State of Grace

By the time an agathos woman reaches twenty-five, she's supposed to be one thing, and one thing only: Bonded. I'm zero for four soul bonds, a disgrace to my family, and the black sheep of my community. It had me feeling reckless. Impulsive. Daring. In a moment of weakness, I let the darkness lurking inside of me rule, and it changed everything. I was supposed to embrace the light, but how could I fear the dark, when it brought me Riot?

Every night of her life, I've visited my Amazing Grace in her dreams. Every morning, she wakes up with zero recollection of it. Does it hurt? Well, a little, honestly. But that doesn't matter because the time has come for us to meet in real life. This is our moment. I'm ready to show her all the reasons why I'm her best soul bond—sorry not sorry, Riot. But it seems the Goddess of Night doesn't love me and my girl as much as I thought she did because just when everything was starting to work out, things get complicated.

Five years ago, in a moment of hubris, I ruined my life. I made my choices, and I live with the curse that haunts me. I've found purpose in ensuring no other Keres makes my mistakes, and I was prepared to go through the rest of my days in lonely silence. Until her. Grace came into my town, into my life, and changed everything. As hard as I try to stay away, to keep my curse from touching her, it doesn't matter. The gods are watching Grace. They're not going to let her go unscathed.

I've watched from the sidelines as my friends found themselves bound to the same agathos. I've stood aside and wondered if she was mine. I've watched, I've waited, I've hurt. And I've wondered. Finally, the time for all that is over now. I've arrived in Greece and it's time to find out if a little of my soul belongs to an agathos too. And if it is . . . How can I live with that? Knowing what the agathos have done? The pain they've caused me?

By the time an agathos woman reaches twenty-five, she's supposed to be one thing, and one thing only: Bonded. I'm zero for four soul bonds, a disgrace to my family, and the black sheep of my community.