass vial in my hand.

Cade's soul.

It shimmered like liquid starlight in my palm, pulsing with a quiet, undeniable presence.

Blue-white light swirled within the crystal, sometimes brightening, sometimes dimming, as if it were breathing.

As if it were alive. Which, in a way, I supposed it was.

It felt wrong to hold it—like something sacred had been stolen. But I had no regrets. Not yet.

“Where did you get that?” the angel's voice was dangerously quiet.

I didn't flinch at the voice, though irritation prickled up my spine. Cassiel stood beside me, arms crossed, eyes sharp in the darkness. His trench coat flapped gently in the night breeze, his face illuminated by the glow of the soul vial.

I smirked, but there was no humor in it. “Made a deal with the devil,” I said simply, twirling the vial between my fingers. The soul inside swirled faster, as if agitated by the movement.

Cassiel's expression darkened, his eyes flashing with a hint of that otherworldly power he usually kept contained. “What did you trade, Sean?”

I didn't answer. Not because I didn't want to, but because saying it out loud made it too real. Instead, I shrugged, keeping my eyes on the vial. “Did what I had to. We both know Cade wouldn't have done it himself. Someone had to.”

“The runes,” Cassiel said, his voice flat. “You traded your binding.”

I glanced up sharply. “That seemed to slip your mind during our little heart-to-heart, didn't it? The fact that I've got fecking Enochian symbols carved into my bones.”

“It wasn't relevant at the time,” Cassiel said stiffly.

“Not relevant?” I hissed, keeping my voice low to avoid waking Cade. “You tell me I'm a Nephilim, but leave out the part where my parents carved fecking angel graffiti into my skeleton? How is that not relevant?”

“The runes were protection,” Cassiel replied, unmoved by my anger. “They were keeping you safe, keeping you hidden.”

“From what?” I demanded.

Cassiel's gaze was steady. “From everyone. Angels, demons, anything that might want to use or destroy you because of what you are. Your parents knew the risk.”

“My parents who abandoned me,” I said bitterly.

“Your parents who saved you,” Cassiel countered. “Who hid you even from yourself to keep you alive.”

I wanted to argue further, to demand more answers about these runes, about what removing them would really mean. But there were more pressing issues at hand.

“Well, it doesn't matter now,” I said, holding up the vial. “Soon those runes will be gone, and we'll have Cade's soul back. Fair trade.”

Cassiel was visibly furious, his normally stoic demeanor cracking. “You don't know what you've done. Who you made this deal with. Zeryth isn't just anyone. He's?—”

“He's the bastard who took Cade's soul in the first place. And now he's giving it back.” I cut in.

“At what cost?” Cassiel pressed. “Do you think he's doing this out of the goodness of his heart? He wants you unbound for a reason, Sean.”

“I don't care what he wants,” I said, though the words rang hollow even to my own ears. “All that matters is that Cade gets his soul back.”

Cassiel studied me for a long moment, his ancient eyes seeing far too much. “You're afraid,” he said finally.

I scoffed, but it was empty. Because Cassiel was right. I was terrified. Terrified that Cade would reject his soul, that he would choose to remain hollow. Terrified that even with his soul back, he would never be the same. Terrified that I'd made a deal that would come back to haunt us both.

But fear didn't matter. What mattered was that Cade's soul was here. What mattered was that I wasn't too late.

“What have you got there?”

I stiffened at the voice behind me. Slowly, I turned. Cade stood in the doorway, his expression unreadable. Tired. Guarded. He wore only his jeans, his chest bare in the moonlight.

Cassiel was the first to speak. “Sean found a way to get your soul back.”

Cade's gaze flickered between us before settling on the vial still clutched in my hand. His breath hitched, recognition dawning in his eyes.

“You...” His voice was barely a whisper. Then, louder, anger creeping in: “You went behind my back?”

I exhaled sharply. “You wouldn't have agreed,” I shot back.

“That's not your decision to make!” Cade's voice rose, raw with anger and something deeper—hurt. I felt it like a knife to the gut.

“I had no choice,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “You weren't thinking straight. You still aren't.”

“Because I disagree with you?” Cade demanded, stepping closer. “Because I made a choice you don't like? That doesn't give you the right to go behind my back and make deals with...” He gestured to the vial. “Who was it? Demon? Angel? Some other monster we haven't even met yet?”

The accusation stung, especially because it wasn't entirely off the mark. “It's complicated,” I said, which was the truth but also a cop-out.

Cade's hands clenched at his sides, his jaw tight with barely controlled rage. “What did you trade for it?”

I hesitated, the weight of my decision suddenly crushing. That was all Cade needed.

“Oh my God.” Realization dawned on his face, horror settling in. “You made a deal. With a demon.”

“Not a demon,” I corrected automatically. “At least, I don't think so. More like...”

“More like what?” Cade pressed, his voice rising.

“I don't know what he is,” I admitted. “But he had your soul, Cade. He's been keeping it since you got out of hell.”

Cade went still, his expression shifting from anger to shock. “Who?”

“His name is Zeryth,” Cassiel answered when I hesitated. “And he's more dangerous than Sean realizes.”

“You knew him?” I turned to Cassiel, fresh anger boiling up. “You knew who had Cade's soul this whole time?”

“I suspected,” Cassiel admitted. “But I wasn't certain until now.”

“Jaysus fecking Christ,” I muttered. “Is there anything else you're keeping from us? Any other life-altering secrets you'd like to share?”

“This isn't about me,” Cassiel deflected. “This is about the deal you made. The runes?—”

“What runes?” Cade interrupted, looking between us in confusion.

“Nothing,” I said quickly, shooting Cassiel a warning look. “It's not important right now.”

“The hell it isn't,” Cade said. “What did you trade, Sean? What did this Zeryth want?”

I swallowed hard. “I did what I had to do.” My voice cracked. “You don't get to be the only one who sacrifices, Cade. You don't get to throw yourself into the fire every damn time and expect me to stand by and watch. Not this time.”

My vision blurred, and I blinked hard. I hadn't realized I was crying until I saw Cade's expression soften, the anger giving way to something more complicated.

“Sean,” he said, quieter now. “What did you do?”

“The runes on my bones,” I explained, the words coming out in a rush. “The ones that bind my Nephilim powers. Zeryth is going to remove them.”

Cade looked to Cassiel for confirmation. The angel nodded grimly.

“And what happens then?” Cade asked. “When these runes are gone?”

“I don't know,” I admitted. “But it doesn't matter. What matters is that we have your soul back. We can deal with everything else after.”

Cade ran a hand through his hair, a gesture so familiar it made my chest ache. “You should have told me,” he said finally. “Should have talked to me first.”

“Would you have agreed?” I challenged.

“No,” Cade admitted. “But that was my choice to make.”

“Not when you're not yourself,” I insisted. “Not when you're missing the very thing that makes you, you.”

Cade looked at the vial in my hand, his expression unreadable. “And you think that little bottle contains everything I am? My essence, my... what? My humanity?”

“It's more than that,” Cassiel interjected. “A soul isn't just emotions or moral judgment. It's memory, experience, growth.”

“And you've been walking around without it for a while now,” I added. “Trust me, Cade. It shows.”