Her Soul to Take

“Kent spoke in a bizarrely theatrical voice when he was in front of his band of zealots. Somewhere between a fire-and-brimstone Southern preacher and a Kindergarten teacher who had bodies buried in the garden.”

This quote highlights the duality in Kent’s persona, contrasting exaggerated charisma and sinister undertones. The juxtaposition of a preacher’s fervor and a kindergarten teacher’s (superficial) wholesomeness suggests that Kent manipulates his followers through both charm and menace; the latter comparison also suggests that he infantilizes his followers by speaking to them like children. The description reveals Leon’s disdain and portrays Kent as both performative and inherently dangerous.

“The cabin seemed inconsequential in the night, as if its bare wooden walls and large windows could do nothing to hold back the dark. Instead of me observing from the inside, I felt like something out there was looking in. Observing me.”

This quote captures Rae’s sense of vulnerability and unease in a space that should be safe. The inversion of roles—Rae feels observed rather than an observer at the window—heightens the tension, suggesting a threat or presence. This imagery foreshadows the dangers that will come later in the novel and introduces the theme of Survival, Autonomy, and Trust in a Dangerous World.

“If I didn’t turn something around soon, I wouldn’t be able to keep up the channel. Pretty soon I’d have to face reality, get the office job, and settle down.”

This quote reveals Rae’s motivation for moving to Abelaum and for taking risks to create content. She believes that if she cannot make her channel go viral, then she will inevitably lead a boring life.

“In French, there’s a phrase for the random urge to jump from high places, the irrational desire to swerve into traffic despite imminent destruction: l’appel du vide, the call of the void […] When I looked at him, staring at me, the void called.”

This quote explores the pull of self-destructive impulses, connecting the concept with Rae and Leon’s connection. The personification of the void as “calling” implies that Leon creates a dangerous but magnetic desire in Rae that she cannot resist. This also introduces the theme of The Transformative Power of Love.

“She’d be my prey regardless. But the peculiar urge to warn her needled at the back of my mind. It was an urge I quickly shoved away. I hadn’t earned a reputation as a guardian, I was known only for one thing among human kind.

I was a killer.”

This quote delves into Leon’s internal conflict, revealing a tension between his predatory instincts and an uncharacteristic urge toward protection. His quick dismissal of this urge shows Leon’s self-awareness of his role and reputation, suggesting a struggle to reconcile an emerging sense of morality with his established identity. The implication is that Leon’s feelings for Rae might be transforming him.

“Something about him wasn’t safe; I couldn’t put my finger on it, but he set off alarm bells in my brain that told me to run. A rabbit knew instinctively to flee a wolf. So why, instead of fleeing, was I fantasizing about being caught?”

This quote juxtaposes fear with attraction, creating a tense exploration of danger and desire. The comparison of Rae and Leon to prey and predator highlights the primal nature of Rae’s reaction, framing her feelings as instinctual. Rae’s comment about desiring capture also reveals her interest in consensual power dynamics.

“I didn’t know what game we were playing exactly. But I was ready.”

This quote explores consensual power dynamics. Though Rae doesn’t understand what Leon is proposing, she embraces it wholeheartedly. Her attitude toward the sexual relationship is especially notable given her general mistrust of him at this point in the novel, foreshadowing the bond that develops between them.

“Never, in all my centuries of existence, had I been summoned by accident.

This woman was a walking disaster, a stunning danger to herself, and she didn’t even know it.”

This quote reveals that Leon views Rae as fundamentally different than anyone else in his life, and while he is exasperated by her, he is also intrigued—even protective. Though his description of her as “stunning” is criticism in context (the danger she poses is “stunning”), the word’s often positive connotations hint at Leon’s fascination with Rae. This is its own form of “stunning danger,” as it could endanger his sense of self.

“I, somehow, had to make Leon leave, and not by handing over the grimoire. I didn’t know exactly why he wanted it, but that book was likely the only power I had over him.”

This quote illustrates the precarious power dynamic between Leon and Rae, where the grimoire acts as Rae’s sole leverage. Her uncertainty about Leon’s motives underscores how little she trusts him at this point and reveals her burgeoning understanding that she could be in danger. By refusing to give Leon the grimoire, Rae asserts her agency and illustrates the theme of survival and autonomy in a dangerous world.

“‘Just do it?’ He chuckled. ‘Just bend you over and ravage you here and now? Just do it, so you don’t have to give in? No, no, no.’ He clasped his hands behind his back. ‘That would be too easy. I want to see you squirm, I want to see you beg. If you’re going to be damned, you need to go willingly.’”

This quote examines the theme of consensual power dynamics. Rae is aware of the power imbalance between her and Leon, as Leon has both deeper knowledge of the dangerous world they live in and greater physical strength. However, while Leon could “ravage” Rae, he is only interested in doing so consensually. This puts Leon in stark contrast to characters like Jeremiah and Kent, who are interested in asserting power regardless of consent.

“The moment she’d looked at me with those wide, defiant brown eyes and told me to do it, I knew I was fucked for this woman. Foolishly, madly fucked. When she made herself my willing victim, I wanted to steal her away back to Hell right then and there.”

This quote represents a major turning point in Leon’s character and emphasizes the transformative power of love. Leon was previously interested only in fleeting pleasure and guaranteeing his own freedom, but now he wants to bring Rae with him back to Hell. Leon has enough awareness to know that his desire for Rae endangers his freedom because Kent, the Libiri, and the Deep One want Rae as well.

“I didn’t owe this woman a damn thing, but it sure as hell felt like I did.”

