“Ka-lyrra,” he said urgently, “there’s something I want you to do with me. Vows I want to exchange, but you must know that they will bind our souls together for all eternity. Are you willing? Would you have me forever?”

Laughing and crying at the same time, she nodded.

Exultantly Adam deposited her on her feet, placed the palm of his right hand above her heart, and rested his left above his own. “Place your hands on top of mine, Gabrielle,” he commanded.

When she did so, he spoke with quiet reverence and conviction:

“If aught must be lost, it will be my honor for yours. If one must be forsaken, it will be my soul for yours. Should death come anon, it will be my life for yours. I am Given.”

Smiling up at him, her eyes sparkling with joy, she repeated the vows, and, the moment she finished, emotion crashed over him so intensely that it nearly brought him to his knees. He felt the bond quickening inside him, heating his blood with fierce passion, as their souls were united for all time.

Backing her against the wall, he buried his hands in her hair, slanted his mouth over hers, and kissed her hungrily.

He had a soul. He knew love. He was pledged to his soul mate forever.

And Adam Black was finally truly immortal.