Soul Kissed Read Online Free PDF

foreheads.”
    Jack opened his mouth, probably to argue, but Mason beat him to it.
    “And I’m not going to the Segue Institute either. No matter how much I like Adam and his people, they are at war with Martin and have no wards at all. We’re better off here.”
    “You finished?”
    The ideal place, of course, would be Walker House, where Fletcher’s mother Liv was. Mason had tried to contact her many times over the years, but each silence was like Liv abandoning them again.
    Mason looked the angel squarely in the eyes to be absolutely clear. “No one makes arrangements on our behalf.”
    “She has negotiated the fosterage of your son to Riordan Webb.”
    Mason blinked with irritation. He seemed to be having trouble keeping up.
    Fosterage?
    His mind churned through the idea. “You mean until this mage plague blows over?” The possibility lifted his spirits. He was suddenly heady and high. This could be the answer. Yes. Fletcher could be safe, much safer than here.
    But Jack shook his head. “Webb is not volunteering to babysit. He requires the traditional fosterage agreement: A formal contract through Fletcher’s adolescence to strengthen the ties to Brand, and therefore the mage Council.”
    Political in nature and common among aristocratic families in ages past, fosterage was alive and well within modern-day magekind. It meant Webb would raise Fletcher in return for favors from the High Seat of the Council, Kaye Brand. It meant power.
    Stunned, Mason’s arguments hovered in the air around him, but he found the right one. “She can’t take my son away from me.”
    The words came out like a threat, just as he intended.
    “She’s not,” Jack said. “You’d have to agree to the contracts.”
    “Then no.” Jack had been right. This was much worse than he’d thought. “She has wasted her time, and you are wasting mine. Get out of my house.”
    “I thought you liked Webb.”
    Not the point. Mason had hoped to do work for Webb, earn a place for them both, perhaps become one of Webb’s vassals. Safety for Fletcher, a home, in return for work. But fosterage was tantamount to giving up his son, giving him away to be raised by someone else. It was a formal arrangement, bound by contract, enforceable by mage law.
    They could continue to hide out just fine.
    Mason pointed to the door. Brand had no business, no right, to screw with him and his family. He felt sick, angry, and betrayed at the same time.
    “Fosterage will protect Fletcher behind Webb’s wards.”
    The angel was missing the point: Mason was not letting his son go. He would not abandon Fletcher, as his own father had abandoned him. Brand had overstepped.
    When Jack didn’t move, Mason lifted the shotgun and aimed it at Jack’s head. Angels could heal superhumanly fast, but they could also die. Decapitation would do the job nicely.
    “And he’ll have the company of Bran, as well as the luxuries of a strong mage House.”
    Mason felt his concentration narrowing as he aimed down the barrel. He knew soldier Jack had seen a lot of action in his thousand years of toil on earth, so he should be able to recognize an impasse when he saw one.
    The hard gaze didn’t waver. “You cannot protect Fletcher. Webb can.”
    I’ve protected him thus far.
    The mere thought of life without Fletcher hollowed Mason, a sharp pain whistling around his empty ribcage.
    They’d managed eight years. Through all sorts of upheaval and danger. And a mage toddler is just about the most fearsome kind of mage ever. They might be strays, but they were getting by just fine.
    But you are not a stray, Mason. You are human.
    The angel’s voice in Mason’s head sent him staggering back.
    Jack looked sad and tired. And I was able to find your hideout on this hellish mountain because you have a soul. Any angel could find you.
    Mason laughed and refocused his aim. Jack Bastian was full of surprises. “Wicked trick. You have three seconds to leave, and then I’ll fire.”
    And the