Soul Lines (Completed)

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Two
Elle's POV

An hour passed before he said anything, placing gentle caresses upon my ankle, easing the pain.

His scent was made of soft dew at nightfall and of earthen trees in the rising sun. It was made of bubbling rivers and the tallest mountains. His scent was peace, a sanctuary. He was the forest, and the forest was him. It kissed his skin in a delicate aroma that settled my racing heart.

His shallow breathing had steadied, and his fingers deftly massaged away the pain. 'If it were something I could frame, I would so that I could show you.' His voice was sombre, and he drew in an unsteady breath, his fingers stilling, 'But it's not something I can touch or see. I feel it. I feel it so intensely that it hurts.

'And although it's not something tangible, I feel I could touch it if I tried. It's a connection, like twine holding us together. I can feel it from here,' he pressed a finger to his chest, right above his heart and then threaded an invisible line through the air, 'and it connects right here.'

I felt his touch deeper than my skin. It penetrated deeper than the surface, touching my heart. 'And from here to here.' His touch moved from across my shoulder back to his own, 'And here to here. I can feel it in every fibre of my body. I know that you are the only one that truly matters to me. I know with every cell I have in my body that you and I are tied together in this miracle of fate, and all I can do is pray desperately that you'll trust me and that you feel even a fraction of what I feel.'

I clutched at my throat, unable to breathe. His eyes were too bright and feverish, a pained glimmer reflecting in their depths. He was clinging onto the hopefulness, and as he continued to break apart, it was clear that he had been holding onto it for too long. Seeing the desperation that clung there was painful, and it meant something. It meant he cared.

With a choked sob, I begged, 'I need to hear you say it.'

His eyes were wet, his hands moving to cup mine, which trembled as I studied the emotions on his face. 'We are soulmates, Elliot. I would do anything to keep you safe because I don't know who I would be without you. I would have nothing.'

I shuddered, the air jolting from my lungs shakily. My ribs tightened around my lungs and heart, and I pressed my fingers to my lips, wishing I could hold back the sobs that shook my body. 'Did he put you up to this?'

'Who?'

'Lachlan.'

Kaden's lungs were dredged with a whoosh, and he delicately slipped his fingers under mine, cupping my face. 'No.' He swept away tears with the pad of his thumb, but as he pushed them to the side, new ones took their place, splashing against our joined hands. 'What he did to you, Elle, cannot be undone, and it cannot go unanswered, but I promise you that this is real, that I will not walk away from you, not like he did.'

Wet lashes clung to my cheeks, tears holding on like dew on a spider's web. 'When did you realise?'

He hesitated, and my blood turned sluggish, a heavy weight settling in my stomach. 'Elle,' it was barely a whisper, a quiet plea, 'you have to understand...'

I didn't want to hear the excuses. I needed to know the truth.

I pulled back, slipping away from his touch, glancing across the room uneasily. 'When?'

'I-'

'When?'

He flinched, his gaze falling to the ground. 'Thirteen years ago.'

The air caught in my lungs, and I reefed my body away from his touch, curling myself into the corner of the room, trembling. I whispered, 'Why didn't you say anything?'