Page 40 of A Soul to Steal

Gideon turned to the Mavka with one side of his nose wrinkled, a deep furrow of his brows, and his upper lip twisted. He jerked his thumb towards Aleron as he said, “Get a load of this guy. He can’t lie for shit.”

A hissing snicker came from the snake.

With a playful snarl, Aleron wound his arm around Gideon’s side, dragged him against the side of his chest, and wrapped his wings around him. Within his arms, the weak human wrestled to free himself, which only made him tighten all his limbs until he was truly stuck.

Aleron let out a chuckle. “I may not be able to lie well, but I can trap you forever.”

Gideon managed to squeeze out a single hand and cupped the end of Aleron’s bony snout. Then he latched onto a few of his bottom fangs and parted his jaw slightly as he pulled down.

“Let me go, or I’ll show you what it’s like when a human unhinges your jaw.” In retaliation, Aleron bit down on his entire hand, not hard enough to hurt him, but enough to capture that as well. “Fuck. It’s not fair that you’re way stronger than me.”

The weird argument between them only highlighted just how comfortable Aleron was with this little human. Gideon often liked to tease him, and even though he was new to this kind of human banter, Aleron was swiftly learning so he could do it back – but in his own way.

Gideon was smarter, Aleron was stronger, so he fought his brains with his brawn. Along their travels, he’d thrown Gideon over his shoulder when he needled him just a little too much. Aleron always enjoyed how the little male fought him the entire time they strolled through whatever forest or meadow they were crossing.

He reminds me of Ingram. Of my kindred bond.But in a dissimilar way – one that wholly reshaped him. He was learning all these new, unique facets of his personality, and he was delighted to dole them out on the one who showed them to him.

Aleron felt like he was being rebirthed in his death.

“Okay, okay, I concede,” Gideon eventually sighed. “You win. You always fucking win.”

This is fun.With a chuckle, he loosened his hold.

One minute he was holding Gideon, the next he just… wasn’t.

With a yell, the human was yanked from his arms and across the ground. With the serpent Mavka’s tail securely wrapped around his ankle, he was lifted into the air. Dangling upside down with his arms flailing beneath him, he swung back and forth.

“Whoa, big fella!” Gideon exclaimed, twisting to search for Aleron.

The fact he’d look for him at all, as though he was a pillar of safety and protection, meant much.

With his sight darkening to crimson, Aleron immediately leapt to his feet and charged forward. The Mavka jerked Gideon back when he came too close.

“Put him down!”

“Watch what you say!” Gideon yelped back. “He might take that literally and drop me.”

Aleron didn’t see why this would be an issue. Gideon wouldn’t be hurt, since he’d heal near instantly, and Aleron would likely catch him before he hit the ground.

The Mavka’s orbs had turned a bright yellow, hinting at how much fun he was having. Balancing on his lengthy tail, the serpent Mavka brought Gideon forward and dangled him above Aleron’s head, and his anger quickly began to settle. He thought he was going to give the human back by slowly lowering him, but when Aleron opened his arms, the Mavka yanked back.

The snicker that came from him caused rage to hold Aleron’s throat in a vice grip. A vicious snarl, promising pain, tore from him.

And in Tenebris, that would belastingpain.

Whoa, this is weird,Gideon thought, attempting to adjust to being upside down.

He wasn’t really afraid, since being hurt wouldn’t last for long.

No dizziness from blood and heat rushing to his head came, since he technically didn’t have blood. It was just uncomfortable. He preferred to have his two feet firmly on the ground.

He wasn’t much of a swimmer either, since he didn’t know how to. Just one of the many things he’d meant to change, but never got the chance before he stopped existing.

The only worrisome thing about this was why the Duskwalker even started this, and how much it seemed to upset Aleron.

“Give. Him. Back,”Aleron slowly, and ominously snarled, his voice monstrous and reverberating like when they’d first met.

The goosebumps cascading across his skin were more impactful than this whole situation. Gideon subconsciously covered his groin, wondering how the fuck that made his shaft surge. He stopped trying to twist to see Aleron.

---