Reckless Souls (Saints Academy, #1)(66)
widen in surprise, relief slowly rolling off her in waves. Her worry is understandable since she still
doesn’t know who or what she is yet, and the red eyes only served as a reminder.
“Thank Gods,” she mumbles in response, brushing her damp brown hair back off her face as she
waits for someone to explain. She doesn’t look at just one Elite for answers, her gaze sweeps over all
of us.
“Sealed souls aren’t common anymore. They’re taught to us as myths these days because it just
doesn’t happen,” Zen says, and I nod in agreement, which only seems to make Rhea frown as her
eyebrows pinch together.
“So you don’t think that’s what happened here?” she asks, a hint of hope in her voice. But before
anyone can say a word, Xander slams his fist onto the table, making the whole thing fucking rattle
with his anger.
“It’s exactly what happened here,” he bites, slipping his arm over the back of Rhea’s chair as he
glares at everyone but her, like we were the ones to ask the question. When his gaze meets hers, he
wets his lips, before lowering his face to hers so their noses brush, and to my surprise, even with his
burst of rage, she doesn’t back away. “It’s exactly what happened, Rhea, I know it,” he repeats, much
calmer this time, like he’s talking to his delicate, most-prized possession.
She stares into his eyes for what feels like an eternity, before she nods. “I think so too,” she
mutters, barely more than a whisper, her eyes falling closed at the admission. It’s hard to read and
understand where her head is at, but this is all a mess, so I can’t imagine being in her shoes.
Adrenalin courses through my veins, the unpredictability and uncertainty of the future wars inside
of me.
Xander tilts his head, pressing his lips against her forehead in one of the gentlest moves I have
ever seen, before sitting back in his seat with a pleased, relaxed grin on his face.
It takes a moment before Rhea blinks her eyes open again, and I can’t be sure, but the red seems
more evident again.
Fuck.
I don’t utter a word about it, and if Adonis notices, he manages to keep his mouth shut too, while
Zen continues to explain the limited information we know. I don’t want to spook her, and send her
running for the hills again.
“Sealed souls are bonded by passion, sex, and desire which are known to become uncontrollable,
consuming the body,” he states, and the way Rhea and Xander look at one another, it seems like that’s
exactly what happened. “Mentally, it tethers you together for all of eternity.”
“The how it happens seems quite apparent, especially since the condom was peeled off and
tossed aside, and that’s when everything was heightened,” Rhea advises, not concerned about
discussing her sex life at the table, and it leaves me even more intrigued to find out more about this
woman from Phoenix Valley. “What I mainly need to know now is how this will affect us going
forward,” she adds, somehow sitting taller in her seat as she laces her fingers together on the table.
She’s not afraid to show how serious she’s taking this.
“Have you learned that there are usually multiple men to one woman?” Adonis asks cautiously,
and she immediately nods.
“Yeah, Harmonia explained it to me, and that it’s usually arranged for power and status gain,” she
replies with an eye roll, clearly not liking the reasoning behind it, which only makes me want to lean
closer to her, but in that exact moment our food appears before us.
I lick my lips as I look down at my steak and mashed potatoes, noticing she ordered the exact
same meal as me with, even the steak cooked the same way.
Why the fuck do I care? She shouldn’t be consuming me like this.
As Zen twirls the pasta on his plate, he continues. “That’s exactly right, and if it’s not for those
purposes, it’s simply a case of settling among each other, never really love or feelings, and certainly
not sealed souls.”
“Sealing your souls together can enhance your powers and strengths as a supernatural among those
sealed. Which in some cases, can lead to powers activating earlier than usual. Like Xander and his
shifting,” Adonis states casually, grabbing a slice of his pizza, but my focus is on Rhea’s wide eyes as
he explains what could have happened to them.
It would make sense that Xander shifted, and her eyes changed color. Fuck, the door slammed
behind her earlier without her even touching it. If anything though, that only seems to help narrow
down her species.
Sensing the question in her eyes, I swallow down the steak in my mouth, unable to look away.
“It’ll still be difficult to decipher what you are between an angel, a demon, or even a God, but with
the way your eyes glowed and the energy you gave off, you’re definitely not a vampire or shifter,” I
say, watching as she swallows nervously.
“But I could have activated my powers?” she asks for clarification, and this time Zen beats me