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"So Aurora," said Dresden readily, and Harry was all down for changing the subject. "Why'd she give up, and how was she flat out lying? That's a faerie no no."

"She has a soul."

Dresden snorted. "Come on. Only humans have souls. That's why we're hated on by every big nasty without one."

"Regardless, she's got one," sad Harry frankly. He decided to get right down to it. He needed to bounce ideas off someone. "Here's the deal, a few years ago there was an accident and some ritual went down. Now Aurora and I are linked because of it, and since I'm me and I always screw things up, something unprecedented happened—she gained some of my magic and I have summer power in me. I think—" Here he paused to gather his thoughts. "I think it's because of me she has a soul. If our link triggered her to grow one, or if she absorbed a piece of mine and its now maturing… I can't say."

The emotions on Dresden's ran gamut confusion, shock and fascination all at once as he took in the details and allowed the ramifications to sink in. He was completely speechless, his mouth opening and closing before he let out a curse and looked intently at Harry.

"Are you sure she has a soul?"

The spark of something beautiful like the sunrise flashed through his mind, and Harry nodded, saying, "Her soulgazing me pretty much confirms it, yeah?"

"A Faerie Queen with a soul," Dresden murmured, his face darkening at the thought. "No wonder she was lying out of her ass, she could. A soul gives her willpower to bypass nature's laws. And she has mortal magic going for her. When Aurora becomes monarch of the Seelie fae the Summer Court will be untouchable."

That was Harry's working theory. A soul was a priceless thing. Often disregarded by mortals but jealously coveted by those without, like demons and their ilk to marvel upon and collect. A soul was a mesh of human spirit, willpower, memory and a right to exist in the light and dark. It was the power of choice and it was beautiful.

Faeries were soulless creatures. It was a fact of nature. They were beings of the earth given flesh and purpose. Lack of soul left them susceptible to laws that were as old as the Earth itself, certain checks and balances, formed by compacts and wars of aeons gone to protect the mortal purchase upon the world. It was those same laws of nature that prevented the Mothers from acting directly in the faerie war. With a soul nothing could prevent Aurora from acting as any mortal could. She could lie, cheat, kill anyone she wanted just like any other person with a soul.

Even Mab and Titania were compelled by treaties formed from the broken bodies of gods of Before and neo faith burned throughout time marjoram. And now Aurora wasn't—the thought was frightening.

Awaken Sleeper, Chapter 21