Page 8 of A Soul to Steal

For a few moments, he just... listened as he tried to make up his mind.

His own breaths sounded much quieter than Aleron’s more substantial ones. With how big the Duskwalker was, he expected to hear a heartbeat.

He never did, even when he subtly closed the space between them so he could place his head near Aleron’s chest.

He couldn’t sense Aleron’s heart, and he eventually realised he couldn’t truly hear his own. There was a pulsing from within, like the familiar circulation of blood. Yet, when he pressed into his jugular, it pumped faintly. Once more, it felt false.

Not being able to see the world that Gideon had been thrust into was actually... soothing.

“Yeah, I guess that’s better,” Gideon finally answered as he straightened up – only for the Duskwalker to wrap his arms around him once more and shove his head against his torso again. “Why are you even doing this?”

“You said you did not like–”

“Not the wing thing,” Gideon cut in. “You’ve been holding and touching me since Ingram and Emerie left. Why? It’s not like I can run from you. I doubt I’d get far.”

“If I do not touch you for a long period of time, you will eventually fall back asleep like the other humans here. I am trying to prevent that.”

“Then just wake me again, like you did before.”

“You will forget everything you have learned here if I am too late.”

Oh,Gideon thought, his brows furrowing deeply.

He didn’t want to go back to sleep before, but after realising everything... would that actually be better? He’d no longer have to bear the reality before him if he did. Yet...

I will forget Emerie is happy.

“So that’s what happened before.” He’d fallen back asleep and had begun to lose his memories. He shuddered at the thought. “As much as it hurts learning that I died, I still don’t think I want to go back to sleep.”

“I will make sure you do not,”Aleron stated firmly, his orbs shifting to a light pink – one which Gideon had already seen many times from him.

It wasn’t as bright as the pink he’d shone at Ingram a few times.

The laugh that came from Gideon was as hollow as he felt inside. “Guess I’m stuck with you.”

There go my plans for getting away from him.He now needed Aleron if he wanted to stay conscious.Then again, it could be worse.

He wasn’t quite surehow, only that it probably could be.

For a long while, they sat together in the darkness. Neither spoke, and neither moved, yet Gideon often peeked at Aleron from the corner of his eye. Barely two inches away, the Duskwalker never seemed to drift his gaze away, his imposing bat skull and weird orbs staring at him all the way to the pit of his soul. It had been uncomfortable at first, creepy almost,but those feelings eventually settled as he just quietly worked through his thoughts.

His eyes never drooped, instead blinking with constant alertness.

Eventually, he felt calm within the swirling storm of his unpleasant thoughts. The darkness helped, allowing him to fully settle into the reality of his new life without the unbearable oddity of the bright world around him. He also wasn’t alone, even though he would have preferred to not cry in front of someone he considered a stranger.

He attempted to remain pragmatic about everything but found that a little too difficult with the unknowns before him.

I feel restless.Not physically – he lacked the itch to move from the cramping of muscles – but mentally.

“Could you open your wings?” he asked.

With a whoosh, Aleron parted his dark, feathered wings and allowed the world back into their senses. Gideon had expected the light to burn his eyes after so long, but it didn’t, and he kind of hated that the sting was missing. It was as though he’d just been suspended in a long blink.

He attempted to get up, but only made it halfway to his feet before the Duskwalker stopped him by grabbing his forearm. The grip wasn’t tight, or rather didn’t feel tight, but it was firm and unbreakable.

“Where are you going?”Gideon raised a brow at the slight panic in Aleron’s tone.

“I’m just getting up. I don’t want to sit anymore.”

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