This quote captures Leon’s internal conflict. He struggles between detachment and a sense of obligation, experiencing a sense of duty that he cannot rationalize. This tension suggests that his emotional connection with Rae is causing a moral awakening. The strong language conveys his frustration with Rae, with himself, and with the untenable position that caring for Rae puts him in.

“Years of torture and solitude will have you learn that anger is the safest emotion. It’s the strongest. It’s a fire that will keep you going in the dark.”

This quote explores the transformative impact of prolonged suffering, showing that anger has protected and sustained Leon. The metaphor of anger as a fire suggests its destructive power but also its ability to provide warmth. By labeling anger as the “safest emotion,” Leon emphasizes that he has survived in a world where he needed to repress his softer emotions, hinting at the theme of survival and autonomy in a dangerous world.

“But I had to figure out how to fight.

I wasn’t going to die a sacrifice. I wasn’t going to disappear, forgotten into these godforsaken woods.”

This quote highlights a turning point for Rae, as she rejects becoming a victim and embraces the need to fight for survival. Rae’s determination not to “die a sacrifice” reflects her refusal to be rendered expendable. This expands on the theme of survival and autonomy in a dangerous world.

“‘You’re gonna need to get a hell of a lot smarter if you’re gonna live, Raelynn,’ she said, and I realized I’d never given her my name. ‘Don’t you ever, ever consume anything Jeremiah Hadleigh gives you.’”

This quote helps characterize a secondary figure, Juniper Kynes, who will be one of the narrators in the second novel in the Souls Trilogy. Juniper was given acid and hunted by Leon when she was 15, after which she was forced to survive alone. The implication here is that Jeremiah played a part in her attack and that Juniper wants to help Rae survive Jeremiah’s lethal attention. This also foreshadows Juniper killing Jeremiah, as she enacts her vengeance at the end of the novel.

“It was even harder to imagine Leon under someone else’s command: he had so much power, so much overwhelming strength that the thought of him being ordered around by a mere human sounded ludicrous.

But even a powerful demon could be broken with pain.”

This quote reveals Rae’s perception of Leon as powerful and almost godlike. It also foreshadows later conflict—specifically, the moment when a Reaper nearly kills Leon and he is unable to keep Rae from being taken. This moment shows Rae’s growth; where she was once willing to imprison Leon to help herself survive, she now understands the torture that Leon endured as a prisoner.

“Oh, yes, I found the grimoire. But I’m too obsessed with you to leave you, so here I am, still risking life and limb to be near you, still driven absolutely mad by your voice and smell and eyes—”

This quote is Leon’s internal monologue as he outwardly allows Rae to believe that he is still searching for the grimoire. Leon is unable to tell Rae the truth and risk the vulnerability that honesty would bring, despite his love for Rae.

“It made me feel sick. It made me want to—

Her arms were around me. She wrapped them tight around my middle, her head against my chest. She sniffed, and squeezed a little tighter […] The longer she held on, the more I realized I didn’t really want her to let go.”

This quote illustrates Rae’s compassion for the trauma that Leon experienced for over a century when Kent and his ancestors imprisoned him. Leon is instinctually uncertain about and irritated by her comfort, but he soon realizes that he appreciates it, which marks major character development for him.

“The great awakening is about to occur. And there will be pain, and bloodshed, but in the end…there will be peace. Peace through your sacrifice. So when you come to die, Miss Raelynn, know that you were meant for it.”

This quote from Kent evokes a sense of inevitability, framing Rae’s “sacrifice” as necessary and even predestined. By addressing Rae directly, Kent attempts to manipulate her. It is clear that Kent does not see Rae as an individual—only an object that can be sacrificed to further his plan.

“‘Are we safe here?’ I whispered. Strong as he was, I didn’t want to see him fight again. I didn’t want to see him have to turn into an animal to survive or to ensure I survived.”

This quote reveals Rae’s deep concern for Leon’s safety. This moment is in stark contrast to earlier scenes in the novel when Rae wanted to use Leon to protect herself; Rae is now aware of the emotional and psychological trauma that violence causes Leon. This quote speaks to themes of both survival and autonomy in a dangerous world and the transformative power of love, suggesting that one effect of the latter is to temper the instinct to survive at any cost.

“Leon was a demon. An immortal. A monster. He wanted my soul. He wasn’t about to be domesticated—and I didn’t want him to be. I didn’t want a demonic variation on the white-picket-fence nuclear family ideal. I just didn’t want him to leave.”

This quote subverts the conventional happily-ever-after denouement of romance novels. However, while Rae does not want Leon “domesticated,” she still wants him to remain at her side. This reflects the conventions of dark romance, where the protagonists end up together but may still live in a very gritty and dangerous world (and engage in amoral or immoral activities themselves).

“‘No human is ready for forever, and forever is all I have. But you gave me a part of your life, when mortal lives are so short,’ he laughed softly. ‘I suppose saving your soul could be as good as owning it, so you’d better fucking survive.’”

This quote explores Leon’s character development. Leon protected Rae for selfish reasons, but now he is going to what he believes is his death to keep her alive. Leon’s shift from selfish to selfless reflects the transformative power of love; he is even less interested in “owning” her soul than in helping her survive, suggesting that his love itself is no longer entirely possessive but rather focused on whatever is best for Rae.

“Not just that, but my blood was on fire in my veins, my heart like a coal in my chest. I was breathing deeply again, even though my lungs ached. I was getting stronger, somehow.”

This quote shows an important realization for Leon. He believed that loving someone would weaken him and make him more vulnerable. Instead, when Rae gives him her soul, proving how much she loves him, he grows stronger. His bond with Rae helps him heal and gives him the strength to find her.