Page 154 of A Soul to Embrace

Everything seemed to be different with her, and Jabez was finding it hard to digest that.I still don’t know what it is about her...

“I’m surprised to find you sitting in the sun,” Zylah’s voice drifted to him as she approached.

He opened his eyes and turned his face from the beckoning light to watch her take a seat beside him. She seemed most comfortable with her bunny feet out in front, her legs straight, and her back curled forward.

“I like the warmth,” he answered, noting she’d finally chosen to don the red dress he bought her. Most Demons, including himself, had an affinity to red due to their eye colour. “Now that I have my magic back, I can protect myself from burning, but I still feel its heat.”

He wore nothing but his mauve pants, choosing to soak in the rays without a shirt. He may be a creature of the shadows, but this was a small pleasure he’d gifted himself once he’d learned the spell. It piggybacked off the one that shielded him from the cold, and both were the only reasons he could truly stand this realm.

Zylah’s orbs turned black as she lifted her face to the sun like he’d been, letting it cascade over her. It made the bones of her skull appear even whiter, and the shadow of her dainty antlers longer and more menacing.

She’s pretty in the light.It even made her fur shine.

“This is nice,” she commented, eventually opening her orbs to reveal bright yellow. “I’ve always wanted to sit in the sun with you.”

“I would have sat in it with my cloak on had you asked.”

“Really?” she blurted, her voice high with joy as she turned her face to him. Her little tail tuft swayed lightly. “I wish I had known that.”

He offered her a small smile to reconfirm what he’d said.

They sat in comfortable silence as they stared into the descending hill of forest before them. Only half the trees had their leaves, but they would surely begin to grow back once winter ended. He imagined that was now less than a month away, and he almost couldn’t believe it’d been that long.

A small breeze wrapped around them, light and airy, fresh and filled with dew.

This moment with her was surprisingly serene. The quiet, soaking up the world, the sun, even the wind, while knowing she was by his side, was tranquil. He’d never been this at ease before.

The only way to have made it better would have been to bring her into his arms so he could share it in a more intimate way.

He checked on Zylah when she fidgeted, the quiet sound of her claws clicking together making his ears prick. Her teal orbs were bluer than normal, and he figured she was still dwelling on their conversation from the previous day.

Unfortunately, her pushing for those answers meant the conversation he’d been evading steadily approached. He could prolong this. He could ignore it for another day or two just to have more of her, to figure out what was happening within him, but what was the point?

His goal would never change, and that had been firm this entire time. Not even the confusing feelings he had for her were wavering his need for vengeance, only how he wished to enact it.

Hewantedto be a waking hell, so that he could obtain the Eden he’d been seeking all along. A real, tangible piece of heaven that was built on the decimation of an entire species until he was the last one left.

“Zylah,” he called gently, lifting his hand so the back of his knuckles could brush against her bony cheek. A cold pang lanced his chest as he softly stated, “I can’t stay here for much longer.”

The bottoms of her blue orbs instantly wavered. He wished that cold pang didn’t grow wider across his torso or make his stomach tighten.

“Why not?” she asked, her voice cracking as she fisted the skirt of her dress.

He tried to make his tone as gentle and regretful as he could. He wanted her to understand that his goal meant something to him, and that this decision was hard for him as well. “I need to go to Nyl’theria and finish what I set out to do. It was never my intention to make Earth my home. It was always temporary.”

“T-then I will go with you.”

He opened his mouth to refute her, but closed it and turned his head forward. His gaze dropped to look down at his hands on his lap.

So, her answer hasn’t changed.He didn’t think it had, but it was still hard to accept. After the last two days, he’d likely further solidified her feelings for him, but he didn’t know what he wanted anymore.

“You shouldn’t,” he finally answered.

“Why not?!” she cried, bringing her feet back so she could bend her knees and hug them. With her feet overlapping each other, she buried her skull against her knees just as floating tears sparkled in the sunlight. “You said that’s what you wanted. To use me in your war against the Elvish.”

But that was the issue: he knew, with absolute certainty, he no longer wanted that.

Yes, that would be the best advantage for him. Having the strength and speed of a Mavka at his side would make it much easier for him to dominate against the Demons there.

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