“The stone with his soul in it will burn your skin the minute you touch it, and it won’t stop until his soul has returned to his body. If you drop the stone before that time, he’ll be a Shade.”

Oh, that was a pleasant thought. In freeing him, she could very well be damning him to an eternity of hell. Shades couldn’t eat, couldn’t be seen or heard. It was a fate far worse than death.

And she could be the one to gift him with that oh, so not pleasant existence.

Still Rafael’s gaze burned into her. “I want to be with you, Celena. As a man.”

How could she argue with that? What’s more, she wanted it, too. So long as he remained a Dark-Hunter, they couldn’t have children. But if she freed him …

They could have a family. They could be married and grow old together. It was all she wanted.

“Okay,” she breathed. “Tell me what to do.”

Acheron pulled a long, evil-looking dagger from his boot and handed it to her. “Pierce his heart and leave the dagger in until he goes limp.” He shrugged his black backpack off his shoulder and took out a black box that was about the size of a softball. He opened the lid to show her a vibrant blue stone that was chiseled with intricate markings. It was a strange, compelling object that seemed to hum with life.

She reached for it only to have Acheron move it away.

“Remember, it burns. I’ll hand it to you and then you press it to Artemis’s mark.”

She gulped as she stared at the stone. It was hard to fathom that was Rafael’s human soul in there. “Are you sure this works?”

“Kyrian, Talon, Valerius—”

“Okay,” she said as Acheron listed off the Dark-Hunters she knew had gone free. “Let’s do it.”

Rafael pulled his shirt off so that she could see the double bow and arrow mark on his left shoulder.

Her heart pounding, she gripped the dagger tight in her hand and met his obsidian gaze. The love there scorched her.

“You can do it,” he whispered. “Just pretend I’m Jeff.”

She wanted to laugh at his joke, but she couldn’t even muster it. Instead, she ground her teeth and did the hardest thing she’d ever done in her life.

She tried to stab him, but the dagger didn’t so much as pierce his skin. Stunned, she tried harder, but still it wouldn’t budge. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

Acheron grimaced. “Damn. We forgot to drain his Dark-Hunter powers out of him. You can’t kill him while he’s immortal … at least not and leave his body whole.”

“Then what do we do?”

Acheron scratched the back of his neck. “I’m not supposed to interfere, but what the hell? For you two, I’ll make an exception.”