Page 192 of A Soul to Steal

A coldness swept through him, unsure if this was the wrong thing to say or not.

Gideon immediately warmed that cold sensation by shifting to his knees and lifting to place his arms around Aleron’s neck. He hugged Aleron tightly to the point his shoulder dug into the front of his throat. Aleron didn’t mind. This human had the urgeto embrace him, and he swiftly curled his arms around Gideon’s torso to bring them even closer.

For a long while, they just held each other.

It felt... sad, even when it radiated with tenderness. Aleron couldn’t explain it, but it brought a heaviness.

“You can put your wings around me,” Gideon whispered so softly it tickled his senses.

As much as he wanted to, Aleron hesitated. They twitched behind him, nagging and begging to take his offer.

He gave in and placed them around the lower half of his body. Enough to partially bring him into them, but not in a way that would cover his head.

Uncertainty clawed down his spine when Gideon’s nails bit down through his feathers to dig into flesh. Did Gideon clutch him in joy, or was he uncomfortable with the tightness that now surrounded him?

Gideon buried his face into the fur of his neck.

Unsure of what to do, or what any of this meant, he just held the male. Aleron did rapidly sniff at the air when he scented the tiniest hint of salt, but he didn’t know where it came from.Tears?

Gideon leaned back, releasing him as he did, and swiftly turned. Aleron didn’t have the chance to assess his face to know if he’d been correct.

The sky had lightened, the world waking and the sun beginning its crawl.

“Alright. I guess it’s time to go find these other Duskwalkers.” Gidon trotted over to his guitar not far from them and came back with it quickly. He grinned, but at Aleron’s chest and not his skull. “Is it weird that I’m excited to meet more of your kind? I bet none of them are as cool as you, though, since you can fly.”

I have no idea what just happened.

Aleron had an inkling that he’d made matters undoubtablyworse.

Hovering in a beam of moonlight, Aleron clutched his precious human tighter.

“Is that the Demon King’s castle?” Gideon asked, peering over his arm. “Looks like he needs to remodel it.”

Aleron didn’t know what to feel regarding the stone rubble that lay in waste before them. The entire castle looked as though it’d crumbled from the inside before falling on top of itself. Nothing had managed to stay upright.

It’d been so long since it was destroyed that dust had settled around it like a grey pool of ash.

“Yes. This was where it was.”

Should he be relieved? Perhaps it was due to his nature, but he’d never hated the Demon King. Even when he’d been the reason for Aleron’s death, it was just something that happened in his life.

The pain and fear he’d suffered had been intense, but it was over, and he was alive... again.

Aleron didn’t care if the Demon King lived or died. So long as he left him, his kindred, and their brides in peace, he could do what he wanted. His war was not Aleron’s.

Emerie did this.His chest puffed in pride for his twin’s chosen bride. No matter the reason, it was still magnificent that such a tiny creature could cause this kind of devastation.She is a formidable human.

In the distance, the Demon village looked similar to how he last saw it. A few of the large trees facing Jabez’s castle were a little bare, but they were mostly intact. From the outside, he could tell something like cloth was blocking it from within to stop the sunlight from filtering in.

Not wishing to linger in the centre of the Veil, Aleron moved them on.

Thankfully his ability to fly allowed them to swiftly cross the land in comparison to sprinting, but he didn’t move at full strength due to his poor bride. Aleron didn’t wish to chill Gideon too badly, and his eyes often watered when battered by too much speed. However, they were moving faster now that he wasn’t searching for his kindred. He truly believed they wouldn’t be within the Veil, since Aleron wouldn’t even dare take Gideon into it.

Which was why he never landed, even when his human grew tired and fell asleep in his arms.

The Witch Owl visited us.

Since a large, yet white creature had approached them in the air, Aleron knew instantly it hadn’t been a Demon. Still, he’d never expected her, in her barn owl form, to fly next to them with the tip of her wing almost brushing against his own. Many of her feathers had turned brown, as if her cloak of them had changed since he’d last seen her this way.

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